Power Shift '09's rockin' opening night

I'd been led to expect big things from my first night at a Power Shift conference--and I gotta say, it didn't disappoint! Having been to my share of progressive conferences in the past, I can say that this was an entirely different animal. Thanks to the sheer size of the crowd and its energy, the excitement in the air was contagious. (Check out the slide show at the end of this post!)

But it was the unabashed optimism of the whole thing, with none of the somewhat weathered, here-we-go-again defensive crouch I've seen at other gatherings that jumped out at me. It's almost as if no one has told them that you're not supposed to make change of this magnitude happen this quickly. Or maybe they've been told and they've just chosen not to listen--which is great, because we really can't afford the piecemeal approach on climate.

I was as impressed with the speaker lineup as Alexander at IGHIT was. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar outlined for the 10K+plus crowd (I'm guesstimating here) about the Obama administration's big plans on climate--such radical notions as returning to sound, science-based climate policies and turning the Dept. of the Interior into something other than a wholly-owned subsidiary of the dirty fossil fuel industries.

From then it just kept getting better. Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson called on the crowd to stand up to the myth of clean coal at every turn. Majora Carter brought the house down as usual; Van Jones reminded the crowd that their generation was born to save the world through their diversity and tech-savvy. 1Sky's own Gillian Caldwell called on everyone to become climate leaders by texting LEADER to 27336--and 1,500 people did! Finally, Billy Parish asked the crowd to get involved--and take time off school if necessary--in the movement like they never have before.

I've included a Flickr slide show below so you can enjoy some eye candy from last night.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.