January

January 31, 2013

EPA Administrator Urges Student Involvement in Climate Change Debate. Judith Enck, the EPA’s regional administrator for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, gave a lecture at the Cook Campus Center on the past, present and future of environmental protection. She noted that carbon pollution, from fossil fuels (power plants and transportation) are undoubtedly warming the earth and that confronting climate change is an important issue for EPA. She mentioned a disconnect between political rhetoric from actual actions, "My experience, almost always, is that  members of Congress want the EPA to be more active in protecting the environment and their community,” she said. Enck said that action on climate change will only come when students get directly involved. “Whether you think global warming is legitimate or you think it’s a hoax – I think students have an obligation to voice their opinion and become active in these debates,” she said. Enck said she works with Native American tribes living in New York. They understand climate change’s implications, she said, because they look to the future seven generations when making decisions.