G
Guest
I heard this story retold by the teacher involved. This class single handedly did the research and got the legislature to adopt these two pieces of legislation.
Moral of the story: if you really want successful lobbying, hire some 7th graders. How can you say “no” to a bunch of kids that just want to protect the environment? Forget what the stinkin' engineers and scientists have to say ...
JR
Moral of the story: if you really want successful lobbying, hire some 7th graders. How can you say “no” to a bunch of kids that just want to protect the environment? Forget what the stinkin' engineers and scientists have to say ...
JR
Updated May 12. 2008 8:43PMWest Branch middle school students help created 'adult' legislation
By Rod Boshart
The Gazette
[email protected]
DES MOINES - West Branch middle-school students Andrea Mundell and Marisa Kaufman got to see their science project become state law on Monday.
Mundell, 12, Kaufman, 13, and 15 of their classmates accompanied their science teacher Hector Ibarra to the state Capitol to witness Gov. Chet Culver sign into law two bills that they had a hand in bringing to the attention of state lawmakers this year.
Ibarra and his students were looking for ways to take hazardous materials out of Iowa landfills and the environment, so they successfully pushed for legislation to require that used oil filters and mercury-contained thermostats be recycled rather than discarded in garbage heaps.
During a Monday afternoon signing ceremony, Culver approved two bills (House Files 2668 and 2669) that will do just that and he praised the students for their hands-on involvement in the democratic process.
"The students of West Branch Middle School are a great example of how conservation and environmental protection are truly a citizen's effort," the governor said in praising Ibarra for not only teaching them the fundamentals of science but also for showing them the power of individuals to change the law and make a difference in people's lives.
Ibarra attributed the success in getting the two measures to the governor's desk to his students' tenacity in convincing legislators about the environmental and health risks associated with used oil filters and mercury thermostats in the waste stream.
"I was really surprised by this. I didn't think that this would happen," said Kaufman, a seventh-grader who came away impressed that adult legislators were willing to listen to concerns raised by young people. "It basically tells us that you don't have to be an important person to make changes in the world."
Mundell said Monday's culmination of their work was "amazing."
Theresa Stiner, an environmental specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources, said the two measures will have "a big impact" by reducing the amount of mercury — a potent neurotoxin — in the waste stream.
Stiner said the bill will halt the sale in Iowa of thermostats containing mercury, noting that about 83 percent of the thermostats currently in use in Iowa contain small amounts of mercury that can add up to a significant number.
About 54,200 mercury thermostats containing 477 pounds of mercury are discarded in Iowa each year, she said.
The students also found current Iowa law prohibits used oil from being disposed of in landfills but allows used oil filters, totaling more than 6.6 millions filters a year and leaching more than 400,000 gallons of oil into the land.
