UC Santa Barbara students rally for 100% clean energy

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Santa Barbara students and faculty voiced their opinions regarding climate change during a campus rally Monday.

It comes on the heels of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which wrapped up earlier this month. The global event aimed to take a more proactive approach to reduce the impacts of humans on global warming.

Around the world, rallies have been held so groups can voice their opinions on climate change.

Monday at noon, Santa Barbara students gathered to push for 100% clean energy. The rally started at Storke Tower on UCSB's campus.

Sean McArthur is the UCSB CALPIRG chapter chair. He said, “We need to do more. We need to do more. That’s the bottom line. We need to make more of a commitment from the United States.”

The event was organized by UCSB CALPIRG, a political activism group at the university.

"With record-breaking wildfire seasons occurring every single year, CALPIRG Students at UC Santa Barbara is hosting a climate rally on campus to encourage even bolder action on climate from CA policymakers," organizers said in a statement.

The students rallied in support of green energy and electric cars to be the only type of vehicles on the road.

“We’re hoping that we can encourage legislatures to, to work with experts to get a solution that’s equitable for everybody and that can give us a cleaner and greener future,” said McArthur.

Students point to studies saying their generation will see more of the effects of climate change than previous generations. They’ve already seen it impact their community this year.

UCSB freshman, Olivia Mittelman, said, “We’ve had houses fall off cliffs, fall off Isla Vista due to the rising sea levels. And we just had a fire, a terrible wildfire a few weeks ago and forced some people to evacuate. Caused some classes to shutdown.”

Students hope the community and other businesses step up as well. Right now the two major power suppliers on the central and south coasts are working to increase green energy sources. Last year PG&E got 31% of its energy from renewable sources, while SoCal Edison was at 32%.

CALPIRG estimated at least 40 students would be in attendance alongside faculty members and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann.

The event included student speakers, a press conference and a bike ride around campus.