Ashley Ownley needed a letter from a legislator to complete a scavenger hunt for her history class.

But when the 8th-grader reached out to state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, she received more than a written response.

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

State Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, speaks Monday to students at The Albemarle School.

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Basnight (right) speaks with Ashley Ownley (center) and Elaine Pritchard, headmaster at The Albemarle School. Basnight spoke at the school after Ownley sought his help with a class project.

Basnight, president pro tempore of the N.C. Senate, visited The Albemarle School Monday to speak to Ownley and more than 50 other students.

"Once I received my letter, I thought it would be a good idea for him to come and speak to us and help us better understand what he does as a state senator," said Ownley, 14. She said she was kind of surprised that Basnight made the trip.

Basnight spoke to the students about the need to make smart, environmentally conscious decisions. He said they will be faced with choices and circumstances his generation did not have to deal with. He said the Chowan River, for example, was once teeming with herring but now has few fish.

Basnight said every person could play a part in helping the environment. He said he recently switched from plastic bags while shopping to a reusable canvas tote which he said is less wasteful.

"You have to be involved, you have to be smart and you have to make choices," he said.

He framed the ability to make those choices as a central part of American democracy.

Basnight took questions that addressed everything from his functions as state senator to his stances on renewable fuels and taxation.

The leader of the state Senate since 1993, Basnight said his job consists of making committee assignments, approving legislative travel and refereeing disputes. He said he lacked political vision as a young man and made "a foolish decision" not to go to college.

Basnight, who said he could barely read when he graduated from Manteo High School in the 1960s, told the students that they are capable of a lot more than he was due to technological advances such as the Internet.

Basnight said the recent increase in gas prices "is troubling for all of us." He said the increases are driven by Middle Eastern nations as well as oil companies, who he accused of being greedy.

While Basnight voiced support for biofuels, he said ethanol will not supplant oil as a source of fuel. Instead, he argued a revolutionary idea put forward by a genius or a group of them is needed.

"You have to find another Einstein," he said.

Basnight was also sharply critical of President Bush's foreign policy and the Iraq War.

"I believe it's the wrong fight," he said. "It's more (Bush's) war than anyone else's in the country."

Asked what he would do if he were president, Basnight said he would maintain better communication with other countries.

While Basnight did not formally endorse any presidential candidate, he said he would likely vote for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., because he agrees with Obama's stance on lobbyists. However, he said he was "deflated" by controversial remarks made by Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and will ultimately support whoever the party nominates.

In the governor's race, Basnight said he has endorsed Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, a former state senator who he has worked with before.

Basnight told students he is opposed to a national sales tax and an outlying landing field in North Carolina. He said he favors more access to health care for all.

Addressing a local issue that's divided some Pasquotank County residents, Basnight said he does not have a problem with hunting dogs, provided landowners give permission for the dogs to be on their property.

With the start of the new legislative session two weeks away, Basnight said the Senate will address the economy, education and infrastructure issues such as roads and water/sewer. He said he has not had a chance to review a recent proposal to pause municipalities' annexation power, but has not supported such measures when they were introduced in the past.

"Normally, I'm not for taking away those annexation rights," he said.

The 2008 legislative session convenes on May 13.