Monday night, in front of a large crowd of students, faculty, staff and members of the local community, Fairfield senior Alexandra Roem, president of the Green Campus Initiative, gave the opening remarks to introduce the night’s speaker at the University’s Third Annual Student’s Forum.

Kennedy owned the stage at Fairfield's Quick Center Monday night through his environmental discussion with students and faculty. (Peter Caty/The Mirror)

“It is inspiring and empowering to see students engaged with one another,” she said. “One person can truly make a difference.”

That person is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a global leader and avid defender of the environment.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Kennedy spoke on campus at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts to discuss the current state of our global environment and what one can do to make a difference.   His speech entitled “Our Environmental Destiny” also stressed the importance of establishing a national, free marketplace for energy.

Kennedy brought to light various economic issues, including the American dependence on the coal and oil industries and how these means of yielding energy are severely detrimental to our environment.

He said that our country borrows $1 million a day to fund oil from nations who do not share our system of values and that we are essentially supporting the war on terrorism with our addiction to oil.  In addition, $1.3 trillion in subsidies has been given to the coal industry.

“That’s a cost to our country,” he said.

Kennedy further explained that water pollution is a direct result of the coal industry and that almost every fish living in a freshwater environment is poisoned by mercury.

“My levels are 10 times what the EPA considers safe,” he said when discussing how mercury poisoning in pregnant women can lead to the birth of children with permanent neurological and brain damage.  “That’s the cost of coal that they don’t tell you about.”

In his career as an environmental activist, Kennedy has led countless legal initiatives to protect the environment in New York State and throughout the country.  He has also served as an attorney for both the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Hudson Riverkeeper, a non-profit environmental organization aimed at protecting the Hudson River.  His esteemed and notable work with Riverkeeper to protect and maintain the water supply of the Hudson River earned him a spot on Time magazine’s list of “Heroes of the Planet”.

To eliminate the importation of oil from foreign nations and the mining of coal on American soil, Kennedy believes that the creation of a national smart grid would be a cost-efficient way to produce a natural, alternative energy source, which at the same time, would aid in the preservation of the environment.

He said that if our government used the trillions of dollars that it spends on oil and coal and put that money towards the construction of a smart grid, it could successfully produce enough energy to serve the needs of our country, without the economic and global costs that come with the use of oil and coal.

“Once you build a solar plant, free energy forever,” he said.

As the next step in the process, Kennedy believes that the government should allow people, who already produce solar energy in their own homes, to sell a portion of that energy back into the marketplace for a price.  In other words, he said that every American could become an energy entrepreneur.

“We need a national marketplace,” he said. “The marketplace is a tool, not a God.  You wouldn’t worship a hammer.  You would use it to build something for your children.”

Kennedy also added that those who save energy by using alternative sources are consequently helping to preserve the environment and should be financially awarded for their good behavior.

“People do good things because they will personally do well by doing them.  Change the incentive systems and rationalize them,” he said. “Human need serves society.”

Though like everything else, a change of this magnitude can only come with the full cooperation of both the American people and the government.

“The most important thing by far is to get involved in the political process,” he urged to the audience.

And by encouraging the students who support his cause to speak out publicly on these issues, Kennedy truly believes that a significant change in environmental policy will come in their lifetime.

“Write letters, they really work. Run for your zoning board.  Run for your planning board,” he said. “The only way to save an environment is through democracy.  Take part in the political system because the bad guys are already doing that.”

At the conclusion of the speech, several students from the audience were available to give their reactions to Kennedy’s remarks and their opinions on the issues at hand.

“I found it interesting that Kennedy did not think this was a moral issue or an issue that would go away when people change their behavior,” freshman Grace Neubauer said. “One of the biggest things he said is to go vote and when policies change and our country is given incentive to go green, we will make progress.”

When asked how she felt about Kennedy’s speech, freshman Caitlin Chin said, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s speech on ‘Our Environmental Destiny’ deepened my opinion that we need to go green.  He not only discussed the environmental benefits but also the economical benefits and the moral responsibility we have to future generations.”

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