Student Climate Movement on the Rise

New Developments and Upcoming Events from EnergyAction.net

In the last 4 years, over 100 campuses in the US and Canada have purchased clean energy including at least seven schools that are powered by 100% renewable energy. Students are working on energy efficiency projects, green building, cleaner, more efficient transportation, and comprehensive climate action plans. Youth are also organizing regional conferences and state summits; coordinating days of action; participating in unique summer training and action programs; and are sharing their stories through creative and interactive venues including blogs, podcasts, and tours. Events and developments listed below are being planned by organizations that are members of the Energy Action Coalition:

The Campus Climate Challenge: Organized by 25 environmental and social justice organizations working with students and youth on global warming, “The Challenge” aims to transform higher education institutions into model sustainable communities by engaging a million students in work to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions. Over 173 campuses are registered now, and 700 campuses will join by 2009. Visit: www.campusclimatechallenge.org
Contact: Billy Parish, 203-887-7225, billy@energyaction.net

Regional Student Climate Conferences (April 7-9, 2006): Two large regional student climate conferences are coming up on April 7-9 at Yale University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, each with over 300 students from around the region.

• Southeast Conference (UT-Knoxville): energyconference.utk.edu Contact: Nick Algee, 321-217-7747, nick@cleanenergy.org
• Northeast Conference ( Yale University ): www.climatecampaign.org Contact: Meg Boyle, 207-504-6166, mboyle@climatecampaign.org

Guster Embraces the Campus Climate Challenge (March/April, 2006): This Spring, popular rock band Guster is working with the Student PIRGs to incorporate the Campus Climate Challenge message and goals into its Campus Consciousness Tour. PIRG students are working with band members to host interactive on-campus demonstration events that highlight global warming solutions and energy alternatives at: University of Puget Sound, UC-Boulder, Colorado State, Michigan State, John Caroll University, Loyola University, University of Connecticut, Keane State College, Holy Cross, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, Princeton University and Tufts University. Visit: http://studentpirgs.org/action.asp?id2=23046
Contact: Dave Rosenfeld, 503-231-4181×311, daver@pirg.org

Climate Justice Corps: The CJC is a project of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC), a national network of 30 U.S. environmental justice, religious, policy, and advocacy groups representing thousands of communities working together to promote equitable, systemic solutions to our climate crisis. The CJC provides leadership development for young activists, organizers, and researchers from disproportionately affected communities to invigorate a new constituency for climate action. Through a train-the-trainers model, the Climate Justice Institute will train 700 new climate justice activists in 2006. Visit: www.ejcc.org
Contact: Jihan Gearon, 510-444-3041×310, jgearon@rprogress.org

Campus Climate Victories: The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently announced the release of its first publication, AASHE Digest 2005, of campus sustainability news stories and resources from the past year. This year’s report includes 250 stories about campuses leading the way to a sustainable future. Visit: http://www.aashe.org/highlights/digest.php
Contact: Julian Dautremont-Smith, 971-544-1755, julian@aashe.org

ItsGettingHotInHere.org: In the fall of 2005, Energy Action launched Its Getting Hot In Here, a New Media project providing a forum for youth dispatches from the International Climate Negotiations in Montreal, Canada. The site captured the emotion of Montreal with hundreds of posts, images and video from 30+ youth leaders and broadcast it thousands of readers around the world. After leaving Montreal the youth contributors decided to keep the dialogue going and continue to build a stronger youth voice in the national and international climate debate. Visit: http://www.itsgettinghotinhere.org Contact: Arthur Coulston, 415-398-4404, webmaster@energyaction.net

Mountain Justice Summer: In the summer of 2005, Mountain Justice Summer brought hundreds to the mountains of Southern Appalachia to support and strengthen the community struggles to stop the destruction of Mountaintop Removal coal mining. Since the summer, hundreds of students have visited the mountains and are connecting the struggle against mountaintop removal mining to clean energy campaigns on their campuses and are already planning summer projects and recruiting for Mountain Justice Summer. Visit: http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org
Contact: Hillary Hosta, 304-854-2182, hillary@coalfieldsustainability.org

UN Commission on Sustainable Development (May 1-15): Dozens of young people from Climate Justice Corps, SustainUS, Indigenous Environmental Network and Mountain Justice Summer will attend the conference, working hard to represent the voice of the future. Visit: www.sustainus.org .
Contact: Josh Tulkin, 650-722-3171, josh@chesapeakeclimate.org

Energy-Focused Summer Training Programs: This summer hundreds of students from across the country will be trained in the skills of campaign planning and grassroots organizing in order to build the youth climate movement. The Sierra Student Coalition alone will train over 100 students during their weeklong energy-focused trainings in NC, MN, WA, CA, PA, and NH. Visit: www.ssc.org
Contact: Jared Duval, 508-404-6824, jared.duval@sierraclub.org

Energy Action is a youth-led coalition of 25 organizations working together to fight for a clean, just and renewable energy future. Coalition partners are: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Black Mesa Water Coalition, California Student Sustainability Coalition, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Climate Campaign, Dakota Resource Council, Energy Justice Network, Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, Free The Planet!, Global Exchange, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, National Association of Environmental Law Societies, National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund: Project Democracy, Rainforest Action Network, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Sierra Student Coalition, Sierra Youth Coalition, Southeast Energy Network, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, The Student PIRGs, Sustainable Endowments Institute, Youth Environmental Network.