It’s Getting Hot In Here

[The following was co-written by Naomi Klein, author of #1 international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, Terry Tempest Williams, world renowned wildlife author, Bill Mckibben, founder of 350.org and author of The End Of Nature, and Dr. James Hansen, author of Storms of my Grandchildren, and who is regarded as the world's leading climatologist. All recognize the trial of Tim DeChristopher to be a turning point in the climate movement. Please visit our resource page for more information]

Dear Friends,

The epic fight to ward off global warming and transform the energy system that is at the core of our planet’s economy takes many forms: huge global days of action, giant international conferences like the one that just failed in Copenhagen, small gestures in the homes of countless people.

But there are a few signal moments, and one comes next month, when the federal government puts Tim DeChristopher on trial in Salt Lake City. Tim—“Bidder 70”– pulled off one of the most creative protests against our runaway energy policy in years: he bid for the oil and gas leases on several parcels of federal land even though he had no money to pay for them, thus upending the auction. The government calls that “violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act” and thinks he should spend ten years in jail for the crime; we call it a noble act, a profound gesture made on behalf of all of us and of the future. Continue reading ‘Call to action by Naomi Klein, Terry Tempest Williams, Bill McKibben, Dr. James Hansen and Peaceful Uprising’

photo: MoveOn Flickr

You’ve probably heard about the Toyota vehicle recall, related to sticking accelerators.  But did you know that despite selling the Prius as the eco-conscious vehicle of choice, Toyota is still a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the most backwards trade group on climate?

Well, we have an opportunity to ask why.

On Monday, Digg is sponsoring a live dialog with Toyota’s US President and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz.  Just like  CitizenTube, our question will be asked if enough people vote for it – so digg it now! Continue reading ‘Tell Toyota COO to Put the Brakes on Climate Change & the US Chamber’

Hello intrepid readers and writers of ItsGettingHotInHere.org. The blog is 5 years old, started during the Montreal COP11 conference, and in that time we have all contributed to making this a huge communal resource.  Can you help us grow more by doing the site a 5 minute favor?

Our movement benefits from the breadth and quality of stories and opinions shared here. Activists in Oregon can benefit from action ideas from Australia. On-the-ground activists fighting coal in West Virginia engage in discussion with San Francisco think tanks.  Climate activists share stories from around the world. We help the movement grow by broadcasting amazing victories, like the Green Job/Green New York Act and stopping a 1000 MW coal plant in Meigs Co Ohio.

In 5 years, these efforts created a blog that has huge authority on the web, and is read by everyone from journalists to activists to policy makers.  As we upgrade to a new decade, we’re upgrading the this site based on your feedback.

The IGHIH editors have put together a survey to collect input from readers, writers and partner organizations so we can better serve you and the climate movement. Thank you so much for your feedback!

Take the 5 min Survey

@UNFCCC #COP15 #FAIL. You could have tweeted it before any arriving delegates strolled from their jets to their waiting limos. All that sign waving (and wow was there a lot of it!) inspired millions waving their own banners at home, but the windowless plenary wasn’t paying attention. A significant number of anarchists got beat up and gave the mainstream media their cover story. In the end we observed a handful of rich countries smoking cigars in a backroom, playing dice with human life. The UN, of course, did “take note.” So did we, and clearly we’re not clicking any “Like” buttons on this one.

What are we going to do? Shout louder? Damn straight. Sign 365 new petitions before COP16? Hell yes. Consolidate our resources into the most powerful lobbying organization in the world? YE… um, what?

Not kidding. There are limits to non-violence. We’ve reached them. It’s time to enter the ring, line the gloves with brass knuckles and bloody the opposition. I mean that figuratively. Put the brass knuckles down.

In concrete terms, we must, right now, consolidate our movement, enlist the best of the best lobbyists, persuade middle-America into a sustainability frenzy and get ourselves elected to local government where we can be most effective. Our united campaign must start immediately. We’ve got until the elections next November.

That’s the general vision. Details after the jump.
Continue reading ‘A Time For Pragmatism’

I like numbers, and I also like telling people when they’ve done a good job. So, I’m going to continue what should be a monthly series about this blog itself. This is a big community, and we do amazing work, so it makes sense that we’d want to check in on how we do an even better job of sharing those stories with the world. ItsGettingHotInHere.org is a powerful tool to do that.

In these posts, I’ll do a snapshot of how the blog’s doing overall, and then have a few helpful tips, and finish with the top posts of the month, and other regular stats.

Stats: In the month of November (well, almost, I’ll try and update this when its actually over) the blog was viewed 52,000 times.  That puts us up there with our best months, although no stand-out crises or scandals drove an obscene amount of traffic. I expect December to be the biggest month ever, with all the amazing reporting coming out of Copenhagen.

Read on for more stats, and also how to link IGHIH to your Facebook account and how to read this blog by topic (such as how to read all news about Copenhagen!) Continue reading ‘How’s the Blog Doing? (monthly update)’

I like numbers, especially when they give feedback on how we’re doing.  Something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and am now just getting around to, is post a snapshot of stats on the blog for the past 30 days.  First, a little context, and then the top posts and numbers below the fold.

For this round-up I took the top posts that were posted in the past 30 days.  Some posts get more traffic from a high volume of google searches, but those searches don’t tend to focus on the youth climate movement.

In the last 30 days, we’ve had 106 posts from dozens of different authors, covering almost every corner of the globe, and a broad view of all that makes up this movement.  We’ve had 260 comments and there are 325 people registered to post.  We’ve had over 55,000 unique views, and it goes without saying, played a big part in the largest global day of climate action ever.

If you’re interested in learning more, check our technorati rank and read about what all this means at Fired Up Media. And for contributors, please look at the stats in the back-end to see more about where web-traffic comes from.

This post is a bit of an experiment.  IGHIH is a community project with hundreds of contributors, and we’re still learning how to get our voices out there louder than ever.  For thoughts about how to share community news like this easier, discussions about what this all means, and how we can do better, I’ll see you in the comments.

And now for the most viewed posts, most clicked links, etc…

Continue reading ‘How’s the Blog Doing?’

In the latest development of the events leading to Van Jones’ resignation as Special Adviser to the President on Green Jobs, it has emerged that the effort was spearheaded by Americans For Prosperity (AFP).  Adele Stan of AlterNet writes:

If you thought the targeting of Van Jones for vilification by the right was about his race, his youthful flirtation with socialism, or a petition he signed about the 9/11 attacks, you’d only be a little bit right.

And if you think it was about the Color of Change campaign against Glenn Beck’s show on Fox News Channel, you’d really miss the mark.

The racism and red-baiting suffered by Jones at the hands of Beck and his admirers are simply key elements in a marketing strategy designed to serve Very Big Business — the oil and other business interests that support the astroturfing group Americans for Prosperity.

The strategy is simple: Prey upon the worst fears of the right-wing folks who live next door in order to get them to organize against their own interests.  Continue reading ‘Big Business Targeted Van Jones in Plot to Stop Climate Legislation’

Glenn Beck has repeatedly used outrageous statements and race-baiting to attack President Obama and now Van Jones.  Read the July 23rd attack on Jones, courtesy of Media Matters:

This guy wasn’t a radical, then was arrested. Spent six months in jails. Came out a communist. Then he was a communist-anarchist radical. And then he decided — he found the eco-movement and decided green is the new red. He then went on to become a green expert.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, on September 1st, Beck dug up video of Powershift 2009 – yes, the very same one – to ‘prove’ that Jones is a communist and a revolutionary. Skip to minute 4 if you can’t take all the craziness and just want the relevant stuff.

Why these attacks? Because one very bad-ass organization is running a very effective campaign to starve Beck of advertising money (i.e. his reason to be on the airwaves).  Color of Change, with its campaign “Stop the Race Baiting” Oh, and Van Jones is one of the founders of Color of Change.  Glenn Beck is lashing out because he’s hurt – Oh no, Glenn, are the angry liberals starting to get under your skin?

The most important thing you can do this week is join this campaign.  Then put it on facebook.  Then tweet it.  Use the hashtag #supportvan and get this out there.  We know how effective these campaigns can be – why else do conservatives fear MoveOn.org like its the devil?  And we also know that our generation gets its news primarily from social media – friends.

Sign the petition, get the word out.  Yes We Can take away Glenn Beck’s microphone.

Continue reading ‘Yes We Can Stop Glenn Beck and Save Van Jones’

Do you want to report on the most compelling stories of the climate crisis?  Are you an amateur photographer wanting to learn the skills of your trade while doing your part to save the climate? Or maybe you are a videographer wanting to change the outcome of the UN Climate Negotiations (COP 15).

We are calling all passionate youth journalists who want to use their skills to launch “Survival,” to the forefront of the international political debate, amplify voices underrepresented by traditional media, and report on the most compelling climate stories from around the world.

Project Survival Media is a global youth journalism network that aims to influence the outcome of the COP 15 by broadcasting the most critical message of our time: As world leaders negotiate a new climate treaty, “Survival is Not Negotiable.”

We are seven media teams, one for each continent.  We build stories together that will focus on those roles in society that are most impacted by climate change: factory workers, farmers, mothers, organizers, and health care providers.

Who is eligible?
-    Any young person between the ages of 15-30.
-    Have some experience in any of the following: blogging, reporting, photography, or videography.
-    Has either a background in: climate change, human rights issues, global and local environmental justice struggles.
-    Living anywhere on one of the seven continents

Click Here to complete an application to be on the Project Survival Regional Media Teams.  ALL applications must be submitted by: September 11th, 2009.

Youth climate leaders launch a new media initiative to put Survival front & center on international stage, pressure delegates in Copenhagen

San Francisco, CA.— On August 11, hundreds of youth climate activists, supporters, artists, and community members gathered at Minna Gallery to launch a global network of youth journalists who will use video, photography, and blogs to report from the front lines of the climate crisis in the lead up to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December.

The new media project is called Project Survival Media, and its goals are ambitious: Launch seven youth-directed new media teams, one from each continent; Report on compelling and under-told climate change stories; Leverage this media using the vast organizing and distribution networks that youth have built to spread their message; and Influence the international dialogue in the lead up to the UN Climate Negotiations.

“What if, on all seven continents, there were young people equipped to globally broadcast pivotal stories about the climate crisis?” says youth organizer and Project Coordinator Shadia Fayne Wood.

“What if these young people were empowered to amplify disenfranchised voices and propel the principle of “Survival” to the forefront of the political debate? Climate change is not a future threat – people all over the planet are suffering from different effects of climate change right now, and they don’t have time to wait until a solution becomes politically feasible.” Ms. Wood also pointed out that there is a real need to breathe life into the statistics of the climate crisis, and that new media has the potential to do just that. Continue reading ‘Project Survival Media Launches from Minna Gallery, SF’