1Sky Blog Posts about everything

Families Represent

Mary — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Hi folks, I’m the administrative assistant for1Sky. It’s been nearly two very exciting months since they entrusted me with a key to the front door and named a computer after me. One of my favorite parts of this job so far has been the opportunities to go out and meet you!

One such opportunity to meet 1Sky activists came this past Monday when the staff cozied up in our little Takoma Park cubicles around 7pm to make some phone calls following up on the March Congressional visits. It was a pleasure speaking with so many of you. I’m continually inspired and humbled by your commitment.

I’m very happy to be making my first blog post about a 1Sky family who visited their Senator’s office. This one here is from Anne of Maine:

We had our meeting with Senator Olympia Snowe’s office here in Portland, Maine this morning. Senator Snowe was not there, but we met with a staff person- Cheryl Leeman. My husband Mike, myself and son George (9) went to the meeting. Ms. Leeman took the information package, and seemed very interested. I think we made a personal connection, and she seemed impressed that we were there as a family. I reiterated the request to make the pledge,and I believe Senator Snowe will definitely see the package. I also included a personal letter I wrote touching on the points of the 1Skyplatform and relating climate change concerns to our family. Thank you for the framework to have such a discussion- it was very empowering and made a huge impression on our son George!

I also learned that George is a member of the Earth Saver’s Club at his elementary school. How cool is that?

Many thanks to Anne for sharing her story and photos! I hope it inspires others like it inspires me to want to get out there and visit my elected officials. Just remember,it’s never too late; you can still pay a visit to your representative’s office, even if he or she is not in town. And don’t forget to send your stories to congress@1sky.org!

Hope to meet you and see you on the blog! I’ll be at the DC 11^th Hour Action Group meeting on Wednesday, April 2^nd. To learn more, visit http://11thhour.meetup.com/2/.

Going Dark for the Earth

Phil — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Yesterday, for an hour, the world went dark. In cities like Toronto, Sydney, Chicago, San Francisco, Bangkok, Bogota, Manila and Copenhagen, offices and homeowners were encouraged to turn off their lights from 8-9 PM as a demonstration of how energy conservation and climate change are linked. The effort, dubbed Earth Hour by the World Wildlife Fund, a key organizer of the event, hoped to involve more than 100 million people worldwide. In Sydney alone, more than 2.2 million people participated, while in Chicago, 200 downtown buildings went black. Even Google made its web search page black, a symbolic gesture, asking its users to think about their energy consumption.

The participation and press that Earth Hour received shows that people worldwide understand the necessity of reducing our energy consumption to curb climate change. We can take a step further and multiply our personal choices — biking, eating local, using energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs — by taking action nationally and internationally and making sure that we’re not the only ones going dark. Congress and the presidential candidates should know that when we turn our lights off, we’re sending a message that we won’t accept anything less than bold and comprehensive legislation on climate, as outlined by the 1Sky solutions.

If you’re ready, take the Earth Hour and stretch it into an Earth day, month, year, decade and century by organizing in your community.

Making Possible the Impossible — From 1Sky Board President

Betsy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I’ve been relatively quiet since the inception of 1Sky, preoccupied with raising money, hiring & supporting our dynamic campaign director, Gillian Caldwell, and working with other leaders to build the 1Sky campaign and solutions to climate change. As board president and co-founder of 1Sky, I’m starting to blog — to share ideas on strategy and to open a dialogue on how we tap human potential, political power, and the individual talents of every citizen who wants to help make a difference.

One thing is clear. Change is not coming from the top. Change is coming from the bottom up. This blog is about you and how you can help. It’s about what has to happen and who has to step up to get this job done. It’s about revolution, transformation and making the impossible possible. The world needs a heavy dose of hope and more than a little kindness. I am as angry as the next person about what we’re handing over to our kids and I will probably have some pissed off moments over the coming months. But I want the weight of this blog to be on solutions, dreams of a different future, and concrete steps that citizens and leaders can take to make a difference.

Let’s remind ourselves of what is possible. 818 mayors from cities in all fifty states have pledged to take action on climate change. At least one city (okay – a predictable one) will be carbon neutral by 2020, setting a world class standard for others! Students from hundreds of colleges and universities are greening their campuses and demanding change.

The renewable energy industry is growing exponentially and 59 proposed coal plants were canceled or put on hold in 2007. Yes there will always be leaders who spout positive rhetoric but ignore the harder work of getting results. But stuff is happening, and we have the ingredients for transformational change if we seize this moment.

If you haven’t taken the simple step of joining the 1Sky action network yet, do it now. Recruit your family and friends. We’ll keep you posted on what you can do, how you can help, and what others are doing.

We Won't be Fooled Again

Phil — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

This is a guest post from Whit Jones, coordinator with the Energy Action Coalition. 1Sky is supporting Fossil Fools Day 2008 this April 1 — click here to get involved.

On April 1st thousands of young people will hit the streets to show that in the face of inaction in Congress, they are going to stand directly in the path of dirty energy development. With over 100 actions planned around the U.S. and Canada, the targets are diverse, and the tactics creative, but the message is clear: Stop fooling around withthe climate and our future!

In Virginia and North Carolina, students will be joining community members and organizations to stand in the way of coal expansion. Students will rally in opposition to a proposed Wise County, VA coal-fired power plant, and deliver Thomas Farrell, CEO of Dominion Energy, an award for being the biggest Fossil Fool in Virginia. In North Carolina, youth will demonstrate against the proposed Cliffside plant– they’ll have the ear of Governor Easley as they erect a gigantic blow-up coal plant in Charlotte and call out Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers for Outstanding Performance in Corporate greenwashing.

In Washington, D.C., citizens will highlight unrelenting gluttony in the oil industry. Congressman Markey (D MA-7) has subpoenaed the CEOs of the 5 largest oil companies to testify in his Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and "Look Americans in the face and tell them why they can’t support new solutions." Youngpeople and local residents will greet the CEOs and make sure our message rings loud and clear "You can’t fool us again! Put the Green in the Economy, Not in Oil Industry Pockets."

The action won’t be confined to the U.S. We’ll be joined by our friends with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, and Rising Tide UK. Even UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be under the spotlight for his support of the Kingsworth Coal Plant.

The day is sure to be filled with revelry and fun, so be sure to join an action near you!

Coal State Primary Season

Jason — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Over the last year, political candidates have danced circles around the coal issue without providing concrete solutions for how to deal with the problems of sustained coal use in this country. Despite the fact that the coal industry has ravaged communities in Appalachia, caused decades of health problems, and accounts for 36% of our global warming pollution, candidates are still taking ambiguous stances on America’s least efficient fossil fuel. Then again, next on on the campaign trail is WV, KT, and PA - #s 2, 3, and 4 in the nation respectively for coal production.

Last Week, WV Public Radio asked Hillary Clinton what she thought about mountaintop removal coal mining, a process by which mountains are leveled, communities are displaced, and water and air are contaminated for the sake of extracting coal at very low cost. Hillary replied colloquially: "you know, maybe there’s a way to recover those mountains," (listen here). Of course when you compare her comments to her platform, you hear a different tune: "coal-fired power plants are the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and are responsible for emissions of mercury and other dangerous pollutants. Hillary understands that continuing to build new coal plants in the same way that we have in the past will make it extremely difficult to meet our climate change goals."

Some of you may remember Barack Obama’s flirtation with liquid coal this spring. As a senator from coal-laden Illinois, Barack has been careful not to come down hard on coal throughout his career. However, thanks to grassroots pressure from folks like you, this spring Barack reversed his policy, and said NO to liquid coal. He went on to announce a bold climate plan this fall, in conjunction with our fall Step It Up events, where communities across the country came together to unveil the 1 Sky solutions.

Now Barack is digging himself a coal-lined trench again. "We could be investing in renewable sources of energy, and in clean coal technology, and creating up to 5 million new green jobs in the bargain,including new clean coal jobs," said Barack in WV last week. The Grist remarked: "When coal jobs are green jobs, we don’t know what the world has come to."

On the other side of the isle, McCain has been standing beside big coal’s attempts to scare America into reliance on domestic fossil fuels like coal. In Kansas, the site of a major coal battle, he was recently caught parroting the messages of the industry-funded astroturf campaign to a local ABC news station.

Yes, believe it or not, our political candidates are pandering to local audiences. However, in the face of a robust social movement strong enough to break the firm grip of old energy and create a new economy, pandering doesn’t stand a chance. We need to show our leaders that we are united behind the people of Appalachia, that we stand as 1 around principles of justice and equality more powerful than the coal industry.

Our message is clear: we as a nation cannot afford to invest in new coal plants — but we want more than that — we want an economy-wide transition with green jobs where we need them the most. Skilled laborers in West Virginia shouldn’t have to suffer from layoffs while we subsidize to an out-of-date industry. We can create new jobs that take advantage of new technology, and existing skills. We can unite communities around traditional values, and shed the "coal state" stigma that’s dominating politics as usual. Yes, we can.

If you want to hear more from our friends on the ground in coal country, check out Appalachian Voices, at www.ilovemountains.org. Chances are, the coal used to power your home is in some way connected to leveled mountains. Check it out, and if you’ve got a local visit scheduled with one of our friends in Congress, be sure share what you learned.

What's behind the sheet?

Emily — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I just got started this week as an intern for 1Sky, and I’ve already been reminded just how important this campaign is. I already knew that we need to take strong action quickly on climate issues, which is why I joined the 1Sky team, but hearing about the collapse of a huge chunk of Antarctic ice just shows me what we are up against:

A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk.

The disintegration of the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf began on February 28 and amazing video of the collapse can be seen on YouTube (Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctic break-up! (2008.03.25). "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple… That gets to be a runaway situation." The melting that occurs on one part of the ice shelf spreads quickly, and scientists worry that this collapse will lead to more in the near future.

The fact that scientists had predicted this ice shelf would collapse 15 years from now — and that it has already happened — shows that global warming is more urgent than ever. And while scientists aren’t concerned about sea level rise from this collapse, it puts the rest of the Wilkins ice shelf at even higher risk of collapse.

The predicted effects of global warming may be happening sooner than anyone thought. It definitely proves to me that now is a critical time — and the 1Sky campaign is so vitally important in this moment.