Damn. As I watch Kobe walk off the court, he yells “f**k you” to a player, ref or a fan. In what seems to be not the best game for the Championship Lakers, a frustrated Kobe is ejected after receiving a charge followed by a technical. While Milwaukee residents celebrate what their struggling franchise is finally doing right, Los Angeles fans are trying to figure out, “What the hell went wrong?”

Saw something crazy over on Huffington Post today about midwestern states and ten degree rises in temperature by 2010; farmers will be effed, oh they will be seriously effed (and what do farmers grow? Food. And who eats food? We do!), but the best part of the article is the classic regurgitation of what could surely be the epitaph on civilization’s uncelebrated tombstone: “[S]enators from Kansas, which will be most ravaged by climate change, are unlikely to support legislation addressing it.”

Let me try to understand. And yes, it has been said; I know I beat my head against it with nearly every environmental article I read. The planet is boiling, and our elected officials ‘are unlikely’ to support legislation addressing it?

What should we do to pull their heads out of the clouds and get them down here on the ground where the birds and bees are dying, crops are failing and all of Earth’s alarm bells are shrieking out our danger? Not that many of us can can hear, we’ve all got fingers in our ears, we use our chemically whitened teeth to rip the plastic off our burgers/ipods/American Apparel V-neck Summer Tees.

Feels kind of like life in an ivory tower; close the shutters, turn on your central air, and you can easily forget that your kids’ kids’ kids are gonna spend their days dressed in retro leather drinking irradiated water and scrounging pre-apocalyptic twinkies from the ruins of this little thing called Life.

This has to be the realization of a horrible Catch 22 situation: to accomplish anything in our society, one must amass power through cultural appeal, moderation and strategic alliance building; but the System is so far gone, our captains of industry and politics are so beyond the point of no return, that anyone who lets intuition drive his/her analysis of our environmental situation will end up ostracizing themselves because increasingly, horribly, it just doesn’t look like there’s a way out of this mess.

We’re on a super fast train riding magnetic tracks off a thousand foot cliff and we’re stuck arguing about a coal vs. solar powered caboose? We need to stop the effing train!

But no one wants to talk on that level, because 1.) it makes you sound crazy and 2.) the American zeitgeist says that ‘well, action is better than just words, so even though I just scratch the surface at least it’s something, right?”  Sure.  Ride the subway in New York City and marvel at Con Ed’s helpful tips for how to be a greener citizen.  I’m sure that deciding what you want to eat for your midnight snack before you open the refrigerator is the miracle for which we’ve all been waiting.

But I don’t know what to  do.  Real talk, I feel a horrible guilt ridden duality; I enjoy my job. I love the internet, I want freaking ipods and American Apparel, but I think our society is seriously messed.  We’ve sold the land out, and like a plane ride to a foreign country with a fake passport and a duffel full of cash, the baubles I’ve collected and the bullet points on my resume read like a sociopath’s sick manifesto. I’m a convicted convict.  So right to live in the age we live but there’s always a catch, ain’t there?

And this time, it’s the Climate.  It’s the air we breath.  We think we’re making major progress – civil rights, women’s rights, universal health care – but we’re still pushing the limits of what we can get wrong, and I’m afraid we’re going to take the whole planet with us.  And I know it sounds stupid, but that just doesn’t feel fair.

We’re humans, damnit; religion, space travel, 808s and heartbreak…all this time, I thought we were something special.  So why can’t we feel the world’s pain?

Ahhh Generation Y. The Generation that grew up with lyrics our parents can’t decipher and technology they don’t understand. Just what exactly is Gen Y? Basically, if you’re born between the early 80s to the early 90s, you’re a part of it. But here, let’s allow Urban Dictionary to further define us: according to one editor of the site, we are “hyper-active, hyper-sexed, ADD-affected psychopath crack baby offspring of Baby Boomers, also known in popular parlance as Generation Y.” Ouch. That’s a bit harsh, doncha think?

I do. I love my generation. Which is why I was pretty damn pleased to find an article on 80 Million Strong detailing just how awesome our generation is (props!). Never mind the claims that we are pampered, narcissistic, consumer-driven, useless versions of Gen X. According to Forbes Magazine, we are the “altruistic generation.” F%#* yah! This is what I wanna hear (and yup, I’m aware that I’m living up to the self-absorbed stereotype of Gen Y. Just call me a cliché and get on with it).

The best part is, there’s evidence to back up the article. A study by the Center for Work-Life Policy found that we are driven, dedicated, and devoted to social welfare. And this is reflected in our workplaces: 88% of Gen Y women and 82% of Gen Y men believe it’s important to be able to give back to community through work. And we expect our employers to back us up. Which is why we are seeking out employers that offer us the opportunity to help, whether by giving us time off to volunteer, or devoting a percentage of profits to a worthy cause. Instead of going straight into the workforce after we’re educated, we are taking time off to travel, volunteer, and intern. And instead of solely valuing money and benefits, we are choosing jobs that enable us to prioritize what is most important to us: family, friends, volunteering, and fulfillment. We want to work, but we also want to impact change and make a difference in this world.

So the next time you see us twittering away on our newfangled technology, ask not what we’re doing, but wh(Y) we’re doing it—you’ll likely find out it has something to do with saving the world.

The League was there on the scene at Power Shift 2009 and we want to congratulate all the participants for the biggest, most inspiring energy conference yet. Van Jones was on the scene, The Roots were on the scene…for a few days D.C. was the home of ten thousand kids from across the country, and the passion and inspiration we saw is all the motivation we need to know that Green Jobs are the way of the future, and we’ve got to spread the word.

So, without further ado, we present LYVEF’s Power Shift 2009 coverage.

Astronauts can see trash in the ocean from space? That’s insane. We have got to get up for our planet, make a stand like this ol’ world deserves. We’re not just gonna talk at you, though; this week we’ll be bringing you info you can use to start tipping the balance from pollution to people power.

This is our world, and we gotta stand up in the greatest tradition of American society; stand up for change when it seems impossible, when all the odds are against us. The world is at stake, and everything that we have is imperiled. There’s never been a more important moment to be on the right side of history!

Over the last few days, the staff at 99problems.org has been pouring over video and pictures from our time at the Power Shift Youth Energy Summit in D.C. last weekend, as well as interviews we’ve conducted. This footage, from Lauren London, brought everything back home for me.

Watching the passionate appeals I witnessed last week– for brotherhood, for unity– I couldn’t help but be reminded of Kanye West’s emotional, awesome honesty on live T.V. after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. His heart was open. He appeared on T.V. because he is famous, but the words he spoke were ordinarily, extraordinarily, human.

I am from Mississippi. I was in New York City working on a Bollywood film production when Katrina happened. The first people who approached me about the tragedy were members of the Indian film crew; before I even got a call from my parents, and my friends on the coast, I was embraced and comforted by these people from the other side of the world. It was less than a year after the devastating tsunami that killed more than 225,000 people on the coasts of Asia. For them, Katrina hit close to home, and they reached out to me.

In the absence of existing leaders, we must become the guardians of our people. With an incredible President like Barack Obama, we must support him, guide him, and –above all– enable him to be our keeper. The great man he is capable of being.

The Youth Energy movement must be a celebration of our world; a recognition of our human fragility, and a confirmation of our ability to transcend race, transcend culture, and see the joy and sorrow that unites our journeys through life, no matter the particular roads we walk.

We’re getting psyched about this.

In 2007, the Energy Action Coalition put together the original Power Shift. Thousands of kids from around the country descended on Washington for 3 days in November, and the energy they brought to the green jobs movement was 100% renewable.

In 2009, we’re going back to D.C. for Power Shift 09. Our government made us a promise, and we’re gonna make sure it’s kept. Power Shift is going down February 27th through March 2nd. 99problems.org is going to be all over the scene, bringing you exclusive video, blogs, and photos of America’s brightest activists and artists.

Looking to learn a bit more about Powershift?
We got the info for you!
Got a Facebook? BAM!
How ’bout a Myspace? POW!
Thinking about attending AND JOINING THE 99PROBLEMS TEAM AT THE CONFERENCE IN DC? KACHOW!

Today’s Artist: Guster

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuYfM5rdgKM