For Immediate Release
October 7, 2008
Contact: Brianna Cayo Cotter, Communications Director, Energy Action Coalition
Phone: (415) 305 1943- on-site cell phone in Nashville, TN
* Hi res, rights free photos available at Flickr.com/powervote*
Power Vote Clean Energy Presidential Debate Tour Heats Up in Nashville
National nonpartisan youth voter campaign teams up with Tennesseeans for a clean energy teach-in, legislative meetings, "critical mass," rally, and march in lead up to the 2nd Presidential debate
NASHVILLE, TN – As the candidates face off at today's Presidential debate at Belmont University, young voters from across Tennessee are gathering in Nashville to demand a bold new vision for our nation’s future. Power Vote has teamed up with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Tennessee students for a full day of clean energy education and action.
Tennessee youth climate activists will kick-off the day at 1 pm with a clean energy teach-in at the legislative plaza posing the question- "Can Tennessee be carbon and nuclear free?". The young voters will then meet with their representatives, hit up downtown Nashville en masse to collect Power Vote pledges from their peers and then participate in a critical mass bike ride. The ride will conclude with a rally at Dragon Park where 30, 9 foot Power Vote debate windmills will be on display alongside a giant, inflatable coal plant. The day will culminate with hundreds of young people marching to the Belmont debate. See full schedule with locations and times below.
"As the nation's focus turns to Tennessee tonight for the Presidential debate, young voters here are standing up to say we want clean energy and green jobs for our state and our nation," said Reagan Richmond, a UT-Knoxville student and Power Vote leader. "Our generation deserves a healthy future instead of "clean coal" lies and more of the same, old dirty energy politics."
Power Vote is a national, non-partisan campaign to mobilize 1 million young 'climate voters' for the 2008 election. The Power Vote windmill tour started in Oxford, MS at the first Presidential debate as a visual representation of the clean energy future young voters demand. Between each debate, the Power Vote Presidential Tour Bus is stopping at college campuses to mobilize students to take the “Power Vote Pledge” to “vote for clean and just energy.
“Our landscape ought to be dotted with wind turbines and solar installations instead of coal and nuclear facilities,” asserts Brianna Cayo Cotter, Communications Director of the Energy Action Coalition's Power Vote campaign. “In our meetings with Tennessee legislators today and during the debate tonight, we expect candidates who want the youth vote to lay out a clear plan for a clean and just energy revolution in this country.
Power Vote is a project of the youth-led Energy Action Coalition. The Coalition and its more than forty partner organizations are supporting hundreds of local Power Vote efforts on campuses and in communities across the country. Over 200,000 young voters have already taken the Power Vote Pledge. Power Vote is being run on campuses and communities all over Tennessee. Tennessee organizers hope to mobilize at least 10,000 voters in Tennessee alone.
Tuesday's Schedule for Clean Energy:
1:00 pm - Teach-in- Tennessee's Energy Future - Room 29 Legislative Plaza
Featuring Argun Makhijani - President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Energy Specialists, Officials, Students, and Citizens will discuss the potential for a carbon free, nuclear free Tennessee.
2:00: Taking it to the Legislators- Directly following the teach-in, voters will meet with their representatives.
3:00 pm - Taking It to the Streets - Downtown
Get in on the force of Climate Voters thats sweeping across this nation with Power Vote! We'll take our message and our clipboards to the streets to engage more people in voting for a clean and just energy future.
4:00 pm - Critical Mass Bike Ride for a Sustainable Tennessee - Meet at War Memorial Mall
4:00 pm Meet Up -- 4:30pm Ride - Cyclists from across Tennessee to advocate for alternative transportation. Use Your Bikes and Your Bodies to show our officials we want a clean energy future! Ride will commence at rally
5:30 pm - Rally and March - Fannie Mae Dee's (Dragon) Park
Students and citizens will gather sporting green hard hats, symbolizing the development of the green jobs movement. Speakers will cover the importance of this debate, work of Tennessee students, green jobs, energy solutions, and the national movment for clean and just energy. Visuals include a giant windmill art installation and an inflatable coal plant.
For more information, contact Brianna Cayo Cotter at 415.305.1943 and visit www.powervote.org
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