Youth take the lead on Climate at Indigenous Summit in Anchorage

"We refuse to compromise on our future!"

Representatives from indigenous peoples around the world met in Anchorage last week to discuss the impacts of climate change on their communities and cultures, and the best ways to address the climate crisis. Youth leaders were there as well, from the Pacific, Asia, North America, Africa, South America, and the Arctic, including young leaders from Alaska.

As the summit drew to a close, the most challenging issue was whether or not to include a moratorium on new fossil fuel development in the formal declaration. In regional and thematic caucuses the majority agreed with the action, saying it only made sense to deal with the cause instead of only the symptoms. The youth also called for a moratorium, reminding their elders that they would be the ones dealing with the crisis in coming decades. As representatives from one region opposed the moratorium and asked for more compromised language in the consensus document, the youth came to the floor.

"We refuse to compromise our futures!" declared Kandi Mossett, the Tribal Campus Climate Challenge Organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network and a member of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations located on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

As the debate continued, growing increasingly tense, it looked like the moratorium might be cut from the declaration. The youth caucus had an emergency meeting and decided that given the importance of the summit and the upcoming UN Copenhagen climate conference, there must be a strong and clear declaration. Someone had to come out with one, and it looked like it would have to be them.

Miss South Pacific spoke for the youth as they stood up around her, echoing a sentiment expressed earlier by Mossett. "We refuse to compromise on our future," she told the assembly. If you put forth a weak and compromised document, we will come out with a declaration of our own.

In the end, the declaration contained two options regarding the moratorium. The first, endorsed by the youth, states "We call for the phase out of fossil fuel development and a moratorium on new fossil fuel developments on or near Indigenous lands and territories."

The declaration also calls for emission reduction targets of at least 45% below 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 95% by 2050. According to Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Canada, "In order to do that we have to phase out fossil fuels. ... We need to have a moratorium in order to meet those goals."

Anchorage Daily News quoted Andrea Sanders, an Alaskan youth and Renewable Energy Organizer for the Union of Concerned Scientists:

"To be honest, it is all about the drilling," said youth caucus member Andrea Sanders of Bethel. She said some of the delegates representing areas dependent on oil for revenue and jobs are afraid to support a moratorium out of the criticism they would face when returning home.

Sanders said renewable energy is the way to go. "People think that is going to ruin all the jobs, but people working in the oil field on the (North) Slope can be working on new renewable energy projects."

Carbon Toolkit

A great resource for calculating your campus' carbon footprint, setting targets, and reducing emissions, which I encourage all of you to check out:

http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/toolkit/index.php

Summer Work/Training Opportunity

Here's another great opportunity to pursue this summer:

"If you are looking for summer jobs/ internships this summer working on
cutting edge local efforts to build a green economy and inspire
nationwide solutions to global warming and the energy crisis, please
join us this summer for the Summer of Solutions - www.summerofsolutions.org.

The Summer of Solutions is happening in 12 cities nationwide
(locations include Twin Cities MN, Michigan, Omaha NE, and St. Louis
MO as well as CA, MA, OR, TX, VT, WA) and runs for approximately 2
months in each location (dates vary based on program). Each program
will bring together a team of youth leaders from a wide range of
backgrounds and skill-sets to accelerate and launch new initiatives
around energy efficiency, community-based energy, sustainable food
production, sustainable urban design, and green industry by creating
innovative partnerships with existing local groups and structures for
action that can sustain themselves over time. The program fosters
community-based innovation, peer-to-peer learning, and participatory
leadership, and focuses on building a creative community that helps
participants:

1. build their own careers,

2. create models for community-based climate and energy solutions that
are replicable and inform effective regional and national solutions,
and

3. gain the skills to start new initiatives in their own communities.
Applicants and program planners work together to raise the funds to
cover their costs of living and provide a summer stipend for their
participation (or link with related jobs/ internships) - it's sort of
like collaborating with other youth leaders to create your own summer
job. Over the summer, we'll be building scalable and replicable models
for a green economy that can show decision-makers at all levels the
opportunity inherent in a green economy.

If you are looking to experiment and build your skills as a grassroots
innovator of the green economy leader, please apply to join us.

APPLY HERE: http://www.grandaspirations.org/apply.html "

Alaskans speak to "The Cost of Oil" at PowerShift09

Earl Kingik of Point Hope and Rosemary Ahtuangaruak of Nuiksut speak following "The Cost of Oil" film screening at PowerShift09:

VIDEO: Alaksa State Breakout at PowerShift09

A huge thanks to Kale for filming,producing, and sharing!!!

Continuing the Power Shift

Greetings from Fairbanks! I hope every one who attended Power Shift had a safe trip home and has been able to get some rest. We're all dying to know how those lobby meetings went- please fill us in!

Now the real work begins! Like Bailey wrote, one meeting in DC is not enough to accomplish our vision of a clean and just energy future. We need to follow up, follow up, follow up. Here are some next steps for the coming weeks:

1) MEDIA. Get in touch with your school papers, local papers, radio stations, etc. If they haven't run a story yet, make sure they do! Also try letters to the editors if you can't get the article you want published. You can find resources at www.climatechallenge.org or on the Power Shift website: www.powershift09.org.

2) MEETINGS. Let's get face-to-face meetings with our congresspeople while they're on recess. They need to know that appeasement is not enough- we need action! This is an issue that is concrete and real here in Alaska, and it needs to be dealt with HERE. Is anyone willing to take the lead in scheduling some meetings? http://www.senate.gov http://www.house.gov

3) NETWORKING. Recruit your friends, add them to the google email list, invite them to the blog, get in contact with people on the list who share your interests- or who you met with in the task force groups- and plan a campaign. If you need any help coordinating or networking, please let me know!

4) TRAINING. There are some great upcoming opportunities to hone your skills as organizers and activists. I'll keep posting them and forwarding them as they come to my attention, and I encourage you to do the same. Sierra Student Coalition is running trainings all across the country this summer on Youth Grassroots Organizing Training. It looks like an amazing training, and these skills can really make the difference in taking your groups from a bunch of people who want to see change to a movement of activists who are making change. The website is http://www.ssc.org/sprog/

5) OUTREACH. Post your photos on facebook and flickr, tag them, and let your friends and networks know what's going on!

Finally, I think it might be helpful to have a teleconference in the next week or so to all touch base. Let's plan an agenda before hand so that it goes smoothly.

Thank you for all your work!

Peace,

Faye

Lobby Day Updates

Could someone put up a brief synopsis of how things went at the 3 meetings during Lobby Day?  I would love to hear how everything went, what was discussed, how it was received, etc.  since unfortunately I wasn't able to stay into the afternoon.  Thanks!

lobby day follow up

I hope you all made it back safely to wherever you came from.
I was really excited after talking to the senators and Young's staff, and I felt like they took us seriously, but after a few days I started wondering again how much was just the expected "political listening" without actually hearing. Should we have been more demanding? What could we do to follow up and show that we are serious? Maybe more info on the Udall bill? phone calls? Young's staff seemed genuinely interested when they heard they could get their hands on more money for AK.

Countdown to Power Shift 09

In one week, 10,000 youth environmental activists will converge on Washington, DC to demand urgent action on climate, energy, and the economy. They will demand that the President and Congress pass bold climate and energy policies that dramatically reduce carbon emissions, create millions of green jobs, transition towards a clean energy future, and reengage the US as an environmental leader in the global community. Among the thousands will be an Alaskan delegation, comprised of eight students from across the state who are looking to gain inspiration, experience, and skills to share with their movements back home.

The Power Shift ’09 summit will bring together young leaders from across the US and Canada, and will include workshops, speakers and musicians. It will close with a Lobby Day Monday, March 2, where the young people will meet with elected officials at the Capitol and put forward their ideas on climate action.

“Alaska is truly on the front line of climate change. It is critical that our new administration and our members of Congress understand that climate change is happening now, and it’s happening here,” says Faye Gallant of Fairbanks, the Tribal Campus Climate Challenge organizer for Alaska and a Power Shift attendee. “This reality needs to be reflected in our energy policy.”

The Alaska delegation is made up of students from Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA), including students from Alaska Pacific University and University of Alaska Anchorage. There will also be students from Alaska who are now at school in the lower 48 and abroad, and representatives from National Wildlife Foundation and the Fairbanks office of Tribal Campus Climate Challenge.

“Alaska Youth for Environmental Action planted the seed of inspiration to affect the world around me in a positive way, and I hope to hold onto this inspiration by attending Power Shift 2009,” says Madelin Siedler of Wasilla, a former member of AYEA who is now a freshman at Bard College in New York. “I hope it will give me a renewed sense of empowerment and dedication to bettering my world, not only for those around me, but for those to come.”

Look for upcoming posts from the delegation about their experiences at Power Shift!


For more info, visit www.powershift09.org

Welcome!

Welcome to Hot in AK! This site has been created as a way for youth environmental activists from across Alaska to come together, share their stories, network, and support each other's efforts. If you have ideas for artwork, videos, design, or any other formatting for the site, or if you'd like to contribute, please contact Faye.

Please take ownership!