Lauren Ostrom – Feature editor. Florescent light bulbs, clean refrigerator coils, recycling and “tray-less Tuesdays:” These are just some of the small strides Linfield has made toward conserving energy and making a difference in the environment. We all know that the world is in dire need of fixing, and several students are taking steps to do something about it.
Linfield students gathered with other young adults from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana and Alaska at the University of Oregon from Nov. 6-8 to learn more about helping the planet cope with climate change as part of the Power Shift West conference.
The goal of the conference was to help attendees learn more about what is being done to help the environment, as well as how to help with this effort. They also had the opportunity to converse with other people who are involved with conservation efforts.
More than 15 Linfield students listened to guest speakers, participated in workshops and panels and took action with their fellow peers against climate change.
Motivational speakers, such as Alli Chagi-Starr and Lela Brown, attended the event and offered wise words to the young listeners. They both engage in the environment efforts and encourage others to become more involved.
One of the students who attended, junior Avalon Fox, said the conference had a wide range of workshops.
“There was a workshop called ‘The Beehive Design Collective,’” she said. “It’s a group of artists from Maine. They do projects for causes. The last cause they did was due to coal, because they’re actually blowing up mountaintops to get the coal. They contribute in their own way, through art.”
Power Shift West also included workshops discussing policies and a legislative climate bill that is under consideration by Congress. Other workshops focused on little changes, such as cleaning the coils connected to the refrigerator, that people can make in their everyday lives to conserve energy.
Another participant, senior Duncan Reid, said the conference was one of the best experiences of his college career.
“My favorite part was getting together with other students that are passionate about what I am passionate about,” he said. “Everyone had so much energy.”
Reid is also working on a project to build a new “green” bike shop with other Linfield students. The bike shop will feature energy-efficient solar panels on its roof.
Anyone who is interested in getting involved can visit www.psw09.org for more information regarding Power Shift West.