Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke to a crowd of more than 250 people last night in the HUB Auditorium as the keynote and final speaker of the day-long Colloquium on Environmental Initiatives at Penn State.

The Colloquium was sponsored by the Penn State Institutes of the Environment (PSIE) and Penn State's Finance and Business Environmental Stewardship Strategy Program. The event started at 1:30 p.m. and featured speeches by six different professors throughout the day.

At 5 p.m., Bill Easterling, PSIE director and professor of geography, spoke to the audience. "On this, the eve of the 34th anniversary of Earth Day, we must realize the importance of environmental preservation and protection. Enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts is weakening," he said before introducing Kennedy.

Kennedy began his speech by declaring his efforts to seek government reform from both the Democratic and Republican parties. "I've been very disciplined with being bipartisan," he said.

However, Kennedy made his feelings about the Bush administration very clear. "There is no issue the people regard as a greater threat ... to our environment [than President Bush]," he said. "We are living in a science-fiction nightmare. People don't actually believe the president is doing what he's doing, and that's the problem. We've got to get rid of the president. Nothing else matters."

Kennedy stressed the importance of protecting the environment for the present and also preserving it for the future.

"It's an investment that you have to make to ensure the economic vitality of our nation for our generation and the next generation," he said. "It's about recognizing that nature is the infrastructure of our communities. It's recognizing that we have an obligation to the next generation. They have a right to unspoiled land."

Kennedy also spoke about how large corporations are mainly responsible for problems in the environment but also said he supports capitalism.

"It's the erosion of democracy to come in and make way for these big corporations. Polluters make themselves rich by making everyone else poor. It's somebody cheating the free-market economy," he said.

Many students in the audience were pleased with the speech.

"I enjoyed it. I thought he touched on all important topics. He gave good examples for supporting his ideas," Marc Dries (senior-forest science) said.

Other students were excited just to hear Kennedy speak.

"It was great. I'm from Argentina; I've never heard anyone speak. I wish he had done this same talk in Eisenhower so more people would have heard him," Nora Peskin (graduate-ecology) said.

There were several faculty members in attendance as well.

"I thought he was very energetic. There are a lot of issues that he raised that we have to concern ourselves with," said Eric Barron, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

Suzanne Wittman (senior-art), Eco-Action president, stressed the importance of student involvement in environmental issues.

"I'm glad other students heard it, but I wish more students could have. It's important to learn what your impact is," she said.

"That's really what it takes to get someone motivated. When you see what your footprint is, it makes you want to help," she added.