The Powershift conference last weekend was one of the most inspiring events I have witnessed in my 20 years in the youth movement.  More than 6000 young people from every state converged on the University of Maryland College Park to stop global warming.

• On Monday, we did the biggest lobby day in history by young people and the biggest lobby day on climate change ever.  Close to 2000 young people lobbied their Congresspeople.  They also testified before a packed House Ways and Means Committee and held a large rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol building.
  
• They gave us all green hard hats to lobby with.  The message was clear: This is not just about the environment.  This is about creating new jobs, a new manufacturing and construction industry or good paying union jobs in the US –jobs that can’t be outsourced overseas.
• I went lobbying for the first time ever.  It was hellafied fun. I walked around 4 House and Senate office buildings all day and ate in their cafeterias. I went on lobbying trips with the PA crew for Arlen Spector, Bob Casey, and Phil English (the Rep for Erie, PA who we think may be vulnerable in 2008) and then I went to a meeting with Obama’s energy staffer.
• The Pennsylvania League is excited about Green Collar Jobs as a major issue to work on.  Nationwide, the coalition has gotten legislation introduced to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, and to create 5 million new “green collar jobs” in low-income communities, especially in the rustbelt.  We want to make sure our constituents get those jobs!!!
• The PA League is already becoming very knowledgeable about climate change and green collar jobs. They went to a breakout session for Pennsylvania which had 250 people.  They made friends with the Regional Directors for Sierra Student Coalition and they want to partner with us. Mikhail and Greg from PA made a video which we should put up on this blog.
• I was one of 70 lobby trainers who were each in charge of training 24 kids how to lobby on Sunday evening. I got an excellent brief lobby training for trainers from Wellstone.  Then we role-played our meetings with the Congresspeople: opponent, supporter and undecided. It was really well done and the kids were prepared and amped to go lobby.
  Van Jones has emerged as a charismatic leader of the climate change movement, with an emphasis on putting green jobs for low-income youth of color at the center of our demands with the rallying cry of Green Jobs Not Jails. “This isn’t just about polar bears.  It’s about jobs for Pookie, and Snoopy, and Shaquanta.  This is about pathways out of poverty.  This is about creating 5 million new jobs in this new green economy.  The entire country is going to have to be retrofitted.  Every building, every school.  These are good paying union jobs that you can’t ship overseas.”
• Van and Majora Carter from Sustainable South Bronx are the major intellectual and policy voices coming from communities of color.  They are poised to help move hundred of millions if not billion of dollars into this sector over the next few years.
  The excitement and level of collaboration is unlike anything I have ever witnessed before… because it’s about the survival of the human species.  So a lot of the normal organizational bullshit melts away.
• One of the organizers as we were leaving commented: “I think we’re entering a post-Powershift world.  We created a new climate on global warming today.”