On Saturday, Feb. 21 I was able to attend the Midwest Tar Sands/Bakken Petroleum Summit: Building the Movement in the Midwest with some other UW-L students through Students for Sustainability. This conference was hosted by Madison Action for Mining Alternatives in Madison, WI, and was a great experience to expose students to a variety of environmental issues, gain contacts in the area, and how they could be more involved in the future.

The purpose of the conference was to learn what we as citizens and students can do to protect our land, wildlife, water and the health and survival of future generations, how communities including indigenous communities are gathering to protect themselves, and be inspired to Love Water, Not Oil. The special focus of the summit was a strategic gathering to combat the Enbridge expansion in the Midwest. Enbridge is a company that builds pipelines, and they are trying to expand pipelines throughout the Great Lakes region. This includes a proposed Line 61 which would run from Superior, WI to Chicago, IL.

Keynote speaker Winona LaDuke, an American Indian environmental activist, shared concerns with the audience of the troubles arising from society’s production and use of oil. Bold Nebraska director Jane Kleeb offered insight as to how to prevent pipelines from being built. Bold Nebraska was one of the foremost groups to fight the creation of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was once again vetoed by President Obama this week. Other stories shared included issues of eminent domain, ramifications of oil spilled in Kalamazoo, MI, and La Crosse’s own grassroots organization Citizens Acting for Rail Safety (CARS). The summit was a successful strategy gathering, enabling collaboration between grassroots organizations and individuals concerned about the transportation of tar sand and bakken petroleum oil.

This conference, and others like it are important gatherings where students, professionals, and passionate citizens can come together to learn about the state of environmental issues, and also how we can help! If you are interested in attending an environmental conference, March 13-15 the student-run Environmental Justice Conference will be taking place in Oshkosh, WI. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in participating with us!

What’s Happening:

SFS Meetings
2214 Centennial, 7 p.m. every Tuesday

Cultural Coffee Hour: Sustainability & the Environment
Cameron Hall of Nations, Wednesday, March 11 from 5-6 p.m.