Tonight the CCN Core Team decided to join what’s being touted as the largest internet protest in history: the fight against online censorship.

If you haven’t heard yet, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) will be voted on in the House and Senate, respectively, next week. The Huffington Post says “SOPA would give both the government and major corporations the power to shut down entire websites accused of copyright infringement with neither a trial nor a traditional court hearing … The proposed legislation has startled tech experts and free speech advocates, who warn that the anti-piracy tactics envisioned by the bill would bring about widespread censorship of legitimate content and hamper important cybersecurity measures.”

The article says Oregon senator Jeff Merkley has officially opposed PIPA, while Ron Wyden plans to filibuster; I’m unsure about Washington’s senators think about it. Regardless, the next seven days are your chance to speak up on SOPA and PIPA.

Here are some easy actions to take (in order of importance and greatest impact):

1. CALL YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE! Here are contact lists for Washington and Oregon – tell your representatives to oppose internet censorship!
2. Spread the word on your social media outlets: post on Twitter, Facebook and other sites to let your networks know about SOPA and how they can help.
3. If you have a website, make it go black tomorrow for the online SOPA protest. WordPress has quite a few anti-SOPA plugins, which are really easy to install. (More ways to strike online can be found here.)

The CCN’s website will be black tomorrow in solidarity with Wikipedia, Google, WordPress and many other sites protesting SOPA and PIPA. Please do what you can to oppose internet censorship!

Best,
Monica

Today, the Obama administration delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline!!!

This is a huge win for the climate. For more information, see the links below.

NYTimes article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/us/politics/administration-to-delay-pipeline-decision-past-12-election.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Tar Sands Action letter from Bill McKibben announcing win: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/big-news-won-won/

CCN affiliate school Whitman College participated in Power Shift’s 100 Actions for 100% Clean Energy last month. Here’s a write-up of the event, originally featured on WeArePowerShift.org.

After months of planning, Power Shift West 2011 is finally here! The event kicked off Friday afternoon with three keynote speakers who motivated the hundreds of students who traveled from Washington, Idaho, Montana, California and beyond to attend this grassroots environmental activism conference.

CCN co-organizers Emma Newman and Lauren Ressler introduced the first two speakers, Dave Cobb of Move To Amend and Rob Dietz of Center for the Advancement of the Steady-State Economy, and also talked about the CCN and Sierra Student Coalition during breaks between the speakers. The last keynote speaker, Cylvia Hayes (first lady of Oregon with decades of sustainable energy experience), was introduced by ASUO president (and proud NW SPROG 2011 alum) Ben Eckstein.

All three keynotes addressed the frustration caused by environmentally-degrading lifestyles and industries, as well as the opportunity – and the responsibility – to change them. If anything, Power Shift West will show our regional communities that we are ready and willing to accept that challenge. As Dave Cobb said, “what we know is the global climate crisis is the issue to solve,” and the systemic change we need is possible, but only if we work together to achieve it.

So get your hard hats on, Power Shifters – it’s going to be a long, action-filled weekend!

For all the latest updates, check out CCN’s Twitter account.

The CCN proudly supports the following action described below by our Coalitions facilitator Natalie Eberts:

3 Targets . . . 2 Issues . . . 1 All-Out Action!

Join the Energy Action Coalition, Rainforest Action Network, ForestEthics, and Coal Action Network for an amazing march after Powershift to put all the amazing energy from the weekend into action for the crucial issues of TarSands and Coal Exports!

Here’s a snapshot:

• “Returning” Grocery Bags of Tar Sands Destruction at Safeway, a giant corporate buyer of Tarsands Oil
• A “Die-In” and Street Theater at the Bank of America, the single largest funder of Coal Exports, on the weekend of “Move Your Money Day”
• A mock Clean Energy Campaign office at the Lane County Democrats HQ in solidarity with the Tar Sands Action at the White House

Lauren Ressler, CCN interim Washington co-director and Sierra Student Coalition coordinator for the Pacific NW, wrote this blog about her trip to CCN-affiliated communities in Oregon and Washington. This post was originally featured on WeArePowerShift.org

After stops at twelve universities over the course of eighteen days in a journey totaling over one thousand miles I have reached an important conclusion: students in the Pacific Northwest are taking campus climate organizing to new heights. Here is what a small fraction of these schools are doing:

Did you know the students at Western Washington University are trying to protect their community from a massive coal export facility being proposed just a few miles off campus? Their first kick off meeting garnered the participation of more than 100 students inspired by some seriously herculean outreach efforts lead by a small number of young people who don’t want to breath the harmful dust from the coal trains; who don’t want their bay to suffer from black tides as a result of the same contamination entering the waterways of Bellingham; who don’t want their city to be the lifeline between the US and Asia for one of the dirtiest industries in the world. Western student, Chelsea Thaw, commented, “The energy at the meeting was palpable. This issue has been a galvanizing force for student activists and an opportunity to learn from elders in the community who have grown up the town are fighting to keep it the way they remember it.”

Have you heard about the creative way Whitman students are showing solidarity with the global movement to stop the development of the Keystone XL pipeline? At a school of only 1500 students, they are organizing more than 50 volunteers to visually represent how all students, no matter their origin, are affected by fossil fuel consumption by creating a human map of the US. This is the launch event for a bold beyond fossil fuels campaign that is already getting significant attention.

Moving south, my visit to Portland left me thinking about food in an entirely new way. I am an urban gardener and frequenter of many a farmers market, so you might be surprised that I had an incredible time planning a Fried Food Fest with students at the University of Portland. Members of the Biodiesel club at UP are turning grease to gas that will power many campus appliances. Co-founder, Dan Browne, says, “It has been fascinating hearing everyone’s different interests in biodiesel from business to engineering this year. There are so many different facets to biodiesel that anyone can get involved; you get out what you put in.”

Eugene, OR was the southernmost point of my epic journey and it did not disappoint. The students of the University of Oregon will be hosting Power Shift West the weekend of November 4-6 and they are working tirelessly to make this the most inspiring event of the season. During my stay I witnessed late evening phone bank sessions, logistical meetings, and some serious on-campus recruitment from the members of the Climate Justice League and OSPIRG. I can’t wait to return in just a few short weeks to witness this empowering event. If you want to see the energy and amazing work of students of the Northwest in person join us for Power Shift West November 4-6 at the University of Oregon.

The second Power Shift West is happening November 4-6 at the University of Oregon in Eugene. (For a full description of what Power Shift West is all about, see our previous blog post.) Volunteers and bottom-liners are still needed to organize the conference, and we at the CCN strongly encourage people to sign up for a team.

Below are contacts for each of the organizers; please get in touch with them or fill out the volunteer interest form. Thanks and see you soon at Power Shift West!

Across the country a bold movement is emerging to demand a clean and sustainable future. People of all ages and backgrounds are coming together to show industry and politicians that we will not let our country continue its dangerous addiction to fossil fuels and youth are at the forefront. Whether it is in DC resisting the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline, in Appalachia resisting the destructive process of mountaintop removal or in cities resisting the placement of toxic industries near low-income communities our generation is taking a crucial role in this process.

In the Pacific Northwest, we face numerous and complex problems. There is the export of coal to Asian markets, the expansion of clear cutting in ancient forests, the importation of tar sands equipment, unsustainable food systems, close ties between industry and politicians, and the ongoing inequity in the distribution of environmental harm in our own communities. Yet we also know how powerful we are when we come together as a movement. Youth environmental activists have been victorious in gradually phasing out coal plants, defeating LNG export terminals, and passing some of the boldest climate legislation in the country.

That is why on November 4th-6th, members of the youth environmental movement from up and down the west coast are going to Eugene for Power Shift West. The weekend long conference will have speakers, panels, skill building workshops and opportunities to network with other leaders of the youth climate movement. We gather to deepen our understanding of the systems that are destroying the environment and to develop tools to dismantle those systems and construct equitable and sustainable alternatives.

We demand a viable future where the health of our communities and our land is put above the profit of corporations. Come join us and be part of this growing movement.

Get involved today by registering to join us at Power Shift West.

Attend on Facebook & follow us on Twitter.

CCN Members are Drawn to Washington, D.C. to Stop Keystone XL Pipeline

On August 20, 2011, Americans of all ages, including Bill McKibben and members of the Cascade Climate Network (Chelsea Thaw and David Kellner-Rode), kicked off the largest climate civil disobedience action in U.S. history by being arrested in front of the White House in protest of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. Over 2,000 people from all 50 states have signed up to risk arrest in the next two weeks as part of the Tar Sands Action.

James Hansen, a world-renowned climatologist, said that using the Alberta, Canada tar sands would be “essentially game over” for the climate. The tar sands are a huge threat to the climate since estimates say that they contain at least 400 GtC (equivalent to about 200 ppm CO₂) according to the International Panel on Climate Change (see IPCC Fourth Assessment Report). They also require 4 barrels of water to produce 1 barrel of oil and produce 2-4 times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil.

While I was at the Sierra Student Coalition’s Shindig gathering in St. Louis this past week, I went to a presentation on the tar sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline. I learned that the pipeline threatens biodiversity, clean water sources for people in the western United States, and land owned by residents on the path from Alberta, Canada to the oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico (see map of proposed pipeline route here). I was most shocked that a similar pipeline has spilled 12 times in the past year (averaging once a month) since the tar sands are incredibly thick and difficult to transport. The Keystone XL would open up the heartland of the United States to oil spills similar to the BP spill.

According to the U.S. Department of State, “the proposed Keystone XL Project would consist of approximately 1,711 miles of new, 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with approximately 327 miles of pipeline in Canada and approximately 1,384 miles in the United States” (Keystone XL Project). The miles of pipeline would destroy acres of agricultural and indigenous lands.

On Wednesday, I will be joining a cross-country caravan that is holding events in different states on their way to D.C. to take part in the action. To follow the tar sands actions and caravan, please visit http://www.tarsandsaction.org/ and http://notarsandscaravan.org/.

Sign the Tar Sands Petition here: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/obama-petition/

Please contact me, Emma Newman (emma.newman@gmail.com), to help with spreading the word or taking other actions in solidarity of those risking arrest in Washington, D.C.