I am not sure how many youth focused websites have gotten the word however. More on the Youth Environmentalist Movement and their medium:
http://www.futuremajority.com/
“The Republican party isn’t exactly Internet savvy”
Bloguette Meghan McCain had an interesting article in the Daily Beast yesterday that addresses the techless nature of the GOP.
During the campaign season the only youth outreach I could find coming out of the McCain campaign was Meghan and her friends that traveled with the campaign and reported on the goings on.
Since this seems to be the week of children of the GOP coming out to tell all it is fitting Meghan wanted to talk about her experience as well. She says that the whole idea of the blog and project about being on the trail “was met with confusion and resistance” to begin with. “A few people even asked me what’s a blog.”
For the record, what you’re reading right now…. is a blog.
She also said that she got the idea that people thought she was wasting her time, “The Republican party isn’t exactly Internet savvy,” she says.
I would argue that there are many people in the GOP that are very tech savvy. The College Republicans developed a nice little social network site that no one really uses, if you’re a frequent reader of FM you know we know all about that site. And there are a hand full of remarkable tech savvy guys (sadly they’re all men) who do some good work for a party that has little to no support for them. Meghan’s lament isn’t an isolated one.
“Unless the GOP evolves as the party that can successfully utilize the Web, we’ll continue to lose influence. I think nothing confirms this fact to be more true than this recent election. I don’t claim to be an expert on mobilizing voters, but a significant number of the readers on mccainblogette.com, my blog, were between the ages of 18 and 30, a key demographic that either party would want. Many of the established Republican strategists told me that young people would not visit my web site.”
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Though I am not sure that the Hip Hoppers are on board either:
- Principles of Integrative Health: A Path to Health Care Reform 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
February 23, 2009 - The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
February 24, 2009 - Addressing Underinsurance in National Health Reform 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
February 24, 2009
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It kills me to point out that the Illinois Math and Science Academy page hasn’t been updated since September 2008. What? Did school start or something?:
McCain and Obama: Energy Voting History
Posted by syntaxflute on Friday, September 26, 2008
Watching the presidential debate has pulled my vote in different directions – but I am weary of falling victim to the theatrical allure of words and public speaking when the position comes down to action. If you are interested in the green words the candidates have buzzed about in oration, have a bit of fun.
Past Action predicts present – 50 McCain No votes for energy policies and Obama’s short voting term as Senator.
the significance in voting
But when it comes down to it, policy and action are the skeleton of a candidate. Each offers an Energy Plan – Obama’s ‘New Energy for America’ vs. McCain’s Lexington Project. Obama’s backbone policy: eliminate foreign oil, 1 million hybrid cars by 2015, and a cap and trade program cutting CO2 emissions by 2050. McCain in short: increase off-shore drilling, open domestic natural gas, cap and trade system, construct nuclear plants, a clean car challenge. Refer to the policies and note the time lines and numerical promise as measure of policy strength.
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You would think Solve Climate would be on board with it too. Well not exactly:
February 20, 2009
Reid Plans Climate Change Legislation by End of Summer (AP)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the energy legislation expected to be taken up in the coming weeks will be limited largely to promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Transportation Secretary Eyes Taxing Miles Driven (AP)
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is considering taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn. A few governors are also floating the idea.
Scientists Map CO2 Emissions with Google Earth (AFP)
A team of U.S. scientists unveils an interactive Google Earth map showing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels across the United States.
Cost of Solar Fell 27% in Past Decade (San Francisco Chronicle)
The cost of installing solar panels on homes and businesses fell 27.6 percent from 1998 to 2008, according to a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that questions some of the conventional wisdom about solar’s price.
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These folks basically live in Washington. You would think they would be excited:
http://theusconstitution.org/blog.warming/
Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy
Last night, the NY Times offered hope that the long-awaited endangerment for CO2 finding may soon be near:
Lisa P. Jackson, the new E.P.A. administrator, said in an interview that she had asked her staff to review the latest scientific evidence and prepare the documentation for a so-called endangerment finding. Ms. Jackson said she had not decided to issue such a finding but she pointedly noted that the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. E.P.A., is April 2, and there is the wide expectation that she will act by then.
The article also notes that the endangerment finding “would set off one of the most extensive regulatory rule makings in history,” which may in turn “accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress.” This, of course, is exactly what we have argued should happen, if the Obama Administration is to succeed in bringing about its desired cap-and-trade bill in the near future.
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These folks can be forgiven for not attending. They are in India attending there own conference:
http://www.whatswiththeclimate.org/
Gayatari Pariwar offer full-fledged support to IYCN
Shirdi/ Kabir Arora
The Divine India Youth Association, working under the leadership of Gayatari Pariwar (a Spiritual Organization), offered support to the Indian Youth Climate Network, at a recent conference in Shirdi. Members of the organization pledged to promote eco-friendliness at all of their religious gatherings. Proposals included the use of paper-bags instead of plastic ones, investment in solar powered energy systems, the replacement of plastic cups with traditional clay cups, and the promotion of organic farming as not only an ecological solution but a spiritual pathway as well.
At their gathering at Shirdi, two IYCN members displayed many of the small changes we can all make. People showed keen interest in the IYCN campaign.
Gayatari Pariwar was founded by Shri Ram Sharma Acharya and is now based in Shanti Kunj, Haridwar.
Yes, They Could. So They Did.
February 15, 2009
Thomas Friedman, New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15friedman.html
So I am attending the Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, and during the afternoon session two young American women — along with one of their mothers — proposition me.
“Hey, Mr. Friedman,” they say, “would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?”
Oh, I say, I’ve heard that line before. Ah, they say, but you haven’t seen this car before. It’s a plug-in electric car that is also powered by rooftop solar panels — and the two young women, recent Yale grads, had just driven it all over India in a “climate caravan” to highlight the solutions to global warming being developed by Indian companies, communities, campuses and innovators, as well as to inspire others to take action. (more…)
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They publish Hansen and he doesn’t even mention it. Whoa:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/009432.html
Climate Change Demands a Transformative Change in Direction
WorldChanging Team
February 16, 2009 11:38 AM
by James Hansen
Over a year ago I wrote to Prime Minister Brown asking him to place a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in Britain. I have asked the same of Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd and other world leaders. The reason is this – coal is the single greatest threat to civilization and all life on our planet.
Our global climate is nearing tipping points. Changes are beginning to appear, and there is a potential for explosive changes with effects that would be irreversible – if we do not rapidly slow fossil fuel emissions over the next few decades.
Tipping points are fed by amplifying feedbacks. As Arctic sea ice melts, the darker ocean absorbs more sunlight and speeds melting. As tundra melts, methane a strong greenhouse gas, is released, causing more warming. As species are pressured and exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species. The public, buffeted by day-to-day weather fluctuations and economic turmoil, has little time or training to analyze decadal changes. How can they be expected to evaluate and filter out advice emanating from special economic interests? How can they distinguish top-notch science and pseudoscience – the words sound the same?
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