THIS is What Democracy Looks Like

In my last blog post after Copenhagen, I declared my commitment to this movement.  Shortly afterward, I starting brainstorming with a few people I met in Copenhagen, and we decided that what this country needs to pass progressive climate legislation is a massive groundswell of support targeted directly at our elected officials.  For the past month, we have been developing a campaign to do just that.  Below is our first blog post on the U.S. youth climate movement's community blog:

Crossposted from IGHIH

Written by Moey Newbold, Kalen Pruss, Rob Friedman and Blaine O’Neill

“Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!”

As we’ve fought for our clean energy future, we’ve passionately chanted these words again and again, asserting that citizen action is what truly drives political change.   With the growth of our movement, we’ve all engaged in amazing citizen actions, pressuring our elected officials to solve the climate crisis in every way we know how.

Despite our continued efforts, Copenhagen was a flop, and our elected officials are falling victim to big oil and big coal.  We can’t afford to watch this happen.  It is time for us to ramp up the action.  We need to take democracy back.

After witnessing the devastating effects of U.S. inaction in Copenhagen, we created the Show Me Democracy campaign.  We aim to pull our generation together to demand that the United States step it up dramatically before the next major international climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico this December.  But this time, we are going to do more than just send emails and write petitions.  We are going to consistently engage our elected representatives, storming Senate field offices across the country with a simple, united message: take immediate action to halt global warming at home… and then go to Mexico in December with a serious plan for an international climate change agreement.

We recognize that policy decisions are heavily influenced by industry lobbyists who will do anything to kill a domestic climate bill.  They have billions of dollars at their disposal and thousands of professional lobbyists who descend on Washington every day to make back-door deals that put our future in jeopardy.  But we have something stronger.  We have an army of young people who know that this fight is about our future; we know that there are millions of Americans who need clean energy jobs, and millions more who want to pass on a better world to their children and grandchildren.

This spring, we are going to mobilize this army, building teams across the country to lead sustained, localized campaigns in support of domestic climate change legislation. Show Me Democracy will empower these teams to form community partnerships that bring local clean energy initiatives, agriculture, business, manufacturing, and religious groups together with climate activist networks already on the ground to demand a clean energy future. We’re going to take these diverse voices to our Senators’ offices–and we’re going to keep going back until our Senators listen, and pass an effective, equitable climate bill.  After all, we elected them to do just that.

Show Me Democracy is not just a campaign; it is a call to action. And we’re beginning this call tomorrow, January 27th, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Join us as we launch our campaign; dial in to participate in our first nationwide conference call; and then get involved to help us take democracy back.

By inspiring our generation to unite and engage in our democracy, we will pass climate legislation that cuts carbon dramatically and immediately, creates a robust green economy, powers our future with renewable energy, and leads the world to a clean and equitable future.  But we need your help! Dial in, log on, and sign up.

Love,

The Show Me Democracy Team

Show Me Democracy Kick-off Call

Wednesday, January 27th, 8:00 PM EST (5:00 PM PST)

Call in number: (517) 417-5200

Secret passcode: 517935

Facebook Event

Visit www.showmedemocracy.com for more information.

The Future Lies within Each and Every One of Us

I’m sitting at the Copenhagen airport looking out onto the snowy sunrise outside (its 8:45am, and I’ve been up for hours, but the sun is just beginning to peek through the clouds in this perpetually dark country).  This airport is probably the most incredible airport I’ve ever been to. Its like a mix between an upscale resort, a luxury shopping mall and a fine art museum.  Everything runs smoothly, police officers joke with you as you whisk through security, carolers in santa hats stroll randomly through the halls singing Christmas carols (no kidding), and there are more high-end shops than boarding gates.

Just in case you want to buy a car on your way out

I decided to use my last few Kroners on my first real Danish, and as I enjoy it I realize  that there are a lot of things I didn’t get to do in Copenhagen.  I did not get a chance to see my dad’s favorite church in the world, I didn’t see the famous little mermaid in the Copenhagen harbor, I didn’t go to any museums or historic sites, I didn’t ride the amusements or stroll through the gardens in Tivoli, I didn’t go shopping at the magical Christmas markets (please don’t expect any Scandanavian Christmas presents, friends!), I didn’t even make it to Christiania, the (ex) ‘free town’ where people lived outside the jurisdiction of the government for years.

What I did get from Copenhagen, though, was the chance to witness the very best and worst of humanity all at once.  I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who sacrificed so much to come here to fight for the survival of vulnerable nations and future generations they will never meet, witness brave leaders of small island nations standing up to the most powerful countries in the world and demanding to be heard, and I was able to march with people from every demographic, generation and corner of the world in the freezing cold with a shared vision for a better future.  Then, all at once, I was made to feel helpless as we were pushed out of the conversation and forced to stand back and watch as a few politicians put their own political well-being before the lives of millions.  Experiencing this jarring dichotomy firsthand on such a large scale is something that I know will have a profound impact on many of us, and though I am still processing this experience, I’m sure I am not the same as when I first landed in Denmark.

I have always been one to work ‘within the existing system;’ I have always believed in lobbying and the political process.  But thousands of youth and other stakeholders came to Copenhagen to make our voices heard: We Want a Safe Future!  One hundred thousand people marched in the cold! Candlelight vigils for survival were held all over the world!  Twelve million people worldwide signed  a petition for a fair, ambitious and binding deal!  And yet, world leaders talked and talked and did nothing.  They ‘took note of’ a document which puts the world on a path to 3.5 degrees of warming by 2100.  This means that millions of people will die, and thousands will continue to die every day.  Coming to Copenhagen, I feel the burden of those peoples’ lives now more than ever.  Why doesn’t Obama feel this same burden?  

The snow outside is so peaceful, and the thought that life is just going to go on, blanketed by this very thin veil of a false sense of security, is hard to swallow.  I have had a glimpse of what lies beneath this white gild, and I know its grotesqueness.  But I also know that nobody is giving up.  With hardly a glance backwards at this tragedy, the international youth climate movement is moving forward.  Our movement has had a chance to coalesce here in Copenhagen, and we are now stronger than ever.  Representative Jay Inslee said that we should be prepared to be frustrated for the rest of our lives, and I think that is certainly something I have learned in Copenhagen: I have made a lifelong commitment, and it isn’t going to end when the Senate Bill passes, at COP16, or even at carbon neutral.

Fortunately, I am not alone.  We have all made this commitment, and the connections I have made here are more valuable than any souvenir I could have brought home.  The road will be rough, we will have many more disappointments and crushing defeats, but as long as we have each other, we will succeed.

"The future lies within each and every one of us" -Peter Roquemore

We wanted just action, not "just" action: COP15 Failure

As you've heard, the negotiations have ended in an accord drafted by Obama with a select few countries (can you say UNDEMOCRATIC?) that has been "acknowledged" by the parties.  From what I understand, basically everyone has just put on the table what they are already doing and 'acknowledged' that they will continue to do it.  This is highly disappointing, and it remains to be seen whether it is even better than a complete failure.  I'm not sure that it is because Obama and other leaders are already touting this accord as a major accomplishment, which it is not.  Please read my friend Amira's analysis of the outcome.  I think that it is very thorough and accurate.

Here in Copenhagen, as we prepare to leave, we have not really even been paying attention to this final day of negotiations.  We know that we are not going to get what is needed to ensure the survival of all nations, and so we are looking forward.  Although we are all emotionally and physically drained after many sleepless nights and bitingly cold days, the amount of determination I see in all my new (and newer) friends' faces as I look around inspires me and shows me that COP15, outside the halls of the Bella Center, was not a failure.  This conference brought together thousands of representatives of the International Youth Climate Movement, and showed us our own strength.  We made connections that will last a lifetime, and we all know that we will not give up.  

A Meeting With Some Real Leaders

Yesterday, climate champion and US Representative Jay Inslee invited US youth to meet with him at the Hard Rock Cafe in Copenhagen.  About ten other youth and I attended this informal meeting.  The incredible thing was that Rep. Inslee reached out to us, and not the other way around.  Not only that, but he recruited his colleagues House Majority Leader Hoyer and Congressman Tim Ryan to join us!  This shows the real power that youth have - our Congresspeople understand our importance and our seeking meetings with us!

It was actually very insightful to hear from these true leaders about how we can best get the Senate Climate Bill passed.  We need to show the Senators who come from states like Ohio that have been ravaged by the economic downturn that a climate bill will create millions of green jobs!  We need to engage the agricultural sector, we need to continue to reach out to religious communities.  The most wonderful thing about this movement, and an unexpected positive aspect to this crisis is its vast applicability.  This problem is not only geographically borderless, but it also affects every subgroup within every community, and the solutions have the possibility to be positive for everyone in our society.

Anatomy of a Meltdown

This title has two meanings.  One refers to COP15 and one refers to myself.  There is no way to describe what this week has been like.  It has been an absolute emotional roller coaster, and since yesterday I have felt like I have failed.  So many of you have believed in me, and it seems like this conference is going to end with nothing, and since I am here I can't help feeling like that is partially my fault.  I know this is absolutely ridiculous, and I guess I just had unrealistic expectations for what could happen at this conference and what I could do at this conference, but I now feel completely jaded about the entire political process.

Today the CCN met with Jeremiah Baumann, Senator Merkley's legislative aid for energy and the environment at a hotel one metro stop past the Bella Center.  (He was amazing, by the way!!  And I am one hundred percent glad that Senator Merkley represents Oregon!) We met at this kind of posh hotel that was bustling with people who were there for the conference, including official delegations.  In the lobby there was this sign for side events for the Carbon Trading Exchange (or something, I'm not sure), and it had the logos of all of its sponsors: Chevron, BP, Shell, Goldman Sachs.  And it hit me.  We have been focusing our efforts in the wrong place.  The Bella Center is not where the negotiations go down.  It is at these hotels where delegates are schmoozed by business leaders.  I guess coming from the US, I should have known this already, but it just kind of solidified for me what is happening here.

I'm sorry that this blog post is so depressing... Unfortunately, it is probably less depressing than it could be.  But there is one thing that gives me strength, and I'm so thankful to my new friends for reminding me of this: the climate movement is not giving up.  The youth and the environmental NGOs aren't going to stop until we achieve climate justice, even if it takes 6 months or 6 years.

Muting of Civil Society

Civil society has begun to be shut out of the conversation.  Just when we realize that we have only five days to push countries to act, our access is limited.  Yesterday, sometime during the afternoon the Bella Center stopped letting people in.  Today and tomorrow, only 30% of observer organizations will be let in.  On Thursday, 1,000 people total out of 35,000 registered will be allowed in, and on Friday, just 90 people will be let in to the negotiations.  

We are angry, but this shut out comes as a catalyst for even more action.  As activists, we realize that WE are the ones who are here in Copenhagen, and thus the duty to act falls on our shoulders.  Unfortunately, as Americans, my friends and I are dually burdened.  It is imperative that Americans understand that the United States’ inaction on climate change is dooming millions of people and full nations to death.  The rest of the world is looking to us go join the debate in a meaningful way.

If something isn’t done about climate change, the reality is that people will continue to die in greater and greater numbers.  Yes, at first it will be small island nations and countries prone to drought and floods, but soon all of us will be affected.  To ensure the survival of all nations, we must pass a treaty that is based on science: one that will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350ppm or less, with a global temperature rise of no more than 1 degree Celsius. Our futures are intrinsically bound together, and we must stand together in an unequivocal call to action.  

Call Obama and your senators to demand action on climate change today.  

-White House Comment Line Number: 202-456-1111

-Senators’ Numbers: www.senate.gov

Meet me by the Giant Purple Balloon next to the Pandas with Flames on their Heads and After the Dragon

It is hard to describe for you what it is like to be a part of a 100,000 person event.  I can only give my small 1/100,000 of a perspective.  Jette, Ebbe, Katherine and I rode into the city together, and had to get off early because it wasn’t running its full route due to the march. People were streaming from all different directions to the starting point - Parliament Square. Once we met up with some of the people from our group (which was no easy task), we grabbed a bite to eat at a bakery that was so busy it was giving numbers out like it was the DMV, and watched a creative street performance of some guys who could play entire songs on half full beer bottles.  We began to walk with the march.  The crowd went on for days (or, rather ~4 miles I am told), and the general attitude was one of collective joy and determination. 

My group was kind of moving through the crowd because we were trying to find the ‘youth’ section,’ so we saw the variety of the people involved.  There were people with communist flags, a party bus that was blaring techno music and shooting gold confetti, about 20 humans dressed as panda bears, a campfire on wheels (this was great because it was freezing out!), a group of people wearing green construction hats who every few minutes would stop then run forward, a life-sized marionette with people acting out the roles of world leaders being played by big business, several sails, an ark, and so much more.  It was very easy to get separated from each other, and once we were separated, it was very hard to find each other again, but the instructions for how to meet were something like “meet me by the giant purple balloon next to the pandas with flames on their heads and after the dragon.” 

There were police present, but I did not see any conflict between demonstrators and the police whatsoever.  In fact, people were taking pictures with the riot cops, and one cop even held a sign for a picture.  As far as I know, the entirety of the march was completely peaceful, except for the 900 or so outrageous detainments at the end of the demo.  

As the sun went down, we all began to gather in the streets outside of the Bella Center. We bought big candles for the candlelight vigil and joined the thousands of people from around the world in dancing and listening to inspiring speakers. I think this has to be one of the largest and most international events ever.  There were literally people from every corner of the globe represented, and we are all calling on our leaders to pass a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal in Copenhagen to ensure a safe future.

Read more here