Students Seek Green Power Shift
10,000 in D.C. Demand Action On Climate, Energy and the Economy
February 24, 2009
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| February 27, 2009 | to | March 2, 2009 |
More than 500 youth leaders from across the State of Maryland are joining a larger group of young people in D.C. to demand that the President and Congress pass bold federal climate and energy legislation. The goals of this legislation are to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, create millions of green jobs and transition the nation toward 100% clean energy.
Students from 28 Maryland schools, including dozens of high school students from Montgomery County, are among some 10,000 young leaders nationwide converging on Washington, D.C. Feb. 27–March 2 for Power Shift ’09. The weekend culminates with a lobbying day on March 2.
Maryland students have been active since the first Power Shift conference in 2007, after which they formed a statewide network, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition. MSCC has been securing commitments from leaders, both on and off campus, to adopt energy-efficiency programs, create green jobs and clean-energy initiatives, and phase out dirty fossil fuel energy projects. Maryland’s University Presidents are among 600+ signatories of the President’s Climate Commitment (see www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org for details).
“Power Shift is a tremendous opportunity for the young people of Maryland to harness the incredible power and strength we have as a unified group and demand that our elected officials actively work towards science-based solutions to climate change,” said Towson University senior Rachel Fauber, Field Director of the MSCC.
Fauber said students will return home to Maryland and push for initiatives like the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, currently being considered by the Maryland General Assembly.
“I’m really excited to take all the work we’ve been doing on our campuses and in our communities to Washington, D.C.,” said Chelsea Howard Foley, a sophomore at St. Mary’s University of Maryland. “We believe that the environment and the economy can be improved together.”
Maryland schools attending Power Shift ‘09 include the following colleges and universities: Anne Arundel Community College, Carroll Community College, College of Southern Maryland, Columbia Union College, Coppin State University, Frostburg State University, Hood College, Johns Hopkins University, Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art, Montgomery College, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Salisbury State University, Towson University, U.S. Naval Academy, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland College Park, and University of Maryland University College.
Other participating schools from Maryland include: Albert Einstein High School, Arundel Senior High School, Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, Maret School, National Cathedral School, Oxon Hill High School, St. Andrew’s School, Sandy Spring Friend School and Walter Johnson High School.
“The youth of America turned out in record numbers to elect a new president and Congress — we’re here now to take our rightful seat at the political table,” said Jessy Tolkan, Director of Power Shift and organizer of Energy Action Coalition. “We are at a critical point in our nation’s history. We have the chance to work with our new leadership to build a new green economy and address our climate crisis with the passage of bold climate and energy policies. We won’t allow this moment to pass us by.”
For more information: www.PowerShift09.org
Follow the progress on Twitter: @PowerShift09
Watch live streaming video of the Friday and Saturday night programs: www.PowerShift09.org/live
