It's Getting Hot In Here » jennybedellstiles

Reed College Students Sing Their Way Onto Parents’ Weekend Stage, Seeking Climate Action from President

jennybedellstiles — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:51:50 +0000

From Joel Batterman, Senior at Reed College in Portland, OR

Students at Reed College in Portland, Oregon have been working to green their campus for years. In the past decade, they’ve established an Environmental Studies major, composting program, organic farm, and sustainability grant fund. The Student Senate has called on the College to hire a Sustainability Coordinator and develop a carbon reduction plan. Yet despite students’ repeated entreaties, Reed President Colin Diver continues to resist such action on the grounds of defending the College’s “political neutrality.”

Their patience wearing thin, concerned Reed students crashed a question and answer session with the President at the College’s Parents Weekend. Using humor to leaven a deadly serious thesis, they sent a clear message that Reed has a moral responsibility to clean up its act, all to the tune of “American Pie,” as seen in the video above.

Posted in global warming

Powershift West is Going to be Hot!

jennybedellstiles — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:17:27 +0000

As registration tops 400 with 4 days left and zooms towards our anticipated goal of 500 participants, Powershift West organizers have released a promo video for the conference to lure in anyone left unregistered.

For those out there who doubted that the lil ol’ barely-populated Northwest could deliver an outstanding Powershift conference, better think again. We’re building a movement and have folks streaming across 13 Western states (and a couple Eastern ones too) to converge this weekend and you can still register!

Check out our video and our line up of keynote speakers, panelists, and killer workshops.

Keynotes:

Bernadette Del Chiaro, Clean Energy Advocate for Environment California

Riki Ott, Alaskan Community Activist, former professional fisherma’m, and story teller

Jefferson Smith, Founder of the Oregon “Bus Project” and OR State Representative

Dan Carol, Political Strategist and Co-founder of the Apollo Alliance

Alisha Fowler, Educator with the Alliance for Climate Education based in Bay Area, CA

Nathan Jones, Co-founder of the Cascade Climate Network, Sierra Student Coalition long-time leader, founder of the Northwest Institute for Community Energy, and much much more…

Jeremy Blanchard, one of three core organizers who are making Powershift happen and an all around fabulous guy.

Panels: http://west.powershift09.org/conference/panels

Workshops: http://west.powershift09.org/Workshops

It’s not too late to come, we’ve got space for YOU on a floor someplace. Register today and join us in Eugene, OR this weekend!

Posted in Cascade Region, global warming, Power Shift, Youth Leaders

Lincoln’s Copenhagen Address on the Hill

jennybedellstiles — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:05:10 +0000

This is a guest post by Rachel Young, Avaaz Action Factory Fellow.

“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what our nation does or does not do at Copenhagen. It is for Barack Obama to undertake the unfinished work of climate change mitigation and nobly advance a treaty that will ensure the survival of all nations and peoples.”

On the last day of unproductive climate talks in Bonn, Germany, Abraham Lincoln came to the Hill with a message for President Obama: it’s time to rise to the challenge of the century and solve global warming.this December. As Lincoln demonstrated remarkable leadership in the face of unprecedented challenges, so too must President Obama show bold global leadership in halting climate change. By publicly committing to go to Copenhagen, Obama will prove that stopping global warming is truly a priority of his administration.

In the halls of Congress (and outside the Capitol South metro station) Honest Abe delivered his “Copenhagen Address”—a riff off of Lincoln’s most renowned speech tailored to address the crippling lack of US leadership in halting climate change:

“It is often said that global recession precludes the possibility of strong climate mitigation. But, in a larger sense, we cannot back down from this challenge, lest it continues to grow until waters overwhelm out coastal cities, deserts encroach on our fertile plains, and the parched voice of a mother with no water for her child calls to her relative far away, only to find that she has been displaced by floods. In the face of such a future, we have no choice but to demand that our leader, Barack Obama, consecrates the negotiations at Copenhagen with his presence.”

Lincoln drew the attention of hundreds of commuters slowly winding their way out of the metro station, and caused quite a stir outside the Energy & Commerce subcommittee markup before he was asked to leave by the capitol police.

The Copenhagen Address was strategically delivered at a key point during the buildup to Copenhagen, on the last day of the UN climate talks in Bonn. The Bonn negotiations failed to spark the dramatic progress that is necessary to produce a strong international climate treaty in December, and time to make crucial international agreements is quickly running out. Industrialized countries refused to agree to the aggressive emissions reductions in the near-term, and the talks largely stalled as developed countries pushed for even weaker targets. Although Obama’s team has claimed to support a strong treaty, the US failed to take a leadership role at Bonn.

Our message as youth is simple: actions speak louder than words. To prove that the US will truly take the lead in solving climate change, Obama must utilize his global political capital to push all nations toward a scientifically sound, politically aggressive Copenhagen treaty. In openly committing to going to Copenhagen, Obama will draw much-needed attention to the negotiations, and send a clear message to other nations that the US will not obstruct climate negotiations this time around.

As President, Obama must also pressure policymakers at home to ensure that the US takes a leadership role by addressing global warming at home. Passing a vigorous domestic energy bill that provides for clean, sustainable energy infrastructure is a crucial part of this process. This bill in it’s current form, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA), provides for only a 3% reduction in CO₂ emissions below 1990 levels by 2020. As such, ACESA will likely fail to cut US emissions enough to slow climate change, nor is it sufficient to convince other nations that the US is prepared to take global warming seriously on an international stage. With special interests continuing to poke holes in the bill, it is possible that ACESA will generate even poorer results.

The President’s appearance in Copenhagen, in conjunction with moving a strong climate bill through Congress, would provide a serious and committed stance on battling climate change. As young people, we will inherit the disastrous results of global warming: rising ocean levels, extreme storms, widespread drought and desertification, the spread of disease, the rapid loss of entire ecosystems—the list goes on and on. Because we are the ones who must live with the consequences of inaction, we have united around the globe to call for a strong climate treaty. Lincoln’s appearance at the Rayburn Building during the ACESA markups served as a reminder to Congress that domestic leadership is crucial to building an effective, equitable, and aggressive climate treaty in December.

Posted in global warming

Youth Call for Just Regulation at Seattle EPA Hearing; more comments needed

jennybedellstiles — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:08:56 +0000

On April 17th, 2009, the Obama EPA announced that it was proposing to find carbon dioxide (and five other heat trapping gases) a danger to human health. While this might seem self-evident to us, this is big news for the federal government because this is the first step in the process of EPA regulation. In 2007 we celebrated the Mass vs. EPA decision when the Supreme Court ruled that global warming pollution poses a danger to human health and must therefore be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Under the Bush Administration we saw no action taken on this ruling. But now, Obama has instructed Administrator Jackson and the EPA to move forward with the process of regulating carbon dioxide and other global warming causing pollutants. Regulation is likely not the single silver bullet and must be used in combination with other policies such as investment. Many consider this ruling a pressuring tactic to aid floundering climate legislation in Congress. This ruling could also provide the foundation for a negotiating position at December’s UN Copenhagen climate talks.

From April 17th — June 23rd, the EPA is encouraging public comment. They held two hearings for this purpose in Arlington, VA and Seattle WA on May 18th and 21st respectively. I had the privilege of attending the Seattle hearing and rally, organized by a coalition of groups including the Sierra Student Coalition and Cascade Climate Network. EPA reported that response to both hearings was “overwhelming.”

More than 2,000 people turned out in Seattle to support the EPA’s decision at the noon rally on the 21st. Hundreds of children and students joined members of the faith, business, and environmental communities. David Nokovic, freshman at Portland State University, spoke at the rally on behalf of the youth in attendance. “We pledge to end this climate crisis within our lifetimes, because failing to do so is unconscionable,” said Nokovic. “We pledge to hold ourselves and our elected officials accountable, and we pledge to work with all who will join us.”

All through the day, nearly 200 people testified and over 90% of that testimony was in favor of global warming pollutant regulation. Over 25 youth gave compelling testimony to the panel of EPA representatives who heard 10 hours of testimony that day. I myself, was on a panel with two industry lobbyists from the Washington Farm Bureau and two other youth…

The Washington Farm Bureau representatives claimed that the science wasn’t in yet and that they were disappointed that the EPA was not abiding by expert scientific advice. While one advocate agreed that the affects of climate were wrecking havoc on the state’s agriculture, he pointed to solar flares as the reason, as evidenced by this beautiful sunny day he said. Instead of investing in regulation, he preferred the federal government invest in large water storage facilities so that in times of drought (caused by solar flares I suppose) farmers (aka big Ag) could still irrigate their crops.

The WA Farm Bureau testimony was strictly contradicted by the next two youth testifiers. Nick Engelfried, a graduating senior of Pacific University raised the issue of equity and green jobs, which our generation could desperately use.

For all these jobs to materialize we need a federal government that will not only invest in green energy technologies, but which will clamp down on the old polluting industries — coal, oil, gas, and industrial agriculture — which have so long held the workers of America captive under the old, inefficient, fossil fuel-dependent economy that we are now seeing crumble all around us… If the EPA is up to that challenge, you can count on our support every step of the way.

Mark Kimbrell of Focus the Nation also testified in this same panel:

This administration and this agency have a generation of young people behind them. But make no mistake, if the legislation and regulation we deserve is weakened by compromise with the status quo of the past, this movement’s commitment will only become stronger. And there is nothing stronger than thousands of young people who feel their future is being gambled away!

Public comment is being accepted until June 23rd! Follow these instructions to get yours in, it’s easy! There are many groups congratulating the EPA on this decision, but the EPA really needs to hear from forward-thinking folks who have thoughtful comments about how to regulate these pollutants. It’s not enough to regulate global warming pollution, we must do it in a just manner that takes this problem and turns it into an opportunity, particularly for those of low socioeconomic status.

Posted in Cascade Region, Climate Policy, Coal Campaign, Government, Political Participation, Politics, Power Shift, United States, Youth Leaders

Our New Messaging on Global Warming – It’s Trickling Up!

jennybedellstiles — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:08:20 +0000

Global warming: Is it an inconvenient truth or an opportunity to transition towards a more sustainable, just, and prosperous future?

Many of us agree that it is both, but the positive message of future opportunities is often drowned out by messaging that is fear driven – melting glaciers, species extinction, water wars, displaced island/coastal peoples, etc. Our environmental groups have been towing the line on this message for decades, and where has it gotten us policy-wise?

The time is ripe for a new message, a positive vision of the future. We need the “I Have A Dream” speech for global warming. And Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, agrees. Our message is trickling up!

After much rigmarole and compromise, Congress passed the energy bill and President Bush signed it this morning. Pelosi gave a statement yesterday afternoon on this victory,

“With one stroke of the pen, America can be on a path to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 25 percent of what we need to do to save the planet. With one stroke of the pen, we set America on a path to produce $22 billion in annual savings to our consumers. With one stroke of the pen, we take America down a path to create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs and train 3 million workers for new green jobs.”

Indeed, this is the same woman who spoke to us at Power Shift as we chanted “GREEN JOBS, NOT JAILS” and “WE WANT MORE!” If she had tossed in a reference to limiting energy generated by coal, the above statement would directly reflect the 1 Sky platform which we all used to lobby our legislators last November: 1) Green Jobs, 2) Cut global warming pollution, 3) No new coal. Later in the statement she refers to her motivations as a grandmother to be working on this issue and establishing a new direction for America.

And that’s exactly what the country needs – a new direction.

I’m not talking about the same new direction that Nancy is — a Democratic direction. I’m talking about an undivided effort to address climate change and its root causes. And this new direction will be catalyzed by a new message, a message driven by an urgent sense of hope and opportunity.

This message is already being championed by many, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is only the most recent VIP member of the new cool club.

Don’t get me wrong, fear and awareness of catastrophic consequences to global warming can be an extremely powerful organizing tool. However, most folks already know these consequences. We don’t need to run a global warming public education campaign in the same way that was required a few years ago.

Thanks Al, you did your job well, but it’s time to turn to the next phase of public outreach.

We need to run a campaign to build excitement around solving this problem. No one is going to jump on the solution bandwagon if it’s headed inevitably for species extinction and social hysteria. You better believe that motivates me, but the way to build a movement is a positive vision.

We, the youth of this nation, have a dream (and an accompanying message). We communicated it with Nancy Pelosi loud and strong. And as we continue to inspire, our messaging for a positive vision for a sustainable, just, and prosperous future will keep trickling up!