Support the environmental struggle

Support the environmental struggle

ViewpointBy Chris Dupont

Whatever station you watch, whatever paper you read, one of the
most important political stories today is the Republican
Revolution.

This November, Newt Gingrich and his conservative followers were
swept into office on a platform of social and economic reform. One
of their targets promises to be the EPA, the government agency
charged with setting standards for the safety and preservation of
our environment.

This threatened gutting of the EPA has got to be a wake-up call
to environmentally minded citizens to come together and voice our
outrage at the Earth’s destruction.

One way to get involved is to pledge and volunteer for CALPIRG,
the group that has been working for more than 20 years to give the
students of California a voice in the national environmental
debate.

Over that period, battles have been waged and won against
corporate polluters such as Shell Oil, and campaigns to bring
recycling to the federal government have been successful. With your
help, the fight can go on.

This quarter, CALPIRG will be working on many fronts to help
improve our world: locally, nationally and internationally. The
newest campaign will bring together CALPIRG and environmentalists
from all over the country.

The Free the Planet movement is a revitalization of the Earth
Day celebration, which in recent years has become commercialized, a
tool for corporations to "greenwash" their image. Another campaign
is the Buy Recycled project, which will continue to promote the use
of recycled materials throughout the UCLA community. The Endangered
Species project, in addition, will use teach-ins and rallies to
raise awareness of the staggering loss of the earth’s diversity.
Another project works to stop the use of old growth forests for
newspapers and phone directories. And still another campaign is the
Hunger Cleanup, which works to get the community involved in
helping cure the problems of hunger and homelessness here in Los
Angeles. All these projects need your help and support.

CALPIRG is a unique opportunity for you to become involved in
protecting the Earth for all of our futures. Check The Bruin for
the next general interest meeting. And remember that we all share
the environment, so we must all share in the responsibility for its
care.

Dupont is a junior economics student.