Like the 1Sky Platform? Vote for it.

1Sky is based on three pillars: create 5 million new Green Jobs, start a firm Moratorium on New Coal, and reduce emissions to 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Focus the Nation’s Choose Your Future Vote in January will present millions of voters with a menu of global warming policy solutions, including those and more.

Focus the Nation’s combination of education, civic engagement and action is without precedent. On January 31st, the nation-wide teach-in will include tens of thousands of professors from all disciplines focusing on global warming solutions for America.

Organizers in all fifty states are inviting hundreds of Senators and Representatives to participate in Green Democracy, a carbon-neutral platform for DC-District engagement on global warming policy solutions. From a room in the Capitol they will sit down in front of a computer and video-chat with their constituents on campuses across the country.

The culmination of the event is the nation-wide vote on policy solutions. What do you think we should do about global warming? Should we invest in so-called “clean coal” or real clean energy technology? Should we create new nuclear reactors or new green jobs? Should we make our cars cleaner or transition away from cars altogether?

You all have strong opinions on what the solutions should be. Make them heard, and start 2008 with solutions in mind.

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Beating Back the Coal Rush: Proposed Washington Coal Plant Halted!

Great news from Washington state!

State energy facility siting regulators in Washington announced yesterday that they have halted permitting for a proposed coal-fired power plant near Kalama on the Columbia River in southwest Washington.

Before the state Energy Facility Siting Council will continue permitting the proposed coal gasification plant, the developers, Energy Northwest, must file a real plan for sequestering the greenhouse gas emissions the plant will emit, in accordance with a greenhouse gas emissions limit passed by the Washington legislature in 2007 (SB 6001),

The plan the developers initially filed essentially amounted to "well, we can't sequester emissions now but we'll figure out a plan to do it later." That doesn't cut it, the state Siting Council (reasonably) said.

This is a major set-back for the proposed plant - although it doesn't spell the end. If the developers come up with a real plan to sequester emissions, they could still build the power plant, which while more climate friendly, would still be coal-burning.

Washington's SB 6001 essentially sets an greenhouse gas emissions limit for any new power plants either in Washington, or outside the state but serving Washington customers, saying that they must be at least as clean as a state-of-the-art, high-efficiency natural gas plant. The bill essentially means no new coal plants for Washington!

However, the bill included a special provision for two coal plants that were already in the permitting and development process when the bill was passed: the Kalama plant, and another coal-gasification plant, the Wallula plant near Walla Walla, in southeastern Washington. If these plants are to be built, the law says, they must capture and sequester enough emissions to get below the emissions limit, or pay to reduce emissions at another power plant located in the western United States.

If either coal gasification plant - which use a newer technology that turns coal into cleaner-burning synthetic gas before burning it to make electricity, allowing some or all of the greenhouse gas emissions to be captured and stored underground - moves forward, it will either have to sequester roughly 60% or more of it's emissions, or pay to reduce a corresponding amount of emissions at another power plant in the western U.S, as required by the state law, Senate Bill 6001.

The Wallula plant is actively pursuing a sequestration plan and wants to be a national demonstration site for the new technology.

The Kalama plant however was making no plans to sequester emissions at this time, arguing that it was economically and technically infeasible. "So what!" said state siting regulators.

The laws the law, Energy Northwest, so get used to it!

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Support Youth Climate Activism While You Shop This Holiday Season

Dear WattHead readers,

If you (or your family and/or friends) are going to be purchasing any books online as gifts for friends and loved ones this holiday season, please help support the youth climate activism of the Cascade Climate Network while you shop

I've set up a "partner bookseller" account here at WattHead with Powell's Books online. Any purchases made at Powell's online from anyone who "clicked through" to Powell's site from a link at my blog will mean that 7.5% any purchases made during that visit to Powell's will go to me as commission, and that money will in turn go to support the Cascade Climate Network I'm involved with.

All you need to do is start your shopping experience by searching for the book you want using the Powell's search box, or clicking through any of the recommended books or topics at the "WattHead Bookstore" (it's on the lefthand column, a little way down the page). After you get to Powells' site, shop as normal, and the commission should flow through to me and the Cascade Climate Network (a screen shot of the search tool at my blog is attached to this email). Thanks, and happy holidays!

About the Cascade Climate Network

The Cascade Climate Network (CCN) is the first-ever effort by youth in the Pacific Northwest to launch a coordinated, region-wide campaign to address the climate crisis. The CCN consists of students and youth from across the Cascade Region* who are focused on actively addressing climate change in their bio-region, states, and schools.

Currently, the CCN is working to gather support for the Cascade Climate Declaration, a document emphasizing the need to address climate change in a clean, local, just, and ecologically sustainable manner.

The CCN will use the Declaration to build support from youth and students, as well as faculty, community members, and politicians in Washington and Oregon. By building broad support for the Declaration, the Cascade Climate Network (CCN) plans to hold elected officials, university and college presidents – and ourselves! – accountable to a set of five enduring principles, which should guide a rapid transition to a sustainable, just, and prosperous future for all.

Through our efforts, we hope to form a more unified regional youth climate movement that both reinforces our separate efforts at our own schools and campuses, and achieves real progress in our states, the region, and the nation.

Colleges and universities involved in the Cascade Climate Network include:

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA

Centralia College, Centralia, WA

Whitworth College, Spokane, WA

Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

Portland State University, Portland, OR

University of Portland, Portland, OR

Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, Portland, OR

Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus, Portland, OR

Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR

Reed College, Portland, OR

Willamette University, Salem, OR

Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Lane Community College, Eugene, OR

Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR

Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR

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Google Wants Green Energy, Cheaper, Faster

Today, Google announced it's newest initiative: RE<C.

RE<C aims to develop energy from renewable energy sources rather than more costly coal; initially focused on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies. To accomplish this task with the urgency Google has put on the issue, it is hiring engineers and energy experts who will lead the research and development work. Next year, tens of millions of dollars will be invested by Google on the RE<C initiative, which will begin with efforts with solar thermal technology and investigating enhanced geothermal systems, and other renewable energy investments.

"We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers," said Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. "We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal."

Coal is currently the primary power source for many worldwide, supplying 40% of the world's electricity. Developing electricity from renewables that is cheaper than coal is key to reducing greenhouse gases.

Google is already working with two companies that have promising scalable energy technologies. eSolar Inc., from Pasadena, CA, specializes in solar thermal power with potential technology to produce utility-scale power cheaper than coal. Makani Power Inc., out of Alameda, CA, is developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at harnessing the most powerful wind resources with the potential to satisfy a significant portion of current global electricity needs.

More Information
Read about Google's Green Commitment and RE<C Initiative

Read Google's Press Release on the Launch of RE<C

Ongoing Commitments
Today's announcement represents just the latest steps in Google's commitment to a clean and green energy future.

Google has been working hard on energy efficiency and making its business environmentally sustainable. Last spring the company announced its intention to be carbon neutral for 2007, and is on track to meet that goal. To this end, the company has taken concrete steps to reduce its carbon footprint and accelerate improvements in green technology, including:

• Developing cutting-edge energy efficiency technology to power and cool its data centers in the U.S. and around the world.
• Generating electricity for its Mountain View campus from a 1.6 Megawatt corporate solar panel installation, one of the largest in the U.S.
• Accelerating development and adoption of plug-in vehicles through the RechargeIT initiative, including a $10 million request for investment proposals (http://www.google.org/recharge/)
• Joining with other industry leaders in 2007 to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium that advocates the design and use of more energy-efficient computers and servers (http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/).
• Working on policies that encourage renewable energy development and deployment, such as a U.S. Renewable Energy Standard, through Google.org.

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Not Seeing Eye-to-Eye with Congress? Want to?

The buzz in Congress about Focus the Nation has representatives calling our Civic Engagement Director asking “Where is my invitation?” Want to know what your rep has to say about global warming? Here’s how: The Green Democracy model is providing a day of carbon-neutral DC-to-district engagement on Global Warming Solutions for America.

There is no excuse for Congress not to give us the dialogue we deserve on real policy solutions. We’re working with Sight Speed and Congress to set up a room in the Capitol on January 31^st, where politicians will sit down and video chat with their constituents back home in a non-partisan, solution-oriented discussion on climate change.

Many teams have already sent the first wave of invitations. What about your senators and representatives? If you’re a Focus the Nation organizer, get those invitations sent in before the winter holidays – we’ve already written them – all you have to do is print, sign and send! If you aren’t, find a team in your town to help out or sign up to form one right now!

Are you being adequately represented in Congress? Make your voice heard on January 31st?

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Chinese Students Taking a Stand to Stop Climate Change

I came across this post ChinaDialogue by Peng Li, a Masters student at Tsinghua University. It's great to hear about Chinese students organizing for a sustainable future all across China. I hope we can build bridges across language barriers between youth climate movements in the West and in China. We stand in solidarity!

Campus action: Chinese students take a stand
By Peng Li November 02, 2007

Universities across China are buzzing with green activity, says Peng Li. From book swaps and fashion shows, to climate conferences and the Live Earth concerts, student green groups are leading the way.

Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University is well-known for its trees and lawns, but visit today and you might find yourself appreciating another kind of “green”. Bins to deposit batteries for recycling are dotted around, while paper recycling facilities are seen all about campus. There are regular second-hand markets where books, including unwanted textbooks, find new homes. Invitations to save water and electricity are posted next to taps and light switches.

Environmental activities have become ever more frequent at Tsinghua over the last few years, and they now account for a significant proportion of the campus cultural life. “Green Tsinghua day” is in its tenth year, and includes exhibitions, lectures and events encouraging reduction in plastic bag usage and paper recycling. It has had a lasting effect on thousands of students; efforts by student green groups have succeeded in persuading many students to make changes to their day-to-day lifestyles.


At Peking University, another of China’s leading universities, the environment is also a key concern. The Peking University Environment and Development Association is China’s longest-established campus green group. It has been involved in awareness-raising, educational and practical activities for 16 years. In October 2006 they formed the first youth group in China to focus on climate change: the Clean Development Mechanism Club, and produced the “Handbook for Youth Action on Climate Change”. On Earth Day this year, the group surveyed climate-change awareness across 19 Chinese universities, at the same time as it organised activities to educate students about the causes and consequences of climate change, its urgency and the students’ own responsibility. With support from the China Environmental Protection Foundation, the group is currently carrying out a campus energy audit to understand the contribution universities make to greenhouse-gas emissions.

Beijing Normal University has also featured a range of green activities run by student environmental groups, including fashion shows with environmental themes such as “the atmosphere”, “forests” and “water”.

Meanwhile, Jiaotong University Student Association in Shanghai left campus to visit the city’s most polluted district: Shenzhuang, and take the message of environmental protection into communities and schools.

Beijing Jiaotong University has been promoting energy conservation and saving water since 1987, and has adopted a range of technologies to achieve this end. In all, the university says, it has saved 5 million cubic metres of water and 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity. This tradition is an important part of what students are taught and are encouraged to sustain, and it has become an important part of the university’s culture.

Some universities are even making these ideals a compulsory part of student life. Zhejiang Forestry Institute has far stronger rules on the use of water, power, air-conditioning and public spaces than many other institutions.

Now, whether you are at Fudan University, Nanjing University or Xi’an Jiaotong University, almost all of China’s universities have students working to promote environmental awareness, persuading hundreds of thousands of fellow students to make changes to their lifestyles.

Active student environmental groups in China number 2,500, according to incomplete statistics. And they are linking up, exchanging experiences and organising regional – and even national – events. For example:

• In March, Campus green groups in Chongqing joined forces to publish guidelines for student groups working on climate-change issues, with the aim of launching large-scale activities to promote water conservation, energy efficiency and emissions reduction.

• A number of Chinese universities, including Wuhan University and Renmin University, held a conference in Wuhan in June to promote on-campus green activities.

• In July, the Shanghai Live Earth concert became a platform on which the China University Students Environmental Organisation Forum brought together student green groups to make a statement on the need to combat climate change.

• Students from nine universities in Beijing used their summer vacation to teach cadres, farmers and teachers in rural areas about environmental technology.

• In August, groups including Peking University’s Clean Development Mechanism Club and the China University Students Environmental Organisation Forum formed the China Youth Climate Change Action Network to guide student and youth projects on environmental issues. Twenty-three of these groups are developing a database of power use and emissions on China’s campuses. 

• Eleven universities and research institutes, including Beijing Forestry University, North-Eastern Forestry University and Nanjing Forestry University, in October held a competition to increase understanding of forestry’s relation to climate-change issues.


Hope for the future

From energy efficiency to mitigating climate change, China’s students are looking for solutions. A lack of resources and experience, fundraising, management and publicity do present problems, and it is often difficult for groups to feel they have a lasting and wide-ranging impact. If they continue to care and to act, however, progress will continue.

Chinese people sometimes refer to university students as “flowers of the motherland.” When our students graduate and leave university, their green lifestyles and concern for the environment will influence society as a whole. Let us hope that the Chinese people, already enjoying the fruits of economic growth, will then come to live more environmentally friendly lives and show concern for the worsening ecology of China and the world – and work to find solutions.

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Billy Parish Tells Congress "This Young Generation is Ready to Carry Out a Historic Power Shift"

The following is the testimony delivered by Energy Action Coalition co-founder and coordinator, Billy Parish before the House Select Committee on Global Warming and Energy Independence during Power Shift 2007 Lobby Day, November 5th, 2007.

It's taken me too long to get this posted, but it's well worth watching/reading. (The sound is not in synch with the video unfortunately, but here it is nonetheless. The full text is below the fold).

For those who were there, let us remember that we have delivered a loud and clear message to our leaders on Congress. For those who missed Billy's inspiring testimony, read on or listen to/watch the video. Let us all keep our call for "Green Jobs", "80% by '50" and "No New Coal" as loud and clear as it was on the 5th of November. Thanks Billy for this testimony and for all you've done:



Thank you, Chairman Markey, for inviting us here today. I want to also thank you and Speaker Pelosi for addressing Power Shift on Saturday night, and for your leadership over the past 30 years on these critical issues. I want to finally recognize the thousands of young people today standing shoulder to shoulder for the largest climate lobby day in U.S. history.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November. An unstoppable movement has taken root in every school and every community in this nation. A generation has come to Washington today to lead, to be heard, and to find allies in this Congress who are ready to do what is necessary to solve our climate crisis.

My name is Billy Parish, and I'm the coordinator of the Energy Action Coalition, a diverse alliance of 46 organizations working to support and strengthen the student and youth clean energy movement in the U.S. and Canada to create change for a clean, efficient, just and renewable energy future. I have brought with me our coalition's "Youth Statement of Principles on Climate and Energy" and other supporting documents for the Congressional record.

We come here today with three demands for Congress:

1. Create 5 million new jobs through a Clean Energy Corps to weatherize, solarize, rewire and rebuild this country. Let’s put people to work, and create green pathways out of poverty. Green Jobs Now! Green Jobs Now! Green Jobs Now!

2. Cut Carbon at least 80% by 2050, 30% by 2020 and auction 100% of the pollution allowances from day 1. Science tells us we can aim for nothing less. 80 by 50! 80 by 50! 80 by 50!

3. Pass an immediate moratorium on the construction of new coal plants. We should shift all federal subsidies from fossil fuels and nuclear to wind and solar, and create a just transition for workers from the old economy into the new green economy. No Coal! No Coal! No Coal!

We will be heard because at 50 million strong, the Millennial generation outnumbers even the Baby Boomers by 3 million and represents the single-largest demographic age group in this country. Polling data, recent voter turnout, and the swelling ranks and increasing coordination of the youth climate movement all demonstrate that this young generation is engaged and ready to carry out a historic Power Shift. Youth turnout in the past two elections hit the highest level in at least 20 years, and is only on the rise.

We are not alone: youth are assembling coalitions that are bringing together a diverse and powerful set of allies including unions, businesses, people of faith, farmers, civil rights groups and millions more. And we are not just here in D.C., we are in every Congressional district in America - and we are organizing.

Politicians would be wise to take note. Exactly one year from today, we will have a new Congress and a new President. You have one year to prove that you are worthy of being our “representatives” in this government – and if you don’t, you will need to look for a new job, as millions of young voters throw their support behind more progressive, pro-environment candidates committed to ending the climate crisis and protecting the future of our generation.

We will be heard because we are the ones we've been waiting for.

As the Bush Administration and our federal government has done almost nothing for the last seven years, young people have organized and made change. Through the Campus Climate Challenge, tens of thousands of young people have engaged in the hard work of making their schools models of sustainability for the rest of society. In just the last year, 426 colleges have committed to becoming climate neutral, and more sign on every day.

We are building partnerships with community groups to block the construction of new coal-fired power plants and launch a green wave of urban and rural renewal. As our government abandoned the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of young people dropped everything to serve and rebuild. Over 6,000 of us came to Power Shift this weekend, thousands more took part in Step it Up around the country - a generation of solutions, but we know we cannot do it alone and have come to seek your help.

And we will be heard because we are, quite literally, fighting for our lives.

This can no longer be a political issue – for the survival of our people and our planet, we must put aside partisan politics and come together as humans, as mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, to heal ourselves and our planet.

This is no small task.

As Evon Peter told us on Saturday night, this is not only an ecological and economic crisis, it is a spiritual and cultural crisis that is centuries old. We must begin the long process of reconciliation with the original peoples of this land, with the people that were brought here against their will, especially those from Africa, and all the people that are poorly served by our society. We cannot sacrifice communities for our overconsumption today, not only because it is wrong for those communities today but because we will be sacrificing the basis of life for our children and future generations.

I'm 26 years old and about to become a father. I implore the members of this 110th Congress to hear our demands – but I ask that you hear them not only as politicians, but also as mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. We can do this if we work together, but we must begin today.

1. Green Jobs Now! Green Jobs Now! Green Jobs Now!

2. 80 by 50! 80 by 50! 80 by 50!

3. No Coal! No Coal! No Coal!

Thank you.

Other inspiring testimony from the Select Committee Hearing on Nov. 5th can be found online at The Gavel here.

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Two Year Anniversary of International Action: Montreal to Bali

February 16th, 2005 saw the Kyoto Protocol go into effect, with its ratification by Russia. When the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, some feared that international climate actions would fail, but 36 countries are now working to reduce emissions under Kyoto (the most well known requirement of which is 5% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2012).

December, 2005 saw the launch of It’s Getting Hot In Here at the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations in Montreal, Canada. Although this was the 11th Conference of Parties meeting to discuss international action to address climate change, it was the first Meeting of Parties, where the countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol gathered to discuss how to meet its requirements and to begin looking at what happens after 2012.

December 3, 2005 saw the world’s first International Day of Climate Action. Scheduled to coincide with the Montreal negotiations, tens of thousands of people around the world took action to call for strong implementation of reduction mechanisms. As a part of the 30,000 person march to the Palais de Congres where the negotiations were taking place, I was stunned by the number of people involved. That conference was my first major experience with the climate movement, and then and there I became devoted to climate activism.

November 4, 2006 saw the world’s second International Day of Climate Action in preparation for the negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya. The demonstration in Montreal drew tens of thousands of people, in part because it was in a major metropolitan area in North America and fairly easy for large numbers of people to reach. Kenya is a little more difficult to travel to. However, with the momentum of the previous year’s actions, events in 48 countries around the world called for strong leadership in enacting the goals of Kyoto.

December 8th, 2007 will see the third International Day of Climate Action, during the negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, with actions in 78 countries. This time around, the negotiations will be seriously looking into the international plan for emissions reductions after 2012. Although the United States is not a part of the Kyoto Protocol, there is the possibility that it will join in the post-2012 agreements. The US youth delegation in Bali is working to show the world a different America, one that is not abandoning the rest of the world in the fight against global warming, but rather one whose people are already fighting climate change on the local, state and recently the national level. They will show the international delegates the momentum from Power Shift, Step It Up and (hopefully) the mobilization around the Energy Bill in Congress.

Although I will not be going to Bali, I will be participating in the International Day of Climate Action. The message for December 8th to world leaders is:

“We demand that world leaders take the urgent and resolute action that is needed to prevent the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate, so that the entire world can move as rapidly as possible to a stronger emissions reductions treaty which is both equitable and effective in preventing dangerous climate change.

We also demand that the long-industrialised countries that have emitted most greenhouse gases up to now take most of the responsibility for the adaptive measures that have to be taken, especially by low-emitting countries with limited economic resources.”

The Global Climate Campaign states that “there is an overwhelming need to create a groundswell of global opinion to push for the urgent and radical action on climate change, without which we risk a global catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.”

We are part of a global movement, and those of us not going to Bali can support it through our work to reduce emissions on the local, state and nation levels and through displays of solidarity. On December 8th, let’s show the world that the people of the United States are a part of the fight against global warming.

Cross posted on It's Getting Hot In Here and Bali Buzz

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