This past year, the youth climate movement has shown that even while working hard at school, students can be at the forefront of the change – pulling the rest of the nation along with them to demand more from our leaders.  And now there is an opportunity for individual students to bridge the desire for action with their academic skills.

On November 17th, the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy (PFRE) joined with several other organizations to put on a successful candidate forum focusing on global warming and America’s energy future.   Hilary Clinton, John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich were all participants.  The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy was created specifically to put renewable energy, sustainability, and conservation at the top of candidates’ agendas in the ‘08 Election.   Incidentally, this is also a huge focus of the student movement – particularly coming out of Power Shift 2007, the recent youth conference on global warming.

As a follow-up to this event, PFRE is sponsoring a student essay contest, in which the 3 top college students will be awarded $10,000 towards tuition costs.   This essay contest asks students to come up with a 4-6 point renewable energy plan for America that is not only creative and far-reaching, but also politically, economically, and technically feasible.   Please click here for more information on contest specifics. 

This is a rare chance for passionate students across the country to directly engage in the powerful movement to make our next president a climate leader.   Students across the country are brimming with enthusiasm, knowledge, and creativity on this issue.  It’s time to translate all that into a legitimate plan for a clean energy future – a plan we’d expect the next president to match or exceed.