THE BACK PAGE

12,000 Young Voices Can't Be Ignored in Washington, D.C.:
CA-CP Joins Historic Conference and Rally

by Claire Roby, Carbon Accounting Coordinator, Clean Air-Cool Planet

On February 27th, CA-CP Campus Outreach Coordinator Anne Stephenson and I joined 12,000 others for Powershift '09, a historic youth gathering in support of bold climate solutions. Thousands of young people filling the Washington Convention Center with the buzz of cap and trade policies and green job programs was quite a sight! These students came from all over the United States, as well as several other countries, and they all came for one reason: to demand bold climate and energy policy that includes renewable energy growth, green job creation, and aggressive carbon reductions.

Meeting so many like-minded peers and hearing from movement leaders such as Van Jones and Majora Carter was certainly inspirational, but attendees also received extensive training and then relaxed with top-notch entertainment. On Saturday, Anne and I talked to hundreds of students about Version 6.1 of the Campus Carbon Calculator and the 2009 Climate Ride at a tabling fair of Energy Action Coalition Partners. Then on Sunday, former CA-CP Climate Fellow and student at American University Casey Roe and I presented a workshop to about 45 students on the role of greenhouse gas inventories in organizing campuses and communities.

The most striking thing for me was the vast potential of 12,000 young people who will go back to their communities with the training and inspiration they need to work for bold climate solutions. The conference itself was evidence of this power, as it was organized by a small number of young staffers with the help of a national network of volunteers. These young people have a holistic vision of how we can address the economic, energy, and health issues in our nation. They took this message to Capitol Hill in a lobby day on Monday, March 2nd, and I am sure they will continue to bring change to their communities upon returning home. They realize that now is a critical time for climate action, and they intend to make their voices heard.