Ecofriendly activists to discuss global issues

Traveling in a bus powered solely by vegetable oil instead of gasoline, the We the Planet tour will come to NIU at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium.

The tour features best-selling author and activist Julia Butterfly Hill, musician Tracy Chapman, agribusiness activist Howard Lyman, the Northern Coalition for Peace and Justice and the DeKalb Chapter of Peace and Justice.

“I think we’ll get an excellent turnout, especially with Tracy Chapman coming,” said Jennifer Suerth, president of the Campus Activities Board.

According to a press release, this tour builds on the success of the groundbreaking eco-friendly We the Planet launch festival that attracted 10,000 fans in San Francisco last April. That festival featured performances from De La Soul, Cake, Alanis Morissette, Flea and many more.

“We’re very excited about this event,” said CAB adviser Lesley R. Clements. “It’ll go away from our realm of fun; hopefully, it’ll broaden the student’s horizons and they can learn something.”

We the Planet is a project of Hill’s Circle of Life organization, and it is produced by The Spitfire Agency, the press release stated. The on-stage discussions will cover global issues in the context of local communities, emphasizing the small but influential things each attendee can do to improve the condition of today’s world.

This event is being sponsored by the CAB’s Speakers, Concerts, Special Events and Unity in Diversity committees, and it is Student Association-allocated, free of charge and open to all.

For more information about this event, please call the CAB office at 753-1580, or visit www.niu.edu/cab.

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