Right after the State of the Union, young climate activists submitted a question about the President’s remarks on clean energy and crossed their fingers hoping that it would get asked. The smiling faces of Energy Action Coalition activists made it in the the intro screen as the YouTube announcer explained the format.
During the CitizenTube State of the Union Q & A discussion, President Obama severely dodged a question submitted by young activists about his support of dirty energy.
His answer is unwise, and deceitful. I hate to say this about the President that has done more to invest in a clean energy economy than anyone before him (not a hard accomplishment since W, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and Carter were the only presidents in office since clean energy became an issue), but young people are tired of being lied to by the White House and congress.
Crossposted from Funding Our Future, the Campus Progress blog promoting policy that provides economic opportunities for our generation.
On their first day back to work after an eventful summer, Senators were greeted by 40 climate activists eager to demonstrate what clean energy jobs look like. Smack in the middle of the Hart Senate Office building the 40 activists built miniature windmills and made mechanical noises until interrupted by the Capitol Police. At that point, a 50 ft banner dropped demanding that the Senators "Get to Work" for "Green Jobs Now". This protest was organized by a coalition of climate organizations including the Energy Action Coalition, Avaaz.org, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Campus Progress.
“As the Senate reconvenes today, too many Americans are out of work and getting sick from our current dirty energy systems. We must act now,” said Pete Griffin, Campaign Director for Energy Action Coalition. “This historic youth movement fighting for jobs and clean energy is getting larger every day and the action, or inaction, of the Senators walking through those doors today will influence how young people mobilize next year as 36 of them make bids for reelection.”
Harry Waisbren is the president of the Campus Progress chapter at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
I am happy to report that this past Saturday a fellow Power Shifter and I were able to engage Sen. Feingold as part of our in-district lobbying efforts. We were able to catch the senator in Fond du Lac, WI during one of his scheduled "listening sessions", and it was an unqualified success.
These meetings have stemmed from a pledge during his first senatorial run to hold open meetings in all 72 counties in Wisconsin every single year, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to see both how democratic in nature they are and how seriously he still takes them. Anyone who wished of the 70 or so people present were able to ask him a question which he would thoughtfully answer. He even went beyond the call of duty by going over the time limit to do ensure he answered each and every one!
I always tell the tale of having an environmental enlightenment moment when I realized the social justice implications of our industrial systems, but there is more to the tale than I've disclosed in the past. Now, with 14 days to go before PowerShift, is time to reveal the truth about why I'm helping to organize this event and trying to recruit 200 people to join me. The real tipping point in my environmental enlightenment happened when a sociology professor showed my society and nature class a powerpoint slide with a gigantic picture of this animal:
Meet the American Pika , an alpine bunny and Pikachu's namesake.
As we get ready to descend upon Washington D.C. to take action on the climate crisis, our Senators are mangling up a decently green stimulous bill with some toxic muck. Last Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee snuck $50 billion in loan guarantees into their version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If it goes through, most of this money would likely be used for nuclear energy loan guarantees and coal projects. This is a disgusting use of the stimulus package to try to pork up dirty and dying industries. Not only are nukes and coal bad for the climate, but they are also void of any stimulative value.
Here’s why:
Last week the Sierra Club released a video thanking Obama for his committments to the environment. The video features a bunch of celebrities telling Obama that they can't wait to see him clean up the nation. This video is great, but I know that we can do better! Check it out:
Obama isn't going to be able to act without a solid grassroots movement countering the countless industry hacks whispering in his ear, and celebrity videos just won't be convincing enough.
I’m not a fan of excessive consumerism, but I must admit that I have a soft spot for Apple products. This might change after seeing the way they packaged my most recent acquisition:
As you can see in the picture, Apple’s distribution center decided to package my new Airport router in a box big enough to fit two of them. Twice the amount of space = twice the number of trucks = twice the amount of carbon emissions due to transportation = twice the shipping cost that I’m burdened with.
On their first day back to work after an eventful summer, Senators were greeted by 40 climate activists eager to demonstrate what clean energy jobs look like. Smack in the middle of the Hart Senate Office building the 40 activists built miniature windmills and made mechanical noises until interrupted by the Capitol Police. At that point, a 50 ft banner dropped demanding that the Senators "Get to Work" for "Green Jobs Now". This protest was organized by a coalition of climate organizations including the Energy Action Coalition, 
Harry Waisbren is the president of the Campus Progress chapter at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
As we get ready to descend upon Washington D.C. to take action on the climate crisis, our Senators are mangling up a decently green stimulous bill with some toxic muck. Last Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee 