Power Vote

It's not just the media and politicos who have been getting ready for the VP debate tomorrow. At a planning meeting this evening at least 35 Wash U Green Action group leaders showed up to make sure Power Vote is out loud and proud tomorrow. The energy in the room (and the overflowing hall) was amazing. So many young voters ready to storm their campus tomorrow with a vision for our future that includes clean energy, green jobs, energy independence, and all that good stuff. They have a plan that starts at 5 am tomorrow (don't worry- it does involve the best donuts st louis has to offer) and doesn't end until after the debate.

This was written by Wayne State student and Power Voter Kim Siegel!

Power Voters set their sights on the dorms last week at Wayne State in Detroit. We wanted to bring the campaign’s message door-to-door and asked if the students are interested in pledging to vote for a clean and just energy future for the country.

Our purpose was clear: to get our fellow students to pledge to vote with clean and just energy on their minds in this election. Power Vote is engaging 1,000,000 youth-voters across the United States by November 4th, to express that us young Americans care deeply about the planet and are ready to create millions of good, green jobs in a clean energy economy.

Students at Morgan State University know exactly where to find theirs. Along with community members they successfully got their US Congressional Representative, Elijah Cumming to sign onto the 1Sky platform. Then the following week they heard Rep. Cumming was coming to a rally on campus. They sprung into action, slapped on their Power Vote stickers, summoned some courage, and asked if they could “adopt” him.

Check out this video:

Kassie and I rolled into Carbondale, IL this afternoon to meet some awesome Power Voters here at Southern Illinois University. Check out www.Flickr.com/powervote for some great photos!

We were met by the local TV station and 2 newspapers and about 6 Power Vote leaders. In the hour before it started raining we got at least 60 new Carbondale students pledged.

I am blogging now from Ashley's living room- a rad local Power Vote leader. We have been phone banking to get people to fill a bus of students to bring to St Louis to rally outside the VP debate Thursday.

Power Votes that is.
It is important to provide both those who are involved in Power Vote itself and others who are interested in the amazing work we are doing with a clear and broad perspective of our movement. Many of us have an excellent scope of the campaign happening on our campus and in our community, but what about the rest of the country? What kind of havoc are those Ohioans reaping in Columbus, and who's getting Bird dogged in the South? We know you want to know, so to capture the energy and enthusiasm of the youth's demand for a clean and just energy economy, we have set up a You Tube channel specifically for the Energy Action Coalition and Power Vote!

youtube.com/energyaction

Our Power Vote truth squad had some fun with them and caught it on tape.

Check out the short, fun video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufQZf7aBEbU

Energy Action staff – Jessy Tolkan, Brianna Cayo Cotter, Jodie Van Horn and I were all in Oxford, Mississippi on Friday with an art installation of 30 9-foot-tall wind turbines set up across the Grove at Ol' Miss. In one day, over 400 Ol' Miss students and local community members pledged to vote for clean and just energy in our upcoming elections. I was blown away (pun intended) by how clear is that climate change and our need to dramatically shift our energy infrastructure are clearly far beyond partisan politics – folks from every walk of life and a broad range of political viewpoints (displayed on their shirts) eagerly came up to our display wanting to learn more and express their support for what we were doing.

I am writing this from Ole Miss's Grove surrounded by 30, 9 foot Power Vote windmills and thousands of students getting ready for tonight's first Presidential debate. Check out more photos at www.flickr.com/powervote.

We've talked to hundreds of young people from across the political spectrum who all wholeheartedly support the Power Vote pledge and want the candidates to know how much young voters want clean energy and green jobs.

Kassie, Jodie, and I got here at around 7 am to put on our green hard hats and set up our windmills for the very first time. Immediately we had people coming up to us wanting to talk about Power Vote and help put the windmills up.

Several hours later and we've talked to so many people, done countless interviews and have felt the excitement building for tonight's debates. More later.

From Wall St. to the Clinton Global Initiative to the UN Summit, we have watched this week as unprecedented economic and political events unfold in the United States and around the world. Thankfully, in the midst of these very uncertain times, something beautiful is happening tomorrow. Action. And we don't mean another bailout proposal.

Beacause we know the economic, energy, and climate crises we face are all connected, tens of thousands of people will be organizing events in all 50 states to tell our leaders that we're ready to take on these crises by building a green economy strong enough to put people back to work, lift people out of poverty, and begin to secure our climate.

www.greenjobsnow.com

We all know the cause is just and the movement is real. So why doesn’t everyone get on board? As of today we are reigniting our internet crusade to attract thousands of new online pledgers.