Youth Powers a Shift to Clean Energy

Fans of renewable energy will love what's going on in our Nation's Capitol this weekend.

Washington DC is super-charged with the renewable energy of young voters attending PowerShift 2009 to demand a clean energy future. More than 10,000 young folks are expected to attend the February 27 - March 2 event, the largest gathering of its kind.

Politicians in DC are paying close attention. They had better since the young people played a huge role in the last presidential election: 23 Million of these energy-charged citizens voted!

To drive their concerns home, these young adults will show up at the Pol's Capitol Hill offices on Monday March 2 to lobby for the cause of a clean energy future. Makes you proud to be an American, doesn't it?



The events, activities and names of key speakers are listed here.
The home page is PowerShift 2009

Burning Coal Sparks DC Protest Plans

A coal-fired steam-generating plant, the Capitol Power Plant, sits right in the heart of our nation's capitol, unbeknown to most in Washington DC. On March 2, the Capitol Power Plant will become more visible because it will be the site of a mass protest against the continued and seemingly unending practice of polluting our planet by burning coal. The Capitol Power Plant will be exposed as a dark symbol of all that is wrong about burning coal, and all that is wrong with politics as usual in Washington.

On March 2, concerned citizens will demand change on burning coal, calling for a complete transformation in our national energy policies and priorities. In protest of the Federal Government's inaction on these issues, a number of prominent people will gather at the Capitol Power Plant and engage in acts of non-violent civil disobedience, in the tradition of Ghandi and the Civil Rights Movement. Two authors who want to protect and preserve the environment, Bill McKibben from Vermont and Wendell Berry of Kentucky, have made it known that they plan to cross the legal boundary of the power plant and expect to get arrested. Below is a video featuring Bill McKibben in an interview about 'clean coal' and global climate change.



Why is McKibben willing to go to jail in protest of burning coal? To find out, Click Here. Actress Susan Sarandon narrated a video asking others to join the March 2nd protest, called the Capitol Climate Action. NASA climatologist, Dr. James Hansen, is also soliciting participation in the protest to stop global warming pollution in a video presentation at CapitolClimateAction.org. A long list of individuals and organizations endorsing the Capitol Climate Action is shown here. The protest follows PowerShift 2009, a separate event that will draw thousands of students and young people to Washington for the purpose of holding elected officials accountable for rebuilding the economy through bold climate and clean energy policies that help create new jobs.

UPDATE, Feb.26: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a letter asking the Capitol Architect to switch the Capitol Power Plant from coal to 100 percent natural gas by the end of 2009. The call comes just three days before more than 2,500 people will converge at the power plant for the biggest civil disobedience on climate issues in U.S. history. The Capitol Climate Action will still go forward on March 2nd. Read more here.

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Whose Planet Is It, Anyway?

Take OUR Planet Back!

Will.i.am with Al Gore

MEETING: Proposed Petro-Coke Gas Plant

A meeting on the proposed Lackawanna petroleum-coke gasification plant is scheduled for Monday, February 16th, 7pm, Daemen College [Map] at the Wick Student Center in the Alumni Lounge.

If built, the proposed Lackawanna gasification plant will spew four million tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere every year – equal to one new giant coal plant. It’s time to take the first steps toward creating a coalition that will oppose construction of this plant.

AGENDA:
1. Welcome and introductions
2. Overview of Lackawanna project
3. Criticism of the project
4. Update on recent activities

• Meeting with the Buffalo News
• Contacting legislators

5. Subcommittee reports

• Health issues
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Waterfront development issues
• SEQRA issues
  

6. Discussion of possible position statements
7. Building a campaign -- Next steps

• Coalition building
• Subcommittee work
• Publicity

8. Next general meeting

Questions? Please contact Walter Simpson, WNY Climate Action Coalition, at enconser@buffalo.edu

Gore shows Senators New Climate Slides

Al Gore testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a hearing entitled "Addressing Global Climate Change: The Road to Copenhagen" on January 28, 2009.

His written testimony stated: "Most importantly, as long as we continue to depend on dirty fossil fuels like coal and oil to meet our energy needs, and dump 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, we move closer and closer to several dangerous tipping points which scientists have repeatedly warned – again just yesterday -- will threaten to make it impossible for us to avoid irretrievable destruction of the conditions that make human civilization possible on this planet." His full written testimony is here.

In addition to his testimony, he presented an update of his slide show. A video of Gore's slide presentation is shown below in 2 parts.

First Part:


Second Part: