It’s Getting Hot In Here

By: Jamie Biggar on Go-Beyond.ca

On the eve of the most important climate summit ever hacked emails from a research center in England are being promoted as a “game changer” by people who don’t want to see climate action. These people say that the emails prove that global warming is a hoax – a conspiracy that is either socialist or corporatist or, most terrifying of all, Al Gorist.

Why?

Out of the thousands of emails there is no evidence of a massive worldwide conspiracy of thousands of scientists to impose socialism or corporatism or Al Gorism.

Instead, there is evidence of scientists reacting badly to the enormous pressure they are under from a small, motivated and well funded group of people and institutions who have made it their mission to confuse the public about climate science, and have the backing of big dollars from big oil. This is the Manufactured Doubt Industry. It started decades ago to protect tobacco company profits by confusing the public about cancer research, it consists of a network of researchers with dubious credentials and right-wing think tanks designed to grab media attention, and its very happy with itself right now. Continue reading ‘Fight back against the hacked email hatchet job’

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, staffers from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) were in Oregon to assess the environmental impact that proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals will have on our region.  When they got here, the youth climate movement of my home state was waiting and ready to let them know that LNG compromises our future.

The two-day visit with FERC began Tuesday morning when fifteen students from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, headed out to meet the FERC staff in a chilly hotel parking lot.  Also present was a good-sized group of impacted landowners and community activists, who like us youth were there to ask FERC some hard questions about the approval process for LNG facilities.  FERC has a years-long history of ignoring many of the most serious impacts LNG pipelines and import terminals will have on Oregon’s communities and environment; as community organizers have fought to protect Oregon residents from wasteful and destructive LNG projects, FERC has been uncooperative throughout.  As just a couple of examples, the commission has granted their approval to the hideously flawed Bradwood Landing LNG Terminal, and environmental groups had to sue FERC just to get the commission to publicly release the names of landowners who would be affected by a proposed LNG pipeline.

The FERC staff who visited Oregon this week had come to gather information for the Environmental Impact Statement on a major LNG pipeline proposed by the company Oregon LNG.  To their credit, the staff stood in the hotel parking lot Tuesday morning taking questions for nearly an hour before they and some of the concerned citizens left for the McMinnville site visits.  Issues that came up during this initial questions period ranged from the impact construction of LNG pipelines will have on Oregon forests, to the carbon footprint of LNG (which is up to 30% larger than that of North American gas).  There’s no doubt in my mind that the large contingent of students complete with signs calling for a clean energy future for Oregon made a big impact on the FERC staff.  The only people present at the gathering in favor of the LNG pipeline were three representatives from Oregon LNG and CH2M Hill – the contractor that the company has hired to do much of the engineering work for this project.  The three industry reps, including Oregon LNG CEO Peter Hansen, eyed our banners rather suspiciously. Continue reading ‘Youth Confront FERC Over Carbon-Heavy LNG’

Yesterday morning before the Youth Clean Energy forum I awoke at 6AM and couldn’t sleep. The anticipation of our movement’s historic opportunity swirled loudly in my head.  This was our chance to talk directly to the Obama administration and let them know what we think. In the dim early morning light I wrote this letter to our President and was encouraged to hear that many of the other leaders at the forum felt the same way.

*****************

Dear President Obama,

I have one question for you: When?

When will you seal your place in American history and announce your bold vision to unite this nation behind an Apollo Project for clean energy or a Green New Deal?  When will you launch the “Obama Plan” to defend America from one of the greatest threats to our national security, our nation’s health, and our economy?

Our country’s greatest Presidents have emerged to lead us through times of crisis.  Mr. President, the solutions to the energy and climate crisis should be your greatest legacy. Continue reading ‘Dear Mr. President….When?’

(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. Continue reading ‘Open letter to John Carson about the White House Youth Forum’

Update:

If you appreciate Senator Byrd’s opinion, give his office a call to say thank you.  202-224-3954

Hooo boy, please note this amazing dispatch from one of the most powerful coalfield Senators -and one of the most powerful Senators, period.

West Virginia Blue has posted the full copy of this important new dispatch from Senator Byrd, in which he asks important, if difficult, questions about mountaintop removal and the economies relying on the coal industry. You can listen to the speech here (highly recommend).

The Senator notes:

…There is a strong bi-partisan opposition in Congress to the mountaintop removal method of mining [coal].

and that:

The increased use of mountaintop removal mining means that fewer miners are needed to meet company production goals. Meanwhile the Central Appalachian coal seams that remain to be mined are becoming thinner and more costly to mine. Mountaintop removal mining, a declining national demand for energy, rising mining costs and erratic spot market prices all add up to fewer jobs in the coal fields.

and of particular importance to community members in the coal fields who are facing threats against their families and lives because of misinformation from the coal industry, Senator Byrd says that:

The greatest threats to the future of coal do not come from possible constraints on mountaintop removal mining or other environmental regulations, but rather from rigid mindsets, depleting coal reserves, and the declining demand for coal as more power plants begin shifting to biomass and natural gas as a way to reduce emissions.

This speech (you really should listen to it, Senator Byrd is such a great and unique orator) directly confronts some very powerful players in the coal industry and in the state of West Virginia (aka the coal industry). It should be very exciting to see what happens next.

Our Political Liaison and Lisa Jackson

This is a cross-post from my friend Davey Rogner, a former member of the University of Maryland student activist group UMD for Clean Energy, who wrote this on his blog The Harvest Collective.  I also posted it on my blog.  I’m currently the Campaign Director of UMD for Clean Energy. We had the pleasure of meeting EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson last week. For more info on Edmonston’s green street, check this out.

Just hours ago I was brushing shoulders with some of the most influential environmental decision makers in the state of Maryland. Members of UMD for Clean Energy were invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the City of Edmonston’s new “green street.” The groundbreaking was ushered in with keynotes from environmental leaders such as US House Representatives Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen; Maryland Department of The Environment’s Deputy Secretary Bob Summers; The Executive Director of The Chesapeake Bay Trust and my former boss when I was his intern Allan Hance; and most notably the Administrator for The United States Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson. Continue reading ‘UMD for Clean Energy Meets Lisa Jackson, Delivers Letter’

I went to the White House today, as one of 150 youth climate leaders invited to take part in the Clean Energy Forum.

Let me repeat that: youth activists were invited to discuss climate policy with 4 cabinet secretaries. This is not the same movement it was two years ago, and I think the changes have been overwhelmingly positive.

A little more than two years ago, a nervous and exuberant Energy Action Coalition gathered 5,000+ youth in DC for Powershift07. Van Jones said, ‘remember, remember, the 5th of November…’ and we raised some eyebrows in DC. But mostly, we sparked the feeling of a movement in a whole new circle of leaders: young people who went home with a sense of urgency and a sense of the plan.

Two years later, a huge youth election campaign, another Powershift, 100 coal plant permits denied and a lot of green jobs created, a small selection of an amazing movement of people were welcomed to the White House as partners in crafting the clean energy future WE want to see.

The forum didn’t result in any game-changing policy commitments, but it wasn’t supposed to. It was a chance for the administration to showcase just how much better they are than the Bush administration (an underwhelming comparison, perhaps), and for them to present a convincing argument of why they are doing a great job. I think they accomplished that, acknowledging that they can do more to stop dirty energy and lead on the clean and just economy, while placing a large chunk of blame on the Senate for their deadly inaction.

The forum succeeded wildly in a different way, and an incredibly important way. We were all in the room together – a couple dozen administration staff, 80 or 90 youth leaders affiliated with the Energy Action Coalition, and another 40 or 50 clean energy leaders. We got to see what we look like, where we come from, and what issues really move us. With that focused cross-section of the movement, I realized more than ever, that we are such a diverse generation, and we are a diverse movement united in a very large goal. Continue reading ‘Youth Climate Movement Grows Up… In a Good Way’

We fight, even against insurmountable odds, because sometimes we win.

As I get ready to head to Copenhagen this Saturday for the international climate negotiations, I’m thrilled to see the success of The Leadership Campaign and their efforts to have Massachusetts use 100% clean electricity by 2020.

On Monday, Representative William Brownsberger will file their bill, An Act to Re-power Massachusetts, in the Massachusetts House, calling on Gov. Deval Patrick to create a task force to formulate a plan to get Massachusetts to100% clean electricity by 2020.

To draw attention to their campaign, they have refused to sleep in homes, dorms, apartments powered by dirty electricity until Massachusetts commits to 100% clean electricity in 10 years. Since October 25, hundreds of students, activists and engaged citizens have spent at least one night camping out. Some haven’t slept in a bed in over a month — [check out a personal account here].

Each Sunday, members of the campaign come together to camp out on the Boston Common. They face citations for violating the 11pm curfew, but each week they gladly except the consequences of their protests.

Last May, I wrote about how climate activists need to rethink the rules of engagement and not accept the “rules” of a rigged game. I’m thrilled to see the students and leaders of the Leadership Campaign doing just that. It’s a great sign for our cause and an example we can all follow.

If you’re in Boston this weekend, join the Leadership Campaign for their final sleepout on the Boston Common. They’ll be joined by one of my favorite people, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of The Hip Hop Caucus. The rally begins at 3pm at the Boston Common across from the Statehouse.

This entry is cross-posted at Green Owl Records.

Hey everyone! Take a minute to get over to Huffington Post and vote for longtime youth activist, blogger, and cyclist David Kroodsma to come to the Copenhagen Climate Conference as a Hopenhagen Ambassador. Check out his video below and vote before the contest closes on Friday!

I first met David when he was organizing the Climate Ride, a great program that helped raise money for longtime IGHIH and youth movement organizations like Focus the Nation and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. One of the things has impressed me about David as I’ve gotten to know him better is his selfless commitment and stamina, whether it’s organizing Climate Ride or volunteering for hours of data entry with us at 350.org — I guess you’d expect nothing less from a guy who biked across South America promoting climate awareness.

David would be a great person to have on the ground in Copenhagen and would make an excellent contribution to the reporting happening here at IGHIH. So go cast your vote already!