Below you will find a dispatch from CCAN blogger Susanna, part 3 of a series about this last week in Wise, which you can find over at their Blog.

"This week I’m going to be in Wise County, where Dominion Power is planning to build a $1.8 billion coal-fired power plant. Members of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and CCAN are putting on events around the meeting of the Air Board on Tuesday.

Today was the final day of the Air Board Hearing concerning the Wise County coal plant. The room was full of hope after yesterday’s comment period, and the board acknowledged the powerful citizen outcry over the plant’s health and environmental impacts. But ultimately, they approved the plant. While they significantly strengthened the emissions regulations, they did nothing to address mountain top removal mining or CO2 emissions.

They went as far as they could, without doing more harm than good. Fearing litigation from Dominion, they made no strong statement about regulating CO2—without the regulatory framework from the EPA, the Board felt it wasn’t able to take a strong stand. “My hope is,” stated one Air Board member, “that strong, forceful legislation will come at a federal level and that Governor Kaine will take state-specific actions to address CO2.”

It was because of the “loud public clamor” that the Air Board decided to take up this permit and make it as strong as it is now. Dominion will have to make a considerable effort to meet these demands, including cleaning up their mercury emissions. Dominion walked in the door expecting that their permit would get rubber-stamped approved with a 72 lb mercury emissions regulation. The Air Board demanded that they reduce that to 4.45 lbs per year. That’s a 120% reduction, made possible only by the strong grassroots outcry about this plant.

It was clear to me and other members of our coalition that this was a courageous move by the Air Board. They are going to take hits from both sides of the debate, neither of which got what they wanted. As Kathy Selvage said, “They gave no consideration for the mountains that will be the fuel for this plant.” MTR wasn’t mentioned by the Air Board at all. Also, the “out clause,” which allows Dominion to get a new permit if they cannot achieve the mercury standards, was also left in.

“There you go. We didn’t do it.,” said one Air Board member in his final comments. They didn’t take a strong stand on MTR, on CO2, or on the plant. But they did create a strong regulatory hurdle for Dominion, and they made an attempt to protect our air based on the Clean Air Act. The vote was unanimous.

Obviously, this is not enough. Southern Appalachian Law Center plans on taking the permit to court, further litigating the plant. It would also seem like as we impose delays and court battles, the plant is getting more and more expensive. It’s easy to see that a bank funding the plant would back out because of rising costs.

But it’s the people here who are going to continue to take up the fight. I want to thank every one that showed us such strong hospitality while we were here. Kathy Selvage, Larry Bush, and Jane Branham of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards welcomed us to their community and showed us the real side of coal in this state. Hannah Morgan was awesome enough to let us sleep at her house and organized a lot of our activities. To everyone who was involved—you guys rock!

On a final note, my sympathies run deep for the people who are trying to save their way of life. We also visited Stonega, a coal camp surrounded by strip mining sites. Mountains framed the valley on either side, where clear scars of strip mining were visible. Because they didn't actually blast the mountain top off, it's not MTR, but only a few scraggly trees had been left at the top. While we were standing there, 4 coal trucks went booming by in the space of a minute. A coal train also came and went while we were there and the screeching of their motors was jaw-clenching. That these people sleep through those noises not 20 feet from their doorsteps is incredible and also humbling. The people here sacrifice so much of the comfort of their lives to keep their jobs. It’s not just that their mountains are being torn down, but in their daily lives, they are constantly reminded of the dominion of coal. I can only hope that democracy will help to change life for the better here."

We have learned a lot from this campaign, about how to take on a mega corporation, how to network students, ex coal miners, suburban physicians and town councils. We have made friends, and learned more about our enemies. But what we found out today is we have to keep standing up, keep rising up, until they make the right decision. This goes for all of us, for each of our individual fights that make up the big fight.

For decades, Cleveland, Ohio, has been the perfect symbol of a greying US economy. Consistently ranking as one of the poorest cities in the country, Cleveland has been home to massive manufacturing shut downs, declining population, and a brain drain, not to mention one of the most infamous environmental disasters in US history, the burning of the Cuyahoga river.

Given its history, Cleveland would be the last place most people would look for the beginnings of a green revolution. In fact, even as a Cleveland native, I arrived home from the East Coast for a summer of environmental organizing expecting to find a disorganized and ineffectual movement, if one existed at all. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen firsthand the quiet building of a green economy.

Here’s one example of what I’m talking about. I woke up this morning to a press release from Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), announcing the $600,000 grant from the state of Ohio to fund the school’s Green Academy, a program aimed at training residential building contractors and builders in green building techniques. The program kicks off in the fall, and the curriculum will spread statewide by the spring of 2009. Over three years, Tri-C will train over 300 builders and contractors in green design and energy efficiency.

But that’s not the only program Tri-C is working on. They are currently working with Oakland, California, on developing basic green jobs training curriculum in four other fields: deconstruction, energy retrofit, solar installation, and wind technology manufacturing. Aimed at women and prisoner re-entry, the program is intensely hands on and intensely focused on developing basic skills. Tri-C aims at an introductory class size of 150. Check out this awesome article from the Plain Dealer for more info.

The amazing thing about both of these programs is that the infrastructure is already there. Tri-C has been training in construction trades for almost 45 years. Better yet, the manufacturing infrastructure is here, sitting idle, waiting for workers to build the wind turbines and solar panels that will power the future.

I could go on and on about different programs I’m learning about, but I’ll save them for other posts. And that’s thing that’s most amazed me about Cleveland, this concept of all the pieces already being in place carries over into every aspect of a green revolution. (did you know that the city won an award for the best public transportation system in North America for 2007?). On a larger level, Cleveland may be awesome, but I bet these same pieces exist in every city, in every region across the country. We don’t need to do all the innovating ourselves. For our movement to succeed in a big way, and quickly, we need to connect the dots.

Months prior to this, a team of non-profit grassroots agencies, activists, students, lawyers, grandmothers, and outraged citizens had formed a coalition dedicated to stopping this travesty. We were, and are, committed to stopping Duke Energy's construction of a coal-fired plant that will release six million tons of CO2 per year and lock us into another fifty years of fossil fuel dependence. This disregard for our precarious climatic state is criminal, and our state and federal legislature is simply not taking the necessary steps to slow imminent climate chaos. Instead, our elected officials are permitting the expansion of the fossil fuel industry and, like NC state representative Tim Moore, spouting nonsense such as:

"Coal may not be the best thing in the world but it's probably the most efficient that we have."

How about ACTUAL efficiency and conservation? How about small-scale, localized clean energy? How about addressing the core issues of the problem: the fact that Duke Energy is a utility monopoly, an employer of greenwashing scams, and an enormous detriment to ecological and community health? Maybe we need to come to terms with the fact that cheap energy is over and it's high time that we drastically reduce our consumption. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe than somewhere to charge my ipod/ microwave/cell phone/ tv/ blowdryer/ electric toothbrush/ lava lamp or whatever other crap that we've all been convinced is essential to our survival. In any case, another antiquated coal-fired power plant is the last thing we need.

"I think this is a wonderful thing for this area. It's a wonderful development for this state and most importantly it's critical to our customers to be able to have affordable, reliable electricity in the future," said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers.

Get real, Jim! I don't think that mercury in our watersheds, filthy air, and climate change are "wonderful developments". And as for those THIRTY jobs (yes, thirty jobs, that's it) that the Cliffside plant would bring, well, you can shove those jobs up your multi-million dollar ass. And, as for our "critical" need for the plant, NC WARN, a grassroots organization involved in the fight to stop Cliffside recently published a report stating that the Cliffside expansion will actually create an energy glut in our state, saying:

"Data from SERC, a southeastern utility consortium, show that planned expansions, if completed, could create excess generation capacity of 63,000 megawatts in the next decade, equivalent to 60 large plants. According to the SERC report, 'This is significantly more than the generation capability needed for reliability/adequacy in the region.' The agency also confirms that out-of-region sales are already occurring and likely to increase."

http://www.ncwarn.org/docs/news%20rel/nr-03-17-08IndustryDataProvesNewPlantsNotNecess.htm

Jim Rogers and Duke Energy are building this unnecessary plant in North Carolina, putting the cost of it's construction on North Carolina ratepayers, using massive amounts of water from North Carolina watersheds, polluting North Carolina rivers, exacerbating the already poor air quality in North Carolina, and then selling the energy to other states for extra corporate profits!

So, we've been taking matters into our own hands. We've asked questions, locked down, faced arrests and police brutality, held rallies, called our representatives, debunked Jim Roger's greenwashing scams, filed lawsuits on behalf of our air and water, written editorials, handed out fliers, pulled media stunts, submitted consumer complaints, demanded public hearings, sent letters, and we are not through!

“We’re going!” I said, so adamantly and with such force and intention that I surprised even myself, grabbing Ashley’s hand in excitement as we rose from the table, shouldering heavy backpacks and precariously balancing our dirty dishes. “We’re going! We will go! We will raise the money and make this happen. We can make this happen – we’re going to Minnesota!” I am not one to make impulsive decisions. Neither of us had ever been to anywhere that could qualify as the Midwest, and we didn’t know anyone organizing or participating in Summer of Solutions. We barely knew what we were getting ourselves into, but it was happening – we were making it happen.

Two thousand dollars of fundraising and a few months later, I write this sitting on a mattress in an apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota. I can look out my window and wave at my next-door neighbors, a houseful of kick-ass Macalester kids - many of whom were instrumental in organizing Summer of Solutions – all of whom are amazing organizers with HUGE dreams that we are working to build into reality. Now that I am here, participating in Summer of Solutions (SOS), I realize that the moment I grabbed Ashley’s hand in April was the moment my SOS experience actually began. The “We can make this happen” ethos is at the heart of the Summer of Solutions work that is being done here in the Twin Cities. The people I am working with here are daring to dream far more expansive, limitless, richly creative dreams than many people ever dare – and we are doing the intense and challenging work of building those dreams into a reality, because we can make them happe

It’s challenging to convey the sense of excitement, empowerment, and tremendous energy that is present here. Suffice it to say that the first time I was introduced to the vision-moving-towards-reality that is ARISE (Alliance to Re-Industrialize for a Sustainable Economy), I was absolutely blown away. The deal is this: there is a Ford plant in St. Paul that is shutting down in 2009, opening up many many acres of land to be developed and leaving behind the workers who will be unemployed, a lot of useful infrastructure, and some less-than-useful toxins. The vision is this: a reclamation of that Ford site, a low-GHG emitting remediation of the toxic spaces, and the construction of a mixed-use residential (both low- and high-income) and manufacturing development on the site. The manufacturing facilities can be converted to sustainably produce solar panels or wind turbines, creating 2,000 new green jobs for workers. There will be green roofs, lots of green spaces, energy-efficient mixed-income housing, lots of public transportation, bike lanes, pedestrian spaces, a maintenance of human connection to the Mississippi River (which runs right by the site) and the integrity of the river itself, and so much more. Community gardens, greenhouses, you name it. Super sustainable development - green jobs, maybe even low-income waterfront property, new parks, new light rail, a strong emphasis on non-car transit. The most exciting part about all of this is that it is not just a dream...it is slowly chugging towards reality.

In the week and a half that I have been here, we have met with Lynn Hinkle, a leading union organizer at the Ford Plant and a visionary actor in ARISE. Lynn spoke to us about what he has done over his years organizing the workers at the plant, and where he envisions us going from here. We have also met with architects, representatives from the city of St. Paul, an affordable housing advocate and other professionals, all of whom are working to create a proposal that the city of St. Paul can’t reject and no developer would want to turn down. Picture this: a bunch of students and a bunch of alleged grown-ups who actually know how to make this happen sitting around a table covered in aerial photographs of the area and architectural plans for the design of this mixed-use, sustainable community. Visioning. Arguing about where green space should be, where the manufacturing plant should be, where the transit lines should be, and everything else. This is what goes on at Summer of Solutions – this and so much more.

I would love to share more about all of the projects that are going on here at SOS – Cooperative Energy Futures, for example, which is the development of a cooperative business model that will allow communities of homeowners to become "future-fitted" (not retro-fitted, but rather fit for the clean energy future that is coming!) for greater energy efficiency while simultaneously building community and implementing energy-use-conscious behavioral changes. I would love to write at length about the ongoing preliminary development of WeCAN (a web network for climate activists on a global scale that is designed to reflect the realities of how people organize themselves and is intended to surpass Facebook as an organizing-specific networking tool), or Grand Aspirations (the beginnings of a non-profit organization that the students here are creating to fund the climate work they want to do). Or the three weekly community potluck dinners the Solutioners enjoy together, giving rise to the idea for a cookbook called Stomach of Solutions. Or the book group we have organized for Sunday evenings, or the Environmental Justice discussions some of us lead, or the Public Speaking classes some of us teach and some of us attend, or the music that we make with our odd assortment of instruments – but I will leave all of that for others. There are more stories here that are waiting to come into being, and always more work to be done. Let’s do it – because we can make this happen.

The American climate change movement has come of age, and has begun to set its sights on bigger and bolder goals – out with light bulbs and clotheslines, in with Lieberman-Warner. Outside of the rarefied circles of the Sierra Club and the eco-blogosphere, however, it seems that few Americans have got the memo. Even as cap-and-trade legislation dies an undignified death and the U.S. blows the rest of the world a big raspberry on emissions targeting, “green” living gets trendier and trendier. Americans from all walks of life are getting in on the fun – from your average Joe switching light bulbs and browsing the aisles of Wal-Mart (now stocked with organic food and Clorox’s green cleaning products) to moneyed elites enjoying green spa treatments. Sometimes these actions are motivated in part by increasingly costly electricity and gasoline, but others involve price premiums and extra effort, and clearly reflect a desire to “do something green."

It’s with this odd dynamic in mind – small-scale practices proliferating like never before, larger mobilization lagging – that notable enviros like Al Gore exhort us to change power plants and politicians as well as light bulbs. Ideas like this reflect an assumption implicit in the shift that initiatives like Gore’s We Campaign hope to make: that the little bit of attention people are now devoting to personal practices can be substituted for or supplemented by a bit of attention to politics. But there are some tricky differences between these two forms of action, differences that make such a similar transition tricky to pull off. Political and macro-level economic action employ tactics that seem distant from the cause at hand - there’s nothing inherently eco-friendly about writing a postcard, making a call, or even paying a carbon tax – in the pursuit of abstract and uncertain results. In contrast, a couple that plans a “green wedding” (apparently “the hottest trend for summer”) has proof of their individual good work and potential for change in the form of recycled invitations and organic flowers – a far more satisfying result than a pledge to consider an emissions standard at some point down the road.

To use Malcolm Gladwell’s turn of phrase, personal practices are a lot “stickier” than broader action. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell shares the tale of a Sesame Street spot that was awfully bad at teaching the day’s lesson. Children weren’t picking up on the reading techniques being introduced because they were too focused on Oscar’s entertaining antics in the background. As Gladwell writes, “Oscar was sticky. The lesson wasn’t.”

The Oscar dilemma must seem familiar to today’s climate activists, who lament the disconnect between the entertaining antics of personal consumption and the broader changes that remain to be accomplished. The key is to make Oscar work for us, not against us. Like Oscar, personal practices are “sticky,” and for good reasons: they are accessible, concrete steps that satisfy those who take them. Instead of demonizing them as "greenwashing" or dismissing them as petty, today’s climate activists must recognize what makes these practices “sticky” and apply them to the broader fields of politics and energy development. What forms of action will provide the immediacy and concreteness of effect necessary to attract the public, as personal practices have? The movement is just beginning to consider these questions and has already begun to spin out some exciting ideas, from CarrotMob to local energy cooperatives. What more can we imagine?

In this spirit, the New York Times magazine gives us a report from a different front line, but one that I say is just as much a part of our movement: guerrilla gardening.

I like this tactic because its proponents grow and nurture two ideas in people's minds; people can be a positive force in the world around them, and we need to take matters into our own hands. Guerilla leader Reynolds complains, “We respect public space by not degrading it: not littering, not vandalizing. But we rarely consider what we might contribute to it. Consequently, the common areas of our cities wind up belonging to none of us rather than to all of us equally."  The idea that random activity can have a hugely positive effect on the world around us?  Preposterous!

But my favorite quote of the article turns the brave-leader-helping-the-powerless image on its head.

A young woman in a raincoat stopped to thank Reynolds for “the difference you’ve made in London and in the landscape” and to ask him if there was any chance he’d visit her neighborhood. “It’s really bad, really bad up there,” she said, like a weary citizen in a Marvel comic book. “My aim,” he told her, “is to encourage people to take the same approach that we have, and just get out and do it.”

Guerrilla gardening is not a substitute for the strategic campaigns we need. But it is part of the movement that is mobilizing as many people as possible to become empowered and build a just and sustainable society.

At one school, the seniors had a class on civil disobedience, and then decided to take it to the streets. At another school, Earth Day sparked the action, but "It just kinda snowballed," one organizer said. “Before we know it there will only be one or two cars in the parking lot,”

Some things strike me about these students. They're all clearly seeking to create change by collective action, but according to the news stories, the goal is to lower gas prices. But they're clearly protesting. They could be taking the school bus, but in some cases walking or biking is at least a little oppositional - its not condoned by the schools due to safety reasons.

If walking to school is unsafe, we can either prevent students from walking, or we can change our transportation system. And even if it seems like these protests are intended to lower prices so students can drive again, I have a lot of respect for the get-up-and-do spirit.

Also, can anyone get in touch with any of the student organizers? Lets invite them to summer trainings!

We’re also starting to run into what I would unceremoniously call mid-term or mid-scale actions: those actions that lie in between short-term strategies and goals (organizing, communication, the development of a shared system of values and language, recognition of a “movement”) and the long-term vision (a sustainable, just, prosperous, climate positive, clean energy economy and society). To me, mid-term actions highlight the need to challenge and apply our values by taking a direct role in creating and demonstrating the future that we want to see. It’s moving off campus and into the community, starting a business or nonprofit, engaging with traditional environmental orgs across age divides, challenging the power of decision-makers, educating ourselves and others on a mass scale in a new way, collaborating on a local, regional, and national scale, and being creative in our view of the world.

Mid-term actions are process-oriented, experimenting, questioning, and applying our values. They are capacity-building; not only will mid-term actions reduce our carbon footprint and give us experience in reforming institutions, but they will grow our movement, cultivate an ecological consciousness, chip away at the power of the opposition, and scale-up to meet the challenge.

They’re also tough. They require a lot of thought, dedication, conviction and work. Mid-term actions have no clear “victory,” no sweeping legislation that will be passed or clear end of the road.

Nevertheless, mid-term strategies are crucial – and youth have the power and creativity to start them now. And so I offer to you some theory and practice from my own experiences here in Minnesota. These examples shouldn’t be viewed as isolated actions or demonstrations of what works; youth across the country are creating similarly creative projects. We don’t have everything figured out, (by any means!) and are constantly reassessing and challenging our plans. But we’ve got some inspiration, creativity and hope that I’d love to share and discuss.

Politics and Policy

Past movement approaches to political institutions seem to function in a couple of ways – special-interests advocacy (voting, lobbying) or direct action. Within the youth climate movement, both of these approaches have been, at times, unbelievably successful. However, there is another approach – a movement for coalition building and collaboration between citizens and government. Rather than tolerating pandering from politicians and apathy from citizens, we are entering a new era of political participation based on real action.

About six months ago, Republican Governor (and potential VP candidate) Tim Pawlenty approached the Will Steger Foundation and our state network, TEAM MN, about the prospects of a Youth Forum on Global Warming Solutions. We held Pawlenty’s feet to the fire and drew a little bit of attention in the process - the forum achieved enough success that the Governor’s office asked us to advise them through a youth advisory board. Our federal senator, Amy Klobuchar, and climate scientist James Hansen also contacted the WSF, asking to participate in similar forums. A coalition of thirty-eight state congresspeople devoted to “green solutions”, many of whom we had built relationships with through lobbying and internships, approached students for another partnership. With support from the Sierra Student Coalition and RE-AMP (a coalition of 60+ Midwest nonprofits and foundations) we built a student position into RE-AMP’s five working groups that aim to influence the Midwest Governor’s Association. We formed a Midwest Climate Declaration (a work in progress) to respond to the Governor’s Climate Agreement. And this is just the beginning!

Surprise, surprise - our politicians do not have all of the answers. This isn't to say their intentions aren't well meaning, although sometimes they're not. Rather, many politicians often don't know what to do or are afraid to reach far enough. In response, youth across the country are not only lobbying, but in some cases, proposing and writing legislation. We are reaching beyond the individualized/atomized actions of voting by changing political possibilities with collective efforts like PowerVote, regional actions influencing executive institutions and collaboration with city governments to change the face of clean energy and city design. Youth advisory panels and political actions are building the bridge between our current political culture of reticence to the future of deliberative, participatory, and localized democracy. True democracy is governance by the people, and if we really want strong legislation, we shouldn't be afraid of building it ourselves.

Business and economics

Many arguments on IGHIH as of late have focused on the destructive nature of “capitalism,” an institution that eludes definition but is almost universally loathed among radical groups and activists. I’ll be the first to admit that the value-system tied in our economy is out-of-whack and crushes institutions and people that refuse to acknowledge its universality or standards of success. However, these generalizations are only moderately useful when we consider the vast changes necessary to get us to a climate positive society.

Rather, it’s time we start thinking about what values our new economy should have, by democratizing businesses and changing the value systems within “capitalism” itself. Minnesota has led in this area in the past, beginning with worker cooperatives (co-ops) formed by Finnish miners in the early 1900’s, food co-ops in the 60’s, and today's farmer co-ops, community wind projects, and union-led green manufacturing efforts. Co-ops seek to challenge the hierarchy of business structure, elitism, and wealth by giving one vote to every member, providing open membership, and supporting member economic, democratic, and educational benefits.

Here in Minnesota, a group of community leaders, business entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, interested citizens, and innovative youth have founded Cooperative Energy Futures. Based on the model of a revolving fund, Cooperative Energy Futures builds global warming solutions through community organizing and provides returns to members by investing in energy efficiency improvements. We’re trying to insulate the thousands of homes in Minnesota that don’t have insulation. When combined with education efforts, efficiency improvements could exceed 50%! Energy efficiency has the power to be a trillion-dollar industry, and we are seeking to turn that trillion dollars in to a funding source for clean energy for all and green jobs rather than corporate positions.

Youth could be easily dismissed as uninformed, idealistic and naive, and our group is constantly battling the view that this is a “cute class project.” Yet our movement has the power to truly shift the way the business world thinks. Good development is coalition-based; Cooperative Energy Futures wouldn’t be working right now without the help of academics like Joel Rogers, government institutions like the Department of Commerce and our state legislature, willing citizens, investors, and religious organizations. Many youth (and non-youth) are challenging the assumptions of capitalism and traditional economics by building and demonstrating alternatives. It’s time to start thinking about institutionalizing the values that will take us from energy efficiency and clean energy to a society-wide reawakening of ecological consciousness.

Structural movement support

Traditional networks of grassroots movement support have sometimes fallen to hierarchical leadership, controlled by funders and entangled in capitalism. This process has been labeled by some as the “nonprofit industrial complex,” but also manifests itself in many other nongovernmental organizations. Some orgs have become so focused on making money for their own cause that they become willing to cave to the interests of donors, make poor investments, and actively compete with like-minded groups. Just think: how many colleges and universities claim to uphold sustainability while investing billions of dollars of their endowments in dirty energy? It’s nonsensical, hypocritical, counterproductive, and just plain stupid.

The support network of the Sierra Student Coalition, emerging state networks like TEAM-MN, the Cascade Climate Network or Re-Energize Texas, and emerging regional collaborations are challenging this model and redefining how our organizations interact. But at the same time, many youth are often still dependent on summer jobs to put food on the table, and too stuck within the “go to college to get a job” paradigm.

A number of endeavors in Minnesota are challenging these assumptions. Students have incorporated a nonprofit, Grand Aspirations, (currently with fiscal agency through Global Exchange) that empowers, connects, and supports people as they create innovative, self-sustaining, and inter-dependent initiatives that build capacity for the climate movement, like Cooperative Energy Futures, alternative summer programs and think-and-do tanks like the Summer of Solutions, and other unfunded innovations. But beyond the jargon, Grand Aspirations is trying to help us sustain ourselves as full-time activists.

I’ll be honest – we’re not sure where we’re going to get money yet. Some might come from a “sponsor-a-climate-innovator” option, giving us a chance to (at least) tell our stories to as many people as possible. Successful projects might be able to raise money, and we’re toying with the idea of building a partner foundation and/or holding a nationwide Funder’s Conference. Honestly, I’m sick of writing grant applications. But by simply institutionalizing these seemingly disconnected endeavors, we are establishing credibility and demonstrating the success of our projects to a world that doesn’t quite understand how serious we are.

True empowerment

Generally speaking, the youth climate movement is doing some seriously kick-ass and revolutionary stuff - and we’re mostly doing it on volunteer time! It’s about time we start imagining how to be activists for the rest of our lives (or at least until we can get some more green jobs up in here). Breaking through the nonprofit industrial complex is difficult, but the movement is in a unique position to rethink how to successfully work for change without begging for spare change.

Understanding that we (youth, activists, everyone) are global warming solutions means taking our power, responsibility, potential, and ourselves very seriously. Thousands (and dare I say millions?) of youth are redefining what it means to be citizens, humans, even living beings. We’ve already done some amazing things: inspiring direct action, lobbying institutional and political “leaders”, canvassing, stopping coal plants, turning out voters, phonebanking, and changing the role of our educational institutions. But the fun doesn’t (and shouldn’t) stop there!

The movement has an opportunity, almost a mandate, to expand our repertoire and to broaden our horizons. We need to begin redefining how we interact with each other and with the organizations that we belong to. It's time for a deep discussion on how we coordinate our efforts and strategically focus our strengths. It's time we start thinking about how we can network the nation, glocalize our actions, and make sure that everyone knows about it. It's time we claim Richard Branson's $25 million prize for the "technology to solve global warming" because we are the technology that will solve global warming. It's time for a movement emergence party. It's time we're visible - at the polls, for sure - but also within our communities, states, and regions. It’s time to push the boundaries, to challenge assumptions, and to really acknowledge our collective knowledge, power, and responsibility. What does that look like?

After three years of fighting the construction of a second coal-fired power plant near Big Stone Lake in South Dakota, the fight could come to a close! Not only is the existing coal plant one of the dirtiest coal plants in the country (grandfathered in to avoid pollution restrictions in the 1970s), but the expansion plant will avoid Minnesota's stricter environmental regulations by being built in South Dakota, even though almost all of the electricity would go to Minnesota. If Big Stone II were to become operational it would negate the efforts of Minnesota reduce it's greenhouse gas emissions. Although South Dakota is poised to let Otter Tail Power construct the new coal plant, Minnesota is currently deciding whether or not to allow the transmission lines from Big Stone II to the Twin Cities to be built.

Today, over 100 people turned out to attend the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission hearing on Big Stone II. Youth from the Twin Cities and all over Minnesota attended the meeting to share why they oppose the plant. On Thursday, June 5th, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will vote on the "Certificate of Need" for the transmission lines specifically for this plant expansion. This is the final permitting process within Minnesota for the proposed Big Stone II coal plant expansion — and could be the final nail in the coffin on this proposal. Recently, an Administrative Law Judge with the Public Utilities Commission recommended against issuing the certificate of need, citing that the power demand could be met better and more affordably with energy efficiency and renewable energy. Now, the Public Utilities Commission is the final say, voting on that recommendation. If the PUC votes not to issue the certificate, the Big Stone II proposal is over.

Additionally, while Governor Pawlenty cannot tell the PUC what to do, his office's position on Big Stone II will affect their decision. This is an opportunity for Governor Pawlenty to deliver on his message that Minnesota is committed to addressing global warming, and that he is willing to walk the green talk. He has cover for this, because the Administrative Law Judge DID recommend against Big Stone II, so it's not like he would be taking a position that hasn't been well substantiated. Governor Pawlenty needs to know that while this is an opportunity for him and he could be championed, and that the converse of that is true as well.

If you are in Minnesota on Thursday, join the Sierra Club, CURE, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership and others and show up at 9:30 am to the PUC Offices in the Metro Square Building, located 121 7th Place East, St. Paul. If you can come and show your support, please RSVP and let us know you're coming.

If you are not in Minnesota, can't make the meeting, or even if you can, call Governor Pawlenty's office and urge him to take a public position against the Big Stone II coal plant. Tell him to follow through on his commitment to clean energy and a healthy Minnesota. His office can be reached at 651-296-3391.

This is an incredible opportunity to stop one of the worst proposed coal-fired power plants in the country. Help us demonstrate loud and clear that more coal is unacceptable!

This is a piece that I originally wrote for Treehugger.com and based off an op-ed for my local paper in Pennsylvania:

This week the US Senate will begin debate on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 and a new bill called Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act (iCAP). I gather Representative Ed Markey, Chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, who is introducing the latter bill, will no doubt receive opposition.

The bill goes much further than Lieberman-Warner in addressing the rising climate, low- and middle-income communities, and green-collar jobs. It borrows language and ideas from the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which is part of the current Energy Bill . All this being said, I think it is high time we had a bill that addresses our true needs. I encourage everyone who feels inspired to get on the horn to their Senators and tell them you support it.

While the Lieberman-Warner Bill is far from perfect and an important attempt to build consensus and address global warming—the Department of Energy estimates the Lieberman-Warner Act will save $180 billion on foreign oil expenditures by 2030—it needs to be strengthened and the billions of dollars of subsidies for nuclear energy be removed (uranium is not a clean renewable energy—just talk to the indigenous peoples whose land it is mined). Both these bills, however, actually hold part of the key to much-needed job growth in ailing job markets throughout America.

Today, much of our country is suffering from stagnant wages, increasing income gaps, a shortage of new industries and potential drivers of job growth. Plus, with the never-ending rise of gas and food prices, real wages have eroded by 1.2 percent according to the USDA’s chief economist. Worse yet, food prices are forecast to rise another 3 to 4 percent this year.

So how would a bill like iCAP create jobs?

Simple, it would create the jobs of the future, new local jobs, jobs that cannot be outsourced—in other words, Green Jobs. And these jobs span the gamut, yet with one important thing in common. From installing solar panels and constructing transit lines to retrofitting buildings for energy-efficiency, reclaiming mine sites, and refining vegetable waste oil into biodiesel, all these jobs benefit the economy and improve our environment.

Moreover, the rise of “green-collar” jobs is a growing national movement. Witness this past March’s National Green Jobs Conference held in Pittsburgh and April’s Dream Reborn Green Jobs Conference in Memphis—an important recognition that Green Jobs are a real opportunity for cities and states struggling to find new paths to job growth.

As a child, I learned first-hand what struggling families go through, growing up in a single-parent household in Northeastern Pennsylvania. For the latter part of my childhood, I was raised by my mom, who armed with no more than a high school degree had to take two jobs and maintain a 14-16 hour workday. We lived paycheck to paycheck and without a refrigerator, phone, or television for quite some time—not by choice, but by necessity. Finally, before I even turned 15, to find a better job that could sustain us and my dream of a college education, she had to make a choice—leave Pennsylvania for greener pastures.

It shouldn’t have to be that way. Pennsylvania and other struggling areas should be a land of opportunity. Much of the U.S. workforce is ideally suited to green-collar work—many are middle-skill jobs that are well within reach for low income workers if they have access to effective training programs and support. Whether it’s learning the new skills needed to become a renewable energy technician or retraining workers for a clean energy economy, i.e., fixing an electric engine, our universities, technical schools, businesses and governments need to lead the way.

But they won’t do so unless we lead first. That’s why it’s essential for us as citizens of the United States to make our voice heard in the green debate taking place nationwide. If a bill like the Green Jobs Act passes, it will provide 125 million dollars every year for green jobs training—that is 30,000-35,000 people being trained for good, sustainable jobs that cannot be outsourced. Additionally 20 percent of those dollars will be set aside for the most marginalized to help build green pathways out of poverty.

iCAP is slated to go even further. It will return over half of pollution allowance auction proceeds to low- and middle-income households to help compensate for any increase in energy costs as a result of climate legislation. It also proposes to invest the remaining auction proceeds to further reduce the costs of climate policy, through green job growth and training, clean energy technologies, and incentives for foresters and farmers to reduce their carbon footprint. It basically says that even though we are going to cut emissions drastically, those in low- and middle-income communities—those of us that have the most to lose—will not be left behind.

To repeat, green jobs are starting to pop up nationwide. And there is no excuse why cities and states across America cannot be a leader in this area. We have everything to gain and so much to lose. But it can only happen if we take this opportunity to speak up at town hall meetings, write letters and set up meetings with your Senators, Representatives, and Governors, and even start green job coalitions in your area. I suggest visiting greenforall.org and NWF’s fun site “It’s So Easy a Raccoon can do it!” to get started.

Now is the time to move beyond the challenges of our rust belt past and invest in the potential of a “green collar” future—a path to a cleaner, healthier environment and a more prosperous America.

Being from Texas, I’ve had my share of run-ins with nasty members of the oilagarchy like Exxonmobil and Halliburton.  But living in the Bay Area, I thought I’d no longer be living in the shadow of Big Oil.

Not so. Actually San Francisco is home to one of nastiest members of that clique-Chevron.

They pollute, poison, maim and kill all over the world. Burma, Nigeria, Iraq, Ecuador, Richmond CA and the Tar Sands.

At 7am, 100 of us met the company’s shareholders as they went into their annual meeting. Outside we donned Tyvek suits, grabbed our brooms and set out to"Clean Up" Chevron.

Inside a number of activists sparred with CEO Dave O’Reilly about their horrible human rights and environmental record. During the meeting he called Nigerian activists attacked by Chevron armed militias for protesting drinking water poisoned by Chevron "criminals" and told victims of environmental injustice in Ecuador that Chevron was no longer responsible for toxic waste left in their communities by the oil giant.

O'Reilly and his company make record profits from poisoning and killing people in their homes and he has the nerve to be offended when they confront him in public. The only word that comes to mind is "scumbag."

And if that's not enough :

• Chevron is lobbying hard to privatize Iraqi state owned oil
• Poisoning local refinery communities like Richmond.
• Hiring thugs to oppress dissent and protest (here and abroad).
• Doing business with the Burmese junta (Yes, the fucking Burmese junta!).
• Making billions in revenues from high gas prices while the world slips into an economic recession.
• Spending countless dollars on greenwashing advertising to paint themselves a friendly face.

Like I said quickly becoming my least favorite company.

Action pics

Here are some news reports from inside and outside the meeting.

• AP
• ABC Local News
• Reuters

Pero que escojan otro soundtrack y no Natalie Merchant para sus videos. Algo en plan instrumental habría quedado más chulo... Y ahora que lo pienso, ¿que canción le pondría yo?

Kind of fitting that this year’s summer camp kicked off in Harlan.

Harlan is located in the Appalachian mountains. In the 1930’s, it was known as “Bloody Harlan” for the struggle of miners to get union contracts. It was also the subject of the documentary “Harlan County USA” about more labor struggles in the 1970’s. It is also the home to the highest peak in Kentucky, Black Mountain, which is currently being strip-mined. Yes, strip mined.

It was a fantastic camp! So many people wanting to do work around mountaintop removal, strip mining and the current wave of proposed coal fired powerplants.

Mountain Justice Summer focuses on stopping mountaintop removal and strip mining using a variety of tactics including grassroots organizing, listening projects and non-violent direct action.

MJS activists will spend the summer working in campaign houses and communities Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Ohio (amongst others) on coal issues.  Furthermore, organizers from Texas, Philly, Boston, New York and California (and more) will take the mountain justice struggles back to their hometowns to pressure banks financing the destruction and raise awareness of the issues.

Over the past few years, I have seen members of the youth climate movement join frontline communities in these camps and through campaign work (all over the country) in trying to end mountaintop removal and proliferation of coal fired power (clean or otherwise).

It is great to be part of this growing evolving movement.

Mountaintop removal site in WV

For those of us in school, the semester is coming to a close and our student organizations are wrapping up projects for the year. We face the next academic season with the full knowledge that we are entering an era of new politics and new opportunities, and that many decisions await our communities, our campuses and our nation. As we expand the scope of our movement and the impact of our work, we are beginning to recognize the diversity of our own stories: the victories that we have won and the setbacks we have encountered, the hopes and fears for our future, and the strain and joy of pushing a country forward.

The Sierra Student Coalition Publishing Group invites the youth movement to share your personal stories throughout the coming year – starting now. Fill out our brief questionnaire with your group or as an individual as you reflect on your semester along with the challenges and the victories that it presented. We want to publish and distribute your stories to inform and expand nationwide dialogues among youth on what we have done and how we have done it. This is your opportunity to help other groups learn from your successes and challenges without having to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.

The SSC Publishing Group is a contribution-based peer-to-peer open-access media venue that publishes and documents material for and from the youth movement to make powerful information resources, literature and campaign materials widely available in various formats. Documentation and publication of the youth movement's efforts plays a vital role for the movement as a whole. If you are interested in becoming a member of a team devoted to further establishing the literary heritage of this movement, contact us by emailing publishing@ssc.org or check out the SSC's leadership opportunities.

"JUNEAU - First, there was a run on energy-efficient light bulbs. When those ran out, people began asking for lamp oil. But when they started demanding clothespins in this land of mist and rain, it was clear Alaska's capital city was caught in a serious energy crunch.

"We sold all our clothespins the first day," said Doug White, general manager at Don Abel Building Supplies. "I don't think kids even knew what they were for, but they're learning now."

Avalanches this month knocked down transmission lines and cut off Juneau's source of low-cost hydroelectric power. Threatened with a fivefold increase in utility bills, Juneau quickly powered down."

Stores, though open, went partially dark. Neon signs were switched off and vending machines unplugged. At home, residents of this former Gold Rush town began living a little bit like pioneers, dusting the snow off the grill, stringing clotheslines in the backyard and flicking off their TV sets. Within a week, electricity usage in the city was down as much as 30 percent.

Energy conservation is a hard sell in much of the U.S., but Juneau has proved that people will change their ways if the financial incentives are big enough.

"Turn off, turn down, unplug," said Sarah Lewis, chairwoman of the Juneau Commission on Sustainability. "That's what everyone is doing and being vigilant about and commenting when others are not."

The April 16 snow slides that roared out of the mountains 25 miles southeast of town uprooted transmission towers and plowed through 1.5 miles of high-voltage lines that link this largely isolated community of 30,000 to the Snettisham hydroelectric dam. (The Legislature had already ended its session, and most lawmakers had gone home.)

As backup diesel generators shouldered the load, the electric company began warning customers that life in Juneau - already expensive - was about to get a lot more so.

With oil prices reaching a record $120 a barrel, Alaska Electric Light and Power said customers might have to pay for an extra $25 million for diesel over the three months it would take to repair the lines. The utility warned that rates would probably leap from an average of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour to more than 50 cents, or about five times the 10.3 cents that is the national average.

Conversations all over town turned from the governor's new baby and the legislative session to kilowatt hours, tariff rates and saving energy.

Heidi Graves said her 16-year-old son, Levi - the one who never would turn off his Nintendo - was the first to get onboard. He was worried that the family of six would have to cancel its vacation next August.

Levi multiplied the electric bill by five and came up with $950. "It's more than our house payment," said his mother.

Now members of the Graves family eat dinner by candlelight, do dishes by hand, plan to dry their clothes on a rack by the wood stove and limit their time on the computer.

"My husband has bruised himself and tripped over the dog just to keep the lights off," Graves said.

Graves also ordered a history of past electrical use so the family could ferret out which appliances were the real power hogs, and they learned how to read their own electric meter, which they are now doing several times a day.

Though the Graves heat solely with wood, perhaps one in five houses in Juneau is wired for electric heat because hydroelectric power is relatively cheap and natural gas is unavailable.

In part because Juneau is so far removed from the Lower 48 and is inaccessible by road, its cost of living is 34.5 percent higher than that of the average U.S. city, and its housing costs are 50 percent higher, according to a survey of 300 American cities. Even an oil change is $60, twice what it costs in many places down south.

Residents will see the sobering new rates on paper - and the early results of their conservation efforts - when the first electric bills begin arriving in mailboxes Friday.

Energy expert Allen Meier of California's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is visiting Juneau this week to offer advice on the crisis. He said the closest comparison may be Brazil in 2001, when severe drought gripped the hydropower-dependent country. Brazilians were told to reduce their electricity usage by 20 percent or be disconnected.

"In two months, the whole country cut their demand by 20 percent, and they never really returned to the same level of consumption after that," Meier said.

Eighth-grader Matthew Staley is hoping the people of Juneau will likewise develop new habits and "realize that - wow - we have to keep this up. Like switching to fluorescent lights, they'll just keep on with them."

Today, Patrick addressed Massachusetts business leaders in an effort to gain crucial buy-in for his effort to encourage substantial growth in the state's clean energy sector. Wracked with debt and staggering from the national economic downturn, the Bay State is looking for ways to get rich quick and climate-friendly. The portfolio of clean energy measures in the works is notably diverse - from incentives for renewable energy companies to set up shop in-state to proposals to eliminate the gas tax on biofuels.

That may have been the moment when your eyebrows shot up toward your hairline.  Although the Boston Globe describes the Governor as "Convinced that the age of fossil fuels is over" and highlights Patrick's legislative favoring of biofuels derived from switch-grass and agricultural waste over energy-guzzling corn-based "biofuels", the efficacy of the plan in terms of long-term climate impact may be undermined by its persistent emphasis on a traditional (read:  outdated?) economic growth paradigm. Even if Patrick could somehow convince us of the theoretical soundness of this approach, it is difficult to get comfy with the idea absent a mandatory emissions cap (for the state or nation - either would do) to ensure that the (clean) industrial growth in the state would in fact cause a rapid, significant, and consistent decline in overall emissions.

While the verdict may still be out on Deval, Bostonians with two wheels will be applauding the efforts of their Mayor, Tom Menino, during next week's Bay State Bike Week . Cycling enthusiasts from numerous neighborhoods will "Kick Gas" in fine form, and possibly ride a few circles around the State House in the process.

Here in Washington we’re feeling like pretty good leaders in the climate change movement what with all our great climate change legislation passing and all. But there’s always more to be done, key among them keeping a wary eye out for false solutions as we move ahead. One of those false solutions has tried rearing its ugly head here and we aim to stop it before it’s got a change to flourish. That would be "clean coal", the only coal option in Washington thanks to our strict emissions limits. You can read all about the plant and it’s history here. It’s currently on hold due to concerns from the Port of Walla Walla, but they plan to try again in the Fall and we’ll be there to say no again.

So, the campaign: It began out of a Fossil Fools Day idea but grew much bigger and just wrapped up last week. The Cascade Climate Network and friends collected 795 photo petitions from eight different universities and colleges in Washington, all speaking out against coal and advocating clean solutions and green jobs. We’ll be sending the finished book to key players in the clean energy future of Washington as well as a few Washington Congressmen who have yet to sign onto the new Clean Water bill that would effectively end mountain top removal.

All in all a bitchin' effort and a great example of what students can do if they unite across the state and region.

You can check out the finished photo petition, put together in a high school yearbook-style format, as well as a similar photo petition calling for No LNG in Oregon at www.CascadeClimate.org.

This is a serious problem on a number of levels. For one, more people than ever throughout the globe - especially in developing countries - are at risk of starvation. For the 1,000,000,000 people on this planet living on $1 per day or less (now you know where that food budget comes from), a small cup of rice can now cost their entire income. Aid organizations are struggling to buy enough food with their limited budgets and have had to cut back on food aid in many places. These shortages particularly affect children not only in the present, but for the long term. People who have suffered from malnutrition as children have lifelong gaps in health and mental development*. In short, a food crisis now becomes a human capital crisis in 20 years.

At the risk of being even more dour I won't talk about food riots and political instability stemming from hunger and its resulting anger.

Ok, enough about these global problems. This project, at its heart, is about the small things that we can do to make a difference in this world. Like many global problems, one individual's actions CAN make an impact on the global food crisis. Here are a few small actions you can take to decrease your impact on the global food system.

What You Can Do

1. Eat fewer cows. It takes about 20 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef. If that grain was fed directly to humans, there would be no food shortage. I know it's not practical for most people to give up meat entirely, so I suggest having several meatless meals per week. Breakfast is an easy place to start. If that is still too difficult, shop around for grass fed beef, which is available in many markets throughout West Michigan. As a bonus, cattle production is responsible for 18% of global Carbon Dioxide emission. By cutting down on beef, you could reduce your carbon footprint as much as if you switched to a hybrid car.
2. Eat more local foods. On average, each item on an American’s dinner plate has traveled 1500 miles to get there. In West Michigan we have access to a huge variety of fruits, veggies, dairy and meat all grown within 100 miles or less. This is not the best time of year to shop for most of the produce from this region, but it is a great time to start researching sources. Here is a list of farmers' markets in the area. The Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council publishes a Local Food Guide that I've found very helpful. For even more information, check Local Harvest. Also, feel free to list your local food sources in the comments section.
3. Grow your own. My post on home and community gardening shares lots of tips for starting to produce some of your own food. Unless you have a LOT of land, you probably aren't going to grow grain, but you can definitely supplement your diet and incorporate the most local food source of all into your dinner plans.

I know this post is a little more abstract than rest of this project, but I think this is a great example of how local actions really can have a global impact.

*Referenced here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3762/is_200201/ai_n9022740.

Photo by Cris DeRaud.

1. "This Earth Day, Let’s Scrape Off the Greenwash" by Sheldon Rampton of the Center for Media and Democracy

2. "Stop Waiting for ‘Leaders’ to Act on Global Warming, Greener energy in your community depends on strong grass roots" by Peter Asmus published in the Christian Science Monitor

3 "Is Earth Day Still Relevant 18 Years On? As Corporate Sponsors Mount, Some Activists Believe the Charity Strayed from Its Purpose" by Moira Welsh in the Toronto Star

4. "Quit recycling" by Ashley Braun at Grist (a funny one)

Did you see or hear about anything interesting this Earth Day?Post interesting earth day news in the comments...

After weeks of deliberation, the Project Slingshot judges have zeroed in on three projects to propel from ideas into action this summer with grants of $10,000 each. With 45 great applications full of ideas on how to spark more youth action on climate change, the judges didn't have an easy job, but the winners stood out for their commitment to innovation and to broadening this movement in tangible ways. The lucky three are:

Maya Donelson, Graze the Roof, San Francisco, CA, will integrate local organic food production and the efficiency gains of a green roof with an edible green roof at Glide, a diverse San Francisco church and nonprofit located in the Tenderloin District serving low income and marginalized people. Students from Glide's Training and Employment Services Youth Build Program will construct and maintain the garden.

Richard Graves, Fired Up Youth Action TV, Washington, D.C., will produce five minute news segments covering youth issues ranging from education, to politics, to jobs and the economy, to entertainment and culture - all through the lens of the most important challenges facing young people: the impact of global warming and the construction of a cleaner, more just economy and society. [Full Disclosure: Richard is a contributing editor for It's Getting Hot in Here]

Jesse Hough, Sunnyside Neighborhood Energy Project, Portland, OR, will run a summer "think-and-do tank" institute that will engage students to help advance an innovative, community-owned, thermal district energy system utilizing low carbon energy supplies to provide space heating and cooling and domestic hot water to a mixed residential/commercial neighborhood of Portland, Oregon

These projects will serve as replicable models for all of us to become more involved and Maya, Richard and Jesse will be sure to keep getting the word out about how their projects are going.

Raise a Rope for Climate Hope: a youth-driven, community-service, climate-action project

The Wolfeboro, New Hampshire based nonprofit, Global Awareness Local Action (G.A.L.A.) is gearing up to join thousands of other youth from around the world on Global Youth Service Day to help tackle their generation's most pressing environmental issue - climate change. Their strategies are local in practice and global in scope. Collectively these actions will make a difference.

In collaboration with local youth groups including Kingswood & Kids, Kingswood Youth Center, and the Brewster Environmental Club, G.A.L.A. is proud to share one plan of action - Raise a Rope for Climate Hope. This climate action project will connect advocacy and service. First, Alex Lee, Founding Director of Project Laundry List will give a presentation to raise awareness about the "Right to Dry" bill (S.41). At the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to register for a free clothesline of their choice to be installed by youth teams later in May. Continue reading to learn more about this exciting Earth Week and Global Youth Service opportunity.

On, April 25th Alex Lee, Founding Director of Project Laundry List will give a presentation titled “Laundry: An Inconvenient Chore?” from 6-7:30 at the Brewster Pickney Boathouse in Wolfeboro, NH. Lee’s presentation will explain the latest standing on the “Right to Dry” bill (S.41), a bill introduced by former Vermont State Senator, Dick McCormack, in response to restrictive community covenants, landlord prohibitions, and zoning laws. Lee will also share how his organization combines words, images, and advocacy to raise awareness about how simple lifestyle modifications, including air-drying one’s clothes, reduce our dependence on environmentally and culturally costly energy sources. Attendees will have a chance at the end of the presentation to register for a free clothesline installation of their choice – umbrella, pulley, or standard.

Funding for this national youth-driven initiative is provided by Youth Service America’s Red, White, & Green grant and Disney Minnie Grant. Join in the action, join in the fun, join in the Great Turning.

A major study about a new methodology for protecting biodiversity in Madagascar was published in the latest Science issue. The findings from the study were so critical that it was reported in numerous news articles: AFP, BBC, Discovery, New York Times and Reuters. This is a significant victory for environmentalists who are struggling to preserve the unique biodiversity of Madagascar under the constant threat of deforestation and climate change.

Here are excerpts from news articles explaining the significance of the study:

“A vast study of the plants and animals unique to Madagascar was published Thursday in a bid to protect thousands of rare species found only on the large African island” (from Discovery news)

“More than 80% of the known species on the island nation are not found anywhere else in the world. [..]Madagascar is an amazing place because of its evolutionary history” (from BBC news)

“..A significant victory for conservation by bringing one million hectares (more than 3,800 square miles) of wild landscapes and seascapes under national protection.” (Wildlife Conservation Society).

"La Grande île de Madagascar, située dans le sud-ouest de l’océan Indien, figure parmi les 10 hot spots de la diversité biologique mondiale et possède l’un des écosystèmes les plus riches du monde" ( from Planete Vivante)

So What is the take home message from this study by Kremen et al ?

From the original Science article:

“We show, in an analysis of wide taxonomic and geographic breadth and high spatial resolution, that multitaxonomic rather than single-taxon approaches are critical for identifying areas likely to promote the persistence of most species”

In other words, the study maps the region with the endangered species it contains and the type of habitat they require to survive. One cannot possibly tag all the regions of Madagascar containing endangered species as protected regions so this study ranks the regions most in need of the protected labels according to the number of endangered species they contain.

How did they do it?

By Collecting and combining data from 2,300 species, then processing all the data in a way that priorities can be assigned to regions that contains the most unique and endangered species.

The Result:

A new proposed map for regions that should be designated as protected areas.

( photo via Science)

The challenge they had to overcome:

Beside the amount of raw data to enter, the data processing software was also set so that all species are at least represented once. However, it was also designed to factor in the fact that some species are more threatened by human activities than others and increase the proportion of those species in the assigned protected areas.

Conclusion:

This new methodology challenges the usual paradigm of conservation that analyzes each species separately. It shifts the focus from the species that are the usual center of interests and analyzes the issue of conservation with a more integrated approach towards lesser know species.

The Festivals invite in luminary speakers to participate on panels and give speeches. This year’s speakers included Frances Moore Lappe, famed author of Diet for a Small Planet, Amory Lovins, brilliant founder of the Rocky Mountain Insitute, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and plenty of others both local and national. But the main focus of the festival and by far the biggest draw for most of the thousands of attendees were the commercial booths. If you were looking for a bumper sticker to express your love for the planet while driving your car, t-shirts, Amazonian miracle fruits, books, lotions, Bush punching bags or any matter of other liberal hype crap, then the Green festival was the place to find it.

Before I get too critical of the Festival, I do want to say that it wasn’t all bad. A few panelists actually seemed to understand the magnitude of the problem and the actions needed to address it and the festival organizers were nice enough to set aside a panel focused on the youth movement. And random run-ins are always nice networking opportunities.

But now for the critical. Let me focus on the commercial aspect to start off. There was so much crap being sold at the festival that it made my head spin. Too much of it was simple Bush bashing and the stuff that wasn’t was utterly unnecessary, the kind of stuff that regularly fills up our landfills and our thrift stores. Now of course, all these vendors went through a screening process to make sure they were both people and earth friendly, and all those t-shirts were organic cotton, but really, who gives a damn when it’s still something we simply do not need. Simplicity people! And simplicity does not mean owning ten pairs of Simple brand shoes. What scares me the most is that the large majority of people will leave this hyper-green consumerism and go out into the real world again with that same consumer mind-set and buy, buy, buy, whether their purchases are eco or not.

Moving on; at the Green Festival everyone has the answer. Everyone. And I spent hours and hours listening to them tell me the answer. Now, how much of that time was spent on them issuing calls to action? Next to none. It was a feel good event, a preaching to the choir of the worst kind, the kind that nods when it hears we have a problem and smiles when it hears that somewhere out there a guy or gal has created a solution. ‘Thank God someone is doing all that good’ it thinks and then leaves and goes back to business as usual. And therein lies my greatest beef with Green Festival. They had half of Seattle at their fingertips, all these wonderful green people and what did they do with them? They talked at them, signed their books, sold them some crap, and sent them on their lovely way. I saw two petitions (one by RAN) in support of Seattle’s new proposed paper and plastic bag tax and that was close to the extent of the action I saw during the entire fest. We need to capitalize on such gatherings to help build the movement.

One more beef. The extent of youth involvement at the fest was the one poorly attended panel on the youth movement. Thankfully a few youth friendly folks (and IGHIH bloggers) gave us a shout out at a few panels, but it is frustrating being relegated to the “cute-kids” status when we are in fact leaders in the movement and deserve to be treated as so.

So, in conclusion, if the Green fest folks think that the solution to our environmental woes is buying more crap, whether it’s green crap or not, is going to fix anything, I’m afraid for our future. As Bill McKibben says, “A movement needs to keep moving,” and at the Green Festival I saw a lot more gawking at consumer goods than building a movement.

Chill Out is next Wednesday, April 16 at 7pm Eastern. Sign up today to host this FREE webcast on your campus!