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1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613
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Race for the finish Men and women’s track seasons jump off to their speedy outdoor season with 2nd place team finishes last weekend. See SPORTS page
Volume 47 Edition 22
Early presidential attention creates opportunities for students
Candidates begin their campaigns earlier than ever; young adults continue to have lowest voter turnout Kelsey Ihde News Editor
Although the votes will not be cast for over a year, presidential candidates are racing for the finish line as they begin their campaigning across the nation. The diversity of candidates in the campaign has already brought intense media coverage to front-runners like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. “This will be a very exciting election due to Obama and Clinton. Because of this I think you will see a higher interest taken by the American public and hopefully result in a higher voter
News Analysis turnout,” government teacher Chris Dyvig said. Not only has the backround of these candidates brought coverage, but so have controversial issues such as the Iraq War, alternative fuels, health care, social security and prescription drug plans. Iowa House Represenative Bob Kressig said he foresees that the war in Iraq, health care and controlling spending will be key issues in the ’08 election. A controversial issue, the war in Iraq, is a major subject of contention among voters. Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he believes that a larger Army and Marine Corps would increase America’s success in the war. In 2002 Hillary Rodham Clinton voted in favor of the
Iraq War Resolution which later gave President Bush the authority to go to war, but she has also said that she believes we should not continue with Bush’s open ended commitment of the war. One of her most recent standpoints of the war was in February 2007, when she stated that if Congress does not end the war before January 2009, she, as president, will. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was seen on Fox News stating that he agrees with Bush’s decision to send more troops to Iraq because he feels an increase in troops will help to bring the violence down and help America win the war. But conversely, Obama has applauded the troops in Iraq’s work, but said he feels that there cannot be a military solution to conflict between groups in Iraq. “We need to be as careful pulling out of Iraq as we were careless going into Iraq,” Barack said at his recent visit to Central Middle School in Waterloo. Serving in the military is an option for some high school students and whoever is elected president will make a difference if we are at war or peace. Who is in charge will also determine whether there will be any changes to the cost of education, tax policy, health care coverage and job market possibilities. Negative campaigning was not only an issue in the past election but seems to be an issue in the upcoming election as well. “I don’t see any laws that have been adopted to change negative campaigning. I know that voters are sick of the negative ads. Some strategies
I would suggest are to door knock, meet with voters on issues and to be truthful to voters,” Kressig said. This election will prove to be one that goes down in history. It will be the first that that we have both a woman and an African-American as front-runners. This will show that our country is open to new possibilities for the future, through new leadership and new perspectives on our country’s issues. “One of those two will probably be president or vice president, if not both. It would be a true test whether or not the nation is ready for a minority in one of the two highest offices,” Conservative Club President Andrew Clopton said. This could be part of the excitement Dyvig spoke of when referring to the possibility of a higher voter turnout. Another issue that has arisen in the election is the current Democratic-run Congress. Some believe that it may be an advantage to the Democratic candidates, but others disagree. “So far from what I’ve seen, it will be a disadvantage because their party seems to be split down the middle, especially on the Iraq War. However, Republicans have the same problem, so these two could cancel out,” Clopton said. Kressig has a slightly different opinion. “It depends how the Congress uses their power. If they have an agenda supported by the voters, it will make a difference,” he said. Although it is quite early in the race, many have begun to make predictions as to which
Republican and Democratic candidates will receive the candidacy for each party. “Anything is possible, but right now the Democratic ticket appears to be leaning toward Clinton and Obama. It looks like a moderate Republican such as Giuliana or McCain will get the nomination, although I think there are other candidates that remain to be seen such as Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.),” Clopton said. Others think it is too soon. “I think it’s way too early to tell, but it is going to be a very different election campaign, one that I believe will excite a larger than normal amount of Americans. This race will tell us a lot about America—whether or not we are ready to elect a female or a minority as president, also a lot about the way the war on terror will be fought in the future,” Dyvig said. For unfamiliar voters, Dyvig urges young people to pay attention to issues meaningful to them, listen to candidates’ outlooks on those issues and vote. Students planning to exercise their civic duty to vote should start early in this election process by choosing an issue that they are interested in, or one that may effect them, study the candidates’ standpoints and vote. Regardless of race, gender or political affiliation what is most important is being an educated voter. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” Dyvig said. See page 2 for an opinion on this topic
Annual science project has SEED MONEY some students seeing green Ellen Wrede Staff Writer
It is a rare event to have a class where students have the opportunity to showcase nearly all of the valuable skills they have acquired in high school to date, but students in Tammy Frahm’s science classes have welcomed that challenge. The green house, located off of the science offices of teachers Debbie Paulsen and Jerry Slykhuis, started three years ago, and it has been a welcomed part of the curriculum in ever since.
“It’s part of their science project to plant the seeds and have the final product to sell,” Frahm said. “It’s just an all around group effort. They’re working on working together.” But the benefits of this “greenhouse project” don’t just extend to science class. “It crosses curriculums as far as for the sale. They have to work on the computer to make signs, plus counting money when people pay.” Frahm said, highlighting the skills students will be using to complete the endeavor. The students grow seedlings for herbs, tomatoes, peas and strawberries as well as several other vegetables and
fruits. They are also growing flowers, like geraniums and marigolds. On May 10 and 11, the students will have a sale in the rubber gym. The seedlings are nicely priced and the flowers will spruce up most any classroom. The proceeds of the sale go toward buying seeds for next year’s planting as well as an annual field trip. This year the trip itinerary has the students heading to Des Moines to visit the zoo and the science center. “The field trips are fun,” senior Russell Hamilton said. “Oh, most defiantly,” Frahm agreed. “They like getting dirty too.”
Contributing a helping hand to get the greenhouse project underway is sophomore Tyler Nelson. Tammy Frahm’s science classes work together to keep these plants nourished in order to reach their goal of earning enough money to go on a field trip.
Brian Winkel photo
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Our View
OPINION
Seniors, administrators make wise choice in move to McLeod Center
The 131st graduating class of Cedar Falls High School has a new home for their commencement exercise. Recently, the CFHS Senior Leadership group proposed the idea of moving the commencement exercise from the UNI Dome to the new McLeod Center. When the proposal was presented to the CFHS administration, they agreed. We at the Hi-Line believe that this shows the willingness of the administration to back up a wise decision made by a student group, even though it wasn’t the easiest decision to make. We at the Hi-Line also believe there are clear advantages to moving the commencement exercise to the McLeod Center. The McLeod Center features a closer, more intimate setting. It also includes more handicap accessible seating, something that was hard to find in the UNI Dome. One disadvantage to moving the commencement ceremony to the McLeod Center was that the senior class had already received their graduation announcements, which listed the site of the commencement exercise as the UNI Dome. However, Jostens, the company who made the graduation announcements, created correction stickers stating the change of site, and no one will miss the ceremony because the McLeod Center is directly connected to the UNI Dome. Reactions are mixed from the senior class regarding the change of venue for the ceremony. Seniors who have been in the McLeod Center say that the seating is nice, and the building creates a good atmosphere for the ceremony. Students who have not been in the facility have seemed to rush to judgment against the change. We at the Hi-Line encourage seniors to visit the McLeod Center before rushing to quick judgment. The seniors who have been inside the McLeod Center are in favor of the change. Above all else, the editors of the Tiger Hi-Line would like to applaud the administration of Cedar Falls High School for agreeing with a wise, well-planned decision by a student leadership group. We know it may not have been an easy decision, but it is one that we believe could establish a new tradition for CFHS commencement exercises for years to come.
Write the Tiger Hi-Line
The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Each edition is published on Wednesdays during the school year in The Insider and Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 501 Commercial St., Waterloo, Iowa 50701. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the HiLine or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to the Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday for publication the following Wednesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.
Editorial Staff Editors-in-Chief-Sheila Moussavi & Kirstin Riggs News Editors-Kelsey Ihde & Audrey Kittrell Opinion Editors-Andrea Huber, Robb Klassen & Willa Simmet Sports Editors-Josh Betts & Katy Schult Feature Editors-Briana McGeough On-Line Editors-David Jacobson & Olivia Schares
Take time away to vote
Growing problem of voter apathy impacts country The 2008 election may be a year away, but with the campaigns firing up now, even people our age should think about their involvement Torie Jochims in the political Staff Writer process. Voter apathy is a growing problem in the United States today, especially among the younger generation of voters, ages 18-25. They just don’t seem to care. Voter apathy is basically the ideal that people shouldn’t exercise their right to vote because it doesn’t really matter in the larger whole. It’s the laziness that seems to envelope Americans and keeps them glued to the couch, complaining about the politicians in power instead of getting up to do something about it. I believe that voter apathy is a serious issue in our country and one that needs to be solved. Be it a case of thinking your vote doesn’t really matter anyway, or not being certain of where you stand on the issues, many young adults choose not to vote. What we fail to realize is that our vote does count, and the only reason we haven’t formed opinions on the key issues is because we haven’t made an effort to. A large portion of the students that attend Cedar Falls High School
will be able to participate in the ’08 election, and caring about the issues that affect us now and will continue to affect us in the future should be a part of our agenda. Jumping on the bandwagon of an already formed opinion by the majority of the public is easy enough, but taking your own stand on an issue or on the view of a local or presidential candidate is a much harder thing to do. If the reason you don’t care to vote is because you don’t think your vote will make a difference anyway, look at the state of Florida in the 2000 election between Bush and Gore. Every last vote in some precincts counted in that election because the ballots had to be counted and re-counted since something in the system went awry the first time. Many believe voter apathy can also be considered “jumping on a bandwagon” because forming your own opinions is much more beneficial to society as a whole than following the majority. Now is the time when candidates running for the upcoming presidential election are out sending their messages. There will be candidates coming to Iowa (Barak Obama, John McCain and Hilary Clinton came not long ago) and going to those functions that are nearby is a great way to become informed of the issues and perhaps even find out where you stand on some of the key ones. If you can’t get out to see a candidate in person, just turn on your
television to a news channel. News stations everywhere are doing their best to have unbiased and even coverage of each candidate and their platforms for running, so that’s a nearly effortless way to get in the know. The only way our democracy continues to run as it does is because of the people that vote, and considering the barely over half voter turnout at elections on average, our democracy could be failing miserably. Out of the 64 percent voter turnout in the 2004 election, only 47 percent of these were of voting ages 18-25, the lowest percentage of the age ranges. A new generation of voters will be able to vote in this upcoming election, so if you are one of those people, vote! The founders of this country broke away from England to get away from the misery of never being able to choose their own leader and fought for our right to be able to do just that. So when we do not exercise that right, we are abandoning the very core principles of our democracy. Certainly not all eligible voters are apathetic toward the issues, and many students are very opinionated and even excited to be able to participate in the ’08 election, but that percentage isn’t nearly as high as it should be.
Alex Ulfers and Joey Squires
Letter to the Editor
ticipate in the fine arts, including band, orchestra and choir, the fact is that most students will not go into a career that requires music. The vast majority of students, on the other hand, will continue on career paths that require math, English and science. This is why these classes are often referred to as “core classes.” While weighted grades certainly give a boost to those students who take advantage of the advanced courses offered at the high school, they in no way devalue the others. In non AP courses, an A would still be considered a 4.0. Only in advanced classes would the student receive a grade on a different scale, perhaps 4.5 or 5.0.
See page 1
for an analysis on this topic
“Early presidential attention creates opportunities for students.”
Students endorse weighted grades CFHS Seniors
Two weeks ago, we read an opinion piece that blew our minds. The author’s position was that weighted grades would penalize students who took classes other than core classes, specifically the often mentioned band. The author stated that, “this kid was breezing through math [AP Calculus] while I’m breezing through band, each of us putting forth equal effort.” There are many flaws with this statement. It should be completely obvious to the general student body that “breezing” through Advanced Placement core classes are a very different story than breezing through band. Very, very few students are able to breeze through AP
“While we value the people that participate in the Fine Arts ... the fact is that most students will not go into a career that requires music.” Calc. Calculus is harder than band. Period. In AP Calc you must be able to use and understand trig formulas, integrals, derivatives, geometric formulas among others. This is to say nothing of the other AP courses offered at CF High. In band? Scales come to mind. While we value the people that par-
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SPORTS
Women’s track finishes second at J-Hawk Relays were already scheduled by the athletes. The positive part was the fact we did Sports Editor finally end up with a fairly decent day In the early part of the high school for the meet.” The Tigers placed second in the track season, the snow and cold temteam standings. Iowa City West scored peratures put the start of the outdoor 413 points to win the meet. The Tigers season for the Cedar Falls Women’s were second with 321, Cedar Rapids Track team on hold. Washington fi nished third with 259 After having two meets cancelled, points. Cedar Rapids Jefferson and they got Cedar the chance Rapids to kick off Kennedy their outdoor rounded season at the out the rescheduled top five J-Hawk Rein the lays in Cedar t e a m Rapids. The p o i n t s meet was with 258 originally and 225 scheduled respecfor Thurstively. day, but was Beckpostponed to er talked Saturday due Allison Bernard Photo about his to the snow t e a m ’s and cold con- Pictured above is senior Raquel Facciani battling one of the J-Hawk track members. The Cedar Falls perforditions. team took fi rst place at the Early Bird meet overall. mance in C e d a r the meet. Falls wom“I was glad to see we improved in en’s track coach Troy Becker talked a lot of areas despite the recent bad about the affect a rescheduling of a weather,” Becker said. “Overall, the meet has on coaches and athletes. “We had to do the lineup three dif- team had a very good day, and I think ferent times,” Becker said. “The most several athletes made progress to their frustrating part is we didn’t have our overall goals.” The Tigers got victories from Faith entire team because of conflicts that
Josh Betts
Burt in the 100 meter dash, with a time of 12.48 seconds, .3 of a second ahead of runner-up Lisa Melleckner from Iowa City West. Libby Schmadeke in the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 1:10.60 seconds, .84 seconds ahead of second place Natalie Mason of Iowa City West. The sprint medley relay team of Nina Savage, Brianne Hutchins, Burt and Shawn Shaddox ran a time of 1:51.31 seconds, (Cedar Rapids Kennedy placed second in the Sprint Medley with a time of 1: 53.88 seconds), and the 4X800 meter relay team of Paige Hersom, Alissa Llewellyn, Lizzy Christopherson and Leah Blanchard finished in a time of 10:28.37 seconds, (Iowa City West finished second in the 4X800 in a time of 10:31.64 seconds). Notable second place finishers for the Tigers included Nina Savage in the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 15.41 seconds (.11 seconds behind the winner, Katie Johnson of Iowa City West), and the distance medley relay team of Savage, Natalie Reindl, Danielle Sturm and Shaddox clocked in at a time of 4: 27.99 seconds, behind Iowa City West who won the event in a time of 4:22.31 seconds. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Raquel Facciani, Schmadeke, Charla DeVries and Savage finished in a time of 1:07.11, behind Iowa City West, who won the event in a time of 1:05.75 seconds.
The Tigers also got second place finishes from the 4X100 meter relay team of Facciani, Schmadeke, Charla DeVries and Savage in a time of 51.43 seconds, behind Iowa City West, who won the event with a time of 51.12 seconds, and the 4X400 meter relay team of Hutchins, Burt, Allison Duchman and Shaddox clocked in at a time of 4: 14.16 seconds, behind Iowa City West in a time of 4:06.52. Summer Anderson also finished third in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:31.09 seconds. Becker also talked about the young talent in the field events. “We have two freshman and a sophomore (freshmen Carrie Panther and Mercedes Larsen and sophomore Megan Sarbeck) throwing varsity in the throws,” Becker said. “Panther (had) a very good day at the J-Hawk with two new personal records, and she placed in both shot and discus. That’s a great accomplishment for a ninth grader,” he said. Becker talked about momentum this meet could build heading into Drake Relays, April 26-28. “We want to focus on improving our times and establishing our best lineups and relays,” Becker said. “We have several quality athletes striving for spots on key relays. Right now we just need some meets so they will all have an opportunity to prove themselves.”
Tiger men’s track takes second at Draxton-Stiers Katy Schult Sports Editor
The CF men’s track team performed well at the Draxton-Stiers Invitational on Friday, April 13. The team came out in second place with a total of 85 points, only 11 points behind the first place Iowa City West team. The team had a lot of top spot finishes. Cedar Falls had many men placing in the top three for field events. In the shot put and discus, senior Justin Romero placed third overall. While senior Seth Webb placed first in the high jump, with a six foot jump. Also, in the high jump, sophomore Kyle Bernard placed third. In the 3,200 meter race, junior Alex Mark placed first with a time of 9: 53.58, which could have been a record mark at the Drake Relays. Also in this
event, Michael Streicher placed third. In the shuttle hurdle relay, Cedar Falls placed fourth overall. While in the 400-meter dash, Jordan Valazquez placed first with a time of 52.47. The CFHS team placed second in the 4 X 200 meter relay. Bernard also placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdle event, while Brian Harrigton placed third in the 200-meter dash. Senior Jason Goulden placed fifth in the 400 hurdles. The Cedar Falls 4 X 400 meter relay placed fifth. According to Cedar Valley Preps, junior Corey Albrecht was named a prep of the week. Albrecht is one of Cedar Falls’ strongest sprinters. Last year, he placed fifth at State in the 400 hurdles. The Tigers compete again on Friday, April 20 at the Cole Collinge Relays, which is home at 5 p.m.
Athlete Week of the
Andy Youde Senior men’s soccer player How long have you been playing soccer? I’ve been playing since second grade in traveling club teams, rec teams and school teams.
What is your favorite part of playing soccer? Standing a lot, because there are only a hand full of shots each game where I have to do something. Who do you look up to? Mr. Schulte What do you do to prepare for games? Pretty much I just wet my gloves some and I’m good. Do you plan on playing soccer after high school? Yes, either at Upper Iowa, Central or Wartburg. Being goalie, what goes through your mind as you see players getting ready to attempt to make a goal? I usually try to guess which side they are going to shoot at and then I second guess myself about 20 million times after it, or that’s what it seems like.
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Men’s Track Next Up: Cole Collinge Relays at home 4/20 Women’s Track Next Up: Wilkinson Relays away 4/20 Men’s Tennis Next Up: Home vs. CR Kennedy 4/19 Women’s Tennis Next Up: Away @ CR Kennedy 4?19
Allison Bernard Photo Helping the Tigers to a second place finish is senior Seth Webb doing the high jump. Webb took first place in the event at the Draxton-Stiers Invitational on Friday, April 13. Webb’s highest jump for the night was six foot. The Tigers next meet is the Cole Collinge Relays home this Friday, April 20 at 5 p.m.
Men’s Soccer Next Up: Hoem vs. CR Prairie 4?21 Women’s Soccer Next Up: Away @ CR Prairie 4/19
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FEATURE
Green families provide insight into ‘living off the grid’
From left to right: Frances, Clara, and Dale Kittleson, David and Perry-O Sliwa Perry-O’s definition of living green: “Living in a way that honors earth, the earth’s resources and natural processes, being in tune with the sun and the wind and the nemetils that live in the soil that we can’t even see.” David’s definition: “Our actions and what we do are connected to everything else in the world. To live green means to be aware of different choices and to make the choices that
Diane and Larry Grimstad have lived in their environmentally friendly home for six years. They tried to do everything they could to fit their home into the natural surroundings near Twin Springs Park. Larry, a retired banker, said their goal is to produce enough renewable energy on site to cover the needs of their home and to offset all the other fossil fuel that they use. The couple generates power through 36 solar panels and a wind turbine. They sell the power to the power company and buy back power. The house was built as environmentally friendly as possible. It has geothermal heating and cooling. The stone fireplace was designed to actually heat the house instead of drawing heat out of the house. Rooms were situated where they are to make use of sun and to keep out the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer. Their ap-
Dale, Frances, Clara and Alex Kittleson of Decorah Dale and Frances live in the Coon Creek neighborhood near Decorah with four other families who bought land and decided to live off the grid. They built their home four years ago on a remote bluff overlooking the Upper Iowa River. Their two children, Clara and Alex, who are homeschooled, have grown up living this green lifestyle. “Living green is so integrated into our lives that we don’t think about it
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Perry-O and David Sliwa of Decorah
pliances are the most energy efficient ones they could find. Both Diane and Larry drive hybrid cars. Their license plates say “conserv” and “save gas.” The plants and flowers in their yard draw birds, bees and other wildlife. They rotationally graze stock cows, grow food in a vegetable garden and have pasture-raised chickens. Diane said she loves the spring, summer and fall when she can work outside in her gardens. Regarding what high school students should do to live green, Larry encourages them to become involved in their schools, especially with science. “There is so much opportunity for kids to get involved in solving the problems associated with global warming,” Larry said. “Sciences are going to be really important in finding solutions.”
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When it comes to living green, four northeast Iowa families are walking the talk.
Diane and Larry Grimstad of Decorah
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Opinion Editor
are sustainable ones.” The Sliwas have been living off the electrical grid since 1980 on Meadow Farm. They designed and built their solar, wind-powered and earth-sheltered house with the help of some of their friends, making use of recycled products as much as possible. The couple also has an organic orchard and vegetable garden. Regarding the reasoning for why they built their home, Perry-O said, “When I was 22years-old, I was at a peace museum in Hiroshima, Japan. The last thing I saw before exiting the exhibit said, ‘the error should not be repeated.’ After reading that I think I had a conversion to peace, and I knew that my life needed to be about living in a peaceful way. To live peacefully means not to take more than our share.” David and Perry-O think it is important for high schoolers to live green lives. “Conservation is the greatest renewable energy we have,” David said. Perry-O adds to that saying, “We need to ask ourselves what decisions we are making today and decide that we will consider green implications for whatever we do that day. Instead of going to a movie produced by someone else in a big room that takes a lot of energy to heat and cool, we could get together to sing and have great discussion about something in our lives.”
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that much,” Frances said. Dale, who owns a sustainable Timber business, added, “Living green means to be aware of where things come from and how we use them. It means to be more aware of the choices made in daily life, not life changing sorts of things, but just your day-to-day things like eating and traveling.” To learn more about the Grimstad’s house see www.renewableenergyhom e.info. Cedar Falls residents Bill and Marie Stigliani will host an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. April 22 at their home at 922 West 9th St. They will talk about their geothermal heating and cooling system about how they downsized and reduced their carbon footprint.
Cool Congregations: Religions respond to global warming Olivia Schares Online Editor
Confirmation of global warming by science communities around the globe has effectively mobilized a strong religious response to global warming. Faith communities across the country have united under Interfaith Power and Light (IPL), a non-profit organization housed under the Regeneration Project, IPL has 22 member states with smaller programs sponsored by IPL. The mission of IPL is to mobilize a religious response to global warming and to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. Last fall, Iowa Interfaith Power and Light (IIPL) sponsored showings of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth at different churches, temples, etc. around the Cedar Valley. Speakers answered myriad questions from those in attendance.
In Iowa, IPL has one smaller active program working toward this goal. It is called Cool Congregations (CC), and it is lead by Cedar Falls Women Kate Dunning and Ann Eastman. Not only do CC members work to raise awareness, they meet with politicians and faith leaders to discuss energy and conservation policies. Dunning and Eastman met last week with Congressman Bruce Braley to talk about climate change-related issues. CC also holds workshops around Iowa. The general goal of the workshops is to train congregants from any faith community to start a climate change program in their church. They learn to calculate carbon footprints and create footprint reduction pledges. Attendees also learn about global warming, its consequences and ways carbon emissions can and are being lowered. Recycling, hybrids, living simply and buying fresh and local foods are some of the strategies discussed.
There are varying degrees of knowledge and experience within the attendees. Some people are living off the grid and very environmentally aware, while others may be new to it all. The seeds for CC were planted when Eastman stuck the “No” sign in her yard, a yellow sign containing the word “No” and a picture of coal plant smokestacks, protesting the proposed addition of a coal plant in Waterloo which would be used to power homes in Chicago. “When I put the sign in the yard, it was because I didn’t like the idea of having another coal plant near my home. But then I heard (City Council member) Kamyar Enshayen said, ‘We all have to take personal responsibility in this crisis,’ and the hypocrisy in my own life hit me like a ton of bricks. Having a sign in my yard was such an apathetic way to go about it. I needed to work on my own house first. I took the sign out of my yard until I felt I was doing something to warrant it,” Herman
said. She felt the plant raised a new level of awareness in the community; “If a new coal plant was necessary, we were all using too much energy.” Dunning’s motivation came from an unexpected source—her children’s health. Three of her children have allergies, two asthma and one learning disabilities, and her mother recently recovered from breast cancer. “I know I don’t have the right to blame (these things) 100% on the environment, but I have the right to ask questions and fight for a resolution to those questions,” Dunning said. She attributes the environmental aspect of these problems in part to methyl mercury emissions, specifically those from coal plants. Raised Catholic, Dunning and Eastman are now both practicing Episcopalians. This is why they especially like that, “IPL has nothing to do with the label of any one religion. It includes Muslims, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, etc. The concept is fairly loose in that
someone can take from it what they wish and apply it to their faith,” Dunning said. But the question remains, why is religion a driving factor of climate change activism? Dunning said, “The thing we stress is that God created the Earth, and in order to be stewards of God’s creation, you have to be stewards of the Earth.” “We keep the faith in part by keeping the Earth. If you think about it, we’re on borrowed time and borrowed land, so it’s horribly immoral to exploit the Earth and its resources,” Eastman said. “I trust that a great part of the public wants to do something (about climate change), but they need tangible solutions to a lot of issues. People tend to wait until the dust settles on a subject, but with global warming, people don’t want to trust scientists. But they need to trust that they are correct because there is no time to wait for the dust to settle on this issue,” Dunning said.