Photograph by Jessica Hullinger

Greenpeace activist Chrissie Geels, 17, lets the sign speak for her, pushing Rep. Baron Hill to take action against climate change.

Bloomington residents are not only looking for action from their leaders in the fight against climate change, they are demanding it.

Greenpeace, an organization dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to environmental problems, sponsored a Day of Action to stop global warming on July 1 as part of the campaign Project Hot Seat.

The Day of Action brought Bloomington residents together to encourage U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ninth, to take a stand against global warming.

Edyta Sitko, a Greenpeace activist, helped organize the event and said the people of Indiana are concerned about climate change and need their leaders’ help.

“We are working to mobilize the public to voice their concerns to make sure that Baron Hill understands that this is a really important issue,” Sitko said.

How important? According to Sitko, Indiana already feels the effects of global warming through stronger storms and dangerous heat waves.

“It’s just going to continue to get worse if we don’t do anything,” she said.

And numerous scientific reports suggest that action is needed if severe problems, like worsening food shortages, diseases and drastic species loss, are to be avoided.

On June 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide federal funding for climate change research. In the bill, the House stated that climate change is a “reality,” in an attempt

Photograph by Jessica Hullinger

Jack, 5, right, eats pizza while his mother, Anna Tosick, writes a personal letter to Rep. Baron Hill at the Greenpeace Day of Action against global warming on July 1.

The bill has not yet been debated in the Senate and is opposed by the White House because it exceeds President Bush’s requested spending by about $2 billion, according to the New York Times.

Considering Hill’s position on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Sitko thinks he will be more likely to move quickly toward taking action against climate change.

Bloomington citizens attending the Greenpeace Day of Action reminded Hill that they want change by sending him letters and photo messages outlining their concerns and personal experiences with global warming.

Gina Weir of Bloomington sat at the arts and crafts table while her 4 year-old son Sam had a flower painted on his hand by a Greenpeace activist. Weir said that global warming is a huge national priority.

“All of the other issues that we’re concerned with rely on the idea of thinking about the environment,” she said.

The goal is to get Hill to sign onto the Safe Climate Act, which calls for an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Sitko thinks Hill’s support would impact whether it passes Congress.

“He has a really powerful seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, so it's really important that he uses that to help influence his colleagues,” she said.

The Safe Climate Act calls for a reduction in global warming pollution in general across the country; more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, with an ideal standard of 40 miles per gallon; and increased investment in clean, renewable energy sources.

The bill has 139 cosponsors, according to the Thomas Library of Congress Web site, and Sitko said there is a comparable bill in the Senate as well.

While Greenpeace activists hope Hill will sign the Safe Climate Act as soon as possible, Sitko said they will push for change until the needs of the people are met.

“If he doesn’t (support the Safe Climate Act), then he’ll be remembered by Indiana’s voters as the congressman who did nothing while the earth grew increasingly hotter and more dangerous,” she said.

Sitko works for Greenpeace out of the Bloomington Eco Center on South Walnut Street. She and other Project Hot Seat activists can be seen around Bloomington sporting bright red “Stop Global Warming” shirts, asking passersby to fill out post cards to Hill.

Within the next month, Sitko hopes to meet with Hill to voice her global warming concerns.

“He understands that global warming is happening and that we need to do something about it,” she said. “It’s a matter of making sure that he’s acting right now.”

Jessica Hullinger can be reached at jghullin@indiana.edu.