Sierra Student Coalition

Rio+20: Lets talk about food. Via Campesina Side Event

Adriana Gonzalez

Tuesday June 19th

When I attended the UN Climate Negotiations in Cancun and I was amazed by an organization called La Via campesina. Now about two years later I find myself in room with the same organization.

La Via Campesina is an international movement that contains millions of peasants, small and medium producers, landless people, indigenous people, migrants and farm workers around the world. Advocates the small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way of promoting social justice and dignity. Strongly opposes agribusiness and multinationals that are destroying the people and nature.

The Via includes about 150 local and national organizations in 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America. In total, representing about 200 million peasants. It is an autonomous movement, pluralistic and multicultural, all political, economic or otherwise. The objectives of the organization is to achieve food sovereignty and stop neo liberalism food production projects. The organization works to create strong relationships between small and medium scale farmers as well as northern and southern farmers.

The core of the Via is the small farmers. In Brazil there is about 4.8 million traditional family farmers that occupy about 30% of the total agriculture land. The main crops of those families are maize, beans and cassava. They say these small scale famers like the ones in Brazil, will be the key to the food sovereignty the Via Campesina strives for. But there will be some challenges to achieve this. On the next decade we will need to find how to increase production for a growing population with the same or less arable land. Also the trade liberalization is the main mechanism driving farmers off their land and the principal obstacle to local autonomy. The current industrial agriculture model and its biotechnological derivations are not suitable to address the needs for the future.

The statements from the Via Campesina folks are true but I still see a missing component. To achieve food sovereignty world wide we need to include an immense educational component. Although there are small scaled farmers all around the world the idea of growing your own food has not come up for a big group of people. I live in Puerto Rico, a small island that imports about 60%+ of the food we eat. Even though there is still some farming and a new small scale urban agriculture trend Puerto Rico is very far from food sovereignty.. What most people on Puerto Rico don’t realize is that if food imports suddenly stopped we would have food for about two weeks and then the markets would be empty. Also younger generations in Puerto Rico see farming as their grandparent’s job and not something to strive for. The image of the campesino or jibaro in Puerto Rico has been put down with cultural stories and stigmas and even exploited by political parties.

I think the Via Campesina is a great movement that has the knowledge and will to move a shift in the current agriculture system. As the panel presented on the side event, the agriculture of the next generation will need to move away from fossil fuel dependence, create a low environmental impact, nature friendly agroecosystems and a multifunctional (social, cultural and economic) systems. We need to change the export led, free trade based, industry based agriculture model and promote capacity building and advocate for more rural movements.. But its crucial that all this has an educational component were w are not only teaching technical knowledge but creating a positive attitude to farming.

 

Some reactions from one of the Via Campesina speakers about who is influencing the Rio+20 process:

Rio+20: But what is outside???

Monday June 18^th 2012

Adriana Gonzalez

 

The other day a young man from Rio told me “we are not very interested in this process... we are not sure how to get engaged”. This of course is the point of view of one Brazilian. But he did make a good point.

Today I got the opportunity to visit a favela in Rio with a community organization called in short CatCom. Catalytic Communities is a nonprofit organization based in Rio de Janeiro dedicated to destigmatizing Rio de Janeiro’s favela communities and integrating them into the wider society, generating global recognition of their heritage status through education, research, training, communications, technology, networks, participatory planning and advocacy.

   

 

Also in the group was a team from the Ecocity builder organization. Founded in 1992, Ecocity Builders develops and implements policy, design and educational tools and strategies to build thriving urban centers based on “access by proximity” and to reverse patterns of sprawl and excessive consumption.

First lets clear out what a favela is… a community that was constructed without permits or on occupied lands.  Most of the favelas in Rio are constructed in hills on the outskirts of the city. Favelas are mostly originated by communities that move to a place to work and then need a place to live.

We meet at half day and after a few hours of getting a bus and traveling we finally got there. The community if called Asa Branca. A favela that is not as old as many big ones in Rio Asa Branca is quiet and has not had drug related problems. We may think of favelas as drug centers actually less than half of the favelas are the ones with drug trafficking issues.

Why is Asa Branca more important right now?

“Located one kilometer away from the future site of the 2016 Olympics, their community is now equipped with an underground sewerage system and houses which are raised to prevent flooding. This community successfully collects R$10 from residents to perform regular stream cleanings, and has even developed a specific type of machinery to better clean the stream that borders their community. Residents are also fully aware of the environmental and health hazards a dirty stream poses and are working independently to improve their community.” Text from http://www.catcomm.org 

 

Asa Branca is in the middle of the many developments happening in Rio for the world Cup and for the Olympics. Rio is spending millions of dollars in infrastructure for these events and the communities that are surrounding are some being evicted, others getting “infrastructure” like sidewalks to look better. But just putting infrastructure “make up” to these communities is not enough to ensure that they have the resources they need.  People in Asa Branca are a tight community that is creating their own houses and everything to live. ITs a lively community with kids playing people on the street.

 

So outside of Rio is Rio. The people the beach, the cars and all that complex and busy city has. Outside of Rio is the thousands of people living in favelas. Inside the negotiations they are still going thru specific paragraphs and text. So there are still pages and pages to go that will bring discussion. This is not bad as we think but we will have to look carefully at what comes out.  

Photos by and property of: Adriana Gonzalez

 

Rio+20, we should take Selaron as an example for the UN

Sunday Jun 17, 2012

Adriana Gonzalez

 

Yesterday as I sat on the Selaron stairs I realized that these stairs had a great story to tell the UN.

On Saturday morning I had the chance to attend a briefing with Jonathan Pershing, the US negotiator. It was at the Windsor Plaza where he was staying and in a medium sized room he addressed the 15-20 US youth there. He was as always light on the topics and with on my opinion classic political responses. He started by giving a context or explanation of the Rio process. He mentioned the civil society component and said he wished it was more connected. He went on and mentioned the NGO community and how for him one of the most important things was that we all make connections and something different because of Rio. In the end he said we should not expect something too big from Rio because the economy worldwide is weak. Then an employee of the EPA talked about a project they have called Catalyzing Investment in Urban Sustainability. Basically what they do is to bundle small sustainability projects in to big projects so they can get investors interested. They are starting with projects in Philadelphia about controlling storm water. To check more info about this project go to www.epa.gov/jius

I have been too many briefings with this negotiator before. He does bring good points to the table but still does not see the urgency about the issue and the need we have for more leadership and commitment from the US. He mentioned how important it is that we connect with other NGOS here in Rio. This is a good point and a lot of the networking we do here build our organizations. But in the end is this not “preaching to choir”?

Indeed we are at the end of an era of simple investments as Pershing said. But I don’t think we should be talking about money investment but people being invested. We are investing the lives of people; we are investing our resources for the sake of our economy.

Then at night I sat in the Stairs of Seladon in Lapa. “In 1990, Selarón began renovating a dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. At first, neighbors mocked him for his choice of colors as he covered the steps in fragments of blue, green and yellow tiles – the colors of the Brazilian flag. It started out as a side-project to his main passion, painting but soon became an obsession. He found he was constantly out of money so sold paintings to fund his work. It was long and exhaustive work but he continued on and eventually covered the entire set of steps in tiles, ceramics and mirrors” Now the steps are an icon of that community and are visited by people from all over the world. “There are 250 steps measuring 125 metres long which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world. No sooner than one section of the steps are 'finished', Selarón starts work on another section, constantly changing it so that it is an ever evolving piece of art. Selarón considers the work as "never complete and claims that "This crazy and unique dream will only end on the day of my death"

So the UN should visit these stairs and realize that we can truly create something together. Even if international negotiations are hard and long they should have something to bring at the end. These stairs started in 1990 and two years after the UN meet in Rio. The UN should take Selaron’s example and create a diverse text that includes everyone and that can be visited by many.

“The process of working on the stairway has cost Selaron – quite literally – blood, sweat and tears, not to mention the numerous telephone line disconnections and the occasional threat of eviction due to unpaid rent. Like many artists, Selaron is a man possessed, his stairway a labour of love.”

Text from: http://www.thetravelrag.com/docs/10102.asp

Picture from: http://www.shafir.info ceredit to Alexander Shafir

Rio+20… let get this started!

 Friday Jun 14, 2012

Adriana Gonzalez 

 

As I sit in a noisy but interesting lobby of a hostel in Rio de Janeiro I remember that less than 24 hours ago I was in my house packing for this trip. As some of you may know I am here for the UN Sustainable Development Conference Rio+20. This meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. It has a fancy name and lots of complicated information but what is important to know is that right now decision makers  from around the world  are meeting to discuss and define sustainable development. But this is not the only thing that is happeing in Rio right now, and I will give more details about this later.

I arrived at about  5am Rio time and after some confusion on how to leave the airport I got to my hostel and left for the UN meeting. To participate on this meeting you need to have an accreditation witch I receive from the Sierra Club. Once inside the meeting it’s a strange feeling. Leaving the noisy and crowded streets of Rio for a pale and huge conference center is strange.  We could think of it as a metaphor of these conference, maybe?

 

Take a look inside the Rio+20 negotiations!

 

See our flikerphotos!: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzZeyYW

 

One of the interesting things happening today inside the Rio+20 conference was a side event organized by our partner organization SustainUS. SustainUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment in the United States. The topic of this event was around youth movements beyond Rio. One of the participants is Adam Hazs, who has been part of the SSC for a few years.

 Whant to Here is some of what Adam said??? Make sure to check our video blogs we post later!

 

Some of the other speakers were youth that worked in media, youth from the Maritian Islands and a youth from Colombia. Its definitely interesting to hear about these success and struggles that the youth have on their works back home, it also helps to put things in perspective and remember that there is work to be done after these events.

 

 I also had the opportunity to participate today in the Mayor Group of Children and Youth meeting. The Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) is the official voice for any under 30 in the sustainability negotiations (aka Rio+20). These meeting take part in a circle and there is announcements and updates form working groups. What to know the details about that meeting?? Read the notes here: http://meetingwords.com/mgcyDailyMeeting.

 

On a more artistic note the day ended with a fossil of the day. This is a creative action that takes place in a open space of the center were a country is “awarded” for their lack of support for a just cleaner future. The fossil of the day went to Canada... soon I will post a video about this!

 

Rio+20 for now has had many comments, some saying it will crash some saying it will succeed. We must wait and see what happens to make a final judgment in our leaders.

 

 If you want to know more details about specific topics related to policy you can check: http://www.stakeholderforum.org/sf/outreach/ or check: http://www.climatenetwork.org/newsletter/eco-2-rio20-english-version .

Also be sure to like our facebook page www.facebook.com/SSCInternational and follow us on twitter @Intl_SSC to get updates details about the SSCs work in Rio!

 

 

New EPA Carbon Standards, Pittsburgh

Every day we face new obstacles, and every day we find new ways to overcome them! 

One way, that’s not so new, but very effective, is submitting public comments.  Yesterday, June 13, 2012 this is just what we did in Pittsburgh, PA.  City council woman, Natalia Rudiak, felt compelled to stand up for Clean Air and hosted a citizen’s hearing in City Council Chambers. 

When faced with facts like: $62 billion dollars a year is the annual health care cost for those made sick from the coal industry (National Research Council); Carbon Emissions from new coal fired power plants currently have no standards; EPA results show that more than 2.3 BILLION TONS of CARBON per year is released into the atmosphere as result of existing coal fired power plants- citizen’s take action!  It’s inspiring to see a switch in someone to go from not knowing the FACTS to seeing just how important it is for our NEEDS to be heard. 

Being present at this citizen’s hearing was great for me.  I am a new staff member with SSC and this helped me see what an incredible community Pittsburgh has to offer! Hearing testimony from doctors, mothers, everyday citizens, and even a former US Representative was empowering, to say the least! 

I, of course, submitted my own comment.  I have a niece, Milay, who is just two and another on the way.  I have so much love for these children that I must do everything I can to speak for them! I worry about her getting asthma from Smog. To think one day I will not teach her to play tennis or go on strenuous expeditions breaks my heart.  I want her to love the things I do, but how can she do that if she can’t experience them because her health won’t allow? 

The “what-ifs?” that I have no control over, no matter how well her mother and father feed her, no matter the quality of life she experiences, Milay cannot control the air she intakes.  It brings tears to my eyes to think she might be limited in what she can achieve because big coal has no concern for public health, only profits. 

Submitting public comments is an important way can make sure the EPA acts for us, not industry.  We have until June 25, 2012 to do this, and it’s easier than you might think!  Visit this link and submit your comment now!  Don’t wait until tomorrow, because it’s always a day away.  Comment now, and tell your friends you just took action, they should too!

 ~Kathryn Hilton

Rio+20, What is it?? by Jameelah M. Muhammad

 

This week thousands of People are mobilizing to Rio de Janeiro for the Rio+20 conference. The Sierra Club and the SSC will be represented by some of our international delegates. Jameelah M. Muhammad is a Conference of the Party delegate for the SSC in 2012 and even though she is nor going to Rio she has something to say about it! 

 

 

What is Rio+20? 
Rio +20 Commemorates the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, also known as the Rio Earth Summit.

Context?
Rio +20 is happening after years of various United Nations initiatives that were proposed to eliminate poverty and to solve problems related to the degradation and exploitation of natural resources. Sustainable development and the creation of the green economy is seen as a way for us to address social, environmental, and economic issues of our time in the most comprehensive and inclusive way possible. 

What is expected? 
There are seven critical issues that are going to be discussed at the Rio +20  Conference.These issues are jobs, energy, cities, food, water, oceans, and disasters. It is expected that at Rio, there will be quite a bit of intense discussions about what has or should we say what hasn’t happened in respective countries since the last time that government leaders convened in Rio twenty years ago. Rio +20 is not just about the present, but it is definitely about the future and what needs to happen to make our ideas about a sustainable future a reality in such a time where it is an urgency and  necessity for survival. 

What is happening?
Right now there have been a series of negotiations leading up to Rio+20 where many of the major topics and issues have already been discussed and are currently in heated debate. One of the recent of these meetings has been a Climate Change Meeting in Bonn Germany. Many of the discussions at this meeting were a continuation of some of the work coming out of COP17 in Durban, South Africa. More work was done to refine and get a better understanding of what will happen with the Kyoto Protocol, and the continued struggle to ensure that some kind of commitments are made by developed and developing countries as it relates to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in the transfer of technological information and support in order to provide adaptation mechanisms for climate change and global warming. These topics have been met with controversy and challenges. According to a press release that summarized some of the findings from the Bonn Climate Change Meeting, we are reaching the threshold period of no return in terms of hopes of keeping the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees celsius.

Why I am interested in Rio +20?
I have a deep interest in Rio +20  because of its implications to the current work I do related to green jobs and youth. I currently work for an organization that seeks to train and prepare young adults for green jobs.One of the key issues at Rio will be jobs, energy, and cities. Each of these topics I believe can provide a lot of opportunities for youth of color (that have experienced some challenges to access of science, technology, engineering, and math careers) and for communities that have experienced environmental injustices. 

I am deeply concerned about what access young adults and youth of color will have to opportunities that are expected to come from the green economy. With so many economic and educational challenges we face in frontline communities, I am concerned that we will continue to leave behind the most marginalized and excluded populations as the green economy grows. I have had the opportunity to be a part of a lot of amazing green job training programs, and I want to see being discussed at Rio a true commitment to supporting and making those job opportunities a reality. I want to see increased support for green job training, but also culturally relevant green education that is integrated in all classrooms and teaches young people no matter what their race or socioeconomic status is, the possibilities there are for them to have a green career. 

by

Jameelah M. Muhammad
New York, NY | Educator, Writer, Organizer & Consultant

 

It takes a Giant Coal Plant to get President “Stallin'” Rawlins’ Attention

By Rebekah Hinojosa, UNT student and Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer

On April 3^rd, President V. Lane Rawlins of the University of North Texas (UNT) held a Q&A event called, “Really Let’s Talk.” The event allowed students to directly ask President Rawlins questions. Members of the UNT beyond coal campaign seized the opportunity to ask President “Stalling” Rawlins his reasoning for not committing to end UNT’s dependence on dirty fossil fuels.

One student asked, “President Rawlins, burning coal and natural gas pollutes our waterways. Why won’t you commit to move UNT beyond coal? Is it because UNT is in litigation with the electric company? Has the issue been resolved?”

President Rawlins replied, “The University is in litigation with the electric company. I’ve been advised by attorneys not talk about the status of the issue...”

Photo by Tyler Cleveland

As President Rawlins answered the student, I walked in with a 5ft by 4ft replica of the Gibbons Creek coal-fired power plant resembling the plant from which UNT receives 47% of its energy. The whole room turned and gawked at the three dimensional rendition as I carried it to the front of the room and sat in the sofa chair closest to Rawlins. No one could ignore me, not even the President. Rawlins turned towards me, “What do you have there?”

I stood up so that everyone could see me as I raised the coal plant high. “President Rawlins, World Water Day was on March 22^nd. Did you know that Gibbons Creek Coal plant releases about 275 lbs of mercury per year? It only takes 1g of mercury to pollute a 20 acre lake. Mercury pollution can damage or cause neurological problems to a fetus. This is where UNT gets its energy. UNT should do the right thing and move beyond coal.” I handed President Rawlins a letter from the Beyond Coal campaign demanding that the university move off of coal and other fossil fuels.

Coal-fired power plants are one of the top contributors to mercury pollution in our waterways. The Gibbons Creek coal plant from which UNT currently gets its power releases 275 lbs. of mercury per year. This mercury gets into Texas’ fresh water. In the U.S.; 300,000 infants are born at-risk every year for developmental defects because of their mother's exposure to toxic mercury pollution. In addition, the Gibbons Creek coal plant releases 11,931 tons of sulfur dioxide which turns into sulfuric acid and 31,681 lbs. of hydrochloric acid, further contaminating Texas’ fresh water.

If UNT wants to live-up to its motto, “We Mean Green,” they should abandon the dirty energy of the past and move towards a clean energy future. At UNT it would only cost $9 per student per year for clean energy. Clean energy = inexpensive, realistic energy. 

 

Michigan State Calls for Clean Energy on Campus

From Mary Anne Hitt, Director of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

Nationwide, students are leading the way in pushing their universities and colleges to invest in innovative clean energy solutions.  There is a growing momentum on college campuses to move our nation off dirty, 19th century fuels that are making people sick.

Twenty colleges and universities have won fights to phase out coal plants on their campuses, thanks in large part to the hard hitting Campuses Beyond Coal campaigns of Sierra Student Coalition.  These plants are responsible for dangerous pollution including mercury, carbon dioxide, arsenic and lead and can lead to more severe asthma attacks, bronchial infections and cancer.

Students can help reinvent the American economy by pressuring school administrations to invest in clean, safe and reliable energy on campuses from California to Connecticut.

Here's the latest example of this amazing work by students - from Michigan State University and Sierra Student Coalition Organizer Anastasia Schemkes:

Michigan State operates the largest coal plant on a university campus in the nation, burning approximately 200,000 tons of coal per year. Fortunately for us, it also has one of the largest Campuses Beyond Coal campaigns in the nation with MSU Beyond Coal who has collected over 10,000 petition signatures to retire the dirty, aging plant over the course of their 2.5 year campaign. 

As a result of student pressure, the university released an "Energy Transition Plan" this semester that is meant be their road map toward cleaner energy for the campus. Unfortunately, the plan lacks, well, any real plan at all. In many ways the ETP is a smokescreen for furthering fossil fuel use at the school while talking a lot about clean energy in only vaguest terms. 

Students have responded with action, especially as the plan is headed to the Board of Trustees for approval. Along with an 18-foot-tall (yes, close to two stories! - see the photo above) inflatable inhaler, students held a press conference today about the negative health impacts of burning coal.

"I know firsthand how awful it is to have an asthma attack so bad that I've been hospitalized and stuck in a bed with machines helping me breathe, rather than being in class or out with friends," said senior and leader of MSU Beyond Coal Talya Tavor (pictured at the left at one of today's events) who has been suffering from asthma since she was two-years-old.

"Coal pollution causes hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks every year, which is why MSU must be a leader by cutting their toxic air pollution and switching to healthier energy sources starting now."

In addition to the inhaler sitting just behind "The Rock" - an iconic campus landmark they had to camp out all night to paint and defend - the group created a field of 37 10-foot-tall sunflowers to represent the 37 deaths per year in Ingham County from coal-related illnesses and a banner representing the 10,547 student petitions the group has collected asking the administration to retire the dirty coal-burning plant on campus. 

Later tonight they're hosting a Clean Energy Forum with energy experts from across the state discussing how Michigan can create jobs and improve the economy by being a clean energy leader. They'll also be joined by Bill McKibben, renowned author and activist who you might know from 350.org or those massive protests against the Keystone XL tarsands pipeline, who is skyping in to cheer them on. (You can catch a livestream of the event starting at 7pm ET)

All of this is leading up to the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday where the administration will formally present their deeply flawed plan. It's so bad that the students who were initially invited to participate in the Steering Committee refused to sign-off on the final version. 

Michigan State has a long way to go to be a clean energy leader, but students are still hopeful. 

"We know MSU can be a clean energy leader. Our vision is not just for cleaner air on campus, but to put Spartans at the forefront of building a prosperous clean energy economy for Michigan and being a model for our peer institutions," said Tavor. 

And you can help - take action today by signing a petition to the university’s Board of Trustees urging them to take real steps to move MSU to 100% clean energy starting now.

Photos by Kim Teplitzky.

 

Colleges to Get Fracked Up?

Colleges to Get Fracked Up?

Is the next frontier for natural gas fracking college campuses? It’s very possible, according to a recent article from EnergyWire. Ohio is just one example of the latest college natural gas drilling attempts: 

This summer, public universities across Ohio will submit detailed land inventories to the state, letting the government know which of their properties are available for drilling.

The state-mandated inventory is an effort to open more Ohio lands to oil and gas development as drillers flock to the Buckeye State to mine gas from the Utica Shale.

But are the risks of water pollution worth it to maybe get help with tuition?

It is "not unreasonable" to think that income earned from leases could be used by the state for scholarships, for example, said Donna Goss, (Ohio University) director of engagement and real estate management.

But critics say now may not be the best time for schools to look into leasing. With natural gas prices at an all-time low, many individual landowners are holding out for better contracts and higher revenues, Sierra Club's Nardone said. As they wait for prices to rebound, potential leaseholders have time to study fracturing's impacts.

It might behoove schools to take a similar tack, (Deb) Nardone (Director of the Sierra Club Natural Gas Reform Campaign) said.

Ohio University and the Athens, Ohio, area are a definite ground zero right now in the fight over natural gas and fracking, with many in the community speaking out loudly against the development. 

Ohio's not alone in natural gas companies seeking out public university property for drilling – Pennsylvania and Texas are also popular places.

But as I said in the EnergyWire article - natural gas is still a dirty, dangerous fossil fuel. Instead of investing in renewable energy, these states are reverting back to an old 19th-century practice with minimal oversight.

-- Deb Nardone, Director of the Sierra Club Natural Gas Reform Campaign

 

We Can Be the First Oil Free Generation

By: Joseph Manning

Chair of the Sierra Student Coalition Executive Committee

 

Joseph Manning and Quentin James

Yesterday I had the honor of going to the White House with Sierra Student Coalition National Director Quentin James. Quentin and I had been invited to attend President Obama’s speech on rising oil prices. It was a last minute invitation and it sent me scrambling to find a way down from Boston in less than 48 hours. However, I arrived late Wednesday night, and by 9:45 the next morning Quentin and I were making our way through White House security.

As expected the event was awe inspiring; to be one of 70 people in the Rose Garden when the President gives a national address is an opportunity most people will never have. So, for that, I feel immensely grateful. However, what I took away from this event is how much work is still ahead of us if we want to break our nation’s addiction to oil, create a healthier, more prosperous nation and avoid the worst consequences of climate disruption.

Here’s what President Obama had to say: “That’s the choice facing Congress today: They can either vote to spend billions of dollars on oil subsidies that keep us trapped in the past. Or they can vote to end these taxpayer subsidies so that we can invest in the future. It’s that simple.” Who couldn’t agree with this statement? Who truly believes that a company like Exxon, which earns a profit of $4.7 million every hour, needs tax payers to give them billions of dollars in subsidies? And yet Obama felt pressured to qualify his speech by saying that he would also support substantial new drilling initiatives.

As a young person with a stake in this nation’s future, it’s frustrating to feel like we’re constantly taking one step forward and then one step back. I know President Obama knows that our rising oil prices cannot be solved with more drilling. And in fact, recent polling has showed that most Americans correctly understand that Wall Street and oil speculators are more to blame for rising gas prices than the President. Oil will always be sold to the highest bidder at the highest possible price. Therefore the only way for us to get lower gas prices is to use less. We can decrease our demand on a large-scale with money-saving initiatives that improve fuel efficiency for vehicles and invest in domestic renewable energy sources. And yet, the political climate in our country has been so hostile and the influence of the fossil fuel industry so pervasive that a future where oil, coal, and gas are obsolete seems impossible for most Americans to imagine.

So this is our challenge! We must redefine the political culture which stifles innovation in order to defend an archaic energy source. We must show the potential that exists for America to transform itself into a beacon of clean, safe, and sustainable economic production with renewable energy sources that can create good jobs for Americans and boost our economy. We must help show our nation that a clean, healthy and prosperous energy future is not only possible, but necessary to improve the lives of all Americans!

We can be the first oil free generation!

Learn more about the Sierra Student Coalition and us on your campus.