Bringing communities together is no small feat. Aggregating over 12,000 passionate, active students from communities all across the nation is every activist’s dream. The second annual Power Shift conference, held this weekend in Washington, D.C., broke records. Never have more people come together to demand climate change solutions. Never have so many Americans lobbied Congress together on any given issue in all of American history.
For many students and community activists like myself, the event was a unification of seemingly disconnected campaigns and goals. Organizations and student leaders from around the nation, whose collaboration had defined my involvement in environmentalism, were now, quite unbelievably, assembled in a single D.C. convention center. As Cheyenna Weber of the Responsible Endowments Coalition describes, “[Power Shift] was like one big family reunion.”
But even students completely new to the enviropolitical scene found themselves a taste of home and a bundle of opportunities. Speeches, trainings, organizational information sessions and job fairs unleashed a world of progressive-minded, action-focused dialogue. Like their compatriots back home – hundreds of thousands of youths who committed to voting on the environment in the last election – attendees found connection through a passion for environmental protection and social justice.
Thousands of suit-clad college students wearing green hard hats, demanding green jobs aren’t easily ignored. On the final day of the conference, over 350 noticeably intimidated representatives, senators, and staff-people met individually with constituents from their districts. Some legislators refused to face the issue. For example, Representative John Culberson of Houston, Texas, a long-time supporter of coal and oil, locked office doors to prevent meetings with students. At the other end of the spectrum, clean energy supporters like Representative Tom Udall, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made commitments to passing strong climate legislation. Most legislators behaved defensively, willing to converse, but unprepared for the new power dynamic.
In 9°F weather and 5 inches of snow, students hit the streets, rallying on Capitol Hill and protesting at the Capitol Coal Plant. Participant dedication braved risk of frostbite and arrest. Chants and signs echoed keynote speakers from the conference, proclaiming the need for inclusion, economic equality, and a moratorium on coal.
We’re in with the new: new forms of energy – clean, renewable sources, like wind, solar, and geothermal power – for a new generation of vocal leaders. It’s no longer feasible for politicians to ignore us.
This is a revolution, but it sure isn’t revolutionary. For decades, scientists have chronicled the effects of rising carbon dioxide concentration. As species migrate, invade, and disappear, as ice caps melt, diseases spread and oceans rise, we turn a blind eye, continuing a trend of over-consumption and fossil fuel dependence. This December, the international community will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to negotiate an end to this global crisis. We have but a few months do demonstrate our national commitment and leadership on the issue.
The year 2009 will be and must be the Year of Change. Power Shift is more than a conference title or catchy slogan. Though comically overused at the conference itself, “power shift” is a true descriptor of a movement. The conversations don’t stop once students return home. Attendees represent a small proportion of their local and campus organizations. The awe-inspiring energy of the weekend will flow home, fueling campaigns, town hall meetings and local events. Legislators seeking delay or distraction will find themselves up against the most powerful natural resource of all: passionate grassroots democracy in action.
Congresspeople, Power Shifters and fellow Texans, I’ll see YOU at ReEnergize Texas!
Margie Diddams
3/6/09
The ReEnergize Texas Rally at the capitol this morning was a huge success! Following inspiring speeches and rousing chants from student leaders, we heard from Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Representative Tara Rios Ybarra, Public Citizen Director Tom “Smitty” Smith, and Doug Lewin, Senator Rodney Ellis’ Legislative Director. Senator Ellis was unfortunately unable to attend himself because he got caught up in committee. Busy making laws, or something like that… we’ll forgive him.
