The benefits of adopting a cause

In last week's issue, The News-Letter ran an article, titled "Univ. declines to support wind energy bill," detailing Hopkins students' efforts to get President Daniels to sign a letter to Baltimore City Senator Catherine Pugh in support of the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012.  The bill, if passed, would install 80 to 200 wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City, creating 400 to 600 megawatts of energy. This page supports these students' actions and this act.
Though it would increase the cost of energy bills, it would also generate enough energy to supply power for 95 percent of homes on the Eastern Shore. Construction of offshore wind energy would also create jobs, which would boost the Maryland economy. Most importantly, results of the bill would greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which would improve local air quality and contribute to better practices in the fight to slow global warming. We feel that the benefits of this bill far outweigh the costs.
In terms of the students who have been supporting this bill on the Hopkins campus, we would like to commend members of Students for Environmental Action and Maryland Student Climate Coalition, for continuing to gather student petitions, even after President Daniels stated that he would not write the letter, due to a lack of agreement on the subject within the University. Additionally, the students will attend the Offshore Wind Rally in Annapolis next Wednesday to show their support for the bill.
While there are many other activist student groups on campus, we would encourage even more Hopkins students to rally around causes they believe merit their support. Though prioritizing school is obviously necessary during college, students should not forget that topics worthy of their attention exist outside campus as well.
The President of St. Mary's College of Maryland has outwardly shown his support for the wind energy bill, and, according to a Facebook page for the event, all classes except for labs are cancelled at St. Mary's on the day of the rally, allowing many more students to attend. Those this disruption may be extreme, it is a good example of how communities can become collectively involved in discussing important topics. Hopkins students would probably object before professors had a chance if school were cancelled for such an event, but the idea of community engagement is all the more important to keep in mind here because it is not always a top priority.