Energy-Efficient Autos Displayed on Campus
(COLLEGE
PARK, MD) — On Tuesday, August 14th, students placed a spotlight clean
automobiles with a “Clean Cars Show” that spotlighted two of the many
clean cars available on the market today, the Lexus SUV Hybrid and the
Honda Civic Hybrid.
“Global
warming is not all gloom and doom,” stated MaryPIRG Campus Organizer
Chris Leuchten. “Common sense solutions like clean cars are around us
everywhere we look.”
The vehicles, donated by Lexus of Silver
Spring and College Park Honda, are examples of choices anyone can make
to curb global warming. Motor vehicles are a major contributor to
global warming pollution in the United States, accounting for almost a
quarter of the country’s global warming emissions.
The University of Maryland students had a chance to take each car for a
test drive while learning more about hybrid technology. Many were
surprised by how far the technology has come.
“I
was glad to see that we have luxury hybrids now,” said Maryland student
Earl Schaefer. “I think they’ll appeal to a broader audience.”
Students also designed educational games and demonstrations, taking the
lead in educating their peers about global warming. “It was a great way
to raise awareness about ways to protect our communities and our
environment,” said Schaefer.
Aaron Johnson, University of Maryland
student volunteer said of the event, “I appreciate that MaryPIRG took
the time to make it known that there are other options to using
resources that causes air pollution.”
“I
was more than happy to help out with clean car show because the
environment means a lot to me and I can definitely say that taking a
small portion of my time out to help was time worth spent,” said
Johnson.
The ‘Clean Cars Show’
preceded a campus screening of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth,
and is the first in a series of educational and advocacy efforts
launched this year by the University of Maryland’s Campus Climate
Challenge Campaign.
The campaign is designed to rally college
students across the country to take a leadership role in the effort to
fight global warming.
“Students
can make sure that our nation’s campuses lead the way in dealing with
the challenge of tackling global warming,” stated Chris Leuchten.
“Right now we have the know-how to deal with this problem. We want to show the country what’s possible,” Leuchten continued.
Tens
of thousands of students on more than 280 campuses across the United
States and Canada are engaged through the Campus Climate Challenge in
efforts to enact and promote policies to reduce global warming
pollution – on campus, in the community and in legislatures.Working
with the campaign, students across the country educate campus
communities about the threat posed by global warming, work to pass
policies to reduce campus global warming pollution, and advocate for
strong global warming legislation in Congress.
