This open letter was originally published on August 6, 2010 in response to the Senate's failure to pass climate legislation. Please share it widely and you haven't already, consider making a generous tax-deductible donation to 1Sky, then tell your friends and family to do the same. -- Gillian.

From members of the 1Sky Board of Directors: Jessica Bailey, KC Golden, Bracken Hendricks, Bill McKibben, Billy Parish, Vicky Rateau, Gus Speth and Betsy Taylor

As we find ourselves surrounded by the tatters of the climate debate in the U.S. Congress, it seems fitting to take a moment to step back and ponder where we go from here. While the blogosphere is buzzing with assignments of blame for the failure of the Senate to act, we are much more concerned about how we move forward with urgency and clarity of purpose. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury to pack our bags and go home as the Senate did only moments ago. We just staggered through the hottest six months in recorded history worldwide. People everywhere are being impacted by the damage we have done through decades of carbon loading, and it is clear that our ailing planet will not sit idly by as our political leaders have done.

In reflecting, we find ourselves returning to the founding principles of 1Sky when we formed in 2007: We must redouble our efforts to unite American society across all divides in an unyielding call for action on the scope and scale of the enormous challenge and opportunity we are confronting. We are galvanized by the understanding that the political, human rights and economic repercussions of climate change transcend the ‘environmental issue’ label, and present a nation-wide challenge requiring a unified response. As United States citizens, we understand our moral and ethical responsibility to act with resolve – both as members of a global community, and as the leading per capita emitters of global warming pollution. We must succeed in building a nationwide movement that changes the politics of what is possible to deliver what is necessary; our very lives depend on it.

The central aspirations of our campaign as embodied in the 1Sky Solutions which have been endorsed by more than 600 allied organizations nationwide continue as our north star:

• Reduce global warming pollution at least 35 percent below current levels by 2020, and at least 80 percent by 2050.
• Create 5 million green jobs and pathways out of poverty by rebuilding and refueling America with a comprehensive energy efficiency mobilization including immediate investment in a clean-energy infrastructure.
• Re-power America by imposing a moratorium on new coal plants that emit global warming pollution and replacing dirty fuels such as coal and oil with 100 percent renewable energy.

But what lessons can we learn from the last three years, years in which the advocacy for action on climate change was better funded and coordinated than ever before? We all had high hopes, and the debate was closer to center stage than it has ever been. But in the end, we are left largely empty-handed.

We feel it is imperative to pause, ask tough questions about what went wrong and why we as a community failed to achieve our aspirations, and – more importantly - to look carefully at what is most needed given the new legislative and political landscape. Toward this end, we are holding a retreat in mid-November with key allies, organizers, 1Sky staff and board, but also with leaders from other sectors to help us see in fresh ways, and to explore what role 1Sky can best play as we move into the next chapter.

As we prepare for the strategic discussions we will be having, six key lessons strike us as salient and worth offering now for discussion and debate. We don’t pretend to have the answers, but we are committed to grappling with the tough questions and to road-testing solutions. Our thoughts at this time:

This week started with ire over the Senate's delay in bringing a climate bill to vote before the Senate recess. And the week ends with... ire over the Senate delaying in bringing a BP accountability and efficiency bill to the floor! The Senate can't even get 60 votes to pass a small, "no-carbon capping" bill with number of non-controversial measures that easily passed bi-partisan Senate subcommittees, like Home Star? more »

This post is from 1Sky intern Emma Fernandez, a former intern from last year. Emma returned to 1Sky for the summer, so we gave her and all our interns a grueling assignment: head to Capitol Hill on a hot DC morning, put on a stifling oil barrel costume, and speak out against Sen. Lisa Murkowski's appalling "Dirty Air Act" resolution as it was being debated on the Senate floor. Emma -- along with Florencia Foxley, Amy Plovnick, and Ines Ware -- did a great job and we're proud of their efforts on the Hill yesterday. --Garth

Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure to trek over to Colorado and help run a leadership summit with Micah Parkin, our fabulous Southwest Coordinator. This summit was part of a series of grassroots advocacy trainings designed to refine the skills of 1Sky supporters to build a powerful base this summer. Upcoming trainings include Philadelphia, PA (June 20), Columbus, OH, (June 26) and Concord, NH, (July 10). Check out our sign-up page for either training.

The climate movement is facing a challenging moment. From the appalling Gulf Oil Catastrophe to the West Virginia coal mining disaster to yesterday’s American Power Act bill draft, the movement has a lot on its plate right now. Today, 1Sky and experts from our allies Green For All, the Sierra Club, and Oxfam America put these issues up for discussion in an hour-long national call-in on climate, energy, green jobs, and international adaptation. more »

By Gulf Restoration Network Campaign Director Aaron Viles and cross-posted from their blog. Stay tuned to Gulf Restoration Network's blog for continued updates and read our press statement from March 31 on President Obama’s remarks regarding domestic offshore oil drilling -- Garth

As the oil is pushed ashore by strong winds, booms are showing their limitations. We're glad to see federal military resources being brought to this slow-motion tragedy, but we're going to need more help, as this fragile ecosystem is hammered by the river of oil, still uncontrolled, coming ashore. Looking at the recent maps, it's clear Louisiana will take the initial brunt as weather brings the sheen and worse into marsh area to the East of the mouth of the Mississippi River, but we're receiving reports of sheen as far up as Lafitte on the West Bank of the river.

Senators John Kerry (MA), Lindsey Graham (SC) and Joe Lieberman (CT) had committed to releasing the outline of their long-awaited climate bill yesterday. Instead, the release has been delayed due to ongoing partisan disputes in Congress.

By Lauren Schuster, 1Sky organizer at NYPIRG. -- Luis

Last Friday, students and local activists from NYPIRG chapters at Nassau Community College and Stony Brook University took Congressman Peter King's (R, NY-03) office by storm. Fifteen students and an handful of staff members gathered outside King’s Massapequa Park, Long Island office to demand that he protect the Clean Air Act and support clean energy legislation. King, one of the only members of the NYS congressional delegation to vote against the House passed climate bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, has already signed onto any of the "Dirty Air Acts" in the House, and local activists want to make sure he knows that they won't let the issue drop. (See pics from the event below or on Flickr.)

By Elaine Bello, a volunteer 1Sky Regional Coordinator in New Hampshire. -- Luis

Having been involved with 1Sky for many months now, I have already participated in several events. As a new Regional Coordinator, my first action came last week on April 16th, in the form of a demonstration called “The Storm”. Our team gathered 21 people in front of New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg’s state office to make sure he knows about our hopes for the climate bill.