Nearly one hundred public/private school students learn how to understand and comment on the DEIS
February 5, 2010
The Office of the Governor, PBS Guam, the Guam Coastal Management Program, the Bureau of Statistics and Plans, and the Guam Build-up Office hosted YOUTHSPEAK today at the Guam Marriot Resort and Spa. This is one of a series of events in the ‘OUR ISLAND, OUR LIVES’ campaign aimed at providing information on how residents can effectively respond to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
During his opening remarks, Governor Camacho shared with students the importance of being involved in the DEIS process.
“These students are our leaders and they can make a difference. We understand they will inherit the results of the decisions we make today,” said Governor Camacho. “We hope each one of these students will take what they’ve learned and share it with their family, friends and fellow classmates.”
During the event, students were divided into small groups and tasked with reading particular sections of the DEIS. Students were further taught how to skim read the DEIS, properly reference a section and submit well-informed actionable comments.
“The event was really successful. Everyone showed great interest in the exercises and brought up issues about the island’s wastewater, coral, destruction of habitats and other proposed items in the DEIS. We encouraged them to return to their schools and help their peers comment before the February 17th deadline,” said Guam Coastal Management Program Manager Vangie Lujan.
‘OUR ISLAND, OUR LIVES’ seeks to provide information on how residents can effectively respond to the DEIS. Additionally, the campaign plans to collect comments regarding the DEIS, which in turn will be submitted to the Department of Defense on behalf of the people of Guam.
