It’s Getting Hot In Here

Last night was the first of a series of conference calls for leaders of the movement to discuss using these next few months to Define Our Decade and create a plan to move forward in realizing a clean energy future. With over fifty people on the call, and lots of ways to engage, this conference call — not usually known to be an especially enthralling forum — was high energy and inspirational.

Laying out a vision

We started with a discussion on how we are each working to define our decade in our own community.  Aided by a chat room, we created an online visioning session, a brilliant display of the hope and creativity of our generation — and I have to admit, I haven’t been as excited about a chat room since middle school…. — We shared ideas to strengthen our local projects and showcase the movement to the general public. Continue reading ‘Let the Visioning Begin: It’s Time to Define Our Decade’

Hello dear movement friends,

I have a very important ask of you, from one member of the climate family to another. Please read on.

http://powershift09.org/rapidresponse

I’m so excited and grateful to be here in Copenhagen for the International Climate Negotiations. These next two weeks are going to be jam-packed and intense. But it’s the organizers in the states who have the big job.

This weekend was the Conference of Youth where over 500 youth delegates from around the world gathered to prepare for our role as youth .

I have met so many inspiring young people- a young woman in Indonesia helping her farmers in her community adapt with the changing climate and its effect on agricultural production… Organizers from Australia who put on a spectacular flash mob dance to cap off their own Power Shift conference. And to think that, as we were embarking as climate leaders in our country, what happened here two years ago (Power Shift 2007) has become a wave of Power Shifts around the world! As you know, the US carries not only a huge carbon footprint, but a powerful influence over the outcome of the conference- what commitments other countries will make (or not make) and ultimately, the fate of these young people around the world.

Continue reading ‘Join Us in Copenhagen’

As a new “Terp”, I’m impressed by the accomplishments University of Maryland has made these past few years for clean energy solutions: playing host for Power Shift 2007, helping pass the carbon neutrality sustainability initiative through the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, collecting thousands of petitions for the Power Vote campaign, and rallying for the Greenhouse Gases Reduction Act (which passed!) in the Maryland legislature.

Thinking back on all the clean energy successes Maryland students have earned, these campaign victories wouldn’t have been as impressive without coordination and resource sharing among Maryland students, enabled by the Maryland Student Climate Coalition. Maryland has been a leader in statewide action and continues to set an awesome example of savvy campus organizing… and now we have a new opportunity to model our state network and national leadership!

Indeed, now is the time for broad and bold action: national and international measures must be taken, namely through passage of strong climate legislation this fall and meaningful participation in the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December. Maryland students have an important role to play in compelling our leaders to act, both due to our past leadership, our proximity to the nation’s capitol, and the political landscape of our state; Senator Cardin is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and Senator Mikulski has shown leadership on climate change and could be an important champion and motivator for her colleagues.

This October, Maryland students have the opportunity to make a splash in the national movement and invest in our local campaigns; on October 25^th, the day after 350.org’s national day of action, University of Maryland will host hundreds of students throughout the state for Maryland Power Shift! Continue reading ‘Maryland Pumping the Power!’

Want to connect with young climate leaders around the country? Looking for an exchange of ideas, skills and resources?

Sign up and be part of the Sierra Student Coalition’s Peer 2 Peer Exchange Program by September 14 (deadline)!!!

Peer 2 Peer Exchange Program
Sponsored by the Support, Outreach, and Community Subcommittee [SOC SUB] of the Sierra Student Coalition

Want to hone your organizing skills, share insights and goals, get support in your region, talk organizing, commiserate with a fellow climateer, or just link into the wonderful community that is the climate movement??
Well, the P2P program is for you!

Goal: To strengthen the movement around the country, build personal relationships and develop leaders, and reach our campaign and personal goals.

Registration period: Sign-up is now available online and will be open until September 14! You will find out who your partner is on October 1!!!

Hope you’ll join us!

There’s an exciting new movement in Santa Fe that encompasses all arenas of the community. College students, construction workers and youth mentors are rallying together to create the infrastructure for clean energy and efficiency in the city. It’s a comprehensive program that combines the efforts of three separate groups. Though differing in their approach, these groups share a core belief: for a brighter and more prosperous future, we need green jobs in our communities.

Green jobs will create an economic engine, generating thousands of well-paying, sustainable jobs, stimulating the New Mexico economy, and providing access to clean, domestic energy that reduces our carbon footprint. Our state shows huge potential for green jobs: New Mexico is ranked 2nd in the nation in solar potential and 12th in wind potential. Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe YouthWorks and Los Amigos Weatherization Program are seizing this vital opportunity, and are teaming up to bring green jobs to Santa Fe. Continue reading ‘Investing in Our People: Green Jobs in Santa Fe’

It was a cloudy Friday morning in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of Navajo Nation. Nearly two hundred individuals came to listen to dozens of organizations presenting on the potential for Navajo Green Jobs. I attended this conference as someone who’d spent weeks handing out “Green Jobs” Power Vote stickers and who was fairly familiar with Van Jones speeches. I realized that day that the idea of Green Jobs has taken flight beyond the theoretical. It is becoming an opportunity for real change, to deliver power to the people of Navajo Nation.

My friend and colleague, Alana Miller, and I were traveling to Navajo Nation as part of our internship for 1Sky New Mexico and New Energy Economy. We spent our first night in Gallup, a bizarre intersection between Navajo tribe-land and American Sprawl. On one side of historic Rt. 66, the town’s main artery, lay the original Old West train tracks and the striking Red Rock mesas. On the opposite side was building after building of standard American franchises: Sonic, WalMart, McDonald’s, Texaco. Beyond the strip malls, we could see neighborhoods of government-built houses. That weekend, we listened to the stories of several members of the Navajo tribe: stories about oppression, hardship, resilience, and courage.

Continue reading ‘Green Jobs for Navajo Nation’