fall 2004 vision

By the end of the first semester the Environmental Coalition (ECo) will have transformed itself into a well-established and recognized community. With the assistance of the Website, ECo will have a database of most (if not all) active environmental groups that are on the Berkeley campus and a central location where groups can plan and post activities, join forces with other groups, access information regarding environmental jobs in the Berkeley area, and even receive web space for their own websites.

ECo will also be actively involved in community outreach programs that are aimed at voter education (the extent to which ECo will be involved depends on a pending grant). UC Berkeley, with its over 30,000 student community, is a prime location for voter education and outreach. Young people across the nation are seldom presented with the environment as a political issue. The media does not usually focus on critical environmental legislation and most times environmental issues are secondary to issues like foreign policy. One of ECo's goals is to bring awareness how anthropogenic activities dramatically impacts our world. Through this education we hope to fuel students political drives and register those who have declined to vote in the past and make all voters aware of the environment as a political issue.

The main physical outlet of ECo's reach will be through its quarterly publication. The publication will be diverse and draw material from affiliated environmental student groups. Groups may publish advertisements or announcements pertaining to the goals of their organization. Each month a few groups will be highlighted and given an opportunity to show Berkeley their vision. The publication will allow much needed publicity in a clear and organized manner, give groups a chance to stand out in the literal bramble of student organizations and give interested and motivated students a place to look for groups that share their passions.

ECo's main goal is to raise environmental awareness and one main vector by which we hope to accomplish this is by inviting guest speakers who are integral in the environmental community. By bringing speakers we can publicize for ECo and educate individuals on environmental issues and their pertinence. The speaker series should be a continuous program throughout the semester and should target different populations and interests to increase ECo's draw. On September 21st ECo will host ECo Fest, a festival which will host a distinguished speaker and will bring environmental groups to a central location where they can recruit and gain strength. ECo Fest will be an integral part of the speaker series and will attract many new students to ECo and the environmental community as a whole.