Post-Bali Dispatch: “Lighting Up” a movement in Upstate New York! via It's Getting Hot In Here
A
Cascade POWER SHIFT Summit Wraps Up Two Weeks of Intense Northwest Climate Action! via It's Getting Hot In Here
A
South Carolina Students Polar Plunge with Simple Message: “Keep Our Winters Cold! our Waters Clean!” via It's Getting Hot In Here
A
Generation Anything-But-Quiet: Just Wait for the Noise at Power Shift 2007! via It's Getting Hot In Here
The Youth Climate Movement is poised to explode off of campuses and into our nation’s capitol for PowerShift 2007, November 2nd-5th.
Thomas Friedman, the popular New York Times columnist, recently labeled teens and twenty-somethings coming to age in the early years of the 21st century the “Quiet Generation.” Accusing today’s young people of being “too quiet, too online for [their] own good, and for the country’s own good,” Friedman went on to say that today’s students and youth are “so much less radical and politically engaged than they need to be.” (See “‘Generation Q’ - the Quiet Americans,” New York Times, Oct. 10th, 2007)
Well, in two weeks, Mr. Friedman – and the rest of the nation – will hear what this young generation really sounds like,...
Junk Your Junk Mail Today! via It's Getting Hot In Here
Note: If anyone suggested that a campaign with the words “carbon” and “consumer” would somehow benefit the climate, I would have told them maybe when pigs fly. But low and behold! New American Dream has put together yet another fabulous campaign to help people reduce their carbon-footprint. But today is the last day to make the “Junk your Junk Mail” pledge!
The Carbon Conscious Consumer, coined “C3”, is a national campaign/contest that focuses on one easy, habit-forming step people can take each month to reduce their carbon consumption. The steps are:...... Campus Climate Challenge Survey Preliminary Results via It's Getting Hot In Here
ONLY 12 DAYS LEFT To help us help you!
The Campus Climate Challenge survey deadline is August 8th!
We need 245 more students to take the survey to meet our goal!
Please spend a few minutes of your time to take this important survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Ogty0KTqJxRIeLHw9mQT3g_3d_3d
The youth clean energy movement is reaching unprecedented numbers, but as this movement grows we must continue to improve our selves, our message, and our information. A growing and influential part of the youth climate movement is the Campus Climate Challenge which has reached over 550 campuses across North America. To improve the Energy Action Coalition’s Campus Climate Challenge we need feed back from YOU about how the first year of the Challenge went and how we can improve.
If you would... Whose Hot, Whose NOT! via It's Getting Hot In Here
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Earth. I am Richard Scott, a budding actor and political scientist devoted to the expansion of renewable energy programs designed to curb climate change. I am a novice to blogging so please have pity on me.
I thought I would take the time to introduce myself to you so that you can get to know me a little better. First, I am the new National Policy and Organizing Fellow at the Energy Action Coalition. Second, I have been told by countless by professors that my provocative arguments are hampered by my incessant degradation of grammar; so I would like to apologize for any mistakes that may follow this introduction.
I have compiled a small list that I have named “Whose HOT, Whose Not”. This is a small list that...
MTV Shows Campus Climate Challenge Love via It's Getting Hot In Here
MTV has a hot news story on the Campus Climate Challenge and the recent week of action. The clip shows great footage of the Billionaires for Coal rally to protest Merrill Lynch’s investment in a company that plans to build ELEVEN new coal power plants in my home state of Texas. The story also includes interviews with a range of young people talking about climate change and why its crucial step it up and make their voices heard.
View the clip here.
MTV is also an important partner for the Challenge with the Break the Addiction Challenge, an awesome contest in which students can win cool prizes for greening their campuses.
A brief word about me: I am new to the Its Getting Hot in Here scene, but not so new to blogging If interested, you can check out my personal blog Bloggernista. I...
Rising to the Challenge Final Report via It's Getting Hot In Here
January 29th through February 2nd, 2007 was a historic week for the youth climate movement. Here is a rundown of what we accomplished.
View this report in a Google Document.
The Largest Youth Mobilization on Global Warming
WEEK OF ACTION BY THE NUMBERS
50,000
Students and youth involved in Climate Week activities worldwide*
587
Campuses that took action*
49 of 50
U.S. States where actions took place
8 of 12
Canadian Provinces and Territories where actions took place
30
Organizations that provided direct support and outreach for the actions*
1900 and counting
Photographs posted for the Climate Photo Petition to the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament calling for 80% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
71
Print, television,...
Macalester Energy Crusaders sweep campus via It's Getting Hot In Here
On February 1st, Macalester Energy Crusaders kicked off a state-wide competition in Minnesota. Film courtesy of editor Matt Ecklund and film crew Matt, Ben, Emir, and Molly.
Campus Wars continues with pinwheels across campus and an upcoming camp out. Students across the state are collaborating to get their institutions to publicly support the CLEAN Energy 2007 Act, transferring $14 billion in subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The youth coalition is also supporting the final push for a 25% by 2020 Renewable Electricity Standard.
Share......
Enter Stage Right: Northwest Youth via It's Getting Hot In Here
Setting: In the birthplace of grunge, Starbucks, and the WTO protests; a place renowned for its forests, mountains and yes, rain; home to Birkenstock-wearing, umbrella-scorning environmentalists, Microsoft and last year’s almost Super Bowl Champions, the Seahawks, the youth climate movement has finally become a force to reckon with. In the city whose mayor created the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, over 130 youth climate activists gathered in Seattle for the first ever Northwest Climate Justice Summit this weekend.
Now, in a region so well known for being green (figuratively and literally), individuals have been taking action against climate change, but for some reason unknown to this blogger, the Northwest has been lagging behind other parts of the country in terms... No Comanche 3, Yes Renewables and Efficiency! via It's Getting Hot In Here
And you thought the Week of Climate Action was over…
Ratepayers United Of Colorado, Clean Energy Action And University Of Colorado Students join 500 schools in U.S. And Canada to stop global warming.
Following release of the IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) recent on global warming, University of Colorado student groups joined local environmentists Ratepayers United of Colorado and Clean Energy Action to ask Mr. Frank Prager, Environmental Policy director for Xcel Energy, to stop building more coal plants. The groups urge Xcel to use conservation (Demand Side Management) and renewable energy, including wind and utility-scale concentrating solar power, rather than dirty coal. (You can take action too!)
The groups note that 40% of all global warming gases come... Kyoto Now! Demands Climate Action From Skorton via It's Getting Hot In Here
This week, Cornell joined 575 schools in the Energy Action Coalition to stop global warming, an environmental trend that has consistently gained prevalence on social and political agendas around the world.
The Energy Action Coalition, which consists of 41 organizations in universities across the United States and Canada, has united students in the Campus Climate Challenge, an effort to institute clean energy policies on college campuses. Groups in the Energy Action Coalition include Cornell’s Kyoto Now!, Americans for Informed Democracy and the Sierra Student Coalition.
Carlos Rymer ’09, a member of Kyoto Now!, said, “Global warming is the defining issue of our generation, and as Cornell students, we believe that Cornell should join other schools that have committed to eliminating...
There Is Hope In This New Energy via It's Getting Hot In Here
“Global Warming. Everybody talks about it. We hear it in the news all the time nowadays. The Congress, major corporations, the insurance industry, and even the White House have picked up the point: the buildup of global warming pollution is heating Planet Earth.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “we judge a man’s wisdom by his hope.” This is not just an opinion about hope. This is a finding about the relationship between human actions and the idea of “hope.” Why so? Today, we are experiencing the effects of a changing global climate. From melting glaciers to stronger hurricanes to the loss of habitable land and agriculture, we are recognizing that this heating of the planet is coming right at us. “Hope,” in this case, is not simply an option. As temperatures soar and the...
WV Gov receives surprise delivery of kid’s letters via It's Getting Hot In Here
South Chareleston, WV-February 2- West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin was given the letters in a surprise delivery by activists from Rainforest Action Network and Coal River Mountain Watch at the South Charleston Chamber of Commerce Groundhog Day breakfast. After attempting to shuffle the activists off to lackey’s lackey the day before, the activists tracked Manchin down and delivered the letters.
This morning RAN and CRMW activists bought tickets to the breakfast and listened to several talks on West Virginia’s economic outlook (including Manchin’s). After giving his forecast on West Virginia economic future, Gov Manchin began glad-handing the crowd. He then walked off the stage to where 3 activists intercepted him bearing the handwritten letters and colored pictures. They...
Climate Week: the homestretch via It's Getting Hot In Here
Youth truly have risen to the climate challenge this week! Send your updates and media clips to josh@energyaction.net and your photos to photos@climatechallenge.org. Here are the latest updates we have received from the Week of Action…
From Jackie Sargent, Assumption College (MA)
We had a very successful showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” the other day. We had 47 people show up (including students, faculty, administration, and a few nuns), which is an AWESOME turnout for our small school. We also had our petitions out, the one you sent us about global warming and then Co-op America’s one that asked Ford and GM to increase the fuel efficiency of their cars, and we collectively got about 100 signatures. And I had information about what they could do as students to... Friday: A Vision for Our Future via It's Getting Hot In Here
It’s all your’s, readers. Post your vision in a comment.
Share......
APSU Students Vote Green via It's Getting Hot In Here
Students at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN voted last week to approve a $10 per student per semester Renewable Energy fee to increase energy efficiency and the use renewable energy for the campus. The referendum was approved by an overwhelming 83% majority.
“The mandate is clear: Austin Peay students want to be a force for change. We want to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels,” says Gail Gillis of Students Organized to Advance Renewable Energy (SOARE). “We hope students on other campuses will campaign for similar fees. Our leaders are beginning to listen, and together we can present a united voice and positively impact our entire country’s energy future.”
Now the APSU student government and administration will forward the fee increase... President of Yale Challenges Colleges to Step Up to Climate Challenge via It's Getting Hot In Here
Right before the U.N. Report was released today on Global Warming, Yale University President, Richard C. Levin attended the World Economic Forum and urged university leaders around the world to join in the effort by contributing 1% of their operating costs to green initiatives.
Yale’s commitment to the environment is one of the University’s and President Levin’s key priorities. In just one year, Yale reduced campus greenhouse gas emissions by 6% at a cost of less than 1% of the institution’s operating costs. By 2020, the University estimates it will have lowered its emissions by 43% from the University’s 2004 level despite a 15% growth in the physical plant. Yale has set and example and it is asking others to follow suit.
Among other measures, it has installed more efficient...
Billionaires for Coal: The inside story via It's Getting Hot In Here
Lauren Valle, sophomore at Columbia University in New York City, studier of eastern religions and poetry, and lover of humpback whales and hugging trees answers questions about the Billionaires for Coal event at Merrill Lynch on Tuesday.
HotInHere: Tell me what you were doing at Merrill Lynch on Tuesday.
LV: Around 8 am about 7 or 8 people dressed as billionaires, inspired by the Billionaires for Bush campaign, and a dozen or so other normally dressed activists (myself included), headed to the World Financial Center in the financial district where Merrill Lynch is located. The Billionaires had suitcases full of coal and enormous cardboard TXU top hats on, while we had a large banner that read “Coal Investments Cook the Climate” as well as several other signs and flyers. The... Macalester College Declares Campus Wars via It's Getting Hot In Here
Tonight at the Week of Action screening of An Inconvenient Truth, Macalester College, a small liberal arts college in St. Paul Minnesota, declared war on the other competitors in Campus Wars. 14 Minnesota schools including Macalester are launching Campus Wars - a campus energy saving competition involving students, faculty, and administrators for the
month of February. The effort was organized by students in the Minnesota Public Interest Group and the Minnesota College Energy Coalition in coordination with the Week of Action. The campuses will compete to reduce total energy consumption in two categories (heating and electricity) measured as a percent reduction from the campuses previous 3-February average. The competition coincides with important energy legislation in the state and... Thursday: A Vision for Our Government! via It's Getting Hot In Here
So, the first 100 hours are long over, and I continue to be less then impressed with our current governing body. We’ve got Obama pushing a coal-to-liquids solution to our addiction to foreign oil, Cheney holding back laughs while Bush tells us of his great plan to fight climate change and State Agencies suing Katrina Survivors in New Orleans.
Luckily, everything isn’t sour on The Hill, a few glimmers of hope shine! These nuggets of progress come from people like Rep. Henry Waxman and Barbara Boxer who seem to really understand the urgency of this petro-chemical blunder. Unfortunately, we can’t leave this problem to them to solve!
We need to show these people we mean business! The voices of students and the drumbeat of progress are growing louder, with close to 500 campuses taking... “I love the smell of enterprise in the morning” via It's Getting Hot In Here
I nearly wet myself watching this film. Thank you RAN and Billionaires for Coal. You need a little gut-busting hilarity when you’re up against some of the most powerful behemoths in the world of climate destruction. Watch this! You won’t be sorry.
Watch the Video.
Share......
Week of Action gains coverage: Our voice is HEARD! via It's Getting Hot In Here
With so many students organizing events and demonstrations during this Week of Action, our voice is getting stronger and with this wide-spread collaboration, it’s becoming more unified. The movement is building and more people are beginning to take note. Grist covered our efforts yesterday as “the largest mobilization in the history of the youth global warming movement.”
Let’s continue to build this movement and make our presence known, not only on our campuses, but among decision-makers on the Hill as well. Get involved with the International Photo Petition and don’t forget to send photo petitions and pictures of your events to photos@climatechallenge.org by 3:00pm on Thursday, Feb 1st! (Students pictured at left from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse... Climate Week kayaks, waddles, swims, and storms across U.S. and Canada via It's Getting Hot In Here
There is no stopping the youth climate movement! Stories are pouring in from everywhere about 300, 400, even 900 people attending campus screenings of An Inconvenient Truth. Tuesday was a big day for the Week of Action! Youth in Ottawa rallied on the front lawn of Parliament Hill to call for national action to achieve Canada’s Kyoto commitments. In New York City, Bloomberg reported that Columbia students and other activists delivered lumps of coal to Merrill Lynch for their role in funding the TXU Power Plant project. At Winona State in Minnesota students stripped down to shorts and t-shirts with the message, “Keep winter cold!”. New reports are coming in every hour. Send your updates and media clips to josh@energyaction.net and your photos to... Wednesday: A Vision for Our Mountains via It's Getting Hot In Here
Youth unite for environmental justice in Appalachia! Whether you live in the heart of coal country or thousands of miles away, what happens in West Virginia and its surrounding states matters to your future. Wednesday is a national day of solidarity with communities in Appalachia that confront many consequences of our fossil fuel addiction. Coalfield communities affected by mountaintop removal and other forms of coal mining are faced with toxic coal slurry disposal, valley fills, blasting and many additional environmental burdens. The Mountain Justice Day of Action, part of the Week of Action, is an opportunity for young people to speak out against these injustices.
TAKE ACTION: Call Senator Robert C. Byrd and demand he fulfill his promise to Ed Wiley and that he protect the health... Tuesday: A Vision for Our Communities via It's Getting Hot In Here
Today is the Community Day of Action of the Week of Climate Action. Here are some things you can do to help stand up to dirty energy, to say Not In Anyone’s Backyard!:
-Call into Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s office (617-725-4005) with this message: “Thank you for signing the regional pact to reduce greenhouse gases from power plants, but you need to put your word in practice and stop the Chelsea Power Plant proposal of EMI (Energy Management, Inc.).”
-Visit www.energyjustice.net/actionalert to send an email and/or make a phone call to Xcel Energy’s CEO, Board of Directors and their Environmental Policy Director, asking them to take a leadership role in using conservation, efficiency and renewables, rather than building the Comanche 3 coal-fired... Day 1: A Vision for Our Campuses via It's Getting Hot In Here
Welcome to Climate Week! Photos, media clips, and stories are starting to trickle in from places Austin, TX, San Luis Obispo, CA, St. Mary’s City, MD, and Valdosta, GA. With actions being planned on 578 campuses across the United States and Canada this week, we know this is just the tip of the melt-resistant iceberg. Pass any scoops you hear about Week of Action happenings to josh@energyaction.net or post them yourself here. Check out two inspiring stories from Day 1:
Monday, Austin, TX: “Photo of Alpha Phi sorority at the University of Texas. We have approximately 180 members, and we are excited to help cut carbon! We wanted to show that it’s not just hippies who care about global warming! We all care!!”
Update from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, Tylor...