Coalition gathers to sink fossil fuels

In hopes of combating global warming one tennis ball at a time, concerned students erected a dunking booth next to the Pit on Tuesday to spread their environmental message.

The event was just one part of Energy Independence Day, when students around the country signed a petition calling for politicians to halt the use of fossil fuels.

Officials with Energy Action, a group of organizations that works to strengthen the clean energy movement in North America, said they hoped to collect 30,000 signatures Tuesday at more than 250 campus-based events nationwide.

The petition also was aimed at making citizens, especially students, more aware of the problems caused by a reliance on coal and oil.

"The point of today isn't so much to say no to dirty energy, but just to say yes to cleaner energy," said Dennis Markatos-Soriano, projects director of Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, which helped organize Tuesday's actions.

Charlie Anderson, speaker of Student Congress and former chairman of student government's Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee, was assigned to the role of victim in the dunking booth.

Anderson dressed as the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to symbolize the effects of global warming on the N.C. coast, he explained.

"Part of this is about raising awareness. That's why we chose Cape Hatteras," said committee member Paul Smith, a sophomore.

"It's something that we all know in North Carolina, but we may not know the danger that it is in."

A copy of the petition was placed next to the dunking booth, and about 350 students signed it, said Liz Veazey of the Southeast Student Climate & Energy Network.

Anderson said he hoped the day's events, and even the drubbing he took inside the booth, helped raise awareness about what he said is an important issue.

"We need to implement a long-term plan for moving toward clean energy sources," said Anderson.

"While that may be commonplace in Europe, in the U.S., that's quite a statement. Even George W. Bush said in 2002 that action needs to be taken, although that, of course, has been forgotten about."

Also taking place Tuesday was a Critical Mass Bike Ride down Franklin Street, which was designed to promote cleaner, alternative forms of transportation and a forum in Carrboro to discuss methods better using solar energy.

"Today was very successful because there were a lot of people who were just walking by and thought, 'Oh, a dunk tank,' and we were able to inform them (about our issue)," Veazey said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.