It’s Getting Hot In Here

Right now, hundreds of people of all ages are marching through the heat towards Concord, NH and Des Moines, IA walking to raise the profile of global warming in the national public debate. They’re demanding our leaders take action now to reduce emissions 80% by 2050 and create 2 million new jobs for Americans.

Iowa kicked off with 50 people Thursday morning in Ames, getting some great TV coverage and is holding strong as they march south toward Des Moines where Iowa-native Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, will join them to reinforce the urgency of the issue and the need for major action.

New Hampshire’s Tuesday kick off in Nashua had over 200 people and there’s been a strong group of around 100 marching every day. Their marchers include 2-year-old Nicci Metcalf who has already learned chants including “No coal!” and “Oooh… Its hot in here…” and an organic farmer marching with her two sons.

Read the dispatches from each state at www.climatesummer.org and keep checking back for daily videos and photos. Also, check out our coverage in the Nashua Telegraph and Des Moines Register and listen for us on NPR where there will be continuing coverage in the Northeast and internationally on the program American Voices. Here’s a video from NH:

Free food AND fighting global warming???

It’s true. Right now students all over the country are joining the effort to ReEnergizeUS by helping with recruitment for marches happening August 1-5 in New Hampshire and Iowa. Over 30 students have dedicated their summer to organizing across these two states and building towards the Marches to ReEnergizeUS. The goal is to raise the profile of global warming solutions in the national public debate by capitalizing on all the public attention focused on these two early primary/caucus states. We’re demanding our leaders at all levels take immediate action to reduce emissions 80% by 2050 by building a clean energy economy that would create 2 million new jobs for Americans.

The ReEnergize Iowa and ReEnergize New Hampshire student teams have worked their butts off, but now they need YOUR help for the final push to get people to turn out for these historic events. Students around the country are helping out by doing remote phone banks of residents of Iowa and New Hampshire who have signed our petition and said they’re interested in coming out. We need about 80 hours of committed remote phone banking – and that means you.

There are three ways to participate:
1. Phone bank on your own from home, preferably Wednesday 7/25 from 6:30-9pm EST during the group remote phone banks
2. Phone bank on your own at a different time – either Tues or Thursday evening around the same times
3. Get a group of friends together for a phone banking party with free pizza compliments of the SSC for any group that clocks a total of 10 hours! You can do this from home or a local Sierra Club or Energy Action Coalition partner office (i.e. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Global Exchange, CCAN, etc.). Just let me know if you need help finding a space and see below for parties already happening in DC, MD, MI and Philly. Continue reading ‘Fight Global Warming, Eat Pizza!’

Check out the video of Ben Folds doing his tribute to the ReEnergize Iowa project. Then, as our new friend Ben says, “Get your a** out on the street” and join them as they march from Ames to Des Moines August 2-5. Or, if you’re in the Northeast, catch up with the New Hampshire crew walking from Nashua to Concord August 1-5.

If you are a fan of Ben Folds, check out Adam Gardner from Guster testifying on the Hill!

March to re-energize Iowa

Building a clean energy economy

For real global warming solutions

March to re-energize IowaAugust 2nd to 5th, Ames to Des Moines

Walk with us for a few hours, a day, or the entire march

And attend the rally in Des Moines on August 5th

Now march to re-energize Iowa

Building a clean energy economy

For real global solution

Though most citizens won’t give a single fucking toss

You should get your ass out on the street and walk it off

March to re-energize Iowa, Iowa, Iowa

by Joe Richie, in the field in Des Moines, IA:

Organizing is more about being opportunistic than serendipitous, but sometimes even the best organizers can’t imagine how the fates will align.

ReEnergize Iowa* team member Whit Jones was in downtown Des Moines yesterday afternoon with his girlfriend Claire, who luckily for us, describes herself as a “huge Ben Folds fan.” Claire sighted Mr. Folds walking down the street, and after some driving maneuvers that Whit described as “not life endangering, but certainly worthy of a ticket,” Whit and Claire stopped at a red light and waved the former Ben Folds Five frontman over to the car. They shook hands, and, like any good organizer would do, left him with a ReEnergize Iowa flyer in his hand.

That evening, Janie Hauser, Chelsea Feeny, and myself set up a table at the Wells Fargo Arena to collect signatures and pass out fliers at the John Mayer/Ben Folds concert. After the opening number of Ben Folds’ set, he stood up and started emptying his pockets, saying that someone had given him a flyer that he wanted to sing about. After giving up hope of finding it, he settled back into his normal set.

Meanwhile, John Mayer strutted across the floor of the stage mid-song while playing the tambourine and delivered our leaflet to Ben. When the song ended, he told the crowd he’d met a lot of great people in Des Moines, and he was inspired by us to write a song. The band started rocking, and he started singing lyrics directly off the flyer (I believe this makes me his new lyricist). The song lasted for an electrifying two and half minutes of perfectly coupled climate lyrics and synthesized solos (check out what the Des Moines Register had to say about it).

I sat agape as I absorbed what had just happened. Ben Folds, who I had been perfecting my air piano to since age 13, had just performed a song about the project I had spent so many months planning and making a reality. There were now thousands of adolescent girls and popped collar boys clamoring to get their hands on our flyers. Ben Folds had just delivered us to organizing nirvana.

I busted into the dressing rooms backstage using the age-old tactic of looking confident and thanked Ben for singing the song. We talked a little about global warming, he told me about how his parents had had solar panels up on their house for years, and he wished us luck. The sound guy promised us a tape of the song. I headed home happy.

We don’t do this work for the screaming crowds, the backstage passes, the shoulder rubbing with celebrities, or to become immortalized in song; we do this work because we can’t imagine doing anything else. But if that means occasionally putting up with all those other things, I guess I can accept that.

*ReEnergize Iowa is an initiative of the Sierra Club, Sierra Student Coalition and United Steelworkers to unite the residents of Iowa demanding our leaders take action to build a clean energy economy for real global warming solutions. The project will culminate in a 4-day march from Ames to Des Moines August 2-5. For more info, check out: www.climatesummer.org

From Lauren McGrath of SOCM:

On the opening day of UN CSD-15, members of the Appalachian Coalfield Delegation attended the US Briefing on Sustainable Energy Policy. During the briefing, one of the US representatives to the United Nations commented that the “United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal”.

One of the Appalachian Coalfield Delegates commented, “It must be true that the US Government sees Appalachia as the Saudi Arabia of coal”, according to Bo Webb of the Appalachian Coalfield Delegation and resident of Coal River, WV. “Its interesting, because some citizens believe the United States is bombing the middle east for oil. Well, one of the differences in bombing Appalachia, is that we know the US is bombing Appalachia for coal – its permitted each day by our federal government”. Continue reading ‘Coalfield Leaders Taking Mountaintop Removal to the U.N.’

From Lauren McGrath at SOCM in TN:

Coal-to-liquids is being framed as the new solution for just about everything from the war in Iraq to global warming. According to Steven Leer, the chief executive for Arch, the second largest mining company in the United States, “You’re not serious about global carbon stabilization unless you’re serious about increasing investment in coal technology”.

Coal-to-Liquids proponents, which range from certain members of congress to the coal and auto industries (note: read that again, b/c its a bit scary) have been touting coal to liquids as the solution to end our dependence on oil in the middle east — “no warming, no war” – right?

According to Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. “Our country’s dependence on foreign sources of energy is a well-known deficiency in our energy policy and has been for decades”.

Some of the arguments against coal-to-liquids have honed in on the costs of production and concerns the use of liquid coal, with currently available energy infrastructure, would almost double greenhouse gases per gallon of transportation fuels.

However, there is a overlying concern with liquid coal that is not being discussed—that is the true cost of coal extraction methods such as mountaintop removal. Continue reading ‘Energy Independence or Destroying Appalachia for Coal?’

The students of Marsh Fork Elementary still need a new school in their own community. Now you can see the full videos of the rally, the march into the Gov’s office and the overly aggresive arrests that resulted from people putting their bodies on the line for the sake of the children of Marsh Fork. See the previous post for more details.

TAKE ACTION!
Call Governor Manchin’s office: 1-888-438-2731 (toll free) or 1-304-558-2000.
Send a FAX 1-304-342-7025 – instructions on how to send a free fax from the web below!
Email the Governor’s office: Governor@WVGov.org.

(note: an error in the first video – it was the Governor appointed WV State Mining Board that approved the second silo, which is why the Gov was targeted for the action.)

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/A8vYJhADxQ4" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/vv4Yz2PEsJ0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

All 13 (even more than we initially counted) of the activists arrested yeterday for occupying WV Gov. Manchin’s office have been released on charges of obstruction. The rally at the office was demanding that the the Governor build a new school for the students of Marsh Fork Elementary school in their own community. Their current school is just 225 feet from a coal silo (think moving lots of chemical laden coal = lots of coal dust in the lungs of children and teachers) plus a coal processing plant and 2.8 billion gallon LEAKING sludge impoundment just upstream. Oh, and you can’t miss the 1,849 acre mountain top removal site in their backyard.

The protest was a response to a SECOND silo the state’s Surface Mining Board approved on Tuesday which would mean exposing thsese young children to twice as much coal dust. This ruling overturned a 2005 Dept. of Enivronmental Protection ruling that the silo wasn’t legal.

The arrests were overly aggressive and targeted. All I can say on this is to watch the video and pass it along. Gov. Manchin should be embarrassed by this obvious display of brutal force against a non-violent action in a public space.

This was an affront to the community of Marsh Fork and those community leaders who have been fighting for the sake of these children for the past 3 years. These include people like Ed Wiley who walked 455 miles from WV to DC to ask Senator Byrd to help bulid the school and Larry Gibson one of the longest standing opponents of mountain top removal (over 20 years!) and who leads tours of his family’s mountain which is now surrounded by the flat tops and industrial noise of a 12,000 acre MTR site. Both Ed and Larry were arrested yesterday along with fellow community members and students who came out specifically to stand (or get dragged) in solidary with these local leaders. Learn more and take action after the jump. Continue reading ‘UPDATE: 13 arrested at WV Gov Office Released and Need YOUR Help’

Hi everybody, Bjorn Bergman (UW-La Crosse). Right now I am at the Midwest Student Clean Energy Conference in Madison, WI and I am having an amazing time! There are over 200 students here from across the midwest. It is so exciting to see so many passionate and active students all in one location. It makes me giddy to think about all of the great things that we can do to stop global warming on a midwest scale to see the energy and cohesion of this group. From my experiences here, i know that things can only get better when it comes to developing more environmentally aware policies and practices in our society. I have hope now for the future and what is to come. Last, i want to thank all of you awesome people all around the globe who are involved in campaigns to reduce your carbon emissions. Our future generations are proud. Peace.

Van Jones wrote a great article for the Huffington Post about the (lack of) coverage of people of color in climate change media and why it matters so much, here’s a an excerpt:

“Magazines as diverse as Vanity Fair, Elle and Wired recently devoted entire issues to climate change, and to the growing enthusiasm for cutting-edge environmental solutions. The New York Times dedicated an entire section to the topic in late May.

But in all that coverage, non-white faces were hard to find. (Wired did not show a single person of color.)

Such reporting can leave the impression that global warming is somehow a “white issue.” Or that enthusiasm for clean energy, green choices and smarter policy is limited to wealthy elites.

That is simply not true. At least, not entirely.”