By Ryan Denham, 1Sky organizer in Arkansas. -- Luis
Last Friday, 1Sky Arkansas, allies, and supporters "stormed" Senator Blanche Lincoln and Senator Mark Pyror's Little Rock offices as part of a nationally coordinated series of events across the country. Arkansas groups like Sierra Club, the OMNI Center and The Village Commons helped promote this event and bring out volunteers. The storm symbolized the potential unchecked effects of climate change and why it is so important to protect the Clean Air Act. Dressed up in rainstorm attire, we stood in front of Senator Lincoln's Office holding signs, umbrellas and signs chanting "Clean Energy Now". (See video and pics from this event below.)
Yesterday I coordinated a community meeting at Senator McCaskill’s office as part of "The Storm": a month-long series of unannounced visits to congressional offices to protect the Clean Air Act. The meeting at Senator McCaskill’s office was attended by her Regional Director in the St. Louis office. In attendance was a diverse cross-section of our community: Veterans For Peace, Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, two retired educators, a green business owner, a local college student studying ecology and other environmental activists, along with 1Sky, Apollo Alliance and Repower America. (Check out the slideshow at the end of the post.)
From 1Sky Michigan Climate Precinct Captain Mark Miller. You can read more from Mark on his blog.
During last week's President' Day Actions, a number of 1Sky coordinators, organizers, and volunteers met up with senators while they were back home in their states. The goal was to deliver our message loud and clear: Americans (and voters!) want strong federal legislation to curb carbon emission and transition to a clean renewable energy future now -- and we oppose Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) efforts to gut the Clean Air Act!
Senator Carl Levin spoke last Monday morning, President's Day, at the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Connection event. I went primarily to ask him about his support for climate and energy legislation. I had written to him last year about this issue, and his written reply... well, I touch on that in my question to him.
As the Senator came in, I shook his hand, and reminded him that I had sat next to him one night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. So, when we came to question time, he called on me first. (The video does not capture my question or the first few words of Sen. Levin's answer.)
Across the nation this week, 1Sky volunteers and organizers are attending events where members of our congressional delegations and people close to them will be to deliver our message loud and clear: Americans (and voters!) want bold federal legislation to curb carbon emission and transition to a clean renewable energy future now -- and we oppose Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) efforts to gut the Clean Air Act!
Have you ever heard that the best way to reach someone is through their personal network? This is the principle behind sharing blog posts and videos via email, Facebook, and other social networks. Clicking a button is an easy way to share with your friends, but a more effective way is directly face-to-face; of course, face-to-face doesn't have to mean "in their face."
More than 3,600 1Sky supporters from all 50 states committed to call their senators on Tuesday, January 12, asking for strong climate legislation in 2010 and urging their senators to vote down attempts to weaken the Clean Air Act.
The international unity and shared purpose in Copenhagen has inspired me profoundly. From my conversations, the marches and rallies in the streets, and the discussions and presentations at the People's Summit, I have seen that a powerful unifying theme is emerging in the climate discussion – and that is Climate Justice. The rallying cry is for, and from, the people who will most suffer from climate change -- not for business or economic safeguards, but for justice ("lesser" developed countries are not the ones primarily dumping carbon in the air, yet climate change will hit them the hardest). This is refreshingly different from what I expected in the climate discussion.
– By Christopher Gianino, 1Sky North Carolina organizer.
This past week, I had the great privilege of traveling through eastern North Carolina with Majora Carter on a series of workshops titled “Your Place in the New Economy.” This was put on by the Elizabeth City State University Center for Green Research and Evaluation, which is partnering with the Majora Carter Group to craft a plan for developing a green economy in Eastern NC. The three workshops were held in Elizabeth City, Tarboro and Henderson, NC and were an opportunity to bring a message of economic recovery through green jobs to the people who need it most.
Here’s a colorful, full-page ad that our wonderful friends at ABC Carpet and Home in NYC have sponsored to run in this Sunday’s New York Times.
It’s a letter from businesses nationwide to President Obama and the Congress on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, urging bold leadership here and abroad. Thanks to our colleagues at Ceres for their ongoing work with us to bring businesses to the table.
