Two students from Stony Brook University participated in the Rachel Carson Council’s (RCC) second annual Advocacy Day, which took place on March 27. The event gathered 75 students nationwide to advocate for legislation on environmental justice, renewable energy policy, and pesticide regulation.
Josephine Wozniak-Veisseyre, a political science major from France, expressed her surprise at the opportunity to engage directly with U.S. Senators and Representatives. "I never really thought that I would get a chance to just walk into those offices and talk to those people and meet a representative," she said. The students also met Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware), who is noted as the highest-ranking transgender elected official in the country. Wozniak-Veisseyre appreciated that McBride "actually took the time to talk to us, which was really nice."
Wozniak-Veisseyre and Sabrina Cappella, an environmental studies major, advocated against federal subsidies for the wood pellet biomass industry during their meetings with lawmakers. They highlighted concerns about these plants being located in Black, Latino, and Indigenous neighborhoods, leading to increased exposure to air pollutants and other environmental issues.
The students also sought support for the RCC's "Dear Colleague" letter opposing legislative riders promoting wood biomass carbon neutrality. Additionally, they voiced support for preserving the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 amid growing opposition in Congress. Wozniak-Veisseyre emphasized their intent: “We just wanted to bring that to attention, saying that [the 2025 IRA] was basically trying to repeal the original Act.”
They urged lawmakers to adopt a comprehensive approach across federal agencies for advancing environmental justice and opposed measures allowing expanded pesticide use through proposed statewide caps on regulation.
RCC Advocacy Day aims to involve young leaders in national environmental policy discussions. Reflecting on her experience, Wozniak-Veisseyre remarked: “I pinched myself the entire day just being like, ‘Wow, this is not my government, but I get to talk to those people about issues that matter to me.’”
— Antonio Mochmann