This weekend, 10,000 environmentally activated young people from around the country will amass in Washington, DC to urge our government to get serious about clean energy and the economy. The event is called Powershift and it could be the largest youth lobbyist environmental gathering in history. If Barack Obama's victory in November made a statement about the direction this country is taking then Powershift is the period at the end of that sentence. In a time when we'd expect youth activism to quell and subside, we find our youth empowered, engaged and excited. It's an interesting glimpse into the cultural, demographic and political shift we are experiencing as a nation and something tells me Joe Wurzelbacher will not be in attendance.
But what happens when the people in power actually want to see the same change as people who are otherwise chaining themselves to trees, planning sit-ins and protesting new airport construction plans? In Obama's new stimulus package, $38 billion dollars has been allocated to new Clean Tech research and implementation, so what purpose does an event like Powershift really have?
In 2007, under the rule of George W. Bush, the tone of the conference was bleak and frustrated, angry and emboldened. We saw Billy Parish (founder of Energy Action Coalition -- the organizers of Powershift) deliver a siren song rallying cry of our generation to Congress about the seriousness of Global Warming and the necessities of building a Clean Energy Core, we saw Van Jones make his mark to the youth in a "We Ain't Gonna Take It" style call and answer, and we saw thousands of young people of all backgrounds holding their hands in the air to protest the utter gridlock of the past administration. Their words and actions predictably and sadly, fell on deaf ears. However, today is a new day, and I suspect Powershift will take on a more celebratory tone as many of our generations' wants and asks have seemingly been granted to us by our new bold and pragmatic leadership.
And don't tell me Obama's only been in the Oval Office for a couple of weeks -- the man has passed his budget in record time and quicker than any president in recent memory. The stimulus package is bigger than the New Deal and thank God for it because the stakes are extremely high. It took Bill Clinton until August to get his budget passed and Reagan actually had to get shot to get his legislation through the house. So what does this all mean? It means we've entered the age of ideas, the age of progress, the age of accountability and maybe even the age of responsible government!
Speaking at the event will be Nancy Pelosi, South Bronx environmental activist Majora Carter, well known writer and speaker Van Jones, Billy Parish and many, many others. Performing at the celebration will be Phillidelphia Hip-Hop powerhouses The Roots, new-wave sensation Santigold, NYC punk rock upstarts the So So Glos and fuzz rockers The London Souls. I think it's safe to say that a change has come and it's happening right down the street (again). I'll be there with bells on.
Benjamin Bronfman is a musician and founder of Green Owl a NYC based Media and Record Label started by artists for artists with the vision that music and media can be sustainable - both economically and environmentally. Green Owl is an incubator for emerging ideas and is committed to respecting the planet through the use of sustainable technology and in the production of all its releases. He is engaged to artist M.I.A. and just recently became a father.
It is bizarre that these same climate models can't forecast the weather in Washington D.C. even one month in advance, using their same climate models. If the AGW supporters are really smarter than everyone else, then why did they schedule their demonstration for a heavy snow day?
Further, if their Hansenian short term forecasting is not credible, then why is their Hansenian long term forecasting credible?
What kind of leaders place their followers in the path of nature's wrath?
If is climate change they want to focus on to get the attention of Washington then i support that.
Anyone here aganist have a cleaner America that is very much needed. Are you aganist solar power and engery improving the grid and our every day life.
Do you want much more cleaner air to breath and less emissions that still many factories give off
Quit complaining about our dedicated youth and others trying to make a better and cleaner America and planet . If they are wrong you will have cleaner air to breath and a much better quality of life.
See my comment (below, I hope) on C-Span's showing of Tavis Smiley's Black State of the Union Conference on Saturday (a much better and more honest and sane show than Rush Limbaugh, shown on CNN, unfortunately at length, at the same time) which will be re-shown next Friday on C-Span2 and you can get a DVD at CSpan.org/video(something). Highly recommended.
Go Global Student Marchers! Go! Keep up your committment!
I also chanced to see Van Jones, mentioned in the article, on C-Span Saturday on the Black State of the Union Conference. It is a yearly conference, hosted by Tavis Smiley, of all black, beautiful, extremely smart people. It was vital and encouraging. The two panels (I only came in after the first one was over and so I'm going to send for the DVD*) were composed of such people as Lani Guinere, Harvard law professor, and other faces and names, both familiar and unfamiliar to me -- one notable woman was California's Speaker of the House (name escapes me, sorry) -- I was glad to 'meet' her and hear her speak. Each person had a slightly different take on Obama, on the inspiration he has given them but also on the need to continue to push him in the directions needed. And each spoke eloquently on the directions needed. I wish white 'notables' had more passion and could evoke more passion, like these folks.
*See this program again next Friday, March 6th on C-Span2. Send for the DVD at CSpan.org (or com)/video.... I highly recommend it, both to blacks, especially, but to all the rest of us.
Cheers! to the students at the Powershift march!!!!!
Just like all the Hollywood people & politicians that use private jets on a daily basis can do all of these things but you can't because you're ruining the planet.