The first flashmob was a success as we gathered together on the corner of Main St. in downtown Walla Walla. Get ready for next time!

Whitman Students demand more action on Climate Change

Next week (September 19-25) is the UN Environment Programme Global Action Week on Climate Change. The Action Week is being organized in partnership with the world’s leading environmental NGO’s and coincides with the UN General Assembly Summit in New York on 22 September 2009. UNEP would really like to see more activity from North America so if any of the below events sound appealing please SEND LISA PHOTOS and there’s a good chance she can get your event on the UNEP website and possibly in their Tunza magazine. Tunza is UNEP’s program for reaching out to youth and she somehow got herself elected as a Youth Advisor for North America so please contact her with any questions or ideas for events.

Here’s a quick overview of the planned events, it’s kind of overwhelming but it just means there are tons of things we could do!

Saturday 19th- Global Tree Planting Drive: Register how many trees you plant with the One Billion Tree Campaign and/or the Clean Up the World Campaign

Sunday 20th- Climate Petition Day: Get as many people as you can to sign the climate petition to Seal the Deal in Copenhagen

Monday 21st- Climate Change Assembly Day: Join young people around the world who will be holding peaceful marches, share yours at Unite for Climate

Tuesday 22nd- Go Green Day- Wear something green!

Wednesday 23rd- Go Climate Neutral Day- Share your plans for powering down with the Climate Neutral Network

Thursday 24th- Climate Voices Day- Record how climate change is affecting you with the Seal the Deal campaign

Friday 25th- Climate Solutions Day- Tell others what you are doing to reduce your carbon footprint at Unite for Climate

Great to see everyone, packed into that tiny room (see photos to the right).  The minutes from the Green Shindig/Meeting last Friday, Sep. 4th are on the “Meeting minutes” page of this website.  Thanks to the wonderful Katie Hallet for kindly typing them up!  Because everyone got so excited about sharing what they work on, there’s a bit of info missing…but the gist of the meeting is that there are endless opportunities to get involved, we need everyone on board to tackle environmental problems of the scale our world and generation faces, and we are all leaders within this amazing network of support, on campus and beyond.  Join us!

Next meetings:

Monday 8pm is Campus Greens meeting @ Outhouse.

Friday at 12 noon, upstairs in Reid 204 is the next Campus Climate Challenge (CCC) meeting.

CCC will meet to discuss green orientation and guides for new students, upcoming international climate events and regional conferences, determine working groups for the semester, the green jobs fair in early November in conjunction with the Network for Young Walla Walla, and determine our major goals for the semester…among other things!

Welcome to the community of ORGANIZERS FOR SUSTAINABILITY AT WHITMAN!

Our first meeting of the ‘09-’10 school year will be held in the usual meeting room, Reid 207, at NOON on Friday.

We can’t wait to meet new folks interested in working for climate stability, and hear about everyone’s summer.  Lots of exciting things to cover — Whitman’s solar panels, ACES, 350.org events, and tons more!

Bring your lunch and big smiles.

Update #3

July 7th, sent by James Sledd

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The Senate Environment and Public Works held its first hearing on the Waxman-Markey bill today. From watching on C-SPAN, they looked like they went as expected. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Mark Sanford’s replacement as the head of the Republican Governors Association, was one of the witnesses. He argued that carbon dioxide was not a pollutant, but thankfully did not share intimate details about his love life.

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe (one of the most conservative members of the Senate) made about as much sense as an Angus bull would trying to recite Shakespeare, insisting that climate change is not real, that no evidence exists. It is, apparently, all a hoax designed to tax the American people and expand big government. People who believe this must be really scared, since that means that Al Gore is not only capable of bullying thousands of climate scientists into submission, but also melting glaciers, raising global sea levels, and somehow tampering with the entire history of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Oh, and by the way, President Obama has no valid birth certificate.

Senator Inhofe also ranted about the EPA suppressing a recent internal report “proving” that climate change does not exist. Right-wing news programs have seized on this report, claiming that the Obama administration is ignoring the truth and relying on uncertain science. This is, of course, patently false, and debunked here.

Think the bill is too weak? It probably is. There are problems with the offsets programs that it would create to meet carbon reduction goals, and it probably doesn’t cut emissions enough. But it’s a necessary start, and an 83% cut in emissions by 2050 is real. But don’t listen to me: go to http://thomas.loc.gov and read the CRS summary and the CBO budget estimates and make up your own mind. The Congressional Budget Office cost estimates say that the bill will cost the average American only 47 cents per day, disproving critics, who claim it will cost thousands per year.

I don’t know what will happen with the bill in the senate. Al Franken was sworn in today, giving the Dems a 60-seat supermajority. That doesn’t mean that the bill is filibuster-proof, though, and it stands a good chance of being weakened further by oil- and coal-state dems like Mark Begich (AK) and Max Baucus (MT). And you can bet that climate skeptics and other naysayers will ramp up their hype machine, claiming that the bill will kill jobs and cost Americans thousands of dollars each year.

So call your senators. Tell them you support and strengthen the bill. It won’t be strengthened, but let them know that’s what you want. I hope that the Senate passes ACES now, because there’s no way that it’ll pass the house next year in an election year.

Hope you’re all enjoying your summer and had a great independence day. -James

Update #2

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July 1st, 2009: Sent by Camila Thorndike

Heya team,

Minus the Maryland specifications, this article sums up the confusing feeling I and many others have been experiencing since ACES (American Clean Energy and Security Act) passed the House.

You might be wondering:

* Should we celebrate the fact a climate law made it through step one?
* How do we ensure the final law matches our urgency?
* What happens if it fails, either in strength or passage?
* What is our role as students, young people, voters and leaders in the coming months and year?

One of the most amazing moments of the summer was to actually be in the House when ACES passed with 219 votes.  The triumph and elation was unforgettable.  The vast majority of we “regular folk” in the galleries rose cheering (including LOTS of Powershifters), the Democrats (minus 44 – yikes!) huzzahed, and the Republicans (minus a critical eight) snarkily waved “buh-bye” to the ACES supporters who will presumably pay for it in the next election cycle.  James had to restrain me from cartwheeling over the rail, which would have ended in an, erm…regrettable collision with our dear Ms. Cathy, ironically dressed in green.  Apparently it’s not always that exciting on the Hill.

In the end, all that’s clear is that we must do all humanly possible to pass a STRONG climate bill through the Senate.

It’s time to start upping the ante, both in WA and in our home states.  Y’ALL IN?

Lisa and I attended a 1Sky leadership training last weekend and have been receiving great policy updates on ACES and next steps.  Barbara Boxer is trying to produce a marked-up bill out of committee by the end of July, but there are 23 “fence sitters” in the Senate.  That means we have to write letters to the editor, call our Senators regularly and urge hundreds of our friends to do the same, go crazy — now.  There are too many links to talking points, strategies, and Congresspeople’s info to post here, but they are available upon request if google fails you.

Are you doing any of the above?  Let us all know, because a movement is when we can look around and see everyone moving forward together.
Cheers from the East,
Camila

Update #2

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June 26th, 2009: Sent by Gary Wang

Hey all,

I hope you guys are having a good summer b/c the house PASSED WAXMAN-MARKEY TODAY.  It’s historic, imperfect but better than anything the US has ever done on climate change.  Now the pressure’s on the senate! Here’s some links:

Wall Street Journal
Role Call – If your congressman/woman voted no, call them!
New York Times

Cheers,
Gary

We’re posting the latest summer news sent over the climate listserv!   CCCers are scattered fromWashington, D.C., to Alaska, Minnesota, New Mexico and back to Wally World.  We may be far-flung, but we’re working hard — this website is a way to focus that energy for a killer 2009-10 of climate victories back at Whitman.

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Update #1

June 19th, 2009: Sent by James Sledd

Hey guys and gals,

Hope you’re all enjoying your summers, wherever you may be, and I hope this email finds you happy, healthy, and safe. As most of you probably know, the Waxman-Markey climate change bill (officially, ACES or the American Clean Energy and Security Act; DC loves its acronyms) has been marked up and is going to come up for a vote before the entire house in the next couple of weeks. Environmental groups are split on the bill, with some claiming that it doesn’t go far enough, and are especially critical that 85% of allowances will be given away free to polluters.

The reality is that the bill does take significant steps to reduce carbon emissions, requiring a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. That might not sound impressive, but when compared to projected emissions in 2020, it’s a very significant reduction. Furthermore, the bill establishes a national renewable electricity standard and a “green bank.” Personally, I don’t think the bill would have a snowball’s chance in hell of passing if compromises such as the permit giveaway were removed. ACES has compromises, but it makes important steps, and it doesn’t have to be a final step, either.

So, if you support ACES, you should contact your representative soon. As in today. Don’t send a letter, because those get screened, which slows them down. Send a fax, an email, or give the office a call. If your rep supports the bill, call and thank them and express your support–most callers are angry (and so far as I can tell, have an average age of about 82), and it’s very nice to hear from someone supportive for a change. If you want a stronger act, say so–but please don’t rip into whoever answers the phone. It’s useless. There’s a 95% chance they’re just an intern, who can’t speak for their Rep. Moreover, hey probably agree with you, but can’t say so, and can’t argue back–it’s very frustrating.

If you’re in the northwest for the summer, I miss it. See you all next fall.
-James

Will Canine describes the excitement at the end-of-semester picnic of students ready to tackle the biggest issues facing our generation and Walla Walla …here in the Whitman Pioneer!