It’s Getting Hot In Here

By Tyler Pannell, Tennessee Tech University

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.

What impressed me about TISL was the enthusiasm with which student Senators and Representatives supported the bills mentioned above. Vigorous debate accompanied most of the bills presented at the conference, but for some reason (maybe common sense?), people from all walks of life and every imaginable position on the political spectrum found common ground on issues impacting the environment. In some cases, there wasn’t even a debate – student Senators and Reps simply agreed that environmental problems (including global warming) are self-evidently detrimental to the economy and people of our state. Beyond that, they agreed that lawmakers have a responsibility to address these issues. Even during TISL’s gubernatorial debate, all four candidates, when asked if students at TISL have a responsibility to address global warming, responded “yes, it is the challenge of our generation” and “TISL has always been at the forefront of controversial issues.” Wow – imagine if Governor Bredesen responded like that – what a difference that kind of leadership could make.

TISL illustrates how out-of-step the real state legislature is with the people (especially the young people) of Tennessee. TISL’s Senators voted unanimously in favor of every one of the bills mentioned above, yet many of Tennessee’s elected Senators continue to deny that global warming is real, much less vote to do something about it. It’s time for those Senators and Reps in State government who acknowledge that climate change is real, to show some courage and take some leadership on the issue. After all, global warming is not some pie in the sky philosophical question; it is a phenomenon that has the potential to dramatically alter the viability of live on Earth.

Finally, TISL shows that when presented with an opportunity, we must take advantage of it. Various members of Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Campuses (TASSC) spent a lot of time drafting legislation and preparing for the weekend at TISL. We knew that presenting real bills at TISL was an important way to continue our push in State government for a clean, renewable energy future in Tennessee. We knew that all the bills passed at TISL would go before Governor Bredesen and that he would then have the opportunity to pursue them in the real legislative assembly. So, knowing this, we took the opportunity with which life presented us. We continued our push for a better future, and by the end of the weekend, all I could think was “WE came, WE saw, WE conquered” – in solidarity – and that, my friends, is a good feeling!

By Tyler Pannell, Tennessee Tech University

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.

What impressed me about TISL was the enthusiasm with which student Senators and Representatives supported the bills mentioned above. Vigorous debate accompanied most of the bills presented at the conference, but for some reason (maybe common sense?), people from all walks of life and every imaginable position on the political spectrum found common ground on issues impacting the environment. In some cases, there wasn’t even a debate – student Senators and Reps simply agreed that environmental problems (including global warming) are self-evidently detrimental to the economy and people of our state. Beyond that, they agreed that lawmakers have a responsibility to address these issues. Even during TISL’s gubernatorial debate, all four candidates, when asked if students at TISL have a responsibility to address global warming, responded “yes, it is the challenge of our generation” and “TISL has always been at the forefront of controversial issues.” Wow – imagine if Governor Bredesen responded like that – what a difference that kind of leadership could make.

TISL illustrates how out-of-step the real state legislature is with the people (especially the young people) of Tennessee. TISL’s Senators voted unanimously in favor of every one of the bills mentioned above, yet many of Tennessee’s elected Senators continue to deny that global warming is real, much less vote to do something about it. It’s time for those Senators and Reps in State government who acknowledge that climate change is real, to show some courage and take some leadership on the issue. After all, global warming is not some pie in the sky philosophical question; it is a phenomenon that has the potential to dramatically alter the viability of live on Earth.

Finally, TISL shows that when presented with an opportunity, we must take advantage of it. Various members of Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Campuses (TASSC) spent a lot of time drafting legislation and preparing for the weekend at TISL. We knew that presenting real bills at TISL was an important way to continue our push in State government for a clean, renewable energy future in Tennessee. We knew that all the bills passed at TISL would go before Governor Bredesen and that he would then have the opportunity to pursue them in the real legislative assembly. So, knowing this, we took the opportunity with which life presented us. We continued our push for a better future, and by the end of the weekend, all I could think was “WE came, WE saw, WE conquered” – in solidarity – and that, my friends, is a good feeling!