"We Want More"
By Ted Glick
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Words fail me as I try to figure out how to capture in words the profound significance of the student-based Power Shift
conference that took place November 2-5 at the University of Maryland, and on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Historic - Powerful - Deep - Amazing - Awesome - Astounding - Incredible - Hope at the Highest Level: these are the
adjectives and phrases that come to mind.
So what happened?
From November 2 to 5 upwards of 6,000 people, overwhelmingly young people, multi-racial but predominantly white, from
all over the country and with some international representation, met on the campus of the University of Maryland in
College Park at the "first-ever national youth climate summit." Over the course of two and a half days they heard a lot
of speakers and music at plenary sessions and panels, and took part in close to 300 different workshops on a range of
topics.
Some of the topics covered in the workshops and panels included:
anti-racism and anti-oppression, a central priority for this burgeoning movement of hope for the world
organizing strategies and tactics on the climate issue on college campuses
community-based, statewide and national organizing and legislative approaches on the climate issue
ending the US addiction to coal and oil
media and messaging
skills trainings
spirituality and faith and environmental sustainability
civil disobedience and direct action in the climate movement
corporate campaigning.
This was a conference of thousands of SERIOUS young people. They were not there just to enjoy one another's company,
although that was definitely going on. They were there primarily to learn, to contribute, to strategize, to return home
as smarter and more effective activists for a justice-based, peace-encouraging, world-changing clean energy revolution.
And more.
One of the political high points for me was when, during a major plenary session Saturday night, a "we want more" chant
went up from some of those in the crowd of thousands during the speeches of Congresspersons Ed Markey and, following
him, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. Markey is the chair of a special House committee on global warming set up by
Pelosi earlier this year.
Markey and Pelosi were the two prominent national politicians who spoke at Power Shift. I was told that all of the
Presidential candidates were invited, and tellingly, none came.
I was especially pleased by this interruption of Markey's and then Pelosi's speeches because I was disappointed by the
initially loud and strong welcoming of Pelosi when she was introduced to the crowd. Other speakers Friday night and
earlier Saturday night had received a warm response when they spoke against the war in Iraq during their time on the
stage. So, for Pelosi to be received so positively, given her mis-leadership in Congress on that issue, was not what I
had thought would happen. I was hoping that the response would be more mixed.
But then the "we want more" chant rose up out of the crowd. Here's how it was described on the Power Shift web site
blog by one of those who led it, Juliana Williams:
"Tonight at Power Shift, as Congressman Ed Markey stood before us inciting us to support the proposed Energy Bill, a few
of us began chanting 'We want more, we want more.' Congressman Markey stopped short to listen. We chanted for a full
minute with a fervor, intensity and volume that left me lightheaded, hoarse and thoroughly invigorated. As we chanted,
for the first time, I felt an almost painful desire for the future we want to see.
"We don't just want policy fixes, or simply a change in leadership in the White House, higher fuel economy standards, or
80 percent emissions reduction by the year 2050. This movement is about more than just politics. This movement is about
more than just supporting clean energy sources. This movement is about recognizing the patterns of consumption, patterns
of thought, patterns of behavior that have led to the social ills we see today. It's about rediscovering the value of
our resources, the value of our neighbors, the value of life on this planet."
"We want more" came forward as a chant that I heard another time over the course of the weekend. It was on Monday, the
5th, on the west lawn of the US capital during a rally of close to 2,000 young people at midday, in between morning and
afternoon mass lobbying by the students in support of the strong legislative demands of the 1 Sky campaign.
The best lobby day story I heard was about what happened in the Hart Senate Office Building that morning.
Spontaneously, hundreds of students started chanting "80 by 50" (80 percent reductions in carbon emissions by 2050)
across an atrium in the center of the building around which Senate offices are lined up. I was with a group of about 25
that chanted antiwar slogans into that atrium space during the first week of the Iraq war in March of 2003, and we were
loud, so I'm sure the hundreds of students chanting on Monday were heard by everyone in the building.
The best visual of the weekend for me was at the end of the Monday rally. Dozens of young people were up on the stage,
singing and dancing along with music coming out of the loudspeakers. Hundreds of others were doing the same on the
ground as cameras clicked and rolled. I was moved as I watched the joyful energy and read the signs people were holding:
Green Jobs - No Coal - 1 Sky - 30 by 2020 - Power Shift - Danger: End of World Ahead - Congress Listen: Act Now - Youth
Want Green Energy - God's Creation, Our Home - Hope Is Green.
Our hope for the future absolutely is green: a connection to the green, life-giving force of our Mother Earth. A green,
clean energy economy that gets us off the dirty fossil fuels which are destroying the ecosystem, and are the reason for
the United States' wars of occupation in the Middle East and elsewhere, trying to control oil and natural gas. A green,
clean energy revolution that creates millions of jobs, lifts people out of poverty, strengthens communities and reduces
the power of destructive corporations.
And there is movement in Congress toward this future. It is possible that a piece of global warming legislation could
come onto the US Senate floor for a debate and vote early next year, although it will not be strong enough and will
likely provide even more subsidies for coal, auto and oil companies. There will be a need for significant grassroots
mobilization to demand that it either be strengthened and changed - or defeated.
Most immediately, there's an energy bill that could be passed by Congress in early December that could - repeat, could
- be the beginnings of a turn by the federal government in the right direction on the energy issue. If that's going to
happen the climate movement needs to work very hard between now and then to pressure legislators for a good bill. A good
bill will include an increased fuel efficiency standard for cars to at least 35 mpg by 2020, a renewable electricity
standard requiring utilities to get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, a strong green
jobs program and absolutely no subsidies for liquid coal, nuclear energy, coal or oil.
As we work to get this kind of energy bill passed we should be building toward actions all over the country on December
8, the third International Day of Climate Action. This is taking place during the time of the December 3-14 United
Nations Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia. There will be actions on the 8th in more than 50 countries.
Power Shift. As was talked about this past weekend, it is a phrase with a double meaning. A shift from carbon to clean
energy, and a shift from old, corporate-dominated politics as usual, to the new, democratic (small "d") participatory
politics experienced by thousands at the University of Maryland. We are on the way, we are moving, we have hope, we can
see the future, and we are determined to do what needs to be done to get there. Young people are rising up and giving
leadership for all of us - of whatever age - to follow and work with them. Si, se puede! Si, se puede!
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Ted Glick is on the 65th day of a Climate Emergency Fast and is the coordinator of the US Climate Emergency Council. He's also active with the Climate Crisis Coalition, which is coordinating US-based organizing toward December 8 actions.