LEAP urges legislation

Twenty-four University of Cincinnati students exchanged ideas with nearly 6,000 students from other universities last weekend at a conference in College Park, Md., on building a cleaner environment, creating "green" jobs and revitalizing the economy.

The Power Shift conference was hosted Nov. 2 to Nov. 5 by the Energy Action Coalition, a youth-lead group consisting of more than 40 organizations from the United States and Canada.

"Power Shift 2007 was the first ever youth-lead summit to solve the problems causing global warming," said Jim Ramey, co-president of Leaders for Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP) and a fifth-year political science major.

UC students met with Steve Kittredge, legislative assistant to Sen. George Voinovich, to ask that steps be taken to introduce legislation that would enhance the environment and create more green jobs.

The UC students who attended the conference asked Kittredge for cap and trade legislation be introduced to Congress.

Cap and trade legislation would regulate green house gases emitted by industries and would impose a carbon tax. Companies that lower their carbon emissions would not be subject to the tax, while companies that do not lower their emissions would be charged.

"[Voinovich] is worried about the harsh effects that cap and trade legislation would have on the economy," Ramey said. "They need to work it out, that's what they are supposed to do."

The students advocated for Voinovich to support the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which they believe will stimulate the economy while protecting the environment. The act is currently before the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

"[Green Jobs Act] aims training programs at coal miners to teach them about new jobs installing solar panels and wind turbines which Ohio is perfect for," Ramey said. "These jobs cannot be outsourced; it has to be done here."

Ramey stressed the importance of student voting in electing candidates that sense the urgency of being committed to solving problems related to global warming.

"There is only so much you can do [to provide a solution to global warming]," Ramey said. "Everyone knows to change their light bulbs to fluorescents, but students need to exercise their right to vote."

Voter registration among 18-to-29-year-olds is at its highest level in 30 years and is still on the rise.

In 2006, 47 percent of voters 18 to 29 indicated their votes went to the candidates who were most concerned with the U.S. energy policy, according to the Energy Action Coalition.

The group of 24 UC students that attended Power Shift 2007 was a diverse group, Ramey said. The group contained students of all majors from first-year students, to students seeking their PhD.

LEAP, an affiliate of the Environmental Studies Department, was the primary sponsor of the event, while the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and Center for Sustainable Urban Engineering (SUE) provided supplementary financial support.

"We've aligned the goals of SUE with the goals of UC|21 and one of those goals is to put students at the center," said Dan Oerther, civil and environmental engineering professor and director of SUE. "Sponsoring this trip was a great example of this and I believe it will empower the students to become leaders on campus in making our urban research university

more sustainable."

LEAP holds meetings at 5 p.m. every other Wednesday at the Center for Community Engagement in Stratford Heights. For more information on LEAP, e-mail

leapuc@gmail.com.