Earth Equity News

Anti-Coal, Green Jobs, Youth Climate Movements Coming to the Fore. By Ezra Small, EENews, January 19, 2009. "In 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a 'radical reordering of our nation's priorities' to create millions of jobs in order to lift African-Americans out of poverty. Today, in the spirit of MLK on his birthday, the anti-coal and youth climate movements are calling for our government to radically reshape the nation's energy priorities and to stop the long tradition of bailing out obsolete technologies and instead support a new energy future. Immediately following the Inauguration on Jan 20, a number of organizations are launching new campaigns and hosting national conferences to demand that Congress and the Obama administration embrace this unique opportunity to tackle the climate and economic crises. From February 4-6, The Blue-Green Alliance is hosting the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in Washington D.C. which will involve over 2,000 labor and environmental advocates and government agencies. Power Past Coal, a new collaboration between environmental and human rights groups is launching a 100 Days of Action between January 21st to April 30th to call on hundreds of people to organize events from Appalachia to Arizona to speak out against dirty coal. The Climate Crisis Coalition is teaming up with the CLEAN Network to call on supporters to participate in the National White House Call-In Day on January 21st asking Obama to begin implementing a new energy future through clean and safe renewable energy and energy efficiency. On February 5, the National Teach-In on Global Warming will engage colleges, universities, high-schools, middle-schools, faith based organizations, civic groups, and businesses in solutions driven dialogue by launching a Solutions for the First 10 Day' webcast, roundtable discussions, and video letters to Congress. The Energy Action Coalition is organizing Powershift '09, where over 10,000 young people will gather in Washington to hold our elected officials accountable for rebuilding our economy and reclaim our future through a 3-day Conference, Lobby Day, and Rally on Capitol Hill, February 27 through March 2. Enjoy the historic inauguration and then take action to seize this crucial moment!"