The first day of the UA Environmental Law Society’s Earth Week kicked off with a discussion about advocacy on Monday.

“”We wanted to do something for Earth Day and discovered it is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day,”” said Alex Smith, president of the Environmental Law Society. Smith said upon finding out about the anniversary, the club decided to do something for the whole week.

According to Smith, Earth Week looks to explore cutting-edge environmental topics.

“”I hope that people can get exposed to the core issues that are driving toward environmentalism right now,”” Smith said.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter, gave the first presentation.

Bahr shared her experiences working for the Sierra Club and examples of how she has worked to advocate for environmental issues specific to Arizona.

She also talked about the state legislature and the challenges she faced when trying to advocate for the environment.

“”Now we’ve got this legislature that is trying to make it (so) that some of the best programs we have have no teeth,”” Bahr said.

Bahr stressed the value of having people engaged in the legislative process.

“”People make a difference in that process. You would be surprised; one person showing up from someone’s district … can totally turn the tide on things,”” she said.

First-year law student Andrew Spencer said he thought the presentation was enlightening and enjoyed the focus on Arizona.

Spencer said he is looking forward to the other Earth Week presentations.

“”It’s always interesting to get people from the community,”” Spencer said.