Over 1,000 people, myself included, gathered in Memphis for the Dream Reborn conference last weekend to stand upon the shoulders of giants and create a vision for a just and sustainable future. We gathered in the city where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, on the 40th anniversary of his assassination, to pick up the torch of his legacy of economic justice and carry it in a new direction for a new generation. As we face the social crisis of poverty and the environmental crisis of global warming, are there solutions in sight? The Dream Reborn sought to explore this question — and the answer was an unequivocal “YES!”

Visionaries like Van Jones, Majora Carter, Winona LaDuke, and others gave impassioned speeches about the potential for “green-collar” jobs that affirm the dignity of both people and the planet, that provide both pathways out of poverty and solutions to global warming. Workshop sessions explored topics from food justice to campus strategies for green jobs to eco-entrepreneurship to the implications of fossil fuel dependence. Community organizers, union officials, environmental justice activists, youth and students, and artists and poets all came together to share strategies and knowledge to take back to their communities. We sang songs from the civil rights movement: “This Little Light of Mine,” “Amazing Grace,” “I Woke Up This Morning.” We laughed together, danced together, and even cried together. And through it all, we affirmed each other and our power.

The Dream Reborn represents a new beginning. Now the conference is over and we are all dispersed across the country again, but the knowledge we gained and the friendships we forged will last us a lifetime. Last weekend, I got a glimpse into the possibility of a new multiracial green economy, where young and old people alike come together to transform how we relate to the planet and to one another. Now the real work to make that possibility a reality begins — and after being in a room with over 1,000 people committed to that vision, I have no doubt that we will get there.

Cross-posted from the 1Sky Blog: Read it here

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Upon reading this I immediately thought of the courageous folks in West Virginia who put their bodies on the line in protest of the coal industry’s utter disregard for humanity. When will people realize that coal is neither clean nor renewable, that coal mining devastates our land and communities? Furthermore, the Globe article states that GreatPoint is exploring “industrial areas on MA’s coast” for potential locations for their demonstration plant. Immediately the city of Chelsea comes to my mind. In Chelsea, an environmental justice community with an already disproportionately high level of industry, residents are currently fighting to stop a diesel power plant from being sited across the street from an elementary school. This diesel plant has also been billed as a “clean” facility. From Appalachia to Massachusetts and beyond, the impacts of fossil fuel consumption fall hardest upon the poor, people of color, and our children — our future.

In MA our politicians talk about how our state could become the hub of a new clean energy economy. Maybe it’s just me, but I was under the impression that conservation, efficiency, wind and solar would define such an economy — not “clean” coal. We need an energy paradigm that affirms energy and climate justice, not environmental injustice. I will be watching this MA development closely, and I encourage others to do the same. Even in the progressive Northeast, we apparently are not safe from the coal rush.

One campus at a time
One city at a time
One state at a time
One country at a time
One world at a time.

One world at a time when we are standing on the edge of a new beginning.
One world at a time when we are rising to the challenge of a generation.

I can feel this movement coursing through my veins
As I gaze into the eyes of my brothers and sisters
Knowing that we are all in this together
Knowing that the bonds of solidarity will connect us forever.

One campus at a time
One city at a time
One state at a time
One country at a time
One world at a time

We are making change and reclaiming our future.
And we will continue to transform minds –
One world at a time!

Many of us in the youth climate movement (myself included) talk about climate change as “the challenge of our generation.” Echoing Al Gore’s presentation in An Inconvenient Truth, we say that climate change is “a moral issue.” When it comes to climate change, we say that “everyone’s talking about the problem, but no one’s talking about solutions,” and then we point to dynamic youth organizing efforts under the Campus Climate Challenge as part of the solution. All of these messages are incredibly inspiring and we should continue to repeat them. Yet after the panel tonight, I am wondering if we are missing something. Of course we want our movement to transcend the doom-and-gloom environmentalism of years past and offer a message of hope and opportunity — but do our peers and the public truly understand what is at stake here? Why are people less likely to mobilize around climate change than they are to mobilize around the Darfur conflict (which ironically may be exacerbated by climate change)?

In his 1995 book Losing Ground, an account of the successes and failures of the American environmental movement, author Mark Dowie argues that “justice, the critical ingredient of any social movement, did not enter the agenda of American environmental movement until recently.” Here Dowie of course is refering to the people of color-led environmental justice movement, which challenges the disproportionate vulnerability of marginalized poor and minority communities to environmental hazards. Is justice on the agenda of the youth climate movement? People understand that the killing in Darfur is an injustice and a moral outrage. But do they understand that the fact that communities from the Arctic Circle to the Niger Delta to Cancer Alley in Louisiana to Tuvalu are suffering as a result of our addiction to fossil fuels is also an injustice and a moral outrage? As corrupt governments twiddle their thumbs while oil and coal corporations profit at the expense of vulnerable communities — our communities — shouldn’t we rise up and demand climate justice?

Many of us in the youth climate movement understand that climate change is a justice issue, yet we do not articulate the idea of climate justice as effectively as we could. We must challenge ourselves to do so if we want our movement to gain real traction. History teaches us that people demand social change when they perceive something as a moral outrage, as has been the case for movements around civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, unjust wars, and now genocide in Darfur. Similarly, we must talk about climate change in a way that will instill a sense of moral outrage in people, while simultaneously offering a path to a better tomorrow. Our movement has the latter down to a tee — but to mobilize people to demand action consistent with the scale of the challenge before us, we cannot afford to ignore the former. We know that climate change is not an abstract future problem — it is already devastating vulnerable communities and it will get worse if nothing is done. We must not shy away from these issues. Instead, we must engage them directly and honestly as we redouble our efforts to inspire, to transform minds, to build a just and sustainable future for all.

This sickening display was not about to go unchallenged, however! A determined group of 21st-century patriots crashed the party, demanding a fair stake in their democracy and calling for independence from fossil fuels. Appealing to the hearts and minds of the public, they laid out a compelling vision for a clean energy future. However, it soon became clear that the oil and coal barons just didn’t get it, and the patriots then decided that they had to step things up a notch. In a bold manuever they charged at the billionaires and snatched away their coal crates and oil barrels! Then, as the billionaires recoiled in fear, the patriots channeled the revolutionary spirit of the Boston Tea Party and dumped the coal and oil all over them! Finally the patriots roped up the billionaires and paraded them around, and the public cheered heartily knowing that the good guys had won.

This public street drama, which was witnessed by nearly 300 people, took place as part of the “Boston Coal Party,” a local event organized in conjunction with the Nov. 4 International Day of Action on Climate Change. Following the act of street theater, a diverse array of speakers highlighted the need for strong action on climate and environmental issues. Maura Cowley of the Sierra Student Coalition talked about the Campus Climate Challenge and the hundreds of student climate/energy initiatives that are taking the country by storm. Shanaya Coke from the BOLD Teens, a high school group in Dorchester, MA, discussed how youth in her community are working on environmental issues hands-on. Brian Thurber of Clean Water Action had his sights firmly set on the golden dome of the State House a block away as he emphasized the need for Massachusetts’ next governor to support renewable energy projects and get the state back on board with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Finally, Reverend Fred Small of Religious Witness for the Earth harkened back to the civil rights movement in describing the moral imperative of the climate crisis before us, leading the assembled crowd in several sing-alongs in a truly inspiring presentation.

An impressive array of local organizations co-sponsored the Boston Coal Party – from United for Justice with Peace to the Massachusetts Climate Action Network to Billionaires for Bush (and their proclaimed subsidiary Loyal to Big Oil), it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of the action! And of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the dynamic youth presence at the event! The BOLD Teens made a fine group of patriots in the skit, and students from Tufts, BU, BC, Northeastern, Lesley, Wellesley and MIT all came to show their support as well. As they held up colorful signs bearing creative slogans like “All aboard the clean energy train” and “Dump King Coal,” the youth showed that they are on the cutting edge of the movement for a just and sustainable future. Students and youth also played almost all the patriot roles in in the skit. The billionaires, on the other hand, all appeared to be adults in some form or another.

Is all this a telling commentary on who will be the leaders of a clean energy future? I believe so!

This might seem like a good thing, right? Not exactly. The APP basically amounts to a clean technology-sharing initiative between the U.S. and Australia (the two industrialized Kyoto laggards), along with China, Japan, South Korea and now, India. The APP has been criticized for its excessive focus on technology and market mechanisms at the expense of having any sort of binding targets or timetables. It has also been perceived as an attempt to undermine the broader multilateral Kyoto framework. And now India, my ancestral homeland, where the aspirations of a billion people greet every waking day, is heading down this misguided path.

It’s a little strange to hear now in November 2006 that India’s joining the APP, as I had basically accepted it as a foregone conclusion when I attended the UN COP/MOP in Montreal last December. I remember working as a member of the youth lobbying team to try to set up a meeting with Prodipto Ghosh from the Indian environmental ministry. After attempting to get in touch with him for a while, I happened to encounter him in the halls of the convention center one day. My heart pounding, I went up to him and introduced myself, hoping that as a youth and fellow countryman I could get him to listen to my hopes about how India should move forward.

Our brief conversation did not go very well. I encouraged Ghosh to ensure that India continue to engage the Kyoto framework and not be distracted by U.S. intransigence and the nascent APP pact. Somehow Ghosh interpreted that as a suggestion that India should take on binding emissions reductions commitments, putting me on the defensive. We exchanged a few more remarks and then Ghosh was gone, off to another meeting or something similarly diplomatic.

I was frustrated by that conversation then, and I am frustrated now upon hearing the most recent news. But hope springs eternal in India’s grassroots social movements, among the most vibrant in the world. From struggles against dams on the Narmada River to the ongoing fight for justice in Bhopal, India is on the frontlines of the global battle for social and environmental justice. In 2002, when the UN Climate Change conference (COP-8) was held in the Indian capital of New Delhi, 1500 people representing 17 Indian states and 20 countries came together at a parallel Climate Justice Summit and drafted the Delhi Climate Justice Declaration. Their conclusion: “We reject the market based principles that guide the current negotiations to solve the climate crisis: Our World is Not for Sale!”

Our World is Not for Sale. Those who try to lead us down a slippery path of market mechanisms and technology transfer would do well to remember that, and realize that the grassroots will not be fooled!