Van Jones lands at Princeton

Anthony (Van) Jones, who resigned as an environmental policy adviser to the Obama administration after coming under fire from conservatives for past statements and political activities, has been named as a visiting fellow at Princeton University for the coming academic year. A statement being released by the university today says that Mr. Jones will be a distinguished visiting fellow at both its Center for African American Studies and its Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy, and that he will teach a course on race, ecology, and the environment during the spring 2011 semester. Mr. Jones, a 1993 graduate of Yale Law School and co-founder of three advocacy organizations, served as a special adviser to the White House Council on Environmental Quality from March to September of 2009. He left the position after being attacked for publicly using a crude insult in reference to Republicans, signing a petition that questioned whether the Bush administration deliberately allowed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and having past connections to a radical Bay Area group with Marxist origins.

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The Editor

Cold in Copenhagen!!! Report from #COP15.

League of Young Voters Education Fund members, Jayme Montgomery,
Christina Polcari and Courtney Hull on the streets of Copenhagen
discussing the protest they will attend on the morning of December 16,
2009 – follow their trip at http://youngvoter.org/cop15

“There is a big protest in COP tomorrow morning – delegates will walk
out of convention to join thousands in the streets (esp 20,000
people). People are really pissed here because it doesn’t look like
we will have a bold agreement that all countries agree on by the end
of the week. We will be at the protest tomorrow to report!” – Heather
Box

Check the video after the jump!

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Biko Baker

Hit Down Hard in Copenhagen

Heather and Jayme interviewed by Current TV

The League of Young Voters Education Fund is on the scene in Denmark! It was inspiring to fly all the way across the world last night only to disembark from the plane and see dozens of familiar faces walking through the streets of beautiful Copenhagen. Some good friends, some co-workers, some acquaintances; all allies, but the quality they had in common was a visible, tangible feeling of exhaustion. As I jumped up and down in the streets of Denmark, taking in the experience and excited to connect with the people I knew to find out where I should be in the AM to get the best story I was stopped in my tracks by their warnings:

“Heather, lower your expectations. It seems like the decision to make no decision is already set.”

It’s stunning, honestly. So I am in search of the silver lining – the good news from Copenhagen – which I know is here, I just haven’t found it yet. A group of international youth sitting next to me right now are discussing the need for the United States Senate to mandate action in order to make the US move in Copenhagen. They are talking tactics for pressuring Congress. Many people are considering an international push on the US Senate; district by district pressure in the States, massive global direct action … I wish I could jump in the conversation with the answer but there are still so many questions.

What I can say with confidence is that we need to fight the exhaustion and keep pushing our elected officials. We don’t have time for exhaustion, only for action. We need to join the small nations, the independent voices, who are crying out for true change, for diplomacy and equal treatment.

Off to join the conversation – will send updates soon. Less than 24 hours on the ground and it’s a different world…

What’s the view from America?

Posted by:

Heather Box

Green Your Job = Green Yourself?

We tend to do a lot of talking here about greening yourself. Let’s face it, it’s not easy.

A lot of the time, people perceive greening their lifestyles as difficult, financially cumbersome with negligible returns. To reverse a societal norm is damn near impossible, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. This raises an eternally interesting question, however. Does working in an ecofriendly workplace or a green job help one develop a greener personality?

According to a recent NY Times blog, there seems to be no conducive evidence as of yet – research is still relatively new on the subject – but there are many case studies of this actually happening. Take – for instance – a graduate of Solar Richmond, Wayne Gatlin:

“I’m getting greener,” said Mr. Gatlin, who earns far more as a photovoltaics installer for the Berkeley-based Sun Light & Power than he did working security or selling shoes at an Adidas retail store.

“I recycle now,” Mr. Gatlin said. “I ride my bike. This was stuff I wouldn’t do before.”

I can personally say that ever since starting to work at 99Problems.org and The League, I’ve been trying to green my lifestyle with little things: using public transportation whenever possible, bringing my lunch to work in plastic containers rather than paper bags, trying to buy sustainable products… things like that.

What about you? Is your work life conducive to a greener lifestyle?

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Ration Your Carbon: One Coupon At A Time

For the 350 Day of Action – that our friends at the League participated in over at ShutUpWindmill.com – The Ministry of Trying To Do Something About it have.. well.. done something about it.

In true clever form, they created a Carbon Ration Book for distribution, kind of like what was done during World War 2 for various resources such as milk, butter, eggs.

You’re given a set number of carbon credits per month and when you use them up – by, say, driving around or taking a flight – you’re done. It definitely can be an aid to help us put our waste in perspective.

Also, they look pretty awesome. Check out a quote from the creators below:

Here’s something. The Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It have issued ration books so you can play your part in transforming our world into a cleaner and more equitable place – and make yourself a good deal happier along the way. Whilst small actions can lead to change, our ration book shows that a significant shift in the way we live our lives and reducing the sheer amount of stuff we consume is needed. …

Make active choices and change your habits. You might even find that consuming less opens a whole new world of possibilities. With determination, good cheer and your help we can create a safer, fairer world. A planet we’re proud to pass on to future generations.

Check out the Ministry Of Trying To Something About It here.

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Why “Go Green?” Everyone Else Is Doing It.

Lets say you drive a hybrid car, bring your own mug to Starbucks, and always turn the lights off when you leave a room. Why? To save the environment? To conserve energy? Or is it really just to be like everyone else?

According to a study conducted by a professor at Arizona State University, people are more likely to “go green” if they think other people are doing it. He compared the results of hotel-bathroom signs asking guests to reuse towels. The signs stated….  1.) Do it for the environment. 2.) Cooperate with the hotel/Be our partner in this cause.  3.) The majority of guests in the hotel reused towels at least once during their stay.  4.) The majority of guests “in this room” reuse their towels.

The final two signs produced a significant increase in the amount of towels that were reused. Is this really much of a surprise? Of course, we don’t want to ADMIT to being followers… But who really wants to be the only eco-Unfriendly neighbor on the block? So come on and go green….everyone else is doing it.

Posted by:

Kiera Aaron

Who Says You Can’t Pimp An Electric Ride?

Countless men and women across the country will agree with this one: your first ride was your first love. You probably remember it as junky and cheap, prone to breaking down every morning, but you loved it just the same. Let’s face it: even though it probably guzzled gas like Gatorade and needed to be started just the right way or else it might have blown up, it was still yours. In the near future, 16 year olds will remember the first time they plugged their car in, rather than the first time they filled up the gas tank.

Let’s hear about some electric cars and green jobs, after the jump!
… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Why Does John Salley Hate Cheeseburgers?

As a red-blooded, patriotic American male, I take it as my civil right to eat cheeseburgers and french fries. I’m totally aware that it’s not necessarily good for me, but hey, it tastes good and it’s cheap. I wouldn’t call myself a burger aficionado, but let’s just say that every now and then, a Big Mac totally hits the spot.

I sense that some of you out there are jonesing for some Mickey D’s right now. Maybe you should reconsider. The meat that comes from fast food places comes from factory farms, which John Salley, former NBA star and contributor to 99Problems.org, has beef with in this promo video for the documentary Food, Inc:

Okay, I get it. Bad for the environment. But it’s cheap. Actually, you’re paying a higher cost than simply environmental health. Let’s hit up the dollar menu, after the jump! … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Steve Romain