It’s Getting Hot In Here

Bloodshed with REDD. Talks of saving the world’s last remaining forests and the communities who depend on them came to a grinding halt at the end of the Copenhagen Climate Negotiations. Initial agreement on a global target to reduce deforestation and other safeguards were either moved from operational part of the text to the preamble or were deleted altogether.

The REDD agreements were being touted as an easy document for nations to agree on, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that most working on the initiative were deeply dismayed by the results.

What’s Left? Other processes intended to address the rapid destruction of the world’s tropical forests, including the UN-REDD initiative and the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, will continue but without the safeguards that were put forth in the initial global REDD agreement. This patchwork approach runs the risk of simply shuffling deforestation from one location to another, failing to reduce overall emissions from deforestation, and failing to protect the people who live in and around forested ecosystems.

According to the three-page draft text published by The Guardian, negotiations on how to handle world’s forests will continue into 2010, but it is uncertain whether the draft agreement on REDD negotiated in Copenhagen will be used as the basis for those negotiations. Moreover, the weak paragraph on forests in the draft text represents a backward step in comparison to the Bali Action Plan mandate, which prioritized the protection of forests over the preservation of logging interests.

All this being said, organizations like Global Witness and Rainforest Action Network are gearing up for continued forest protection. Additionally, money is being allocated to promising REDD programs, such as the Rukinga Wildlife Reserve in Kenya, the first REDD project in Africa. More on forests coming soon…

On February 27th to March 2nd, 12,000 students and recent graduates left their homes and dorms, put on their green hard hats, and headed to the Nation’s Capitol to advocate for green jobs and clean energy solutions at PowerShift09.

Despite driving snow and bitter winds, students lined the West Lawn to rally for PowerShift09

I was one of the 14 percent who attended PowerShift07 just 15 months before, where 6,000 of us came to speak to our Congressmen and women about our demands. PowerShift07 was considered the largest lobby day on climate change in the history of the United States…now just 15 months later- Energy Action- the group behind much of the organizing, was able to double the number and make this the largest lobby day on any issue in our country.

Continue reading ‘Why 12,000 Students Skipped School’

Two girls walk past me with plaid scarves wrapped around their necks discussing whether they should go for the greening your school or the organizing on campus seminar; a young man with a dapper step jams to his iPod with a “Green the Ghetto” shirt; another young man with long blond hair whisks past me taking two steps at a time, clearly focused on making the next panel; volunteers in green-and-white shirts speak into their headpieces to make sure rooms aren’t double booked, volunteers are on hand and everything is going smoothly. Crowds of young students buzz and huddle outside the conference rooms of the D.C. Convention Center; a whole line of students throw open the glass doors and pour in, a rush of cold February air blows past…

This is PowerShift09. Continue reading ‘(com)passion in politics: PowerShift09′

On December 31st I headed down to Kingston, TN ten days after the largest coal ash disaster in the history of the U.S. A catastrophic failure in the retention pond caused a 20 foot river swell and poured out 1.3 billion gallons of coal fly ash over 300 acres of waterways, land and people’s homes. I headed down to survey the site and speak with the local residents, all who were cordial and taking the disaster in stride. There are a lot of mixed feelings down there, so we tried to capture that in this video’s point of view and keep it as objective as possible. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

I headed to the streets after Obama’s victory only to find Bedford Avenue in euphoric celebration. Dancing, singing, and embracing all took place in the middle of the streets. Cars and buses detoured around the crowds. Chants of “Yes We Can,” “Obama! Obama!,” “USA!,” and the National Anthem filled the air. What an emotional uplift! Watch it all captured on a hand-held FLIP (video HERE).

I left for Pennsylvania to vote this morning and had some colorful discussions with my father and grandparents on Obama. See what they had to say HERE and why there was a massive movement pro-Obama.

I sit here watching the electoral votes pour in and the crowds in Chicago chanting for Obama. We are witnessing a very historical moment. At 10:30 PM EST, CNN has likened the youth movement to the Civil Rights movement. “But this is not an outward protest; the youth are changing the movement from within.” Keep it up guys and girls. Our voices are rising.

In between doing some Planet Green events I’ve been filming for G Word, one of Discovery’s new shows. Here’s a recap on one of my favorite episodes that I think you’ll totally dig. Btw, can you pick out the Campus Climate Challenge pin I’m wearing? Stay tuned for some clips, bloopers, and what it looks like going up a wind turbine!

“I imagine putting up a windmill is quite a big undertaking,” I said to Ned Hall, President of AES Wind Energy. “Yes, very much so,” he responded. “So when one is going up, do you notify the community that you are having a big erection?” Oh yes I did, I said it. Bam, Bam, Bam. (joke I got compliments of W. LaDuke)

A windmill kisses the wind.

Continue reading ‘Journey to the center of a windmill’

In case ya’ll missed it, here’s a play-by-play from the Green Jobs Now call.

We’re looking to plan events in all community for 9.27.08 – The National Green Jobs Action Day. Check it out over at greenjobsnow.com. Good way to get your friends out of the house and onto the streets. Here’s the three type of events that we propose:

• VISUAL EVENT – create a visual statement, like “GREEN JOBS NOW,” or “[Fill in community name] is ready for GREEN JOBS.” Visuals can be props, signs, hardhats, work gear, anything that helps you get your creative swerve on.

• EDUCATIONAL EVENT - throw an event, block party, BBQ, sister salons, open house parties, solution festivals, or anything else that ties in educational materials with good community fun.

• SERVICE EVENT – drive interest by engaging people in service jobs, conservation corps, etc. to roll up their sleeves and get out to volunteer and make a statement. Maybe it involves delivering LCD lightbulbs to low-income areas, planting trees in a local park.

Here’s the goals that we want to achieve at the events:

• 1st Goal: Send a unified message to our elected officials – “We are ready for a green economy!”

• 2nd Goal: Position people of color as drivers in this transition of this green economy.

• 3rd Goal: Build broad support for this transition. We want low income people and people of color as the drivers and in the center of this conversation, but we also want broad network support from churches, unions, rural and inner city areas, and other pivotal players.

Special highlights from the call.

The Honorable D’Army Bailey (Civil Rights Movement)- “On April 4th, 2008 in Memphis Tennessee at the Dream Reborn Conference, I witnessed a terrific interracial gathering and celebration and such a wonderful turnout of young people…It was the young people that led the Civil Rights movement, and it will be the young people that are the engine, the fuel that will lead this movement. They have the independence, the vision, and the energy to push the movement forward.”

Gillian Caldwell (One Sky Campaign)- “Anyone who is tracking of the DNC, ‘energy independence’ and ’5 million green jobs’ is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. It’s a credit to the leadership of Energy Action Coalition, Green for All because they are pushing this into the forefront of this conversation. We are having a significant impact in the national discourse. We are mobilizing a movement to put pressure on decision makers to enact green jobs, moratorium on coal fire plant production, and cap on GHG emissions…We are having an influence in Washington, D.C. The doors are open to us in the Congress and Senate. We will see Climate Policy in 2009, but what will it be? Will it be tepid? Will it be hot? You can get the conversation there…where it needs to be.”

Cathy Zoi (Alliance for Climate Protection) -”100% clean energy needs to be heard in the first 100 days of this election! This will be done through a national energy upgrade (millions of jobs to make it possible for everyday folks); Thousands of megawatts of clean energy from where the fuel is free-the sun, the wind, and the earth; and need a super smart grid – one that is wired from one point to the next – from rural areas to northern areas. We need that political will.”

I talk to Think MTV’s Pete Griffin on greening the Real World, what the MTV-Generation cares about, and how to sell green to an audience that isn’t easily bought out.

Tune in on June 11, 2008 during the 9-10p Real World, 11p-12a Real World, and same time again on June 18, 2008 to catch the Real World Green House tour during the commercial interstitials.

“If you build it…”

A little while ago I got a call from my friend Pete Griffin over at Think MTV. “We’re going to build a green house for the Real World,” he said. “Do you want to take the cast around for a tour?”

Right on…Real World. It’s the show I gratuitously watched my second year at college. And I know I wasn’t the only one. Real World is one of the most watched shows in the U.S. for people between the ages of 12-34. It has a devoted following, and this season of Real World: Hollywood marks its twentieth season running. Not bad considering most reality television these days last a season or two before getting the ax.

For those of you who may have never seen Real World, it goes like this: Seven young people come together—from all different walks of life. They live under one roof in a sweet pad in some city for a few months. Cameras watch their every move and we are voyeuristically entertained as their life unfolds.

Some people would say that the high-flying drama and random acts of sex take away from the message, but that’s just not so. Don’t fool yourself. We love that shit. People who are at the pulse of what’s going on in a young person’s brain know that all that environmental messaging doesn’t have to be force-fed or so in-your-face. If two people just so happen to hop into the shower together “to save on water,” then that’s totally fine by us. We get it. We like it fluid, not contrived. If you’re trying too hard, it’s not cool any longer.

Continue reading ‘MTV’s Real World Gets Real on Green’