Sophomore April Hillman counted several weighty reasons for flying to Copenhagen for the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) Dec. 7-18. But they all essentially boiled down to the idea that the future of the planet depends on ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Hillman is dual-majoring in environmental science with a concentration in conservation biology and environmental studies through UVM's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She was one of a handful of UVM students and faculty who attended. At the outset of the conference, she said she wouldn't be satisfied if the current administration's goal of reducing emissions levels 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 was the end result. The conference, however, ended with even less — no internationally binding agreement at all. Yet Hillman and other students' presence was important. "They needed to see the faces of the young people who will be living with the consequences for the rest of our lives," says Hillman, who was part of 25-person delegation selected through a nation-wide process by SustainUS, a nonprofit organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment. She kept a blog that is connected to the UVM student newspaper the Vermont Cynic's website. Her last entry is Dec. 14. In it she realizes that, in the past when she worried about climate change, "but I never worr(ied) about it as a problem for me directly. I am concerned with the issue, because I want to help those who need more support and a stronger voice when it comes to the dangers of climate change." At Copenhagen, "I started to picture myself actually worry about my home disappearing and having to move to another country as an immigrant." Hillman headed to COP15 after a summer as a fellow with the Avaaz Action Factory in Europe working to pressure politicians to come up with a successful treaty in Copenhagen, and as an activist in Germany, where she attended her first United Nations conference. She said she received financial support from UVM's Student Government Association, her hometown state representative Joan Lenes of Shelburne, Jeffrey Hollander of Seventh Generation and others. "I couldn't have made the trip without their support," says Hillman. No matter what the outcome, "such international activism is an integral part of educating for positive change — a mission which UVM has exemplified at multiple levels," said Saleem Ali, associate professor of environmental studies in UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, who also attended COP15. Gary Flomenhoft, adjunct lecturer in the College's department of community development and applied economics and an expert on renewable energy and sustainable development, applauded the efforts of those in Copenhagen, but doesn't see serious change occurring until people are directly affected. "We will have to feel the consequences personally and deeply or there will be no support for change. The gulf stream will have to stop or something equivalent." CAPTION: April Hillman. Courtesy photo.