PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY: Climate Organizers Needed.
Building the clean energy future we all want demands innovative, sustained pressure from the growing climate movement. The 110th Congress has failed to act, but next year we’ll have a new Congress, a new administration in the White House and a real chance for change.We’re building a team for Focus the Nation 2009 to organize a National Teach-in, and build Green Democracy. The teach-in will educate and mobilize millions of students and citizens at colleges, universities, high schools, faith and civic organizations and businesses. Green Democracy will culminate in campus-to-congress dialogues engaging hundreds of members of the US Congress.
Join us! Please check out our job posting for organizers, and circulate to your networks. What better place to work than Portland, Oregon—recently ranked the greenest city in the United States!
Cyclists Needed! To help kick-off fall organizing, the FTN team is joining BRITA Climate Ride 2008 to take our message to Congress. On the eve of the elections, one hundred Climate Riders will cycle from New York City to to make a powerful statement about the need for renewable energy legislation and climate change awareness. Join fellow Climate Riders for a beautiful ride that begins in the urban landscape of Manhattan , then meanders through rural New Jersey , Pennsylvania , and the equine estates of Maryland to the ride finale in Washington, DC. Along the way, expert speakers meet our cyclists each evening to discuss climate science, green technology, and how to reduce our carbon footprint. Meet people committed to resolving the climate crisis, make your voice heard, and benefit an important cause—all on an unforgettable vacation! To learn more about Climate Ride, visit www.ClimateRide.org, or email info@climateride.org. Help spread the word to cyclists who want to pedal for the planet, or join us yourself for a climate conference on wheels and help make Focus 2009 possible. Proceeds benefit both Focus and Clean Air-Cool Planet.
Focus honored at Rothbury Festival. On behalf of Focus the Nation teams across the country, Chungin Chung and Eban Goodstein will be receiving the “E-chievement” award from the radio music show E-town, all live from the Rothbury music festival near Grand Rapids, Michigan . Eban will be part of a climate and energy “think tank” at the four day festival, July 3rd-6th. Watch the Focus Video on the Rothbury home page.
Have some fun this summer but don't lose sight of the prize—a just, prosperous clean energy economy—the future is coming fast!
Thanks for all your efforts,
The Focus 2009 Team
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Focus: Warner-Lieberman Gone — What's Next?
Dear Friends,
Last week, legislation requiring cuts in global warming pollution, the Warner-Lieberman Act, made it to the floor of the Senate—only to see debate blocked when supporters fell 6 votes short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster. Also last week, Congressman Ed Markey introduced a new, much stronger climate bill in the House.
Ten years after the signing of the Kyoto Treaty, and thanks to all of our hard work, the US grassroots movement demanding global warming solutions has forced the battle to begin. How now do we win?
- Work Like a Dog: Over the next five months, help change the future. To find a candidate in your region who supports your views on global warming solutions, contact the League of Conservation Voters.
- Join The First 100 Days National Teach-in: February 5th, 2009 will be the second Focus the Nation Teach-in. With the failure of Warner-Lieberman, the hard fight over a clean energy future will be after the fall election, with a new President and a new Congress. Be there!
- Ride for the Climate: Make the First 100 Days Teach-in possible, by joining our
5-day bicycle ride from NYC to DC. Only 50 spots left! Next September, Focus the Nation will help carry the message to Washington. Combining cycling with evening talks by climate scientists and other experts, this is a unique event—a fundraiser and climate conference on wheels. Please spread the word to cyclists who want to pedal for the planet. Proceeds benefit both Focus and Clean Air- Cool Planet.
From thousands of schools and other institutions, we will engage Congress, state and local decision-makers, and leaders from business, the faith community and the media. Can Congress cut carbon 30% by 2020?
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
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Mothers, Bikers and Focus the Nation in 2008
The next two or three years will be the most important in human history. Audacious claim, easy to skip over. True nevertheless. Decisions we make now will impact the lives of the next 100 generations, and all life on earth. And as if we didn’t need added urgency, methane emissions are up this year, after having leveled off for the last few.
What needs to be done? To pass a good cap & auction bill, and billions for renewables and efficiency, we need five or six new clean energy votes in the Senate, and fifteen to twenty in the House. If we get those votes, we change the future. To find out where to put your energies—how to work for a swing candidate in your state or region—call the League of Conservation Voters at 202-785-8683.
After the election, Focus the Nation will engage Congress—new voices and old—in the biggest national campus-to-congress conversation this country has ever seen. Stay tuned for details.
In the meantime, join Moms and Cyclists in taking the word to Washington:
- On Mother's Day weekend, May 9-11th, invite parents, young people and community groups to send a powerful message that resonates with our political leaders: our kids need your help! Learn how to get involved: watch the video at 1-Sky.
- Focus the Nation is partnering with Climate Ride 2008: a 5-day bicycle ride from NYC to DC, where your pedal strokes help raise money for Focus 2009! Join the Focus the Nation team next September, and carry the message to Washington.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
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Make the Call on Earth Day! — One Voice
A reporter called today and asked us: “Earth Day—isn’t it just a feel-good celebration?” Our response: we certainly do need a day to feel good and wonder at the beauty of this earth. But on campuses this year, Earth Day has an edge. It is sinking in that “We don’t have much time left”. (Hansen) That “what we do in the next two or three years will determine our future”. (Pachuari)So make the call. Then lend your cell phone to three friends, and have them make the call. Join Earth Day Network’s mobilization, and join people across the country demanding large scale investment in renewables, a coal moratorium, green buildings, and protection of low income and middle class people from the costs of solving the climate crisis. Ask for your member of congress or senator at 202.224.3121.
Earth week is a last major chance for our collective voices to get heard on global warming this spring. Make it count. Then check out Focus the Nation 2009—February 5th, at the launch of a new Presidency, we will focus the country, and the new Congress , on global warming solutions.
Thanks for the work you are doing.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
FOCUS NEWS
- Join Climate-Ride 2008! Focus is partnering with this four day, NYC-DC cycle event next September. Check it out and watch for more info in future bulletins.
- Scientists and Economists: Sign the UCS statement calling for action on global warming.
- Mother’s Day? Fight Global Warming: Join 1-Sky’s mobilization May 9-11.
- The Focus the Nation Wind Turbine! Thanks to Native Energy, Focus the Nation teams can offset their projects and help build a wind turbine on a family farm in .
- Focus the Nation—the song! Download Gavin Castleton’s global warming anthem.
- What Did You Teach at Focus the Nation? Help us collect educational material on global warming solutions; find out what others are up to at ClimateChangeEducation.org.
- Donate to Focus—Stop Your Junk Mail! Sign up with 41 Pounds , and a portion of the income is donated directly to us here at Focus the Nation.
- Forty Percent of Car Trips are within two miles of your home: Take Clif Bar’s Two-Mile Challenge and ride or walk instead! Check it out.
- The President’s Climate Commitment, has your University or College President signed on?
On video: Jon Isham and Eban Goodstein talk about their recent books on building the global warming solutions movement-- Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction (Goodstein) and Ignition (Isham and Waage)
Other recent books of note: Gary Braasch’s Earth Under Fire; and Gary and Lynn Cherry’s How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming, Laurie David’s Down to Earth Guide; Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendrick’s Apollo’s Fire and Fight Global Warming Now from Step it Up.
Global Warming Organizing Films: Everything’s Cool (Dan Gold and Judith Helfand); Revolution Green (Stephen Stout and Jessica Kelly)
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Hansen's Latest Climate Forecast, Make April Count!
NASA’s James Hansen (et al.) have a new draft paper with a critical message: the long run target for CO2 in the atmosphere will have to be 350 ppm to avoid catastrophic consequences. Concentrations are now at 385 ppm, and of course, emissions will grow over the coming decades. So to get back to 350 ppm, Hansen et al. show that if we stabilize soon, then feasible policies for agricultural and forest practices can sequester enough carbon from the atmosphere.But the bottom line for the planet remains coal: “if the world continues on a business-as-usual path for even another decade without initiating phase-out of unconstrained coal use” then we are likely to overshoot 350 ppm for too long—and initiate ice sheet collapse and massive sea level rise, or large scale methane release from the tundra, triggering a runaway greenhouse effect.
Can America lead the clean energy revolution to displace coal? Help us Focus the Nation in February 2009! We will engage hundreds of the country’s top political leaders in direct dialogue with students and citizens. From campus to congress, we will send a message that this is our future, and must act very soon if our young people are going to create a safe and habitable world for their children. This will be a critical moment in American history—and given the importance of our action, the future of humanity. We will Focus again at the heart of American democracy, in the first hundred days of the new Congress, and set a course for the country that will stabilize the climate.
SEPTEMBER ORGANIZING, REGIONAL MEETINGS: We will hold a series of one-day, regional Focus organizing conferences in September and early October. Details in the next Focus e-bulletin. Meanwhile—stay involved! Check out the Spring Climate Action Calendar below.
Stay with us!
Thanks for the work you are doing.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
SPRING CLIMATE ACTION CALENDAR
- March 15th: Project Slingshot, $10,000 summer climate scholarship, application deadline — Grants for Outdoor Fanatics, Artists and Entrepreneurs
- April 1st: Fossil Fool Day, sponsored by Energy Action — Creative campus actions supporting renewable energy.
- April 16th: Chill Out! National Webcast from The National Wildlife Federation — Gather the Focus team for pizza and get inspired by the top campus sustainability initiatives around the country!
- April 20th: Earth Day on the Mall, and Earth Day Regional Concerts — Major events DC, New York , Chicago , San Francisco , Los Angeles , Denver , Dallas and Miami. Run, walk or bike there!
- April 21st: National Earth Day Lobby Day in Washington, DC — Join tens of thousands and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill.
- April 20-25th: Earth Week on Campus — Voter Registration, climate rallies, debates. Ideas? Earth Day in a Box.
- April 22nd: Project Slingshot winners announced — Three $10,000 summer grants for climate leaders.
- May 10th: 1 Sky, Mothers Day Climate Action — Coming soon from 1 Sky
- May 15th: EnVision 2050: High School/Middle School poster contest — Submission deadline. Win an outdoor adventure trip! — Winners Announced June 1.
- Anytime: Sponsor a showing of The 2% Solution, with Stephen Schneider, Van Jones, Hunter Lovins, Rajendra Pachauri, and Edward Norton.
FOCUS NEWS
- EnVision 2050 — what does a sustainable future look like? Urban Re:Vision is sponsoring a poster competition for visionaries in grades 6-12. You can win prizes for yourself or your school!
- Native Energy — We've partnered with Native Energy to construct a Focus the Nation wind turbine in. You can now purchase affordable carbon offsets towards clean, renewable energy directly from the FTN wind turbine!
- HS Teachers — need lesson plans on global warming? Check out the resources from Earth Day Network and ClimateChangeEducation.org.
- Two Mile Challenge — Forty Percent of Car Trips are within two miles of your home: Take Clif Bar’s Two-Mile Challenge and ride or walk instead! Check it out.
- 41 Pounds — Donate to Focus and Stop Your Junk Mail! Sign up with 41 Pounds, and a portion of the income is donated directly to us here at Focus the Nation.
- President's Climate Commitment — The President’s Climate Commitment: Has your University or College President signed on to move your campus towards climate
neutrality?
- Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction — Eban Goodstein
- Ignition — Jon Isham & Sissel Waage
New report on sea level rise, Project Slingshot offers solutions
Thursday's USA Today piece on Focus the Nation showed how the tide is turning towards global warming awareness and action in America. Good news, because the scientific evidence on global warming impacts keeps rolling in.The New York Times reported last week on the National Research Council's warning of sea level rise: estimates range from a rise of 16 inches to more than three feet during the next 100 years under current warming projections – but we CAN change those trends if we take decisive action now!
Here at FTN HQ we're basking in inspiration from all the brilliant Project Slingshot proposals we received. Artists, innovators and outdoor enthusiasts submitted their creative action-oriented ideas to help start global cooling. Stay tuned for the announcement of one winner in each category on Earth Day, April 22nd.
Focus the Nation and the Earth Day Network have partnered to make Earth Day on campus count, working to include civic engagement along with the celebration of the environment. Check out these ideas and resources to give your event teeth, and get in touch with your state organizer to put your event on the map.
Our momentum is building — keep it strong with your Earth Day events — we look forward to being inspired by your ongoing efforts!
The Focus the Nation Organizing Team — Laura Westwood, Alex Tinker, Courtney Dale, Minna Brown and Jenny Bedell-Stiles.
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How to Make Earth Day Count, $30k to Fight Global Warming
Does it feel like you're saving the world yet? It should.
Focus the Nation events in January reached more than 1 million citizens and hundreds of politicians nation-wide. It is crucial we take advantage of this moment, building on that momentum into the spring and towards 2009, when we'll have a new president, a new Congress and a real opportunity for change in Washington, DC.
To keep the ball rolling, we've partnered with the Earth Day Network to make Earth Day on campus count. This April don't just celebrate Planet Earth, work to protect it with green voter registration and civic engagement.
What we want to achieve in the month of April:
Make Noise: Send a delegation of students, faculty and staff to each college and university president to ask them to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. If your president has already signed, ask what your campus is doing to move towards climate neutrality. If you aren't on a campus, set up a meeting at your representatives' regional office and talk with them about global warming solutions.
Voter Registration: Secure administrative support for a goal of 100% voter registration on your campus. Everything is easier with administration on board!
Sky Petition: Gather tens of thousands of signatures on the Sky Petition demanding a moratorium on new coal, real renewable energy standards, a move towards carbon-neutral buildings and protection of the poor and middle classes from increasing energy costs.
Campus Events: Celebrate Planet Earth, environmental awareness and action with campus Earth Day events.
Project Slingshot: On Earth Day, April 22nd, we'll announce the winners of Project Slingshot. Clif Mojo and Focus the Nation want to propel your creative global warming solutions into action. Three winners will receive up to $10,000 to slingshot their ideas into reality.
- Outdoor Fanatics! — How will you protect the places you love to play?
- Artists! — How will you inspire your community?
- Innovators! — How will you challenge our expectations?
Keep on saving the world! We'll be in touch soon!
The Focus the Nation Organizers: Jenny Bedell-Stiles, Minna Brown, Courtney Dale, Alex Tinker and Laura Westwood
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Focus April, Penguins, People, and Focus X 5
Focus was the second most-emailed story on the front page of CNN last week. The next day, the CNN Science story reported on a new study revealing that penguins were dying off as warming waters reduced their food supply: “king penguin populations are at heavy extinction risk under the current global warming predictions.” Warning signs about the world we leave our children.There is little time.
Help us to take Focus “X 5”. In 2009, we will become five times as big: involving ten thousand schools and faith and civic groups, 5 million students and citizens, and engaging hundreds of the country’s top political leaders. This is an ambitious target, but these times demand nothing less. must act very soon if our young people are going to create a safe and habitable world for their children. More on Focus X 5 below, but first:
APRIL FOCUS. Focus the Nation is working with the Earth Day Network to engage the country around global warming solutions. We’ll be contacting Focus teams to promote: Education about renewable solutions, Engaging with Congress, and critically important: Voter Registration. Learn more at the Earth Day Network , or contact your Focus state organizer to get involved.
SPRING CLIMATE ACTION CALENDAR
- March 15th: Project Slingshot, $10,000 summer climate scholarship, application deadline. — Grants for Outdoor Fanatics, Artists and Entrepreneurs
- April 1st: Fossil Fool Day, sponsored by Energy Action. — Creative campus actions supporting renewable energy.
- April 16th: Chill Out! National Webcast from The National Wildlife Federation. — Gather the Focus team for pizza and get inspired by the top campus sustainability initiatives around the country!
- April 20th: Earth Day on the Mall, and Earth Day Regional Concerts. — Major events DC, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas and Miami. Run, walk or bike there!
- April 21st: National Earth Day Lobby Day in Washington, DC. — Join tens of thousands and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill.
- April 20-25th: Earth Week on Campus. — Voter Registration, climate rallies, debates. Ideas? Earth Day in a Box.
- April 22nd: Project Slingshot winners announced. — Three $10,000 summer grants for climate leaders.
- May 10th: 1 Sky, Mothers Day Climate Action. — Coming soon from 1 Sky
- May 15th: EnVision 2050: High School/Middle School poster contest. — Submission deadline. Win an outdoor adventure trip! — Winners Announced June 1.
- Anytime: Sponsor a showing of The 2% Solution, with Stephen Schneider, Van Jones, Hunter Lovins, Rajendra Pachauri, and Edward Norton.
FOCUS X 5. Over the last year, Focus the Nation has built a powerful new network of educators—faculty, staff , students, people of faith, citizens, businesspeople. With your help, we can increase the scale of Focus the Nation by a factor of five, again culminating in a national teach-in, in early February 2009. This will be a critical moment in American history—and given the importance of our action, the future of humanity. We will Focus again at the heart of American democracy, in the first hundred days of the new Congress, and set a course for the country that will stabilize the climate.
This year, 1900 campuses and other institutions participated and over a million students and citizens heard about global warming solutions. Next year, 10,000 schools, faith and civic organizations, and five million students and citizens will be engaged. This year, 75 Senators, members of Congress and Governors were involved in dialogue: in 2009, 375 will participate. At this scale, Focus will become powerful enough to push across the tipping point, and provide the momentum that the needs to act decisively to stop global warming.
Stay with us! Thanks for the work you are doing.
The Focus Team: Eban Goodstein, Chungin Chung, Minna Brown, , Alex Tinker and Laura Westwood.
WALK THE TALK. Kettle Foods Builds First LEED Gold Food Plant!
Focus business partner Kettle Foods has combined wind turbines and native prairie grasses with 's favorite snack, potato chips, earning recognition for building the greenest food manufacturing plant in the U.S .in .
"Investing in green building was a conscious decision on our part to demonstrate our values in a very tangible way," said Tim Fallon, president of Kettle Foods North America. "Our employees have always encouraged us to look at ways to minimize our impact on the environment - from rooftop solar power panels to biodiesel fuel from our used cooking oil. Sustainable initiatives are business as usual at Kettle Foods."
With close proximity to the rich potato farms of 's heartland, was a natural choice for Kettle Foods' second potato chip factory — [more]
Our Media Partner, Grist provided links to great content to help educators prepare for teach-in sessions Check it out.
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Vote Results! Deliver Your Message This Week
“Invest in the Clean Energy Revolution!” At the top of their list, Focus the Nation teams voted to support a $25 billion per year public investment program in the new renewable technologies that young people will need to rewire the entire planet, and stabilize the climate. Close behind in the Choose Your Future Vote were policies to promote cleaner cars, a green jobs program, and a national requirement to build green. Learn more, and see the vote results, by clicking on the links below! 
1. Invest in the Clean Energy Revolution 13%2. Cleaner Cars, California-Style 12%
3. Create Green Jobs, Save Energy 12%
4. Build Green: Carbon Neutral by 2030 12%
5. Get Efficient — Cut Energy, Save Money 11%
6. Support Stronger Forests 11%
7. Tax Global Warming Pollution 9%
8. No New Coal Plants without "Capture and Sequestration" 7%
9. Cap CO2 Emissions, Share the Auction Revenues 7%
10. Jumpstart Low Polluting Biofuel 6%
Next up: DELIVER THESE RESULTS.
Focus teams across the country are making appointments to visit the office of the congressperson or senator over the next week, when they are home for the President's Day recess. Your mission: talk about global warming solutions that were debated all across the country last week during Focus the Nation! If you have any questions about how to do this, contact us at Focus the Nation HQ. Hundreds of political leaders heard from Focus teams at the teach-in. Please continue to engage.
Good write-up about Focus this week in Time Magazine, “Changing the Climate on Campus”. The answer: only you speak for the future. Next week, watch for an update from us about engaging campuses this spring in voter registration and climate change education, working through the Earth Day Network.
Remember to apply for a $10,000 Project Slingshot summer grant for youth climate leaders! Outdoor fanatics, artists and entrepreneurs can put their ideas for global warming solutions into action.
Thanks for the work you are doing.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
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We Focused the Nation! Thanks from the Team
We did it! Focus the Nation engaged a million students with 75 members of congress, senators and governors. Media coverage was Fantastic—Focus stories ran in hundreds of daily newspapers, and on-line everywhere: The New York Times, Business Week, Time, MSNBC, Forbes. And the political leadership of this country really started to listen.
What’s next?
- Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote for Solutions at Choose Your Future. Voting closes February 12th.
- Visit Your Politicians: Keep the conversation going! See your member of congress or senator at their local office on February 19th. Tell them about what you voted for. Tell them about solutions to global warming. Contact us with questions.
- Schedule a Showing of The 2% Solution! It’s compelling video, focused on global warming solutions. Free, on-line now.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director: The best part of Focus the Nation for me has been the wonderful friendships made — thanks to you all for your belief that we can make a difference to the future. Thanks mostly to Chungin, with whom everything becomes possible.
Chungin Chung, Communications Director: I am very grateful to all the people out there who came together to build such an occurrence. I thank you for your heart and deeply thank you for your commitment. I salute you. I am most grateful to Eban, my hero who led this effort with such an unassuming manner and of course all of the Focus headquarter's team!
Scott Highleyman, Civic Engagement Director: You did it! You took the simple idea of a teach-in on climate change solutions on a single day in January and built more than 1,900 events where people got together, face to face, to discuss what we can do as a community to face this problem. My deep gratitude to all the organizers at each event that engaged civic leaders in this discussion in person and by SightSpeed videoconferencing. Please take this momentum and what you've learned about how to engage with elected leaders and build the future you want.
Garett Brennan, Media Relations Director: Thank you for all your hard work, passion and commitment. Focus the Nation would be nothing without your creativity and dedication in the clean energy revolution. I look forward to working together again.
Minna Brown, Organizer: To all of the organizers around the country I have worked with over the last five months: thank you. It was an amazing experience to see just how diverse, savvy, creative and enthusiastic all of you are, whether you're in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, or Oregon. The best part of my job as an organizer has been seeing the ways in which you have run with the idea of Focus the Nation, making it into not only the biggest teach-in in US history, but also a force that has (and will continue to) put climate change on the radar screens of our national leaders. Focusing the Nation on global warming solutions is a lofty goal, but I hope you can tell that we are now well on our way to reaching it and none of this would have been possible without YOUR work. It's been an exciting time for all of us, but I hope you are all even more excited about the potential of Focus the Nation 2009!
Kate Stratton, Organizer: Thank you everyone who worked so hard to put together events for Focus the Nation. It has been a real pleasure to be in communication with all of you. With the involvement of countless local and national officials, universities, colleges, community centers and faith centers we have accomplished a nation wide movement formed through individual community interactions. It is rewarding and inspiring to receive updates from all of you with news clips, pictures and videos of everything that you have accomplished. I hope I'll have the pleasure of working with you all again next year.
Alex Tinker, Organizer: The last five months have been the most exhilarating, meaningful and inspiring months of my life. Thanks to your hard work, the first annual Focus the Nation educated hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens on global warming solutions. I have never been more hopeful that we as a society can and will enact the creative solutions necessary to hold global warming to the low end and move America forward towards a clean, secure, just and prosperous future. It has been an honor to work with you all, and I look forward to building on this momentum in the coming months and years. You continue to amaze me. Thank you.
Peter Viola, Organizer: You've truly helped to re-energize a movement that will have an extraordinary impact on our future. It's been my honor to help connect you with your leaders in Congress and to push them to be bolder and achieve solutions that matter. Thank you for all your hard work — and keep it up! We can all be cynical about politics at times, but Congress is still an institution built on stimulus and response. We must sustain powerful and intense pressure on our representatives, or the opportunity to effect real change and save our climate will pass us by. I look forward to witnessing all the amazing new actions you come up with — good luck!
Laura Westwood, Organizer: It has been an absolute pleasure and inspiring experience to work with Focus the Nation over the past five months. January 31st could not have been the huge success that it was without the tireless dedication, motivation, and drive from all of you. Thank you for rolling up your sleeves and helping move the dialogue to focusing on climate change solutions. I look forward to working with all of you over the coming year.
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Who’s Helping Focus the Nation? Nancy Pelosi, Bob Inglis, Rev. Richard Cizik, Winona LaDuke, Woody Harrelson, Edward Norton
Today, across the country, a million Americans are engaged in a national brainstorm on global warming solutions. Visit Focus the Nation to see the events in real time. Who’s Coming?, What’s Happening? Will this start something big enough to change the future?
Rep. Bob Inglis from South Carolina sent the students at Clemson an incredible video, making the case for why a conservative Republican like himself is leading on global warming.
Woody Harrelson volunteered a powerful video for Focus the Nation that reminds us all of why we are doing what we are doing to stop global warming. Don’t miss it. And if you did miss Edward Norton in The 2% Solution, watch his new video urging people to VOTE in our on-line Choose Your Future solutions vote.
During this historic day, make your own videos, take pictures, recordings—and send all that in to us at info@focusthenation.org.
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Woody Harrelson: “Focus the Nation”
Watch Woody Harrelson’s powerful video for Focus the Nation. This reminds us all of why we are here to stop global warming.
Then tell everyone you know, tonight, Wednesday, to watch our launch national webcast, The 2% Solution, with Edward Norton, Stephen Schneider, Van Jones, and Hunter Lovins—and it looks like today, special guest, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC. Wednesday, 8 PM eastern. All you need is a computer and a high speed internet connection.
Tomorrow, encourage everyone to participate in the biggest national teach-in in US history! We just heard today that Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi will be joining over 50 US Senators and Representatives in supporting Focus events. See who’s coming, and what’s happening! Our intent is to move America beyond where we are right now, in a quiet despair about gridlock in Washington, to a determination to face up to this challenge of our generation.
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Obama Tells Students “Focus the Nation,” Arnold Endorses!
The two of us, Chungin and I, started Focus the Nation eighteen months ago, and today, Friday, we felt so honored and excited to join the national launch at Clemson University in South Carolina. There, Focus gained a strong endorsement from Senator Barack Obama Speaking at a rally in the afternoon, he told the crowd of several thousand: "This is important, I want everybody to pay attention here… Focus the Nation is going to have the largest campus teach-in in United States history [starting] right here on the Clemson Campus. This is an important issue, I want everybody to be involved with it, everybody to be paying attention, I hope all of you choose to participate because that’s a terrific issue and I want to acknowledge that." Watch Obama on video.
Also on Friday we received this letter from Governor Schwarznegger: "I was excited to learn that hundreds of California colleges, universities, K-12 schools and organizations are participating in Focus the Nation… I want to thank all of the participants, supporters and organizers of Focus the Nation for creating this wonderful opportunity. I also applaud all the young people for getting involved, and I encourage each of you to continue to share what you learn with your friends, families and communities. Keep up the great work!"
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VOTE! and focus the nation on real solutions to global warming. Voting opens today! As a country, we can spark the clean energy revolution that will rewire the entire world. Start 2008 with a commitment to a year of green democracy that will change the future. Educate yourself and vote. And then February 19th, deliver your ideas to congressional offices across the country.
After you vote, apply for a Project Slingshot summer scholarship: three grants for up to $10,000 for a new generation of climate leaders. Sponsored by CLIF Mojo. there are grants for outdoor fanatics, for artists, and for innovators. Learn more in this very cool video about Slingshot.
Be a part of this movement. Focus the Nation now has more than 1550 events nationwide—and folks are still signing up! See Who’s Coming. See What’s Happening. Please forward this e-mail. In this last week, help us get several hundred more schools, faith organizations and civic groups on board for a showing of our national launch webcast, The 2% Solution.
Join us Wednesday, January 23rd at 12 noon for an organizing phone-in; learn what’s happening across the country, and share your ideas. Call in to 1-218-339-7800, passcode 1312008.
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Edward Norton Joins The 2% Solution
Please pass along Norton’s compelling video supporting Focus the Nation! (Made possible by Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie's Voice Yourself)
Focus the Nation kicks off at 8 pm eastern, January 30th with our live one-hour webcast, The 2% Solution, and we are very excited that the actor and clean energy advocate Edward Norton will be joining us—along with Stanford climate scientist Stephen Schneider, green jobs pioneer Van Jones, and sustainability expert Hunter Lovins. Please pass along Norton’s compelling video supporting Focus the Nation!
It’s not too late to get your high school, community college, church, mosque, or synagogue to host a screening of The 2% Solution. All you need is an internet connection and a projector. In the remaining two weeks, help us sign up another 200 institutions! Also check out the Discussion Guide for The 2% Solution, which will give you some ideas for facilitating conversation following the show.
Its also not too late to get your congressperson to attend your event via a SightSpeed video dialogue. Please keep pushing on this. Contact us if you need help making that happen!
One critical request from Focus the Nation HQ: organizers—PLEASE get hold of a dozen clip-boards, download our e-mail sign-up sheet, and make lots of copies. Then PLEASE circulate those sign-up sheets at every room where a Focus the Nation event is being held. Then send or fax us copies. We will add them to the national Focus list. Hundreds of thousands of students and citizens will be engaged on January 31st. Giving them all the chance to stay informed is critical to building the clean energy movement that can change the future.
Focus Time-Line:
January 21st: Voting on solutions begins at Choose Your Future
January 25th: Focus the Nation National Kick-off at Clemson University, South Carolina
January 30th: 8 PM Eastern: The 2% Solution national webcast
January 31st: all day teach-in at colleges, universities, and K-12 schools
January 31st: afternoon: Green Democracy round-tables with elected officials
February 4th: Focus teams fax e-mail lists to HQ
February 12th: Voting on solutions closes at Choose Your Future
February 18th: Focus teams visit the local office of members of congress
We had 60 new sign-ups yesterday—now over 1450! Help us get 60 more today.
Thanks for the work you are doing.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
that neither supports nor opposes specific legislation or any candidate for political office.
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