What We Do

Current Projects

Energy Action Coalition run collaborative campaigns theat help to build and strengthen the movement and create tangible changes on the local, state, national and international levels. Check out our current projects...

 

Power Vote

Power Vote is a program that will inspire and empower a mass movement of young people to turn up the volume on the issue of the climate in the 2008 elections. It will involve mobilizing hundreds of thousands of new voters to vote this November and stay engaged for years to come. Power Vote will build the youth climate movement and train leaders to execute large-scale events around the climate (focused on coal, green jobs, and local issues) and engage hundreds of thousands of voters who pledge to vote on the climate, and commit to help produce a record turnout of young CLIMATE voters in the 2008 elections.

Check out the Power Vote Website! 

Climate Challenge

The Campus Climate Challenge was the first major program undertaken by the Energy Action Coalition- and it's been wildly successful. Within 3 years we wanted youth to have demanded (and gotten) commitments from 1,000 schools to become climate neutral. Right now, we have over 550 schools signed on and counting. The inspiring youth activists in our coalition have seen to it that private universities, state school systems, community and trade colleges, tribal colleges, historically black colleges and universities, high schools, and middle schools are models for what the clean energy revolution will look like. For more information and to get your school on board, go to www.climatechallenge.org

Fossil Fools Day

Fossil Fool's Day puts the action in Energy Action Coalition. Every year since the founding of the coalition, young people from around the U.S. and Canada have had a collective day of action on April 1st to challenge the fossil fuel industry. Hundreds of campuses and communities have participated by hosting events and film screenings, and protesting at dirty energy sites. Fossil Fools Day 2008 is shaping up to be bigger than ever with youth from around the world standing up to dirty energy as usual and ushering in a clean and just energy future. For more info and to plan an action in your area, visit FossilFools08.org.

Video Project

The Energy Action video program was launched at Power Shift '07 where 30 young people were trained in digital video techniques and assisted in creating some awesome videos documenting their experience at Power Shift. Now the video program is working to distribute video equipment to young people to engage in digital story telling in their communities. Visit the video site for more information.


 

Past Campaigns

Check out what amazing campaigns, events and actions EAC has done over the years.

 

Power Shift '07

On November 2-5 2007, the Energy Action Coalition brought over 7,000 youth from around the country to Washington, DC area for a long weekend of climate learning and action called Power Shift. On Monday, November 5 over 3,000+ of these youth descended on Capitol Hill where they rallied and met with their Senators and Congresspeople to demand bold political action on climate change. Check out details, photos, and video from the first ever national youth climate summit at PowerShift07.org.

 

International Climate Negotiations in Montreal - Nov.- Dec. 05

In the fall of 2005 hundreds of youth from around the glob converged on Montreal, Canada for the International Climate Negotiations. It was the 1st Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol and a pivitol moment of the future of international efforts to curd green house gas emissions. Youth participated in official and unofficial capacities doing anything they could to pressure the delegates to strengthen the international efforts. The activities in Montreal where broadcast live to the world through the collaborative youth media project Its Getting hot In Here. The project was an enormous success with over 120 posts from 30+ student leaders, capturing the emotion of the Montreal negotiations and broadcasting it to thousands of daily readers. In its first month, the blog received major media hits including the New York Times, Reuters, BBC and SEED Magazine. Read all about Montreal in the Its Getting Hot In Here archives.

Road to Detroit - Summer 2005

In the Summer of 2005 Energy Action organizers boarded hybrid cars and a biodiesel bus to travel the country organizing events in local communities, recruiting youth to work on energy issues, and working in key states to pressure administrative policymakers to adopt Clean Cars Bills. Along the way the Road to Detroit crew worked to inspire young and old alike to take the Clean Car Pledge and commit to making their next car a green one.

2nd Annual Fossil Fools Day! - April 1st 2005

 

Ford Announces Climate Change Report one day before Fossil Fools Day!

"Ford's move is a concession to shareholder activists who have been pressuring the auto maker for several years to do more to address global warming."
- The Wall Street Journal

 

Over 300 groups took action across the US, Canada, England, Nigeria, & Panama for the 2nd annual Fossil Fools Day on April 1! Energy Action's largest day of action ever! Actions ranged from over 140 actions at Ford Dealerships to energy speakers, bike rides, activities supporting local clean energy legislation, & campaigns to highlight "Fossil Fools" who are blocking progress on climate. Together, we are jumpstarting the clean energy revolution!

Over 400 "Oil on Ice" screenings - March 3rd 2005

Over 400 Energy Action activists across North America held screenings of Oil on Ice, an award-winning new film that connects the survival of northern communities and the fragile lands they depend on to the decisions we make about energy policy. Many took action after watching the film and wrote letters to their represenatives and/or local editors to oppose dirty energy projects such as drilling in ANWR & the Mackenzie gas pipeline and to encourage investment in a clean energy future. Click here to watch the 4-minute trailer and find resources to take action!

The Bush Administration has proposed in the federal budget to open America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and the Senate is set to vote again on the disastrous Energy Bill in March.

Canada is rapidly preparing to open the north to extensive oil and gas development - the proposed MacKenzie Gas Project, if built, will push further destructive exploration and expose the Arctic Refuge to easy drilling.

We deserve cheaper, safer and cleaner energy policies that embrace responsible measures and 21st Century solutions that make cars go farther on a gallon of gas, promote conservation, invest in clean renewable energy, and protect our natural heritage! We need to mobilize our generation to confront these challenges - our future is at stake.

Youth Leadership Summit

Summit group pic on the steps of Georgetown Law January 3rd through 6th, 80 young activists came to Washington, DC for a jam-packed four day summit to steer the future of the North American climate and energy movement. Together we created a unique atmosphere of trust, urgency, and focus while including all participants in the process. On the first day we were welcomed by a talk from Evon Peter of Native Movement, who spoke about global warming and its makers on his native community in Alaska. We left DC having adopted a set of climate justice principles, a rough campaign timeline for 2005, a revised coalition structure, and dozens of new leaders poised to strengthen and implement the mission of Energy Action and our many local and regional partners.

Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy

DC Signature Delivery As a result of our fall campaign, over 27,000 North American youth signed Energy Action’s “Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy”. These signatures were delivered by coalition leaders to the U.S. Capitol and Canadian Parliament and by student groups to at least 10 state capitols along with state-specific reports on the impacts of dirty energy. Students also used the Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy to pressure their campus leaders to take action on climate chanege.

States that have Delivered signatures:
DC, MA, MI, NC, SC, TX, ME, VA, TN

Announcing the Race to End Dirty Energy Winnners

The results for the race to end dirty energy are finally in. The top ten schools will recieve renewable energy certificates for their school and the top large school and top small school will have a celebirty speaker come to speak at their school.

Congratulations to the top ten schools:
  1. UC Los Angeles
  2. Colgate University
  3. Boston College
  4. UC Santa Cruz
  5. Bishop O’Dowd High School
  6. University of Florida
  7. Smith College
  8. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
  9. Brandeis University
  10. Temple University

The 2004 Fall Political Campaign

Fall Summary In fall of 2004 the members of Energy Action combined forces for an ambitious political engagement campaign. The goal was to challenge our political leaders to envision an end to dirty energy in the 2004 elections and to mobilize a generation of youth behind our own commitment to energy independence. The results were astonishing.

October 19th, 2004 marked the largest youth day of action for clean energy in history. Over 850 phone calls were made to presidential campaign offices two weeks before the general election asking candidates to lay out a plan for an end to dirty energy. In the next two days both Bush and Kerry made energy independence a prominent theme in their speeches as Kerry reiterated his 10 year plan for independence from mid-east oil. Also on that day, students and young activists carried out clean energy events in 280 different towns across 46 US states and 7 Canadian provinces calling for an end to our dirty energy addiction and new political vision.

To date, over 27,000 people have signed on to the Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Clean Energy. On November 16th we delivered these signatures to Washington, DC and to several state capitols, meeting with representatives and staffers, taking the message to our political leaders. The road ahead is long, but a youth energy movement is growing to meet the challenge. The Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy is a statement from our generation that we will not rest until our society is operating on a sane, forward-looking energy policy. And we will not.