It’s Getting Hot In Here

A fantastic update sent in from the Charles Ashley Anderson regarding the inspirational work getting done out in Utah

Hello, fellow Utahns,

This communique is meant to provide some exiting and inexplicably timely information about US environmental legislation and Utah Representative Jim Matheson, who hails from, as Stephen Colbert would say, “The Fightin’ 2nd!”

Jim Matheson sits on the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. So why does that matter? Let’s start with a story.

Last month, thousands of students from all over the world converged in Washington, DC to attend Powershift ’09, the largest conference ever on the issue of climate change and a renewable energy economy. For three days the DC Convention center was the de facto world headquarters of the green, or environmental, movement. Come with me to opening night…

Imagine a blimp hangar sized room with 12,000 bright-eyed young people, their green t-shirts invoking a shimmering field of clovers. Five Jumbo Trons televise the speakers as they take the podium, one after another: Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior. The Administrator of the EPA. Powershift organizers fresh off of leading Obama’s campaign. Rocky Anderson. Van Jones.

The speakers are varied but their message is unified and clear: we need to come together not only as Americans, but as members of the great symphony of life itself, to push for meaningful renewable energy legislation THIS YEAR. Van Jones reassures us that we need to pour our souls into this, that we are no less than the ambassadors of future generations, that the entire human drama has led up to this moment…and as Rocky puts it, we need to proceed as if it is a matter of life and death because it IS a matter of life and death. We all agree. Hundreds of environmental, social, humanitarian, and other types of organizations swing into full gear. Continue reading ‘Inspirational Update from Utah’s Fightin’ 2nd’

by Mandy Hancock, SEN Florida Organizer

Hi, all! Things have been moving and shaking down in Florida these last two weeks, and while we may not be overjoyed at nuclear and coal being included in the “Clean” Energy Standard that the House passed yesterday (more on that coming soon!), let us temper that with some good news about the Green Fee!

As many of you know, the Green Fee is a campaign that Southern Energy Network (SEN) has been involved with on campuses all over the Southeast for more than 2 years. In FL, we have stepped those campus campaigns up a notch and taken it to the state level with the Renewable Energy Fee Bill that is being presented during this legislative session.

And, we have good news!!

Monday, it was confirmed that the bill was going to make it to the floor on Wednesday, so Zak Keith, Florida Green Fee Coordinator extraordinaire, worked quickly to organize a lobby day. Tuesday evening (March 24), several students, representing University of FL, University of Central FL, University of South FL, and Florida State University, went to Tally to lobby for the bill on Wednesday. Also, to our advantage, this coincided with University of Central’s student government lobby day. So, a contingent of that delegation of students lobbied on the Green Fee, as well as other issues that concerning their student population.

Continue reading ‘Florida Green Fee Goes to Senate!’

The global revolt against the governing elites is on.  Today, tens of thousands are converging in London to protest the G20 (along with tens of thousands of riot police). The main aim of this summit is to discuss how to re-build confidence in the financial markets and “re-stabilize” the world economy given the current financial crisis. The meeting will be composed of finance ministers from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the World Bank.

Targeting the Bank of England, private financial institutions and the summit itself, activists today are staging mass protests and direct actions throughout London’s financial district.  Several thousand have surrounded the bank of England, while several hundred attacked a Royal Bank of Scotland branch shouting “Who’s bank! Our bank!“

The organizers of the UK’s climate camps have set up Climate Camp G20 in the heart of London’s Financial District.  Within minutes over thousands set up over a 100 tents and other vital pieces of infrastructure under a heavy police presence in front of the European Climate Exchange.  Continue reading ‘Climate Camp Erected in London’s Banking District;Financial Fool’s Day in Full Effect’

This April Fools, groups in Boston, New Orleans, Berkeley, Kentucky – and even London – are celebrating Rising Tide North America‘s “Fossil Fool’s Day” by calling attention to the most foolish fuel there is: coal. Some will rally, some will march, and others will even juggle in the Boston “Coal Circus” or in the Middlebury, Vermont “Cirque du Coal-ay.”

Many of the day’s events are connected through Power Past Coal (www.powerpastcoal.org), a national project linking together an action or more a day for the first hundred days of Obama’s presidency. The project’s first seventy days have seen over 130 actions in all fifty states, each demanding that the President and new Congress lead a just and swift transition away from coal.

“We need to make our leaders realize that all coal is foolish, especially clean coal,” said Ted Glick, of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, whose work has focused on the promotion of clean, just energy alternatives to coal in places like Wise County, Virginia, where the Wise Energy Alliance is protesting Dominion Power Company’s proposed coal plant. Fossil Fools Day events in Denver similarly target the operating Cherokee Coal Plant, which releases toxic pollutants daily into local residents’ backyards.

In New Orleans, conservation groups, students, and concerned citizens are joining forces at Entergy’s headquarters to protest the company’s plans to expand their use of coal power in Louisiana. “Louisiana’s coast is ground zero for climate change impacts,” said rally organizer Jonathan Henderson. “Entergy should be a responsible neighbor and work to limit coast-destroying pollution and protect rate-payers from future carbon price increases.

In the spirit of the “Coal Circus,” students from Bowling Green, Kentucky are planning a Monster Mash and a critical mass bike ride. Berkeley, California residents will also hop on their bikes to “reclaim the streets” from car-driving fossil fools, as will students in Tempe, Arizona, who have declared themselves “too cool for fossil fools.”

Despite the lighthearted nature of the events, participants know that coal is not a joke. Many come from communities impacted daily by coal extraction, burning, and waste disposal. As President Obama’s 100^th day rapidly approaches, thousands of citizens across the country are taking action to draw urgent attention to the need for “power past coal.” Stay tuned this week as Power Past Coal launches into it’s final phase!

I think it’s fair to say that the youth speech (known as an ‘intervention’  in UN-jargon) just rocked the LCA (Long-term Cooperative Action) plenary at the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany.

The text of the speech is below. A video of the speech and the chair’s response will be uploaded here as soon as possible.

However, let’s be really clear about what this is and what it is not.

It is clear that by 2050 we need to totally decarbonise our society and our economy – and that will take a lot more than speeches in the stifling environment of the UN.  To actually achieve the reduction, we need vibrant, energetic, distributed, local, grassroots action.

The UN process is currently not on track to achieve the ambitious agreement that we are calling for below. I won’t speculate on the likelihood of success – I imagine that there will be lots of comments on this topic, as it’s a huge debate within social movements currently. However, we need to be prepared, if they refuse to lead, to shut down the fossil fuel system ourselves.

This will ultimately be a people-driven transition to sustainability. But in the long run we will have to bring governments along with us too – resistant governments will hamper our ability to bring about solutions. This will be a people-led sustainability revolution, but needs to also be government-supported.

We are working hard here at COP to demonstrate the power of the youth movement, encouraging them to be supportive.

In the US in particular, the youth movement must push hard on their representatives in every congressional district. Yes, that Waxman bill came out yesterday, but as we say below, it’s not enough. Keep pushing for more – the next few months are crucial. If the US government locks in legislation with inadequate targets, it will be very difficult to shift them later.

2009 is the time for action. With this in mind, I would formally like to offer the following idea – that EVERY SINGLE YOUTH CLIMATE ACTIVIST either defers their university studies for six months or goes part-time, to dedicate their precious hours to activism and organising instead.

With our best efforts, I believe that we will win this one.                Continue reading ‘Youth INTERVENE at Bonn UN Climate Talks’