It’s Getting Hot In Here

(Jon Carson was the field director for the Obama campaign and is now the chief of staff at the Council on Environmental Quality. He moderated the White House’s Youth Clean Energy Economy Forum that took place on December 2nd)

Dear Jon Carson,

I would like to say thank you for helping to create the Youth Clean Energy Economy Forum, and I was honored to attend. The number of cabinet members that attended is a testament to how much this administration cares about the voice of my generation, and the fact that this was a discussion and not a photo op shows that the Obama Administration really cares about engaging with the clean energy movement. This was a great first step toward closer collaboration between the White House and the youth movement. However, I did have a few concerns that I would like to address.

First, at the end of the evening, you told us to look at the big picture and not focus on what hasn’t been done, but look at how far we have come. I think that, generally, this is a good idea, and for any other movement I would agree with you. But we are not like past movements. The Woman’s and civil rights movements did not have a deadline where if they didn’t succeeded, they never would. We have a deadline; not arbitrarily set by us, but dictated by science. If the temperature rises more than 2 degrees, feedback cycles in the environment will begin and there will be nothing we can do to stop them. We could cut 90% of the carbon that science says we need to, but without that last 10% we will still pass the tipping point and we will have lost. We focus on how far we have left to go because we see the bigger picture of what HAS to be done to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Second, you urged us to take the lead and take action for what we believed was right. This is great advice to give to young people. However, you were speaking the “youth leaders” of the climate movement, to perhaps the most accomplished group of young people in the country. There were young entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses, founders and leaders of student groups, and veteran organizers who have made real change in their communities. We were at the White House because we have taken the lead, we are taking action, and we are powerful. We were at the White House because we want to start working with you on climate change, but if the administration keeps talking about ‘clean coal’, subsides for nuclear power, and 450ppm of carbon in the atmosphere instead of 350ppm, then we have serious disagreements. We need to resolve these issues and move forward together, before we end up fighting each other. We elected President Obama to be a leader on climate change, we would like him to start leading with strong and specific goals, and we will support him.

I think there were lots of great ideas for future youth-White House communication and collaboration: a youth advisory board, regular conference calls between administration and youth leaders, and more contact with the youth liaison and the Office of Public Engagement. I hope we can implement all of these ideas soon so we can work together on the future we all are striving for.

Thank you again for this great opportunity.

Sincerely,

Zachary Stark-MacMillan

Cascade Climate Network