by Katya Tomlen, Executive Leader, Washington University Sierra Student Coalition
Teaching conservation to today's MTV, SUV, and DVD generation is a challenge for environmentalists, especially when the message attacks the type of lifestyles we find so comfortable. Though global warming, renewable energy, wildlife and habitat preservation rank high on student lists of concerns, many times studying, career-planning, and just plain living interfere with effective campus action. A solution? Save the Ales: an annual event on the Washington University in St. Louis campus that mixes education, activism, and a little ale to encourage the student body to take a stand against some of the country’s most pressing environmental problems.
"Save the ales,” is a concept borne of frustration and urgency – top scientists worldwide agree that global warming is happening at an alarming rate and with alarming consequences, but we still can't get appropriate fuel efficiency standards imposed upon sport utility vehicles. There is a pressing need to educate the nation about the consequences of our behavior, especially the students who will inherit the global warming problem in a few short years.
The brainchild of Power Shift, a grass-roots organization that champions alternative fuels, Save the Ales originally began as a fundraising and awareness event hosted by a local bar. The event’s name capitalizes on the relationship between climate change and hops production in the U.S.; Power Link points out that hops, the flowers used to make beer bitter, are threatened by global warming. The majority of hops produced in the U.S. are grown in the Pacific Northwest, where drier global warming summers would be disastrous for a plant that requires large amounts of water. Global warming conditions could also lead to a population boom of aphids and Japanese beetles, which prey upon hops. Easily understood by even the least ecologically-minded, Save the Ales is a hybrid of politics and pleasure that has inspired thousands of letters and several imitations.
Washington University's Save the Ales was held on December 6, 2001, incorporating Power Shift’s global warming theme with the Sierra Club and Sierra Student Coalition’s own campaigns to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Sierra Student Coalition brought together all walks of campus life for an evening of bands, beer, and big, bad oil companies.” Joining forces with other progressive campus groups such as Amnesty International, Save the Ales attracted activists for a variety of different issues to raise support for the Arctic Refuge. Student musicians volunteered their talents for the event that drew students, staff, and community members alike. Informational tables showcased information, action tips, and petitions to Senators calling for the protection of the Refuge from all prospecting and drilling. Attendees also hand-wrote letters to their individual senators urging immediate action to protect the Refuge. Participants tested their eco-knowledge by spinning the wheel of SSC’s Eco-Challenge and answering questions about energy consumption, politics, and indigenous peoples connected with the Arctic Refuge issue. Then Sierra Club Global Warming Director (and now Missouri’s Sierra Club Chapter Director) Carla Klein, was also on hand to educate attendees about the links between energy policy, energy practices, and global warming. The culmination of WU’s Save the Ales was a raffle for various prizes donated by local businesses, with ticket proceeds benefiting SSC’s SO2 Permit Fund. SSC is working on a plan to reduce SO2 emissions in our atmosphere by purchasing one of a limited number of permits available to release a ton of SO2. A permit for SSC means one less for industry.
Only in its second year, Save the Ales has already become one of the most well-attended fall events on WU’s campus. Scanning the crowd, one can see that it attracts a healthy cross-section of the student population: freshman, Greeks, student government representatives, even recent alumni. Save the Ales has shown that in a community of diverse backgrounds, interests, and directions in life, it is still possible to unite for a single cause. The trick is presentation – as environmentalists, we must speak in the vernacular. By throwing a party with a purpose, the Sierra Student Coalition showed WU’s campus that environmental problems touch our lives in ways we never considered, and that activism can be both effective and fun. Environmental degradation is everyone's problem; fighting it is everyone's responsibility. But that doesn’t mean you can't have any fun along the way.