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Winter 2009 Edition
12,000 Voices Demand Climate Action at Power Shift Summit
 "There was certainly a buzz in the air, having 12,000 young people in one location," said Clean Air-Cool Planet's Claire Roby of Power Shift 2009. "There was a sense of excitement, empowerment, and a general ability to create change." Power Shift is a national youth climate summit that gallantly challenges elected officials to realize their obligation to safeguard a healthy environment for the future through aggressive climate and clean energy policy. Power Shift '09, which took place the last weekend of February, brought 12,000 young people to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. It pressured President Obama's new administration to take action against global warming in its pivotal first 100 days.
"The summit sent a big message that youth want bold solutions to these problems, and we can't afford to delay," Roby continued. She said that attendees, having gone through several days of training and listening to excellent speakers, came away inspired, with a greater understanding of the tools they can use to create change in their own communities.
The Power Shift campaign began in 2007, when the Energy Action Coalition brought over 7,000 youths from around the country to Washington, D.C. for the first Power Shift summit. It continued into the Presidential Election of 2008 with the Power Vote campaign, the effort of hundreds of thousands of young people demanding solutions to the important issues of our time. It collected 341,127 pledges to vote in the 2008 election and to demand that new leaders invest in the environmental movement and take a stronger stance in the international community.
See Claire Roby's account of Power Shift '09 in "The Back Page," below.
Cool Planet Blog Will Put Climate in Context
 It's not just another climate blog. On March 24, Clean Air-Cool Planet is launching a blog that puts climate in context -- with tools and tales that can be offered and told by no one else. It's about the company's unique way of looking at and addressing solutions, from policy to inventory, lightbulbs to land use; how to, commentary, and observation. The Cool Planet blog will be written by staff experts and invited guests, with room for readers to respond with comments of their own. Join in the conversation! Watch for it here: http://www.coolplanet.org.
NJ-Based Backpack Provides Regional Climate Care Education - To Go
 When the Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) held its 24th Annual Environmental Conference last month, 35 environmental educators had the opportunity to try out the newest version of an innovative climate change teaching tool, the Northeast Science Center Collaborative (NESCC)'s Climate Change Backpack.
Karin Jakubowski, manager of the NESCC, which is a program of Clean Air - Cool Planet, presented on the Backpack. She explained that the theme of the conference was "how you can teach about the major environmental issues and influence children to make a change," and that the Climate Change Backpack is a useful and engaging tool to help inspire students.
 The Backpack is a global warming curriculum kit with teaching activities and materials packed into a Timberland backpack. Designed for use in the classroom or in the field, the backpack contains all the tools necessary to carry out lesson plans, including a Presenter's Guide, video, maps, experiments, and such props as a geological timeline, imitation ice core, and even a play.
The Climate Change Backpack is already a successful teaching tool in the northeast and in 124 national parks. The educators at ANJEE got to try out the newest version, which the Collaborative is currently designing with funding from the New Jersey-based energy company Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), The new version is designed for use in the Mid-Atlantic States, specifically New Jersey, and will contain three new activities relevant to the area, including one on marsh ecosystems.
Jakubowski lead a demonstration, trial, and discussion of this new version of The Climate Change Backpack at ANJEE's conference. "It gave classroom and science center educators, as well as representatives from federal agencies like the U.S. EPA, a chance to get their feet wet and see if this new resource will work for them," she said. "There is currently nothing like it in the Mid-Atlantic region and a lot of interest was shown." There is scheduled to be a workshop at Connecticut's Liberty Science Center in May for educators to learn how to use the Backpack, and Jakubowski was pleased to report that 25 have already signed up to attend.
The expected workshop turnout is promising. "Many of the educators planning to use the Backpack work in Connecticut's larger, inner-city schools," Jakubowski said. "They will be using the Backpack in the classroom, so it will be reaching a lot of students."
Climate Cyclists Raise Money and Awareness from NY to DC
 If you are a bicyclist who would like to ride for a cause in a beautiful environment, Climate Ride 2009 is for you. Climate Riders will embark on September 26, 2009 on a five-day cycling excursion from New York City, through scenic country roads of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to raise money and awareness for climate change and renewable energy education and legislation.
The event aims to compel cyclists and the communities they ride through to take meaningful action to work toward a cleaner and healthier environment. It will promote the responsibility that individuals have to stabilize the environment and how much they can benefit from doing so. Educational and inspiring expert speakers on the science behind, policies regarding, and solutions to global warming will address riders and the public along the way.
Climate Riders must pay a $100 registration fee and raise $2400 to cycle, all of which goes to the event's beneficiaries, Clean Air-Cool Planet and Focus the Nation. Clean Air-Cool Planet is the leading nonprofit working with campuses, communities, and businesses to find and promote ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Focus the Nation is working for a clean energy future by educating the public, engaging politicians, developing future leaders, and supporting youth initiatives.
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For more information on global warming solutions, visit CA-CP's website.
News Briefs
Donate to Clean Air-Cool Planet with a Click of Your Mouse
You have just four days to help Clean Air-Cool Planet secure a $200,000, 5-year grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters with a few mouse clicks! The grant would be critical in helping expand our efforts to support and expand local climate action and smart climate policy. We invite you to learn more, and cast a vote for our project, at http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/7279/promoteidea.html. Comments about the organization's ability to achieve its goals are also appreciated because they will be used in the judging process for the award. Click these links, and vote for both!
Reduction of Short-Term Pollutants May Buy Time for the Arctic
Scientists meeting this week at the Copenhagen Climate Congress noted that reduction of short-lived pollutants (SLPs) is a way to help curb Arctic warming. Clean Air-Cool Planet is helping drive an international effort to reduce emissions of SLPs, black carbon, methane, and ozone. For more information, please visit www.arcticwarming.net.
Local Energy Solutions Conference to Spur Grassroots Climate Action
 The Carbon Coalition Local Energy Committee Working group will host the first annual LEC state-wide training and information sharing conference for energy reduction efforts at the local level. The conference, to be held June 20, 2009, at the Grappone Center in Concord, N.H., will bring together municipal leaders, planners and citizens who want to share ideas for reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their towns and cities. For more information and online registrations, visit the Carbon Coalition website.
Fellowship Program Receives More Than 400 Applications
Following on the successful fellowship program of 2008, and with the generous support of the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, CA-CP's Climate Fellowship program for 2009 attracted a huge number of applications. The program not only supports significant carbon reduction projects, it also provides qualified graduate and undergraduate students in diverse disciplines with meaningful professional experience in the growing field of carbon management. See the list of 2009 summer projects.
Featured Case Study from CA-CP's Corporate Program
News from around the Nation
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