http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61z-_DSsVk

It only gets bigger and better from here!

My Lithuanian Powershift Story!

Happy Independence Day y’all; see ya in DC!

It’s been a while coming, but the video is finally here! Grab a bowl of popcorn, and enjoy the shit show!

http://www.portagecountyteaparty.com/conservative-classroom/educational-videos/fracking.html

- Clay

Mr. Brown is getting ready to go to Washington to vote on proposals that would slash the EPA’s budget for the Clean Air Act. He is considered a swing vote – who has previously voted for health care, who impeccably votes for jobs- but needs to hear our voice and vote to protect the Clean Air Act from the very same budget-slashing rampage that threatens the likes of organizations such as AmeriCorps and NPR. If EPA loses their funding for the CAA, they won’t have staff to keep tabs on the big polluters.

Do I even need to mention the benefits of the CAA?

Enter 1sky, Danny B (Cincy organizer), and OSEC’s Ohio Beyond Coal initiative. Cincy is getting organized to drop-in on Sherrod Brown’s local office Monday, and plans to roll loud and deep. Originally, a lobby meeting was set for March 3. Since Mr. Brown will likely vote on the proposal before then, we’re just gonna drop in early, say hi, and maybe leave some autographs and literature. We’ll call the press too.

Brown has offices across Ohio, and if you’re looking for something to do Monday afternoon on your lunch break; this is my subtle suggestion. If you want to come to Cincy and join us, we’d love to have you.

-Brian Kunkemoeller

OBC

Now, after planning a conference with OSEC and MSSC-ers that weekend in Detroit, dealing with a broken car window, participating in an OSEC Steering Retreat weekend, spending hours in a car with coal activist Elisa Young while touring some of Ohio’s major coal plants, blasting Regina Spektor songs while riding backseat, and making some great new best friends, I feel like I’ve been a part of OSEC for years. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing organization. In one month’s time, I’ve already learned so much about environmental issues, about campaigning, about making change, and about myself. It was obvious from my very first weekend with OSEC-ers that this was a passionate group of people who mean business. What better role models could I have asked for in becoming an environmental activist?

After returning from the OSEC Steering Retreat two weekends ago, I felt surprisingly emotional. I had a million thoughts running through my head: of Powershift, of anti-oppression, of coal and wind farms, of my future vocation, of my friends from home, of life. Perhaps it was a combination of the beginning of my second semester as a college student, getting a tour of coal plants for the first time, and being totally psyched for Powershift, but OSEC brought me to a place I haven’t been at in a long time, one of pure reflection. It’s a wonderful feeling to step back from the world and look at all the things on the plate you in front of you that you’ve prepared for yourself  and just THINK. I don’t think I’ve realized the value of reflecting in such a way before, and though I am busy as heck now that I am planning for Powershift and other on-campus environmental activities and trying to keep up with my school work, it’s all worth it if I can look back on what I am doing in my life and think, ‘yea, I’ll be that cooky, hippie-like old woman in the future whose grandkids get to look at all the pictures of the coal plants she helped plan to take down.’ I think I’m pretty happy with that fact.

So now, after all these OSEC initiation experiences, I am absolutely PUMPED for Powershift 2011. Tonight, Oberlin OSEC-ers finally submitted a proposal to the Oberlin College Student Finance Committee to request funding that will make Powershift registration FREE for all Oberlin students. We’re almost ready to recruit Obies to Powershift, and I feel like I’ve got ants in my pants from the anticipation of it all! In 2009, Oberlin recruited 106 students to Powershift, making us the 4th largest recruiter of any college in the country to the conference that year. I’m ready to blow that number out of the water. There’s about a month and a half until Powershift 2011…and it’s go time. If you’re an Oberlin student, be prepared for me to start talking your ear off about Powershift, because this year, we’ll be number one!

-Maggie Heraty, first year at Oberlin College

Ohio Sierra Club is giving us money to send a bunch of us (100+) to Powershift for free; they potentially want to give us more $$$, and partner with us on our new campaigns, because they are inspired by our work.

This happened in response to a request by students. A few of my SSC/OU Beyond Coal colleagues and I went to the Sierra Club Ohio strategy retreat, and gave personal testimonial to the passionate, effective work that we student activists are doing. They asked how they could help us; we responded with “financial solidarity”. The four of us jotted off this little ditty, and they APPROVED IT BY CONSENSUS!!!!!:

“Though we have common goals and strategy, Ohio students and Sierra Club have not gotten to work together as closely and effectively as we would like. In order to build support and participation in the Sierra Club’s mission <Explore, Enjoy and Protect Nature>, we propose that the Ex-Com of Ohio allocate funds to send students to Washington D.C. for the Powershift 2011 conference. It is expected to be 12,000 students learning how to put into practice effective environmental community organizing. It costs 65 dollars to register per person. Ohio has a goal of sending 500 students. We propose that you underwrite 100 Ohio environmental student coalition members in exchange for reporting back to the regional groups. That way a relationship of furious joy and developing strategy and mutual support on issues that Sierra Club and the student activists both care about will be established.”

So their goal in funding our Powershift registration is to win us as allies on the basis of continually supporting our development as environmental activists. The ball is rolling for cooperation with us, wouldn’t you agree? Not only is their state group paying for many of us to go to Powershift- there’re 7 regional groups considering giving us more Powershift funding, if only we would reach out to them and plug some of our energy coming out of Powershift into joint campaigns. Looking at their website, you’ll see that they’re already working on a lot of what we care about. Consider how they could be staunch allies: as we move against coal and fracking, supporting convivial human transportation, and wind turbines on Lake Erie. They could come out to our events, write letters, call politicians, exert their influence in our communities on behalf of our work. They will invite us to speak, and perhaps we will all go hiking together.

BTW, if you read the bios of the staff people, you’ll see there are outstanding people who like our Janina, are working full-time on these things. Nachy Kanfer has been a solid ally and friend to OU’s Beyond Coal campaign for more than a year. And Jennifer Miller- their super-cool advocate in the state house- wants to organize a lobby day with us. Elisa Young, the rockstar who took us on the Meigs County tour last retreat- has alerted me that in a couple of weeks, there will be an important day for lobbying the Ohio State Legislature on Coal Ash regulation. I will pass that word along as soon as I get it. Anyway…..

Here’ my pitch to you, dear OSECer who is reading this: 1) find out who your local SC chapter’s point person is, and send a delegation to one of their next meetings. 2) arrive and listen to what they’re working on, find out where it overlaps with our campaigns, talk with them about what you and OSEC are working on, and ask them for more money if you feel like working with them in the future.

If you go to this website:

http://ohiosierraclub.org/our-chapter/about-us/

at the bottom right of the page is a regional group map, to find your local leaders. Currently, we in Athens are working with Lorraine McCosker of the SE chapter and David Donofrio at Central to find where OSEC, with our new campaigns, can work with SC on them- and how more financial solidarity can be directed to flow our way for Powershfit.

Alternatively, you don’t have to do that work, becuase YOU ARE INVITED to a meeting coming up that’s already been planned and is ready for our participation!!! Ideally, a representative from each of our working groups could attend this next meeting in Columbus, to speak for the goals of the group and explore partnership possibilities. Below are the details from David. Please call me if you want to converse on these topics: 859-801-3137.

Yours in agape ~ Badger Johnson

For startsies, you should know that this is how we spent our Saturday morning:

Yup, that’s the Ohio River, and that is a big fat nasty coal plant. To be specific, it’s ‘Mountaineer’: a pulverized coal-fired power plant owned by American Electric Power, and one of the only AEP owned test-sites for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (read: clean coal bullshit) in the country.

This is us with Elisa Young, an amazing woman who lives in Meigs County who shared her stories, insights, and abundant knowledge on the true cost of coal. As it turns out, the Ohio river valley has the second highest concentration of coal-fired power plants in the country. In this picture, we were at a childrens playground. Those smokestacks in the background are just over the river from this playground. Yikes, right?

This is the ‘Phillip Sporn’ coal plant, which is right next to ‘Mountaineer’ (the plant from the above photo).  These kids look like they’re ready to go to Powershift, like woah.

So after touring these coal plant sites, along with ‘Gavin’ (the third largest coal plant in the entire country, and one which polluted the surrounding village of Cheshire so thoroughly that AEP straight up bought the town to prevent lawsuits) and seeing an active coal mine, we all came to the same conclusion as Zoe did: Powershift is our generations opportunity to get it right and move beyond such an outrageously toxic and exploitative energy system (read; this shit’s gotta end).

So, we went back to Ohio University, and got to work! Enter: the part where our state-break-out is about to rock your world. OSEC is now officially laying foundations and preparing campaign frameworks in five (Yes; FIVE!) issue-focused areas, which will be promoted at the state-break out as opportunities for students across the state to engage with. Ready? Here they are:

1. Don’t Frack with Ohio! Seriously. As communities across Ohio are approached to sign leases (read; to have a  gas well that will essentially blow up the land under their homes and release over 596 chemicals directly into the water table, put in) OSEC will be organizing regional public hearings (See the above blog by Clay Graham; if the Tea Party can do it, so can OSEC!). These hearings will provide a community space for residents to learn the facts on fracking, voice their concerns to legislators, and build solidarity in resisting the incoming energy companies. Furthermore, these hearings will be instrumental in passing local fracking-bans and regulations.

2. Smart Transportation for a Smart Generation. Gov. Kasich announces the Ohio budget March 15th, and we’re fairly positive it’s not going to be very transit-friendly. Thus, OSEC students have developed a number of creative strategies for keeping transit in the public eye and fighting back widespread austerity measures; not only are we gonna have 100 students biking up and down the 3c corridor this summer, but in the meantime we’ll be doing our research on corporations in Ohio that don’t pay taxes. Imagine all of the revenue that would be available for transit if tax-evading corporations were held accountable! Obvi, stay tuned for hella exciting details, and some irresistible citizen tax-collector-action opportunities.

3. Dirty Energy Action Crew After spending a Saturday morning on the Ohio River seeing one coal plant after another, OSEC students were ready to build a seriously badass campaign to kick coal out of our state, starting with our campuses. The Ohio breakout at Powershift will feature a caucus for Ohio schools with coal plants on campus, and anticipates some serious momentum to shut down every campus-coal plant in the state (WOAH, right!?). In the meantime, the dirty energy group is gonna be flying cover for the EPA and the Clean Air Act; both of which are under serious threat with our new Congress. Coincidence that Boehner is from Ohio, and his district currently has one of the largest and fastest-growing Beyond Coal movements in the country? I think not; we’ll be making sure he hears from his constituents (and I’m, personally, hoping spray tanning can be involved).

4. FLOF for all! FLOF, or Fresh Local Organic Food, is going to bring together students around Ohio in order to build a stronger understanding of food policy issues, local solutions, and model community initiatives (like a number of the country’s largest urban agricultural projects that all happen to be in our state!). Before you know it, campuses across the state will not only have a more sustainable food sourcing/ production program, but will hopefully be using the hottest new word in the state (FLOF).

5. The Lake Erie Offshore Wind Project… is going to be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the U.S… And it’s happening in Ohio, which is ab.so.lutely. amaaaaazing! Thus, we’re gonna not only build the political will to make sure the project actually happens, but furthermore develop local campaigns to pressure University administrators to purchase energy from the project once it’s completed. Does it get anymore totally badass!?

So, all that to say… the Ohio break-out at Powershift is absolutely not to be missed; it’s truly shaping up to be an epic moment in our state’s economic, environmental, and energy future. Seeing so many students come together this past weekend in order to start planning was amazing, and was a preview of that magic moment when 500 students from across the state get together, and get to work on these issues. Is it Powershift yet!?

By: Clay Graham

Case in point: Hiram? SEAC students are fundraising for PowerShift via ‘Taco Truck’ (it’s exactly what it sounds like) and not only spreading the word on one of the most pivotal events in our generations climate movement, but also delicious co-op food, served street-side. Ohio University? The student-led Beyond Coal campaign is more exciting than ever, as the group gears up for a meeting with Administrators to finally talk about replacing the campus coal plant (stay tuned for the most outrageously victorious dance party ever). University of Cincinnati? Students here are building a movement not only for fresh, local, organic food on campus, but also introducing a whole new vocabulary word into the OSEC network; hence, Flof (fresh local organic food) Fest!

I could (obviously) go on and on all day about the incredible and inspiring work happening on countless college campuses across Ohio, but since this is a ‘State of The Union’ I’m going to take my cues from Obama, and direct your attention to the future of our state, our movement, and our dearly beloved network. Incidentally, Obama spent quite a chunk of time discussing the future of our nation in terms of energy policy and sustainability; he pointed out the widespread solar manufacturing potential (read: industrial infrastructure we may, or may not have in Ohio), the abundant wind feasibility (*cough* Lake Erie Offshore Wind Project), the high-speed rail that will revolutionize our country’s transit system (the same way 3c revolutionized student support for general transit reform), and the dirty energy subsidies that are obviously stupid (read; Kasich thinks fracking is a ‘Godsend’ for our state). Can you guess where I’m going with this…?

Ohio once again finds itself in the position of being a leader, a champion, a model and a bellwether for every other state in this nation; we have the legacy of political tone-setting, we have the pride of building this nation, and we have the potential to send a bold message to the rest of this country via offshore wind and solar manufacturing, complemented by strong resolutions banning fracking and halting dirty energy projects. So when Obama talks about ‘our generations Sputnik moment’ it’s clear that Ohio is not only already in the midst of that moment, but that it’s furthermore poised to be, what I like to call, a ‘Sputnik Moment Catalyst Extraordinaire’. Ohio’s at a pivotal crossroads; we’ve got proposed coal-fired power plants, hydraulic fracturing, nasty incinerators and hella extractive industries linked to climate chaos in one direction, while we’ve got the opportunity to blow wind-energy production out of the water (ha-get it!?), the capacity to transform our economy through green manufacturing, and the commitment to sustainably revitalize our communities and cities,  in the other direction.

You better believe that OSEC is all over that Sputnik moment. As I look to the future of our movement, it’s abundantly clear that students across Ohio are consistently at the forefront of progressive action, political will, and diligent, determined organizing, and this movement only get’s bigger and better (we also ‘do big things’ ). When I think about the tremendous opportunities and decisions Ohio is faced with, and who is capable of navigating Ohio through this crossroad, I don’t think of politicians, investors or administrators; I immediately think of the Ohio Convention at PowerShift this spring. The magic of 500 fierce, dedicated, strategic, and innovative student leaders coming together and forging long-term plans to shape Ohio’s future is a magic that I can believe in. Thus, I can’t wait for the incredible opportunity to join so many badass student leaders in making sure Ohio stays the most awesome state in the union.

See ya there?