Mass Power Shift
What Could Have Been: Uniting Diverse Groups for Social Change
Leave a Comment
Hello, friends! This is Eddie Miller from BU with a weekly post. The subject is of the Sunday protests, and recent campaign call that changed everything. The story involves food, a grassroots protest, and a new vision for our platform: follow along!
Blog Action Day: Massachusetts Power Shift Leads Students to 350
Leave a Comment
This post is part of Blog Action Day, 8414 blogs and counting, all writing about climate change on the same day and together calling the US to take serious action on climate. Sign their petition here.
As a response to climate devastation, thousands of people have taken up in protest. In how they behave, in what they buy, in homes, in lobbying halls of congress, and on the internet. All with a message to spread: We need a new clean energy economy! Designing solutions such as solar and wind, along with reducing how much we do use as a state, can bring us together and provide jobs in a time of crisis.
It is especially important that everyone be involved in Climate activism in Massachusetts right now– Our senator, John Kerry (Follow on twitter, this is going to be essential in our lobbying approach) is long a champion of the environment and pushing new legislation that is sufficiently bold. But not enough to solve the real problems we face! Neither of the bills currently in Washington are strong enough to get us to 350, which is where our corn crop starts to melt and our coral reefs are gone already. We have to act, and fast. Kerry and Barack Obama can hopefully ride this wave of public support and bring home a great treaty for America. There’s broad support in the US, and Massachusetts is the “Saudi Arabia of Wind”. (Clean Power Now Website) Help us transform our energy future!
Get Involved
There are plenty of ways to get involved, right around you.
The easiest is to find a 350.org International Day of Climate Action Event nearby or help plan one with a local group. After that, join MAPS and its partners for a Sleep Out action until action is made at the Statehouse, MA. October to November we will be represented at the doors of the Statehouse or John Kerry’s lawn until better legislation comes up about this!
Sign/Support Blog Action Day! http://www.blogactionday.org/
MAPS Boston U,
-Eddie Miller
Follow me
Blog
Massachusetts Power Shift Site
Mass PowerShift– Regional Trainings Take Place Across MA
1 Comment
Massachusetts Power Shift is gaining Power as the campaign takes off into fall. Groups will be able to run 14-20 campaigns around Massachusetts campuses this year, including school favorites from Boston, Worchester, Western Mass regions, as well as new additions from Greater Boston, West Mass and the Cape.
September 19th was a big date as our campaign presentations reached the public, or “The DL,” as we unveil plans for a great fall action. As you may know, our campaign follows a Gantz model of organizing (add link) which dictates how an organization builds over time. “Morally necessary, technologically possible,” the leadership campaign follows logical steps in a 2-month series for the Copenhagen protocol, organized to build our capacity, footprint, and influence of us and our allies. December 7th is our deadline, November 17th for a new bill to be passed in Massachusetts. 350 parts per million is what we want, 10 years is the time we have to implement serious sustainable energy generation. The bill would be an upstream Carbon Tax, with incentives for alternative energy companies to start up in Mass. Massachusetts needs to lead worldwide. See full platform, at: http://mapsblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/leadership-campaign-platform.doc
With climate, we don’t need to wait until tragedy occurs like December 7th, 40 years ago, Pearl Harbor.. but can start now, proactively. In nomination of this action, our new campaign color is red. Click the platform if you missed this presentation.
Trainings included in two regions covered Personal Narrative, 1-1 Meetings, Task Design, Leadership Structure, and Timeline Organizing. Students alternated with who prepared and directed these educational and unifying workshops. In Western Massachusetts, more schools were brought in to the cause. Watch this blog for more potentially this weekend for any student groups or partners who missed it! Also, for anyone not yet involved who wants to be, there will be another Fall session this October, the third. Campaign Calendar here.
Our next big action is September 24th, with a press conference around Climate Week.
See my full meeting notes at:
-Eddie Miller
Community Outreach, MAPS
mapsblog.wordpress.com/
MAPS: A Call to Action! (Platform attached!)
Leave a Comment
All around the world, people are stepping up. School children, college students, actors and actresses. Corporations, foundations, philanthropists, specialists… governments are convening this December in Copenhagen to discuss our future.
The hope is to stop rising melting ice and rising sea levels, that could soon take entire communities, beaches and shores. The main immediate threats are rising food and energy prices, availability of water, and increasing human migration due to changing temperature/seasonal conditions. A new Army report shows that the consequences could be grim, the scope and scale of which could condemn “billions” of people to poverty and result in the collapse of “much of civilization” by 2100 (!). When military people start talking like that perhaps we should listen.
The struggle for global environmental sustainability is inherently tied to all other struggles. Peace, social justice, security, equality all have a say in the outcome. It is a fight, most fundamentally, for the real solutions we know we need. It is a generational fight, on the hope that we can be that generation that uses our democracy to changes proactively and preempt a crisis. The costs of action are not that high, and the means mainly political.
Massachusetts Power Shift (or MAPS) has a plan this fall, and we’re looking for you to lend time to the cause. 100% Clean Electricity by 2020! 350 Parts Per Million in international climate law! We have exciting times ahead and no time to lose.
We are looking for club and group leaders, researchers, policy people, organizers, families of all race and ages. Won’t you join us the 19th for a meeting and training introduction? Sept. 19th at Northeastern University! Location: Google Map.
Q: What’s the plan??
A: See latest Leadership Campaign PlatformFall_’09_Platform, attached!
Send a policy support or inquiry to our policy team: tmooring@mit.edu!
Q: How do I get involved?
A: Please come to our intro training Sept. 19th at Northeastern University! They will be held in room 346 Curry Student Center at Northeastern University.
Directions:
1. Take the Green “E” line to the Northeastern T stop.
2. Walk back towards the Inbound Northeastern T stop, away from Forsyth St, towards Opera St.
3. Cross Huntington Ave towards the quad and academic buildings (there’s a big sign that says
Northeastern University outside the quad and a pillar on the right with a map of the campus that says Krentzmen Quad on it).
4. Walk through the quad and continue on the path between Richards Hall and Ell Hall.
5.Go down the stairs (outside).
6. The next building entrance you meet with sliding double doors on your left will be the Curry Student Center (there is a red awning that says Curry Student Center).
7. Enter the sliding doors and take a right. Walk straight until you reach the elevator on your left.
8. The room is located on the 3rd floor at 346.
Number as contact people for day of in case people get lost. Mine is 5163027861, Dan’s is 5185279168.
Questions please contact coordinator@masspowershift.org.
Or visit our website- http://masspowershift.org/
Tags: Climate Change, issues, MAPS, news, opportunities
How well do you know your Al Gore?
Leave a Comment
With all this talk about a live Al Gore Webcast October 29th, now is a good chance to catch up on the climate maverick’s latest antics.
Of course, I could just link you to his website: http://www.algore.com. That might be sufficient.
- An inconvenient truth: His groundbreaking documentary has inspired millions of people to care about climate change. When our environmental group hosted a screening last year, it was one of the biggest turnouts we’ve ever had for an event. Official site: http://www.climatecrisis.net/
- On July 17, Al Gore challenged America to produce 100 percent of our electricity from non-carbon energy sources – and to do so within 10 years. His speech , and the resulting campaign is changing our understanding of what is possible. View the speech, share, join at link
- The We campaign is “a multi‐year, commercial‐scale, mainstream mobilization effort to bring public opinion past the tipping point, compelling our elected leaders to take action on climate change.” They are doing this through a huge advertising campaign, online mobilization, and partnering organizations (MAPS is one). Aside from the personal choices aspect of their campaign, they’ve coordinated huge letter-writing, press stunts, and research towards getting all of our electricity from non-carbon sources in 10 years.
- The democratic national convention speech was also wicked good.
- NOW, he’s partnering with Power Vote to speak to our generation through the full strength of this campaign. There’s going to be a LIVE WEBCAST to anyone with a laptop and/or projector on Wednesday the 29th. If We are going to RePower America, it’s going to take all of us being a part. Won’t you host an event ?
Social business fellowship opportunity
Leave a Comment
Startingbloc Institute for Social Innovation:
—
StartingBloc is a global organization that educates, empowers, and connects emerging leaders to drive positive social change across sectors. StartingBloc’s Institute for Social Innovation is a fellowship program for undergraduates and young professionals anchored by four one-day conferences that teach corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, cross sector partnerships and sustainability from leaders in each field.
Applications to attend the February 2009 Institute in Boston are now being accepted at www.startingbloc.org. As an alumnus of the Spring 2008 Institute now working on the Boston alumni board, this is a great opportunity to meet some really amazing people.
—
