Step It Up, Power Shift, and 1 Sky: A United Movement

Get ready - cause it’s all about to go down: the culmination of StepItUp, the glory of Power Shift, the launch of 1Sky— this weekend will be some of the most exciting days in the history of the American fight for action against global warming!

For the first time, this entire movement is coming together. All around the country, tens of thousands of people of all ages will rally at hundreds of Step It Up events in all 50 states. From a city-wide celebration in Berkeley to a second-line parade through the streets of New Orleans, people from coast to coast will be coming together to demand real leadership from our politicians on global warming. At the same time, over 5,000 students from around the nation will be making history in Washington, D.C. at Power Shift. They’ll be taking the youth climate movement to a new level - networking, training, planning, celebrating, and demanding change from Congress.

The events will be connected in more than spirit. On Saturday night, Power Shift and Step It Up will come together at a major rally at the University of Maryland to help launch the 1 Sky campaign. Pictures of Step It Up rallies around the country will be displayed as students do an action of their own - nothing could be more suited to the day’s call for leadership than having thousands of students, our current and future leaders, coming together in the nation’s Capitol.

And on Monday, November 5th, at the Power Shift lobby day, thousands of students will storm Capitol hill. They’ll have the usual fact sheets and policy briefings, but they’ll also be armed with photographs of Step It Up events in their home states and statements from youth around the world that are being coordinated with Avaaz.org. When they meet with Congress, students won’t just be speaking for themselves - they’ll be representing the thousands of people around the country and around the world who are joining in our call for real action on global warming as described by the 1 Sky priorities: green jobs now, no new coal, and cut carbon 80%x2050 and 30%x2020.

Those priorities stand in strong contrast to the weak proposals that Congress is currently discussing to address global warming. The current bills are not enough - it’s time for real action, not weak measures. Join us this weekend, wherever you are, no matter who you are or what age your are, and help take this movement to the next level!

About Jamie

Jamie is the co-coordinator of 350.org, an international global warming campaign. A recent college graduate, he lives in San Francisco, CA. In 2007, he co-organized Step It Up, a campaign that pulled together over 2,000 climate rallies across the United States to push for strong climate action at the federal level. He's also an early member of the youth climate movement, leading one of Energy Action's first campaigns in 2005: Road to Detroit, a nationwide veggie-oil bus tour to promote sustainable transportation. He's traveled to Montreal and Bali to lobby the UN with youth, but he's a strong believer that change happens in the streets not in meetings. Jamie received the Morris K. Udall award in 2007 and has been recognized by the mighty state of Vermont for his work on climate change. You can also find him blogging at Campus Progress' "Pushback," Changents.com, and 350.org.

1 Response to “Step It Up, Power Shift, and 1 Sky: A United Movement”

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1 Jon Isham Nov 2nd, 2007 at 8:33 pm

Go Jamie, Go Step It Up, Go Powershift, Go 1Sky. This is the beginning of so much that is promising. Savor every second of the weekend, and bring it on strong on Monday!

Minding the home fires in Middlebury,

JTI