Patrick Siller

For Chelsea Hummon taking a “green initiative” means doing more than recycling.

It means going to Washington, D.C. to lobby for change.

The Rochester senior headed to D.C. Friday to participate in Power Shift ‘09, a conference that brings college students together to attend climate change conferences and lobby in the Senate.

She and a large group of CMU students are there to push for the United States to gain a national decision on what should be done to prevent global warming and to promote more “green” jobs.

“It has to do with social and economic justice, it goes so much farther than just recycling. That’s part of the reason that this event is so great,” Hummon said. “Everybody learns, networks and gets a chance to lobby on Capitol Hill.”

Sarah Lechota, a Flint senior and Power Shift organizer for CMU, said this year the group reached out and was able to recruit more participants. Through various means, the group was able to take two buses to Washington D.C., she said

About 12,000 people from all over the country are expected to attend.

“This year, we have 110 people going, at the last one we had 45,” she said.

“The number of people coming really shows how much the youth movement has grown”

Today, the group is scheduled to speak with state and local representatives, including Dave Camp, the representative for the Mount Pleasant area, to lobby for environmental change. They hope to draw attention to the number of coal plants in Michigan and how it relates to the health of each local individual.

For Hummond, this is her second time attending the conference. In fall 2007, she left D.C. with an internship.

“I went to a workshop and it was about a crew of five to 10 people who were involved with snowkiting,” Hummon said. “These guys who travel all over the world talking about climate change and teaching about it. I decided to help them.”

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E-mail the author: Eric Dresden