Earth Equity News

Young People to Swarm Capitol With Green Agenda. By Jonathan Mummolo, WashPost, March 1, 2009. "Thousands of young people, many of them emboldened by the 2008 presidential contest, will descend on the Capitol on Monday to urge the government to take radical action to stem climate change and plant the seeds of a green economy. Arriving Friday from every state in the union -- as well as every Canadian province and more than a dozen countries -- about 12,000 people, most between 18 and 26 years old, are in the District this weekend for Power Shift '09, a summit aimed at raising environmental awareness and lobbying leaders on green issues. The four-day convention will culminate tomorrow with a rally at 11:30 a.m. on the Capitol's west lawn and meetings all day with members of Congress and their aides to press them for immediate action. 'We want to make sure our new president and new Congress pass bold federal energy and climate legislation in 2009 that dramatically reduces emissions and creates millions of green jobs,' said Brianna Cayo Cotter, communications director for the convention's organizer, the Energy Action Coalition, a network of 50 national organizations that advocate for clean energy."