Whether you support, find yourself wobbling in between or vehemently oppose (like me) the continued occupation of Iraq and the expanded occupation of Afghanistan, odds are you join me in the sentiment that Obama’s newly released $708 billion 2011 defense budget is not only obscene, but also represents a disastrous sense of fiscal priorities considering the current state of America. In fact, I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that if the veils of misinformation were removed, and American political dialogue shifted into the realm of the somewhat logical, most common Americans would agree with that sentiment of obscenity (especially our “fiscally conservative” brethren).

This new budget represents a historic high in military spending, even surpassing President George W. Bush who took us into the margins of the criminally insane with his post September 11th defense budgets. Yes that’s right- our new visionary and “progressive” president is throwing more dollars at the Pentagon than good ole W. In fact Obama’s 2011 budget is the largest proposed defense spending since World War II.

According to the Center for American Progress, this proposed spending represents a 3.4% increase from the 2010 fiscal year baseline defense spending, and an increase of $173 billion (36%) from just five years ago. A new study by The Center for a New American Security puts the numbers in perspective by estimating that after adjusting for inflation, Obama’s new budget is 13 percent higher than the defense budget at the peak of the Korean War, 33 percent higher than at the peak of the Vietnam War, 23 percent higher than at the peak of the Cold War, and 64 percent higher than the Cold War’s average. We now comprise close to 47% of global defense spending and around 8 times what China (the second place finisher) is currently spending on defense.

Although past promises from both candidate Obama and President Obama to cut wasteful defense programs, some of the most costly programs are growing. Fred Kaplan breaks it down best in a new Slate article:

“For the most part, the big-ticket weapons programs are on the rise: $25 billion for 10 new ships, including two Virginia-class submarines and two DDG-51 destroyers (to make up for his killing the more “advanced” DDG-1000 last year, perhaps). Gates is requesting another $10 billion on missile defense (a billion more than last year). And he is requesting $11 billion for 43 more F-35 fighter planes.”

Now here’s where I get a little opinionated. For me the new defense budget combined with Obama’s recent announcement to heavily escalate the occupation of Afghanistan, not to mention that continually rolling Iraq deadline and the ever increasing construction of permanent bases throughout the Middle East represents an ominous sign for the climate movement. Whether or not it covers their entire war motive or just a portion, this administration, like past administrations, is continuing to prioritize the geo-political and strategic control of oil and natural gas regions; a signal that these resources will continue to be vital tools in the global political and financial arena. Not exactly a beacon of hope that this administration is planning a full scale transition to real clean energy any time soon. Even fiscally this has serious ramifications- Fred Kaplan again:

“But unless Obama decides to declare victory and pull out of Afghanistan in 2012, actual war costs are going to be substantially more than $50 billion. That means the DoD budget for that year will be substantially larger than $616.4 billion—and the deficit will be larger than whatever the OMB officials are projecting it will be.”

Meanwhile clean energy investment continues to be too little too late. Just to provide a comparison in priorities- according to a recent co-authored report by  Breakthrough Institute and Information Technology & Innovation Foundation:

“China, Japan and South Korea are launching massive, comprehensive clean-energy projects, investing a combined total of around $500 billion over the next five years. In contrast, the House-passed American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACESA), combined with the 2009 economic recovery package, poises the U.S. government to invest only $172 billion into the clean energy industry over the next five years.”

In 2008, 34 Nobel Prize winners wrote to President Obama and asked for $15 billion a year in clean energy R&D to help solve the climate crisis and once again make America competitive. In a small step in the right direction, the Obama administration recently proposed $74 million for clean energy-related programs, as part of the RE-ENERGYSE program. Now let’s put all these numbers in perspective.

The yearly clean energy funding amount coming out of the 2009 economic recovery package and ACESA represents only 5% of the 2011 defense budget. If the United States was to match the yearly clean energy investments of China, Japan and South Korea that percentage would rise to just around 14%.

Just considering R&D-here’s Teryn Norris from “A Critical Moment for Energy Leadership“:

“ACESA would only invest $1 to $1.5 billion per year in clean energy R&D, on top of the current federal energy R&D budget of around $4 billion per year (only a portion is for renewable energy). Meanwhile …… Department of Defense receives a whopping $85 billion.”

At most that puts Clean Energy R&D investment at just 5% of defense R&D; if Obama were to adopt the suggestions of the Nobel Laureates that number would rise to just 17%.

The cynic in me knows better than to expect a full 360 in defense policy from any American administration. It’s the toughest policy realm to infiltrate and effectuate change, and I know that from 5 years in the anti war movement. That said what if we could nibble around the edges a bit? There is clearly plenty of room for reduction in Obama’s budget according to the Center for American Progress. They find that halting the production of the historically faulty Joint Strike Fighter planes could save up to $200 million a plane (they’re expanding the fleet from 30 to 42- you do the math). They also suggest that the following changes could save billions:

• Canceling the Marine Corps’ expeditionary fighting vehicle
• Halting further production of the MV-22 Osprey
• Slowing down spending for missile defense
• Keeping the Virginia-class attack submarine production steady at one per year
• Cutting FY 2011 funding for the Army’s Future Combat Systems by one-third
• Slashing the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal to 600 deployed warheads and 400 in reserve
• Implementing an across-the-board reduction in research, development, test, and evaluation funding

These are very real and substantial cuts that could quickly help bridge the gap for clean energy investment; funding moving straight from wasteful programs to climate solutions and economic redevelopment. In the future, the administration could move the funding for these wasteful programs out of the defense budget and into the annual budget or into an economic revitalization (stimulus bill) for the clean energy sector. This type of reallocation of dollars would ease the immediate need to sell the public on increasing the deficit for clean energy investment, while also signaling an important shift in US priorities from endless war in the name of strategic resource control to real climate solutions.

I won’t pretend to know the exact advocacy path our movement could take to achieve this, but being familiar with the disparity in these numbers along with some simple re-allocation schemes could provide some real fodder for engagement of the administration in the future. It is also a signal to me that the clean energy/ climate movement is once again inevitably tied to the anti-war movement. At the very least this budget represents a new avenue of pressure and engagement for the climate movement to explore.

Photo courtesy of wikemedia.org

By Mark Kimbrell. Note, this post does not necessarily represent the opinions or priorities of Focus the Nation, and instead represents the author’s sentiments alone.

Last week represented defeat after defeat for the climate movement and progressive forces in American Politics. One of the most left-leaning members of the Senate (RIP) has been replaced by Republican Scott Brown, thus disrupting the Democrats’ majority and the prospects for health and climate legislation. Not that the Democrats have necessarily been honoring their campaign promises, or representing the wishes of our movement- nevertheless it’s a wound.

The Supreme Court has opened the floodgates on Corporate giving, and rolled back all progress made through past campaign finance reform. A decision that will no doubt increase the already massive influence of coal and oil interests over the US government and US public. Climate Change has once again been buried in the issue dog pile under health care, military adventures, and Wall Street reform. All while the coal industry’s iron hammer – Senator Murkowski has launched an all out blitzkrieg on the EPA’s ability to regulate under the Clean Air Act. And to top it all off, wouldn’t you know it- it looks like global climate talks won’t reach a pact by year’s end. Surprise, surprise….

After last week’s bludgeoning, it’s pretty clear that the writing is on the wall. With corporate money flooding into political coffers and misinformation campaigns with more ease, and Brown’s election signaling trouble ahead for democrats, our window of opportunity to make progress on our issue seems to be prematurely closing. It raises an important question: the game has changed- have we? Taking a quick glance at the upcoming activities and priorities of the youth ranks it’s clear that we haven’t changed enough, and it seems to be time for our movement to take a long hard look in the mirror.

COP15 exhibited two very clear facts for the climate movement: we need a larger and more diverse movement (at least according to Jonathan Pershing), and we need to hone in on a strategy that will allow us to reduce US emissions without depending on weak Senate legislation or international treaty, who’s prospects seem to fade every day. In order to address both of these ominous facts, I propose the youth movement add a very important arrow to the organizing quiver- engagement and action around clean energy investment.

Here it is in a nutshell- the youth climate movement should make a seismic shift towards making clean energy cheaper, rather than devoting all focus towards the difficult road of making carbon more expensive (an opinion that has been continually stated here). That’s not to say we should abandon all aspects of the pollution paradigm. Our movement should always have a legislative cap/tax of carbon as a top priority. This strategy does not represent an eviction of that principle, but instead an addition that may eventually make a significant cap on carbon accessible within the American political gauntlet.

Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger said it best- “…no effort to achieve deep reductions in carbon emissions, domestic or international, will succeed as long as low-carbon energy technologies cost vastly more than current fossil fuel-based energy.” They also lay out the most important fortifications that an organizing strategy devoted solely to a carbon cap/tax will have to overcome:

“the political power of incumbent energy interests, low consumer tolerance for high energy prices, the economic impacts that substantially raising energy prices will have on key energy-intensive sectors of the economy, and — most importantly — the substantial price gap that continues to exist between fossil fuels and clean-energy alternatives.”

It’s clear to even the most skeptical that the first step to reducing American emissions and improving the prospect for significant legislative carbon control is to reduce the price gap between clean energy and carbon, as well as the consumer crunch that will ride the coat tails of any carbon legislation. By achieving significant investment in clean energy technologies we can quickly and effectively reduce the price gap as well as the consumer crunch by making clean energy technologies cheaper and able to withstand competition with carbon. Also, by showcasing the benefits of clean energy investment in reducing emissions, we can not only improve our chances at legislative action, but also pave the road for eventual revenue generated from carbon regulation to be funneled into clean energy technology.

If you dig below the surface you find multiple peripheral benefits to this strategy as well. Reducing the price of clean energy in the American marketplace will serve as a visible counter to any arguments launched by the right that portray carbon regulations as an unbearable expense on American households. There it will be- affordable clean energy- to be used as a weapon by our movement to prove the possibility of a real societal shift away from a carbon based economy. Not to mention the thousands of new jobs that will be created as the clean energy sector begins to boom. This will no doubt increase our ability to recruit new and unique American participants in our call for climate legislation that puts a real price on carbon; thus fulfilling the wish of Jonathan Pershing and eliminating one more excuse the Obama administration or Congress may invoke.

A move towards prioritizing clean energy investment will give us something our movement (and most progressive movements) has never had- an industry lobby (clean tech). A whole sector of our economy, ripe for growth and in need of federal support, will join our call and aid our efforts. A new honed message around immediate clean energy investment will bring the leverage of a future economic powerhouse into our corner. So the benefits are clear, but what does clean energy investment organizing strategy look like?

The first step to injecting clean energy investment into the top of our movement priority list is a change in messaging. We should reduce the emphasis on passing weak legislation and instead focus on:

1. Immediate funding of clean energy technologies in any way possible- stimulus/ jobs bill, appropriations bill, as a rider on any legislation.
2. Investment in altering our infrastructure to be able to facilitate a boom in clean energy. An easily attainable goal when you consider what we spend on our Middle East occupations or bailouts.
3. Clean energy investment as a deal breaker in any climate legislation. If the bill doesn’t work to level the playing field between carbon and clean energy it’s not a step forward.

This spring’s campaigns, initiatives and actions should push clean energy investment to the forefront of asks. All civic engagement activities should push clean energy investment as an immediate need and a necessary preface to climate legislation while utilizing the leverage of actors from the clean energy sector. All communication with Congress or the White House should center on the injection of clean energy funding in any and all upcoming legislation. Regional organizing activities and conferences should push for statewide funding of local clean energy technologies and businesses as their primary purpose.

Spring is the perfect time to back away from cap and trade a bit, and instead develop town halls, forums, call in/write in campaigns to target both federal and local elected officials around economic revitalization through clean energy investment. I can see the campaign slogans now- A Clean Energy New Deal; Investing in America’s Climate Future; Awakening America’s Clean Energy Giant; Clean Energy- the Common Man’s Bailout…

The militant/direct action wing of the movement should move to identify the US’s largest investments- corporate bailouts/subsidies, and war, and target them with creative actions and visuals to attract the American public’s attention towards funding clean energy instead. Here come the visuals- War the life taker, Clean Energy the job maker – you choose; Corporate Bailouts= bigger yachts, Clean Energy investment= Jobs and energy security… Greenpeace will do a better job than I can.

We, as a movement, must immediately change our paradigm to consider a strong political push for clean energy investment, on both the local and federal level, as a necessary table setter for any effective climate legislation. If we are willing to really consider the economic and political reality, and re-examine our paradigm and strategies – a long look in the mirror- this new model could pave our way to success.

Photo courtesy of www.rudecactus.com

Jesse Jenkins contributed to this post through many informative discussions and a comprehensive suggested reading list.

Guest Post by Lindsey Berger, FTN COP15 Delegation Team Leader

“Ten billion dollars will neither buy food nor coffins.”
-Lumumba Di-Aping, Sudanese chairman of the G77

It’s week two, and a certain level of intensity has coated the city joining the fog- this is what we’ve been preparing for. Last week we focused our efforts on identifying the role that the U.S. would play at COP15. The results are in- we have overwhelmingly found efforts to be sub-par. There are two critical areas where increased commitments are crucial to human survival:

1. Immediate emission reductions
2. Financial aid for vulnerable nations.

Based on recent meetings between US youth and our leading climate negotiators, we are able to say (sadly) that there is about a 0.01% chance of increasing our existing mitigation targets, which stand at a whopping 4% cut in 1990 emissions by 2020. However, IF (and only if) we show the Administration that the American people support the financial “bail out” of our island and African nations, then maybe Obama would be willing to put more than a lousy $10 billion/year for three years on the table at COP15.

As young people (many of us without steady income), it may be difficult to reason that $30 billion is not sufficient aid; with that in mind, let me share something that I heard on Friday from Sudanese chairman of the G77 Lumumba Di-Aping: “Ten billion dollars will neither buy food nor coffins [for the African people most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change].” After noting this, let’s think of our most recent MASSIVE government generated funding: the wars, and my personal favorite- the $3 trillion bailout of US banks and bankers! I would like to think that the government would assist in bailing out our nearly doomed developing nations, as well as our future, if it can muster up the finances to secure the safety of bankers.

According to Jonathon Pershing, secondary negotiator for the US at COP15, this sort of financial commitment will only be considered if overwhelming American support is displayed. Pershing clarified that he wants the same strong, science-based climate treaty that our youth delegates are calling for, but our numbers are not enough. We simply have not expanded or diversified our movement enough. Let’s be honest… he’s got a point. In order to ensure the survival of our dear friends in these troubled nations, as well as our children’s future, we must begin turning out larger numbers in our movement. We need our parents and our friends from high school who we’ve lost touch with. We need our faith groups, local community members, and business leaders. WE HAVE TO SING TO MORE THAN THE CHOIR!

More than anything, I hoped that I could leave Copenhagen carrying news of a strong-binding climate treaty, but I’m afraid this will not be the reality. As we leave an exciting, yet most likely disappointing, two weeks in Copenhagen, we will have to remember that our generation is not only facing humanity’s greatest challenge, but also its greatest opportunity.

Instead of a strong international framework, I will return home with a mandate from international activists. Our domestic youth movement must do whatever it takes to ensure the action that our international brothers and sisters so desperately need for survival and future prosperity.

Here are a few words to live by (that you will certainly be hearing more about). They represent what our response to this international call to action must be: YES WE CAN. YES WE MUST. YES WE WILL.

The US youth movement must return home with a commitment to expand and diversify our ranks and tactics. The entire world is depending on us…

Guest Post by Garett Brennan, Executive Director- Focus the Nation

The other morning, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) released their AOSIS Text. The first proposal in the negotiations so far that is actually responding to what the science is demanding:

1. Fair – securing at least $200 billion by 2020 in climate financing to support poor countries to bear costs associated with Mitigation, Adaptation and Insurance in the event of disasters

2. Ambitious – peaking global carbon emissions by 2015, and returning atmospheric carbon dioxide levels below 350 parts per million

3. Binding – a legally binding agreement that can be enforceable.

“We are not negotiating economics or science here, we are negotiating our survival,” said Antonio Lima, ambassador of Cape Verde and the vice-chair of AOSIS. “We are the ones on the front lines. Sea levels are already rising. If we leave Copenhagen without a legally binding outcome, without a strong Finance commitment for adaptation, mitigation and insurance from largest emitting nations, how do you expect me to go home and tell my children that we failed and we are going to die?”

On Saturday, we marched with more than 50,000 people from all over the world from Parliament Square to the Bella Center. I helped hoist and carry a huge 15 ft flag for about a mile in the wind, passing it back and forth with two guys from Lebanon. It was exhausting and exhilarating to march in solidarity with so many cultures all calling for the same shared future.

This morning when I arrived at the Bella Center and bumped into our friends from the Will Steger Foundation (see interview here), the G77 walked out of negotiations and completely stalled the entire process. Then on a positive note, we did a joint press conference with US and Chinese youth, announcing the clear need (and enthusiasm) for youth movements to collaborate across borders and set an example for their leaders on the issue.

Shortly after that session, myself, Billy Parish, Jessy Tolkan, Ben Wessel and several other young leaders had a closed-door, private meeting with Todd Stern (Obama’s special envoy) and the US lead negotiator, Jonathan Pershing. As soon as we found out that our request to meet with them had been granted, we quickly gathered to chart out specific questions targeting areas with a lack of leadership from the US (Finance) and pushing to establish a basic trust from other nations toward the US being actually committed to a real deal. On one hand, the US is not putting anything of real significance on the table—at least at the level that countries who are on the front lines of climate change are demanding. On the other hand, there is NO WAY that 12 months ago, the former administration would have ever reached out to the youth climate movement and wanted a face-to-face meeting. I don’t envy Jonathan Pershing’s position at all.

The big frustration at this point is the fact that the U.S. is losing major credibility with how little it’s offering in finance for adaptation and technology. When all the other countries have seen us quickly mobilize trillions to bail out the banks, automakers and launch two wars in the Middle East, they are completely dumbfounded that we can only offer $2billion for the climate. And this is a key rub. Jonathan Pershing’s argument is that there was HUGE public support for that kind of spending—public support that we don’t currently have for climate.

Something for us to really figure out in the near future is how we help average Americans realize the need to put American dollars toward this kind of re-building—the kind of help and support that will build other nations and trust between those nations. Just like we did with the Marshall Plan in 1948 that built up strong economies in Western Europe.

For now- Garett Brennan signing off from COP 15.

Posted in Climate Policy, Focus the Nation, Youth Leaders ]]> http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/14/cop15-from-the-streets-to-the-meeting-room-with-todd-stern-and-jonathan-pershing/feed/ 4 markkimbrell http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/11/cop15-friday-youth-voices-us-leadership-exhaustion-and-excitement/ http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/11/cop15-friday-youth-voices-us-leadership-exhaustion-and-excitement/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:41:06 +0000 markkimbrell http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/?p=15276 ]]> Cross-posted from here http://www.watthead.org/

Guest post by Garett Brennan, Executive Director- Focus the Nation

Hey folks, I wanted to share how things are going over here from our perspective at the COP15 climate negotiations in Copenhagen. On the day I arrived, I found it very reassuring that back at home, our country’s longest serving Senator, Robert Byrd from West Virginia, posted a piece denouncing mountain top removal and honestly acknowledging the need to phase out coal.

We’ve been here for a week now and it’s some sort of wild combination that energizes and exhausts you all at the same time. Just to set the stage a little first, the weather is gray, cold and rainy—a lot like our headquarters in sunny Portland. Throughout the city, the street corners are filled with photo exhibits and banners and almost everyone I meet thanks me for “fighting for the climate.” Inside the Bella Center, it’s crazy and almost impossible to follow everything that’s happening. Our awesome Focus Organizer from Missouri, Lindsey Berger, has been helping the core Rapid Response strategy team so we can let all of you know how you can help from home.

Yesterday we had more than 1000 young people in orange T-shirts that say “How old will you be in 2050?” and we’ve also handed out 1000 orange scarf’s to the “older” delegates that say “survival is not negotiable.” It has created an awesome visual solidarity between generations and cultures throughout the entire Bella Center. I also thought you’d like to know that there about 500 young people here from the US Youth movement. Our presence is large and involved. Last night, we organized a wonderful event with 50 American youth and 50 Chinese youth to talk about our shared future together.

On the larger US presence side of things, our administration is trying very hard to send a strong message to other countries here that they are serious about collaboration and striking a deal. When she was introduced by our “chief negotiator” Jonathan Pershing at the State Department daily briefing, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson received a standing ovation for her recent announcement that CO2 is an official threat to public health.

The message that the US is serious about striking a deal is also clear because of the “A Team” that Obama has sent here: EPA’s Lisa Jackson, Secretary Stephen Chu (energy), Secretary Ken Salazar (interior), Secretary Gary Locke (commerce), Secretary Tom Vilsack (ag), as well as Nancy Sutley and Carol Browner. The presence of these US leaders has been positive, however, countries are still frustrated and concerned that in spite of how engaged the US is, what we’re putting on the table still isn’t bold enough to get the world to 350ppm and avoid a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

This leads us to the “negotiations” side of things. There is still deep tension among developing and developed countries. Here is a great post by one of our 2008 Focus Roots Fellows, Richard Graves, from Fired Up Media (his Roots project still in action!) that helps explain it. For those of you unfamiliar with the basic frame of what’s going on here, the negotiations are organized into two parallel tracks—two negotiations going on at the same time: The Kyoto Protocol (KP) and Long Term Collaborative Action (LCA).

The US is in the LCA track and NOT in the KP track since we never signed the Kyoto Protocol. There is an issue going on as to whether it is better to amend the Kyoto Protocol and extend the commitments of the industrial nations to reduce their emissions to a second time period beyond the current period that ends in 2012, or to negotiate a whole new treaty along the lines of what the LCA is working on. Many nations fear this will end the Kyoto Protocol and not produce anything else that becomes legally binding. Contrary to what many people think, the Kyoto Protocol (the legally binding agreement among nations who signed it) DOES NOT end in 2012. It is just the end of the first period of legally binding emissions reductions targets that were agreed upon by industrialized nations. The KP track is working on what the second period should look like. And where it gets tricky, is making sure that targets that countries are committing to in both tracks are consistent with each other.

Here’s an excellent update from yesterday’s negotiations about the Tuvalu situation. Tuvalu is small island country already experiencing climate change. Here is a recap from Anthony Baratta, a student from DePauw University:

“Today the CMP—the upper level Kyoto Protocol meeting—convened negotiations at the Bella Center following yesterday’s hectic end to negotiations. Today’s talks had a similar theme to Wednesday. The small island state of Tuvalu proposed discussing an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol that could require larger developing countries like China and India to reduce emissions. Many African countries and Brazil led the charge against the amendment, claiming the Kyoto Protocol must be preserved. Tuvalu countered they were not harming the Kyoto Protocol, simply ensuring the longevity of it. Despite a twenty-five minute break where the President of the CMP tried to resolve the disagreement, the group suspended consideration of the amendment. Over one hundred hungry delegates filed out for lunch around 12:45.

Later in the day, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), including Tuvalu, stated they would not accept an agreement that allowed the global average temperature to rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Delegates wore pins that said “1.5 to Stay Alive.”

Anthony first got involved in the Climate Movement after he participated in Focus the Nation’s first Civic Engagement campaign (the January 2008 Teach-in). He and two others students are blogging the negotiations at www.thecopenhagenquestions.wordpress.com

For more information, check out today’s coverage by the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/10/copenhagen-climate-change

For everyone at home—and particularly all of our awesome Focus Organizers and volunteers who have been mobilizing their communities with Clean Energy Forums in the build up to Copenhagen, I want clearly express the importance of your work this fall, and how even more important it will be when we all come home from this crazy conference. ALL EYES ARE ON THE UNITED STATES—which means all eyes are indirectly on you and I, everyday US citizens who need to hold our leaders accountable—and not for the sake of our own communities.

Your ability to activate others your age and build partnerships with those who are older than you is sending a VERY strong message to Obama’s administration and our Senate champions who are chomping at the bit to pass a climate bill. Lisa Jackson’s office has already reached out to me about how they can collaborate with us after Copenhagen. Today, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke has asked me to set up a meeting between 5 Chinese youth and 5 American youth to get their perspective on international, clean energy commerce.

Another thing I’d like to share with you is how your organizing at home is sending an even stronger message to our youth counterparts who are here from all over the world. Every day youth activists from other countries are coming up to me and asking if the young people at home have what it takes to keep the pressure on—they are fully aware of how important our US youth movement is in how their lives and home countries will look in 2050.

I will continue to send updates on how things are shaping up, changing and evolving. And I will ask one thing of you right now. In the next few days, please reach out to someone in your hometown and simply ask them if they know about these negotiations and why they are important. We need Americans to understand the work being done here and why it’s important. Because when we come home, the success of all these talks will be entirely dependent on America’s ability make up for lost time. And that will mean direct engagement this spring with the US Senate, EPA administration officials and state political party directors this March. No need to report back on those conversations, just simply reach out to people in your family and social circles. Get a sense of their awareness.

Before I split and run around the Bella Center, I wanted to share a few video links for fun:

1. US Youth demonstrating outside entrance. “Don’t leave young people out in the cold.”

2. A video of me pretending to be a climate skeptic in the Americans for Prosperity live web cast the other night (notice how I tried to comb my hair!). This is an interview with Lord Monckton (former advisory to Margaret Thatcher) about comparing his AIDS solution in the 1980s (quarantining everyone) to the threat of Climate Change.

3. International Youth Press Conference

A great way to keep up to speed with the International Youth Delegation here is to follow www.youthclimate.org

See you all soon,
Garett

PS – I am not a fan of pickled herring. And I wish I had brought my skateboard.

[Photos courtesy of alternet.org and Cascade Climate Network]

After working tirelessly to push federal politicians to be accountable to the will of the people through Powershift regional summits, 350.org’s day of action, local events and direct actions, you’d think exhaustion would be setting in on the ranks of the US youth climate movement. Especially after the demoralizing blow that was delivered last weekend with the Obama administration’s official declaration that there will be no binding agreement at COP15. On the contrary, these young visionaries are just getting started!

With the chips stacked against meaningful action by the Senate and our administration, there is something contagiously spreading from campus to campus and community to community. Something political movements of the past that faced less dismal realities have lacked- unwavering hope. Not the kind of hope a charismatic politician espouses during campaign season to generate warm fuzzy feelings, or the kind that surges in the dark hours of prayer for a divine force to alter your circumstances.

This hope is wedded to action and commitment. A hope that if we push hard enough, continue to innovate, and remain fiercely inclusive and creative we will succeed. A hope that stands guard against the disenchanting forces of political compromise, or the covert attacks of apathy that arise when tangible progress cannot be seen. This is the hope that continues to inspire young people in communities across the country, even as the Senate bill crawls forward and President Obama refuses to commit to attending the most important international negotiations of our lifetime. This hope is inspiring the action of young organizers across the nation as they finish one last push by coordinating Clean Energy Forums in the run-up to Copenhagen.

“The students I work with everyday are not discouraged by the Senate’s snail pace or weakening attempts, and they still believe that they can persuade the president they elected to take a position of leadership on the international stage,” said Alicia Eimer, National Organizer at Focus the Nation (FTN). “Failure is not an option for these young folks,” Trell Thomas, another National Organizer at FTN added. “If the Senator doesn’t show up, well so be it. They are still going to build systems of political accountability in their community. And we’ll bring the forum to them.” The exact systems of accountability that will make our federal politicians regret failing our generation in this moment of supreme opportunity.

Each young organizer is adjusting the conversation and model to fit their community and to generate buy in from local citizens. “Our forum wasn’t a typical “green” discussion,” said Mitchell Dumond, lead organizer of a Michigan Clean Energy Forum that occurred last week. “Instead our panel engaged our community and the staffer from Senator Stabenow’s office on how the transition from a fossil fuel based economy to a clean energy based economy would make us safer while putting the people of Michigan back to work after these rough last years. That’s what the Michigan public cares about and now we’re just connecting the dots.”

The tactic was the same in Arkansas even though the story was different. Lead organizer Ryan Beaird and his team facilitated the conversation, with a panel of academics and sustainable business leaders, in a way that emphasized the ecological and economic benefits of wind energy growth in Arkansas, and how strong federal legislation would accelerate that growth.

The campaign rolled on last Saturday with a large event in Tallahassee, Florida, and soon moves on across the country: Akron, Ohio, 11/20; Philadelphia, Pa., 11/21; Tempe, Ariz., 11/21; Charlotte, N.C., 11/21; New Orleans, La., 12/01; Williamsburg, Va., 12/5; Reno, Nev., 12/6.

Come January 1st, we won’t have a strong international agreement and we may not have leadership by the White House. The Senate bill may well have died at the feet of obstructionist republicans and coal-loving democrats, but we will still have one beacon of light to guide us: that unwavering hope of the youth movement. The hope that will build more Powershift summits, 350 day of actions, forums and town hall campaigns along with new and more urgent actions and tactics. A hope that will not die until the last ice cap melts and the last climate refugee is forced from their home.

If you feel this same hope, then now is the time for you to get involved in our historic movement. Start by attending a Clean Energy Forum near you, get involved with the team of organizers, and get plugged in to all the national organizations guiding our progress. Every new face that enters our movement represents another vital set of hands to carry our nation into the clean energy future!

Cross posted from grist:

From coast to coast, teams of young volunteers are organizing Clean Energy Forums.  As part of Focus the Nation‘s campaign Community and the Road to Copenhagen, young organizers are engaging their communities for a day of climate dialogue and reaching out to their senators to join the conversations.  Through this nationwide effort, we hope to distill the political will for a strong U.S. commitment at COP15, the U.N. climate conference that will take place in Copenhagen in December.

Out of each forum, Focus the Nation HQ will generate a Clean Energy Action List.  We will take these to COP15 as evidence of the American people’s desire for clean energy solutions, and of the hard work of the U.S. climate movement this fall.

The campaign kicked off Friday, Oct. 23rd  in Durango, Colo., in conjunction with a 350.org event.  In Durango—a coal-, oil-, and gas-dependent town near the four corners of the United States—rural Southwest youth, like youth around the country, are demanding inclusion in the conversations about how their energy is generated.  The Durango event featured a diverse panel including local politicians, representatives from the Navajo Nation, and forward-thinking business leaders.

Now the campaign is going national with Clean Energy Forums in November:

• Friday, Nov. 6—New York City
• Saturday, Nov. 7—Santa Cruz, Calif.
• Thursday, Nov. 12—Jonesboro, Ark.
• Thursday, Nov. 12—Southfield, Mich.
• Saturday, Nov. 14—Tallahassee, Fla.

If you’d like to get involved, sign up on Focus Local and find your region’s team to join in the organizing fun.

We still need organizers for events in the key states of Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Focus the Nation is offering organizing stipends and funds for event budgets (when was the last time you turned down some cash?), so recommend a talented organizer or sign up yourself to help. You don’t even have to wait to hear from a Focus the Nation staffer—you can start organizing today using the Organizing Guide and Clean Energy Forum Module.

Consider the Clean Energy Forum to be the final ingredient for this fall of climate action.  First, there was the creative outburst for 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action on Oct. 24.  Then the training and excitement from Energy Action Coalition’s regional Power Shift summits.  Sprinkle in pranks from the Yes Men on the Chamber of Commerce for its anti-climate stance.  And you can top it all off with high-level civic engagement and dialogue by organizing your very own Clean Energy Forum.

You don’t want to miss this opportunity to help the lay the road to Copenhagen!

It has been over a week now, and I am realizing that I am still furious. I am deeply concerned with the continued partisan banter. As you may know one of our strongest voices for social and environmental justice, within the Obama administration – Van Jones, has been pressured by right wing smear tactics into resigning his post as Green Jobs Czar and Presidential Advisor. I may understand Van Jones’ reasoning for his resignation, and partially agree with Arriana Huffington’s the glass is half full’ commentary (not her intended purpose), yet I AM FIRED UP! The ghost of campaigns past, ‘Old Washington Politics as Usual’, is rearing its grimace in the face of the Youth Climate Movement. It is happening in the health reform debate, and it is leaking into our greatest climate morale moment.

Are you fired up!? There is a time and a place for righteous anger. What makes it righteous, however, is the appropriate expression of this energy—how this energy is galvanized, transformed and employed to resolve that which brings us to this brimming point of passion. I AM FIRED UP!

This is supposed to be our time. We are supposed to be relishing our past efforts, as a more united and inclusive youth-led grassroots movement. We have demonstrated that we are ready and capable of guiding the American people and our communities toward the ‘online, ‘real-time’, get-the-masses-inspired, be on the move and get on the ground kind of organizing. We are ready to address this urgent and most serious of problems facing our country and the planet.

We transformed a nation last November with a promise of changing DC politics once and for all. We had an eye toward progress at the hands of a diverse administration, where our voices would be channeled through champions like Van Jones, coming from real neighborhoods into the halls of big government. This was supposed to be a time when the use of truth, rational thought and science would shine a light on our common problems and opportunities; accelerating our continued arc toward social justice through a clean energy future for all. I am shocked, but not surprised.

On the verge of our clean energy Super Bowl Sunday, are we getting played? As we ready ourselves and our communities to strengthen the American Clean Energy and Securities Act (ACES) in the Senate, and to drop said “ACES” in the back pocket of President Obama for COP15, the tables of fair play and civility are being turned on us once again. We need Obama to get in the game.

The cheap tactics and misinformation attacks by the old DC media machine, is our cue that once again they feel boxed in the ring, and regard our champions and the voices they carry as real contenders in this match. The divisive tactics of old DC politics as usual have tried to diminish our voice. As right wing conservative pundits rage against rational progress on health reform, as the oil lobby readies itself to pump money into Astro-Turf Organizing campaigns, attacks like the one waged on Van Jones are the final clarion call and charge to move with even stronger composure and collaboration on our global campaign to build a Clean Energy Future.

Lies and cheap tactics to distract and demoralize our efforts will continue. These divisive techniques will stream across our airwaves, television and web, with the hopes that some element of their banter sticks. As we have done before, the cheapness of their political action must be confronted with information, action and courageous determination. We cannot let the attacks on our champions, our ‘Van Joneses’, go by with out a murmur. We can demonstrate to the DC pundits that they did not take Van Jones down, but assisted him in coming home, to the grassroots that are still carrying the movement. How can we do this?

We need to take back our town halls; by attending them in the most civil yet momentous numbers we can muster. We need to go out to our communities and connect to them as we have done in campaigns past. We need to remind people that this is the greatest opportunity we’ve ever had to rebuild justice and prosperity in our towns. We must encourage our fellow neighbors to share in the solutions by contributing their opinions and engaging their Senators and their President.

The ‘Yes We Can’ attitude that belongs to NO ONE PERSON and NO ONE CAMPAIGN, but to the spirit of people who strive for optimism during struggle, must proliferate once again. It must reach out further than it has before. This spirit must lead once again, with civility, complete information and solutions-based organizing.

This action cannot not be bought, as the oil and coal lobby have attempted. The urgency of now has not left us—it defines us. It defines the character of our generation. We must use our moral authority and the opportunity presented to organize our communities and leverage our policy makers to heal our planet and the way we work together.

We are the change and progress we’ve been waiting for! Focus your righteous anger by focusing your actions on the new work ahead. If you can focus yourself, you can focus your block. If you can focus your block you can focus your community. And if you can focus your community, you can focus the nation.

YES WE CAN!  SI SE PUEDE!

Whether it’s Thomas Friedman bemoaning our generation to get off the “facebook” and into some “faces,” or Joe Romm slamming our movement for being too in-your-face with politicians about ACES, we just can’t catch a break.  We need to show our critics that we are serious about engaging politicians on all levels to create a clean energy future; that we are looking beyond the ACES battle and COP15. We need more Bryce Carters.

Bryce is a veteran of the Virginia climate movement.  Starting with the Focus the Nation 2008 teach- in campaign, and continuing with recruitment around 07 and 09 Powershift, VA. Powershift, and numerous campus based events, he has been a continuous leader in the Virginia Tech student movement for several years.    His activism and leadership has steadily grown parallel with the growth of the national climate movement, and this April, as many of us did, he decided to leap ahead.

During the Focus the Nation April, 2009 town hall event that Bryce helped organize, the Blacksburg Mayor and a town councilman both stated the need for a student/youth voice in local politics.  The light bulb went off in Bryce’s head. “I thought why not now.  A strong drive to step it up and represent the student community and climate movement at Virginia Tech was ignited in me,” he recalls.   “I knew it was a perfect time to get involved at the next level of political participation.  It’s an opportunity to serve my community but also serve as a model for other communities.”  That’s the moment when Bryce, still a full time student and activist, decided to run for Blacksburg Town Council.

Bryce’s transition to local politics was shaped by his experiences as an activist.   At the 2008 Focus the Nation teach- in Bryce learned that bringing diverse, and even competing voices to talk about solutions can be productive.  “Getting power companies, environmentalists, educators, and policy makers in the room together taught me the ways in which different institutions work, and if you start a dialogue and build relationships you can make things move.  That opened up my eyes to the potential of politics,” he remembers.

Organizing around the Powershift conferences in Blacksburg and attending them introduced Bryce to the potency of youth political power.  “If we bring together the energies of youth activists across the country in educating our neighbors about the issues we face and bring that momentum to local office, we can create a fundamental change in politics,” Bryce reminds us.

Bryce’s trips to the west coast’s most sustainable cities also fueled his political fire.  On a trip to Portland, Oregon he remembers thinking: “policy makers should combine different successful ideas and models and bring them to the East Coast; growth boundaries, sustainable development, why not for Blacksburg.  My community deserves that too.”

There is no doubt it will be an uphill battle for Bryce.  He is running on a progressive platform with the two pillars of clean energy policy, and a web 2.0 system that will increase democratic dialogue for the citizens of Blacksburg.  He faces nine candidates all vying for four seats on the town council, but he knows the campaign is more about the journey than the end result.  Bryce is blazing a path that many of us can follow in our communities, and even if many of us fail we will come out on the other side as more experienced organizers and leaders.

At a time when we are being criticized for not obeying the doctrine of “political reality” in our constant pressure and engagement, it seems we need to start following Bryce’s example.  We must continue to constructively engage our policy makers no matter what anyone says.  We must push them to be stronger, to be more vocal, and to be champions.  We must continue to commit the actions that directly disrupt or shut down the dirty industries and back door tactics that are killing our climate.  But we need a far sited vision for our movement as well.

If our politicians continue to gamble our future away under the banner of compromise, we must replace them.  Yes Blacksburg Town Council is a long way from DC, but in the words of Bryce Carter: “Local politics is just like activism you have to start from the bottom up.  Political campaigns are movements.  Here we are creating movement that can start at the local level, move to Richmond and from Richmond to DC.”  If enough of us take the Bryce Carter leap we could change the paradigm of industry dominated politics, to real progressive climate policies.

For those of us willing to take that leap Bryce has some advice:

“We’re in a new era of civic interactivity and engagement.  If you have the commitment, passion, cooperation, and capacity to actively engage everyone around you about issues that matter to your community, you have absolutely no reason not to run.

Don’t be afraid to get involved and seek ways to be active in your community. The presidential election showed how powerful the youth vote is, use that empowerment.

Be engaging and seek out opportunities to talk with citizens.  Take note of what resources are available to you through discussions.  List issues that reappear and research them!  As you progress, you will begin to see creative ways to work to solve these issues and empower citizens to be involved.

It is about the journey, not the result.  You may not get in office your first election, but you gain invaluable experience and insights that make you a better community organizer and get others more politically involved to actively care in your community.”

Well Bryce, if I was registered in Blacksburg instead of Oregon you would have my vote, and anyone else that takes that leap has it too!

To learn more about his campaign, visit Bryce’s website at:  www.brycecarter.com.

Since April, certain needs have arisen that must be addressed. First, we must continue pressure on policy makers and institutions to accelerate our transition to clean energy sources, and to strengthen ACES and our local legislation. At the same time, we must fulfill the less noticed need of developing and empowering our new climate leaders.

In the name of fulfilling the latter, and to help America overcome its dependence on coal, Focus the Nation is pleased to announce the second year of its Focus Roots Fellowships: “Coal and the Road to Copenhagen.”

Across the country communities are trapped in the carbon based economy of the past. In order to accelerate the transition toward a just and prosperous clean energy future, it is critical to have a strong, diverse set of young leaders who are educated on the crisis of climate change and inspired by the opportunity to build the clean energy future. The deeper these clean energy roots reach within the community, the faster we can move toward utilizing renewable energy systems and the more prosperous the climate movement will become.

This summer, with support from Nike, Climate Ride, Youth Noise and the Danish Embassy, Focus the Nation will select two Fellows and award one $10,000 grant in each of the following categories: Sport and Art.

Between the months of August and December 2009, two lucky Fellows will receive financial and operational support from Focus the Nation to implement their idea to move their community past coal.

In addition, from September 26^th through 30^th, recipients will participate in Climate Ride and present their idea and/or initial progress to the other 200 riders. Then in December, with support from the Danish Embassy, the recipients will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark to present their projects to the international community participating in the COP15 climate treaty negotiations. This will be an unprecedented opportunity for young climate leaders to bring the story of their community and their passion for creativity and innovation to the local, national and international stage.

Are you ready to accelerate your community past coal? Do you have an innovative, creative, and empowering idea to do just that? Are you ready to cash in on a once in a life time opportunity to turn your idea into action? If so the Focus Roots Fellowship is for you!

Climate leaders spread the word, and deepen the clean energy roots in your community!

To Apply or for more information, application dates and details, visit www.focusthenation.org/roots

Cross Posted from Here