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KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOSUCSB students took part in an Earth Day rally on the UCSB campus on Saturday.
The California Public Interests Research Group (CALPIRG) hosted a rally at UCSB’s Storke Tower on Saturday. The rally was billed as a day of action to celebrate the planet and a call for action on plastic pollution in online deliveries.
“We had people meet and make signs which we held and took pictures with. We then paraded around campus to the beach to advocate for the passage of AB2026, which will phase out plastic used by Amazon and in other online deliveries. Amazon plastic usage has increased 30% since the pandemic, in the last two years. We had about 25-30 people attend the rally,” Sean McArthur, senior and outgoing chapter chair of CALPIRG, told the News-Press.
The rally involved student speakers including Mr. McArthur, event coordinator Trevor Bogonko and incoming Chapter Chair Izabel Martinez.
A group of UCSB students participate in an Earth Day rally on Saturday, which culminated in a march toward Isla Vista, at right.“One of the most significant moments was the speakers, it was really moving, they had some really great points. We had people come and take pictures,” said Mr. McArthur, who also spearheads the Beyond Plastics Campaign.
CALPIRG aims to protect the environment, provide hunger relief and promote civic engagement.
CALPIRG UCSB is “student run and funded. We ask students to donate to the organization. We give students a voice in politics and train students to become new leaders,” said Mr. McArthur.
The UCSB chapter works with professional on-campus staff to educate the public, run grassroots campaigns and lobby elected officials in Sacramento and Washington D.C. to achieve results.
“Throughout the week we built a 6 1/2 -7 foot tall plastic man symbolizing that you truly are what you eat. Scientists estimate we eat about a credit card worth of plastic each week, and we don’t even know it because it’s micro plastic,” said Mr. McArthur.
“The effects of plastic pollution in our oceans are ever present and the time to act is now. California has been one of the leading proponents in the fight against plastic pollution and UC Santa Barbara has been making waves of progress in reducing the amount of single use plastic used. CALPIRG students have been leading these efforts,” according to a press release.
“It is really important to make the transition away from plastic. There is so much plastic in the oceans and on the beaches. It’s only getting worse, it’s not getting better,” said Mr. McArthur.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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