Our brand new site is up and running! Check it out the official conference website at http://www.michigan.powershift09.org/.

We have an exciting blog that we will update on a regualr basis, info about confirmed speakers and entertainment, workshops and classes, and you can register at the site!

Pass it on!

The Michigan Power Shift Team

This fall, take part in one of the largest student movements in the nation –
Power Shift Michigan 2009

Join students from across Michigan in Lansing, October 9 – 11th!

The conference will provide students with the training and tools to become leading activists in the fight for Clean Energy legislation. Participants will learn how to organize their campuses, work with legislators, build the grassroots movement in their communities, and hear from incredible guest speakers.

Follow us on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/PowerShiftMI09

If you are interested in being part of the planning committee for the conference, go here:

To be the first to hear about the details of Power Shift Michigan 2009, just fill out the form below! We’ll be getting in touch with you soon on how to register for the Conference.

 Join us at the Michigan Green Today, Jobs Tomorrow Conference in Lansing, Michigan on Monday, May 11th.

The Conference is organized by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.  The registration for students is $35.  It is being held at the Lansing Center, and registration is on-site from this point on.  For more information, please check out: http://migreenjob.com/

After the conference we will be holding a free reception at 5 p.m. at the Nuthouse Bar and Grill located across the street from the conference center (420 EAST MICHIGAN AVENUE, LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933).

We will be providing food and networking with some of Michigan’s top organizations creating green jobs right now, including:

Michigan Environmental Council

Urban Options

Sierra Club

Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice

Global Exchange

League of Conservation Voters

Clean Water Action

Repower America

Detroit Youth Energy Squad 

In addition to the air pollution that escapes the smoke stacks day-in-and-day-out, the complex produces coal ash by the ton (as do all coal plants) and stores it in poorly regulated retention ponds. Coal ash contains high concentrations of beryllium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, selenium, arsenic, and mercury. For years, two of the Karn Weadock ponds have been leaching into the Saginaw Bay only a few football fields away from these nine homes and others.

When 125 students from nine schools across Michigan united at the public hearing in Bay City, we united for a properous and sustainable economy for all and the present conditions those who’s lives are endangered or cut short by coal’s toxic lifecycle.

We, however, were not the only constituency out in force yesterday.

The wheels of the coal propaganda machine have been turning in Michigan! Duped community members display signs reading “Clean Coal = Michigan Jobs,” and hundreds of union workers from the electricians, the brick layers, the boiler makers, and the iron workers wore America’s Power’s clean coal t-shirts. The union leadership, understandably grasping for any jobs to be found, required them to be there.

There was a tangible tension in the air. Again, understandably so. The coal propaganda machine has been working overtime, and old school environmentalism has left much of the working class with a deep-set distrust of anyone resembling an environmentalist. We will need to overcome this to win the world we want.

In over 70 public comments, stretching late into the night, members of the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition pointed to the many flaws in the permit under question, articulated a vision for clean energy and green jobs for ourselves and the unions, and shed light on the life cycle impacts of coal – from the broken mountaintops of Appalachia to the toxic ponds leaching into the Saginaw Bay. And though we made our pro-labor stance clear (one commenter began “My father is in UAW, his father was in UAW, my mother is in the teacher’s union and I’ve worked for AFSCME and the Teamsters, and this is the first time I’ve been in a room full of angry union members, and not been one of them”) it is going to take more than rhetoric to win their support – especially in places in Michigan, where unemployment is nearing 12%.

The few public officials and union representatives who spoke in favor of coal gave the usual arguments, ranging from the Machiavellian intentional misinformation presentations from the likes of Dow Chemical and bought politicians, to earnest pleas for jobs from workers.

Our movement needs to build working class credibility. And when I say build, I mean build. No matter the elegant perfection of our green jobs and clean energy talking points and fact sheets or our nuanced understanding of class oppression, a message cannot trump the promise of a job when few jobs are to be found. I spoke with many of the workers there, and it became quite clear to me that they aren’t pro-coal. They are pro-job. We’ve got common ground there.

I am left with two questions after last night’s hearing. Given the absolute imperative of rapidly transitioning away from coal, which includes blocking all 8 of the proposed coal plants in Michigan, how can we build alliances with those who would gain employment in the construction or operation of a new coal plant? I know the talking point “their skills are skills for the clean energy economy,” but a talking point, true as it is, does not provide a firm enough foundation for an alliance. Secondly, how do we ensure that the green economy does not reproduce the same class oppressions that have divided us for too long?

The fact that 125 students from every corner of the state came together for this public hearing made it a great success and a clear sign of the growing strength of the youth climate movement. As we move forward, however,  creating, not just articulating in talking points, the answers to those questions will be fundamental to the success of our movement.

Dear Leader,

Did you hear that on Next Wednesday April 15th the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is holding it’s first public coal plant hearing, since Governor Granholm called for a switch to clean, renewable energy?  This hearing will determine the future of coal in Michigan.

We need the largest, loudest presence at the coal plant hearing possible.  To make that happen, the M.S.S.C. is holding a rally before the Public Hearing on Wednesday, April 15th 2009, 4:30 to 6:00 pm.  After the rally we will enter the public hearing starting at 7 p.m.

We are booking buses around the state to get as many students as possible to the event.  It will be only $10 for food and transportation to the event – please sign up here to come with us!

Register for a bus ticket in your area here

To prep for the meeting – Join us for a Bay City Coal Plant strategy call this Wed,9:00 PM to discuss the Bay City Coal Plant Proposal and what we as young people can do to help build a clean energy future in Michigan and stop the coal rush. 

The dirty energy companies are already mobilizing to push the plant through. We need to be organized to fight back.   Whether you are the head of an organization or just concerned about the issue, this call is a great chance to learn what is going on and how you can make a difference. 

Bay City Coal Plant Strategy Call

Wednesday, April 8th, 9:00PM ET
Call this Number:     712-432-1620    
Enter this Code: 443706#

On the call we’ll discuss:

- Overview of the 930 MW Coal Plant Proposal by Consumers Energy in Bay City, Michigan

- Discussion of our principles moving forward

- Brainstorm on effective strategies to stop the coal plant and replace it with renewable energy and energy efficiency

- Unveiling of our April 15th Rally in Bay City!

- Q&A

Can’t wait to talk,

The Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition Climate Team

Brandon Knight
Field Campaigner
Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition

P.S. –

More Information about the Hearings and the Coal Plant:

http://www.deq.state.mi.us/aps/downloads/rop/pub_ntce/roppn.shtml
Visit www.CleanEnergyNowMi.org to find out more about concerns with this permit application. 
COMMENTS CAN ALSO BE SUBMITTED ONLINE IF YOU AREN’T ABLE TO ATTEND: 

Go to www.CleanEnergyNowMi.org and click on the TAKE ACTION option on the top of the homepage….where there are 3 optional letters regarding Mercury, Global Warming & Health concerns that you can chose from. 

NOTE- If you can, it’s important to individualize the letter you choose, by adding in your own additional comment(s) in the box provided.  The website also contains information on the Coal Rush to our state along with information regarding the 7 other proposed coal plants for Michigan.
  
For more information contact or visit www.CleanEnergyNowMi.org

You brought the call for clean and just energy in Michigan to our Nation’s capital, and had crucial lobby visits with Michigan Congressional members, incredible media hits across the state and the country, participated in a own congressional briefing, and even a direct thank you from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, we know we were heard like never before.

Now it’s time to make sure we bring the Power Shift home!

Convening in Washington, DC was an important first step in making sure we were on the radar of the new Administration and Congress, but organizing in our communities and continuing to build our movement is going to be what brings home a bold climate bill this year.

These next two weeks are a critical time for us to regroup and plot our path forward, so we’ve put together a set of easy steps to continue the discussion with your representatives and build pressure for bold climate and clean energy legislation.

http://www.powershift09.org/organizers/materials

The March 2nd Lobby Day was crucial to get things started, but now we need to show our reps that we are serious, that we’re not going away, and we’re only growing more powerful.

If you are interested in becoming a local organizer in your district in Michigan, please sign up here

Once you sign up, a Michigan Power Shift organizer will contact you right away. But don’t wait for us, get started in your local group today and start a plan to engage Congress in your district.

http://www.powershift09.org/organizers/materials

- Students lobby green ideals in D.C. – Central Michigan University Life, featuring Chelsea Hummon on the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition

- Students visit D.C. for energy conference - The North Wind (NMU student paper), featuring Callie Youngman a NMU student

- Power Shift ’09: 12,000+ Students Attend Largest Youth Summit on Climate Change in US History - Democracy Now, featuring Nikki Motson of Clean Water Action Lansing.

- GV students to join ‘green’ march in Washington - GVSU Lanthorn, featuring Danielle Ostafinski of the MSSC GVSU chapter

-  http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=264786 - Channel 7 and 4 Traverse City, Northwestern Michigan College students Colin Campbell and Julia Hemphill were featured on the 11 o’clock NBC news last week in Traverse City.

- Michigan Students Converge on Washington for Energy Policy – WKZO News

- Local Students Heading to D.C. – WWMT Channel 3 Kalamazoo – Featuring Kalamazoo College Students

- Gov. Granholm: Utilities Should Make Money by Selling Less Power, New Coal is Unnecessary - www.itsgettinghotinhere.org

- Power Shift Cimate Protest Gathers Momentum in Washington – www.commondreams.org

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Power Shift in general has been amazing but my biggest highlight so far was the Michigan breakout. The breakout consisted of a meeting with all 430 Michigan Power Shift attendees. The breakout gave us an insight into the size and diversity of the youth climate movement in Michigan.

Michigan Students just after the Breakout

Over 23 schools and various non-profit organizations presented the work being done in their respective communities regarding all things Power Shift.

Some of the projects included campus sustainability initiatives, state and federal policy initiatives, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and that’s just the start of what’s going on in Michigan today.

The breakout was a culminating moment after a month of successful initiatives and campaigns including:

• Regeneration: The 2009 M.S.S.C. Summit
• Two campaign victories in Marquette:
  - Northern Michigan University coal plant has been put on ice by the EPA
  - Cennicot pulled out of it’s proposal to build a (destructive) sulfide mine in the Yellow Dog Plains
• Our Clean Energy Love press conference and campaign in support of Gov. Granholm’s strong backing for renewable energy and an end to coal in her recent State of the State of Address

Starting on Thursday and Friday seven buses came from various campuses across Michigan bringing a total of 430 students out of 10,000 present.

Here’s a glimpse of what a Power Shift looks like:

On Friday, the conferences kicked off with some our movements most visionary leaders including Van Jones and Majora Carter. The evening was focused on solutions to the climate crisis and creating a green collar economy.

Keep checking for more conference updates!