The Wisconsin Interest Public Research Group kicked off the semester Wednesday with a lively rally intended to recruit volunteers for their five main campaigns. Almost 200 students and members attended, said WisPIRG Chapter Chair Emily Larson.
Kali Williams, who co-chairs the consumer-genetically engineered food campaign, said one of WisPIRG’s goals for the semester was to push for stricter laws regarding genetically modified food.
“We’re working on getting genetically engineered food tested and labeled,” Williams said. “And we want to get the campus educated on this issue.”
Another WisPIRG campaign is the Clean Energy Campaign, also known as the Arctic Campaign. One of the foremost goals for this campaign is to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve from drilling by finding alternate solutions to the energy shortage.
Co-coordinator Emily Miota said another of their energy goals is to educate the public.
“We want people to know about different sources of energy that are efficient, clean and better alternatives,” Miota said.
The Hunger and Homeless Campaign is working to protect the interests of those who cannot afford housing, and one of the planned events for the semester is a hunger “clean-up,” scheduled for April 6.
“We’re going to try and raise over $11,000 with this event, with over half going to Madison,” coordinator Megan Grunke said.
According to statistics, 4,700 people stayed in Madison shelters last year, but 8,000 were turned away. Many of those turned away were families with children.
The “Big Red Go Green” campaign is pushing for stricter energy conservation measures at UW.
“One thing we’re hoping to accomplish is a seven percent reduction in university energy usage by the year 2008,” campaign coordinator Jenny Jankowski said. “We did a survey of computer labs last semester and only one-third of them turn the computers off at night or put them in sleep mode.”
According to WisPIRG statistics, energy use at UW Madison has increased three percent every year for the last 20 years and that energy is provided by coal power plants, which cause major pollution.
The fifth campaign WisPIRG is running is the Clean Water Campaign.
Coordinator Jessica Garrels said members are currently working on supporting upcoming legislative action.
“We want to make sure the state legislature approves the Department of Natural Resources’ draft for water quality standards in the state, and we want to make sure they include mandatory vegetative buffer zones,” Garrels said. “These buffer zones are the natural ground cover along waterways that help absorb chemicals and prevent erosion caused by runoff.”
Garrels said time is critical.
“We’re in a big push right now,” she said. “The vote is coming in about a month.”
Those interested in joining WisPIRG are invited to contact the group at its office.
As Garrels put it, “We’re going to be going out, talking to students, talking to citizens and contacting other groups in the state. We are the watchdog for public interests.”
