Just days before Tuesday's United Nations Climate Summit, more than 400,000 people, including a number of Duke students, participated in the People’s Climate March in New York City.
Claimed as the largest environmentally-themed march to date, the event aimed to highlight crucial environmental issues. The UN Climate Summit convened 120 world leaders to discuss the increasing threat of carbon pollution. The Duke-affiliated attendees were specifically interested in how they could affect relevant change on-campus.
Prathibha Juturu, a sophomore majoring in environmental engineering, was one of the six students who travelled to NYC on a biodiesel powered bus with Divest Duke to march 30 blocks.
“Participating in this rally alongside students from all different colleges, like [University of California,] Berkley, has made me feel even stronger about this cause that I am really passionate about," Juturu said. "I felt a unique sense of empowerment and motivation to effect change that I feel sometimes lacks here at Duke.”
Divest Duke is an organization on campus that encourages the University, through alumni phone calls and petitions, to divest from the 200 dirtiest fossil fuel companies to create a more ethical investment portfolio with the endowment.
“Everyone should be interested in the environmental issue," said Cade Netscher, a junior also involved in Divest Duke. "It impacts our future and our children’s futures. We need to stop investing in companies that compromise that future."
He added that it was empowering to see people from all different walks of life supporting the same cause but that there is a need for greater environmental awareness on-campus.
Locally, the Environmental Alliance held an event over the weekend featuring speakers and a march around the Chapel to mimic the People's Climate March and raise awareness of environmental issues.
"The student body can sometimes be apathetic to sustainability efforts," said Jeff Feng, a sophomore in Environmental Alliance. "The event was aimed to bring this rally to campus."
Juturu is optimistic about the University's role in the movement.
"We hope Duke will become an example to other institutions," she said.
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