The mystery surrounding the identities of the green people was solved Tuesday night as they unveiled themselves to be members of the UB Environmental Network (UBEN).
The group dressed head to toe in neon green jumpsuits and masqueraded around campus over the past several weeks as part of a large-scale campaign to generate interest for Tuesday night's event.
"We started a viral campaign to get people curious and to get people who weren't environmentally active to check us out," said Jordan Gerow, president of UBEN.
The meeting's purpose was to inspire people to be more environmentally friendly and politically active, according to Gerow.
At the outset of the event, all of the green people all gathered onstage, removed their masks in a dramatic display of unity, and announced their purpose for the campaign.
"Who are we and why are we here? You might say the world has been waiting for us for some time," Gerow said. "You might say that the course of modern human history gave necessity to the rise of the green people."
Gerow cited the widespread use of Agent Orange in Vietnam and the increasingly rapid consumption of resources as two recent examples of humanity's destruction to the natural environment.
During the meeting, UBEN painted a dire picture of the planet if students do not rise up to combat the issue of climate change.
"Science tells us that we only have a few more years before we plunge the planet into a state very different from the one that we currently reside in," Gerow said.
Some critics of climate change claim that the science behind the data is faulty. These critics are mistaken, according to UBEN.
"If you don't believe in science, well think about this for a minute," Gerow said. "If you don't believe in science please turn in your cell phones... I would love to have your car keys. If you don't believe in science, do not take the bus [and] do not use the radio."
The green people then presented the audience with several games derived from the television game show, The Price is Right, awarding winners with various eco-friendly prizes like T-shirts and special eco-laundry detergent.
UBEN presented the audience with a wide array of facts highlighting environmental statistics. Americans consumed over 9 billion bottles of water in 2008, the average meal travels over 1,500 miles before it is consumed, livestock contributes 18 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and livestock production uses 30 percent of the global land surface, according to UBEN.
"A large part of that could be alleviated if we subtlety changed our diet," Gerow said. "Your food choices have a profound impact on the planet."
UBEN stated that people could cut back on GHG emissions by eating locally and seasonally and adopting a vegetarian diet.
UBEN also criticized the work of President Barack Obama. They mentioned a picture featuring former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. and asked the audience which one better represented Obama. The crowd largely supported King as being closer to Obama than Johnson, but according to UBEN, this is not the case.
"When we elected Obama we thought we were going to get a savior," Gerow said. "We thought we were going to get someone that would get into the Oval Office and be an advocate and activist. This is not the case."
The world cannot rely on politicians to fix the environmental crisis, according to Gerow.
"The groundwork for the climate change movement still needs to come from the citizenry," Gerow said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
