Power Shift

By Nick Engelfried

Part of It's Getting Hot in Here: Climate Generation, a month-long series at It's Getting Hot in Here reflecting on the state of the youth climate movement.

Just a few years ago, the Northwest climate movement in the United States was composed of a dedicated but relatively small group of folks working to inject the energy of the youth voice into the climate debate.

Those early years saw the solidification of the Cascade Climate Network, increased student involvement in passing state and local climate legislation, and the launching of several region-wide initiatives that continue to influence policy decisions in the Northwest today.

As we enter 2010, I believe the Northwest youth climate movement is becoming stronger than ever before. We’ve expanded onto new campuses, helped pass a slew of climate laws in both Washington and Oregon, and are becoming increasingly involved in the national and international climate dialogue.

Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Gus Speth and other giants of environmental activism are in Washington, D.C., to issue a rallying cry for strong climate action tonight, just hours before the start of Power Shift Lobby Day and the historic mass civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant.

Tonight's event at Lisner Auditorium is sold out, but you don't have to miss the evening of poetry, discussion and inspiration.

Join us to watch the live video starting at 6:30 p.m. ET and go to Chesapeake Climate Action's blog to participate in an online discussion as Berry, McKibben and Speth are joined by activists and authors including Terry Tempest Williams and Janisse Ray, the Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, and musicians Kathy Mattea and Here's to the Long Haul.

Chesapeake Climate Action will also be posting a full recording of the event on its CCAN blog immediately afterward to be viewed at any time.

There’s an electric current rushing through our nation’s capital today, and it’s not from the future stimulus-funded smart grid.

Right now, more than 11,000 young people from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other nations are barnstorming Washington, D.C., for Power Shift 2009 – the largest youth summit on climate and energy policy in history.

In the massive D.C. Convention Center, student organizers are partaking in an extended weekend of workshops, training sessions, speeches, concerts, rallies and even a huge direct action slated for Monday. With big shots showing up like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Congressman Ed Markey, activists Majora Carter, Van Jones and Billy Parish, and musicians like Adam Gardener of Guster and the hip-hop group The Roots, Power Shift feels like a mix between Kyoto and Woodstock.

Students are here, in essence, to take the message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action directly to Capitol Hill. 

They are leveraging the momentum the youth movement has built locally through the Campus Climate Challenge, their first national mobilization, Power Shift 07, and their recent electoral engagement campaign Power Vote to pressure political leaders to take the action their generation's demands.

“It’s our future,” they proclaim – and they’re going to fight for it.

Part I of a three-part series on U.S. energy policy and student activism

On Friday, more than 10,000 students from universities and colleges across the United States will converge in Washington, D.C., for Power Shift, a four-day conference and lobbying effort geared toward climate change solutions.

These future leaders are more prepared than ever to engage their representatives and senators and communicate a message of hope and informed engagement for a green economy.

They'll come armed with climate research and energy reports, including an energy cost-effectiveness study published by the Associated Students Environmental Affairs Board of UC Santa Barbara. Written by myself and Nicholas Allen, US Electricity Policy 2009 documents important market trends and hidden costs within the U.S. electricity sector. It provides a valuable synthesis of information and a solid basis for engaging policy makers.

The largest contributor to the U.S. electricity supply, the coal sector, is the focus of this first of three articles looking at the energy concerns students will be talking about on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers, listen up.