It's Getting Hot In Here

This post was co-written with Michael Davidson.

Just in case our 5 years of swarming state capitals decked out in green hard hats, running campaigns calling for more jobs in clean energy, and vowing to only vote for candidates who support renewable energy companies hasn’t made it clear — youth really want more green jobs.

While young people have been some of the biggest advocates for green jobs, no one has really tried to answer the question of whether green jobs will be youth jobs? Will more green jobs mean more jobs for youth, or will young people miss out on the very green jobs we’ve worked so hard to create?

So far, the answer has been “we don’t know.” That’s because, despite all of the green jobs studies that have been done, none of them has really looked at the different kinds of people who actually get green jobs (one exception is for income and education level). This is especially true across different races, ethnicities, genders, and, yeah, ages. So, we set out to change that, writing the first study we know of to look at youth access to green jobs, and also the first written by youth. Continue reading ‘Will Green Jobs Be YOUTH Jobs?’

The rules of the game have just changed. Less than ten days ago, the Republican Party rode a massive wave into Washington. For the next two years, gone are the days of heart-wrenching testimony from young citizens impacted by climate change and gone are the days of AutoTuned lawmakers discussing the economic benefits brought about by clean energy legislation. We’re operating under new circumstances.

Going forward into the 112^th Congress, the smart money is on inaction, delay, and discord. The punditocracy and inside-the-Beltway flacks are bracing themselves for government shutdowns, a fight over health care repeal, and investigations into the Obama Administration. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this movement, it’s that committed youth clean energy and climate activists don’t give up easily, and I can’t imagine us starting to quit any time soon. Since the rules and expectations have changed, it’s time for us to change too.

Congressional Republicans have already started claiming that the American people have given them a widespread mandate to cut government spending, reduce the deficit, and jumpstart the American economy. In general, these are folks who have an abysmal record on climate and can’t wait to twiddle their thumbs while the world burns. But, since they’re now in charge of “the people’s branch,” youth climate advocates would do well to listen to what our opposition is asking for and see if we can find some common ground.

As the New York Times reports, “Reducing red ink — the $1.3 trillion deficit — will be a major test of Congress’ split-party makeup following elections that partly focused on runaway government spending.” Sounds like it might be time for some unsexy messaging – let’s talk about the deficit, baby. The National Debt was on tip of everyone’s tongues this election season – from Rand Paul to President Obama, American politicians seem to be seeking a way to cut our mounting deficit.  One unexpected way to do this? Put a price on carbon. Continue reading ‘Cut the Carbon, Cut the Deficit: Where Do Climate Advocates Go in the 112th Congress?’

Cross-posted from the HuffingtonPost

In an election that’s been characterized by record corporate spending, capitulation to moderation, and a lack of leadership behind visionary ideas, the youth clean energy vote is showing the leadership it demands. In hundreds of locations, thousands of young voters are standing up to Big Oil, challenging special interests, and mobiliziing their peers around bold clean energy solutions.

In California, young voters are literally standing up to Big Oil. The oil industry has been bankrolling two dirty and deceptive ballot measures, Propositions 23 & 26 and young voters are fighting back with hard work, wit and people power. The California Student Sustainability Coalition’s (CSSC) Power Vote Campaign, in partnership with CalPIRG and Environment California, has organized on over 50 campuses and collected over 160,000 “No on Prop 23 pledges.” The CSSC and the statewide community organization alliance against Prop 23 launched the Clean Energy Tour, a traveling hip hop show to merge arts and activism. And Joel Francis, a student leader at Cal State, Los Angeles issues an incredible debate challenge to oilman Charles Koch, one of the lead financiers of Proposition 23, has drawn national attention to the people-powered battle against dirty corporate interests.

In response to the BP drilling disaster, young leaders are mobilizing peers around clean energy solutions that can protect their coasts from dangerous energy like offshore drilling. The Southern Energy Network and Florida YES Coalition have engaged over 5000 young voters in their Power Vote campaign to promote Solar in the Sunshine state. Their creative actions on campus, like “Human oil spills” and “Marches to the polls” have captured the attention of local media, and their energetic presence at the Florida Senatorial debate pushed energy into the dialogue.

“Windmills, Not Oilspills” is the chant you’ll hear around Virginia. They’ve mobilized thousands of voters around it, and brought it to political debates across the state, inculding to Virginia’s 5th Congressional District where their most active chapter has been an important voice in the tight race. Over 1000 young people from Charlottesville and University of Virginia have pledged to carry their demands for clean energy to the ballot box on November 2nd, and in the lead up to the election they organized Halloween events and Dorm Storms to ensure strong turnout.

Ever seen “mass transit train” Halloween costumes? You would have if you were in Ohio on Halloween. You also would have seen young clean energy advocates captivate an enormous rally with break dancing – it sounds crazy, but it’s true! The Ohio Student Environmental 
Coalition is mixing it up and breaking it down with creative tactics and brass-tacks grassroots organizing. They stormed dorms across Ohio in costume, and are organizing all day phonebanks for election day.

But election day isn’t over and the chips haven’t settled yet. Get out there and join these young people in voting, standing up to dirty money, and pushing through for a clean energy economy – if we don’t, no one else will.

Cross posted from Energy Action Coalition’s Blog

In the final days before the election, young people across Ohio are breakin’ it down, literally. They’ve got three objectives in mind: (1) turning out the youth vote, (2) making the case to revitalize the Rust Belt with clean energy solutions like high-speed rail, (3) and having fun.

On Sunday we headed to a rally to pull it all together. President Obama, Gubernatorial Candidate Ted Strickland, and Senatorial Candidate Lee Fisher we’re all going to be there, so we knew we had to make it big! Since it was Halloween we stormed the crowd with “mass transit train” costumes and talked to hundreds of people about why we’re voting for clean mass transit in Ohio, and got them signed up on the Power Vote pledge. (We even got Governor Strickland to sign the pledge!)

Things really started to heat up when the rally got started. Rolling deep with lots of Power Voters we caught the attention of the speakers and they mentioned clean mass transit several times. But the leadership we were looking for came from one of our own ranks! When the musical guest, Common, took the stage, Gabe Morgan from Bowling Green University decided it was time to literally “break–it–down.” He cleared a spot in the crowd, and busted out some ridiculous break-dancing moves. The crowd went wild, and he captivated the entire audience around our message for clean and just energy! Reporters came up to him afterward wanting to get a quote and learn more about the Power Vote campaign. It was epic! Everyone left amped up and ready to turn out the youth vote from across Ohio.

Young people across the state have been raising their voice and turning out the youth vote for clean and just energy. Last night we took our “mass transit costumes” to Bowling Green State University where they had a Trick Out the Vote event and led a major dorm storm.

Politically Ohio is known as the “Bellwether State” and sets the tone for the entire country. With all the leadership the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition (OSEC) is showing, I’m hopeful about the direction of our country!

Elections in Australia don’t have a predictable two year marathon time-line.  Instead, the sitting prime minister calls an election and then everyone has 5 weeks to campaign, because on the 5th weekend the voting happens (which is mandatory, but more on that in a bit)

A few weeks ago, when Julia Gillard called an election, it couldn’t have come at a better or worse time for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.  I worked as the Interim Online Director for the AYCC from March-May and during that time we were plagued by uncertainty.  When should we hold regional powershifts? What was our election campaign?  How could we plan something creative and hard-hitting without being way too early or late?  Well, you act on what you know, fake the rest, and charge full steam ahead.

As it turns out, the election was called the weekend after the last Powershift conference.  Perfect.  It also meant that the organization was at 110% capacity to put on three conferences, and then had to implement a many-part election campaign on top of that. Not so perfect.

What did they do? What any good organization should: they set their sights even higher, raised more money, brought on more staff and volunteers, and set about making it happen.  The AYCC has rolled out a full-blown election campaign with stunts, calls to politicians and a TV ad encouraging people to vote.  I know a lot of them haven’t slept in weeks, but it’s amazing:

Continue reading ‘Climate Election Down Under’

On April 30th, 2010, 50 or so students from across Vermont came together with clean energy advocates from across the state to urge the candidates for governor of Vermont to ensure that the aging, leaking Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is shut down on time in 2012 and replaced with 100% clean electricity. Our first big action in the Race to Replace Vermont Yankee was a massive bike mobilization that brought passionate advocates from Montpelier, the state capital, to Burlington, the biggest city in the state. Check out our video:

Vermont’s abundant clean energy resources, from numerous micro-hydro sites to bountiful wind going untapped, make Vermont Yankee an unnecessary resource for the state. In order to renew Vermont’s economy, spur job creation in a state where young people are leaving in droves, and ensure Vermont’s status as a clean energy leader in the country, advocates are rallying round the 2010 governor’s election as an opportunity to point Vermont’s energy future in a new direction. Most importantly, we’re having a lot of fun while doing it!

All summer long, a crew of organizers from across Vermont will be working to push the candidates towards a bold clean energy plan, mobilize young clean energy voters to get out and vote, and raise the salience of clean energy in the election as a whole. While we’ve got an unlimited amount of people power, we do have a little bit of a shortage of dollar power, so it would be awesome if we could have the support of the youth climate movement to help guarantee Vermont is put on a path towards a clean energy future. Thanks!

On Wednesday night, I got to hear firsthand how electoral organizing is actually a great excuse to showcase our victories, build youth power, and have FUN. After a month full of one-on-one dialogue, planning, and statewide conversations, leaders from around the country, from Arkansas to Florida to Missouri to Massachusetts, joined one another on the phone and over the interwebs (via our online chat room), to share how we can ROCK THE VOTE this fall!

First, we got a rousing warm-up from Ben Wessel, who’s been working hard on the Race to Replace in Vermont (more on that later )- we celebrated the Cape Wind victory, called on our Southern politicians for leadership, and cheered on the potential for the clean energy to be the new economic driver in the Midwest!

Next, we heard from a handful of leaders who laid out how they’re going to MAKE CHANGE and ENGAGE OUR GENERATION this fall and have a really good time while they’re at it!

• Ben shared his plan for the Race to Replace- which is about saying goodbye to dirty nuclear and hello to 100% clean electricity, 100+ bikers, lobbying in Montpelier, potlucks in Burlington with UVM students, concerts, partnerships with utilities, and politicians getting behind our vision! Check out his video here.
• Erika Zarowin in Ohio also told us about Making Green a Primary Color, which will build off the groundwork laid during Ohio Power Shift, bringing youth climate demands to the forefront of the Ohio Congressional Primary.
• There are so many other good stories and ideas to take from nearly twenty states working to make this fall about SAYING YES TO WIND and clean energy, NO TO COAL and dirty fuel, and PUTTING THE POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE YOUTH! You can check out these plans and more on our Build Our Electoral Campaign Page.

After hearing all the excitement and visions of state and local leaders around the country, we took it to the next level to discuss with one another: common themes and messaging to share, resources and tools that we could collaborate on developing, and  how we can continue to support one another between campuses, communities, and across state lines! Lots of sweet ideas that came out of that, and I’m excited to see them taken to the next level! Continue reading ‘Why This Fall is Going to Be Full of Victories and Fun!’

My post last week introduced an exciting process for us to build an electoral campaign from the ground up – I’m back to report that it’s working, that we are starting to see the results, and to share with you some next steps!

The basic idea is that (1) in communities across the country we are having discussions on what we hope to achieve moving forward — for many of us this would build off our Define Our Decade events and discussions — (2) then we are having statewide discussions to develop collective goals, objectives and talk coordination, and finally (3) we’ll pull it all together on a conference call (RSVP!) for each state to share their ideas, discuss how to weave our efforts together, and make plans to work with and support one another.

Based on a few reportbacks I’ve heard, people are really narrowing in on how we can use the election to build power and support behind our issues. Whether it’s offshore oil drilling in Florida, or clean energy opportunities in the coalfields of West Virginia, people are identifying the most important issues to work on that will inspire lots of people to engage. And the discussion isn’t just about turning people out to vote, there’s talk of bird-dogging candidates, running spoof corporations for office to expose the influence of dirty money on politics, and other creative tactics!

A few state network discussions have already happened, but there are a bunch more planned (and it’s not too late to plan your own)! Check out the listing below, and http://www.energyactioncoalition.org/BuildOurElectoralCampaign for updates.

• April 8 – West Virginia Youth Action League
• April 8-11 – Florida Student Lobby Day and Leadership Planning Summit
• April 12  - Midwest Electoral Call
• April 16 – Maryland Student Climate Coalition Lobby Day and Visioning Bonanza
• April 16-18 – Electoral Discusstion at Power Shift New York Regional Summit
• April 19 – SEN Southeast Regional (NC, SC, FL, GA, TN, AL, MS, LA) Electoral Call
• April 21 – Virginia Climate Action Network State-wide Call

Continue reading ‘Planning to Rock the Vote, One Community, One State at a Time’

For the last few months, as a fellow at the Energy Action Coalition, I’ve been working with partners, state networks and youth leaders to collaboratively design campaigns.  As someone active with the Sierra Student Coalition and previously involved with state networks, I know how powerful it can be to put young, energetic leaders in the drivers seat.

Define Our Decade came as a result of these discussions with leaders all across the country. In the wake of Copenhagen, and in light of a lack of ambition in Congress, we asked ourselves what could we do together. Through conference calls, chat rooms and surveys it became clear that what we needed to do was define our decade on our own terms and use the great work happening on campuses and communities across the country to demonstrate solutions and get our leaders to follow suit: what we wound up with was hundreds of communities articulating their vision for the decade, and thousands more rallying around a nationwide call for 100% clean electricity by 2020, and in just this week their will be over 25 meetings with elected leaders to declare this vision.

Building off of this, and with anticipation building around the midterm elections, it’s time to build an electoral campaign in the same way.  A campaign that is empowering to all its participants; a campaign that builds power behind local issues and solutions that can make real change, demonstrates to our leaders the possibilities of a clean energy economy, and that the Millennial generation is determined to make those possibilities a reality.

Continue reading ‘Let’s Build an Electoral Campaign From The Ground Up’

Over the next six weeks, the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition and young people across the state of Ohio, will be working to “make green a primary color.” We are working to define our decade by putting energy and climate concerns in the middle of the political discussion, and by building support for a clean energy economy that can solve our economic and environmental crises.

May 4th is primary day, and there is a lot at stake; the path forward on energy is being discussed in local and state races across the state, and has been at the centerpiece of the race for Ohio’s Senate seat where Republican Rob Portman will run against the victor of the Democratic Primary: a hotly contested race between Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. Continue reading ‘Working to make GREEN a primary color in Ohio’