[Fwd: Focus: 800! / "Green Democracy"-- Big Enough to Change the Future
Jennifer Berman
Dear Friends of Focus the Nation,
Focus the Nation passed the 800 milestone for schools and other institutions signed on last week, also winning major endorsements from the President of the University of Washington, and the Faculty Senate at the University of Central Florida —schools representing close to 100,000 students. Endorsements (www.focusthenation.org/endorsers.php) from your student government, faculty senate and President help build buy-in. Get them, and let us know when they happen!
Focus the Nation is on track to be the biggest national teach-in in US history—and the most important component is what we are calling Green Democracy. We are urging every Focus the Nation team to end their event the same way, in a round-table dialogue with political leaders facing questions by a teams of Republican, Democrat and independent students. Imagine every US congressperson, US senator, governor, mayor, and state representative getting multiple invitations to sit down and talk with young people about their future. Imagine Speaker Nancy Pelosi declaring Jan. 31, 2008 Focus the Nation Day—canceling business in the House of Representatives and urging members to get engaged. Imagine Governors from Maine to doing the same. Imagine thousands of elected officials facing the optimism and energy and moral authority of more than a hundred thousand students, forcing these politicians out of complacency and fatalism, and helping them confront this challenge of our generation.
Engagement at this scale is what history demands of us. We are in a race against time to elevate global warming solutions to the top of the political agenda, and Focus the Nation is our best chance to do this. One of the most critical components of your organizing efforts is to invite federal-level political leaders. Even if you believe they won’t come, it is absolutely essential that teams send along an invitation to them. They need to be invited again and again if we want them to engage and focus on clean energy solutions. The best approach is to call their office and ask for “the scheduler.” He or she will tell you the procedure for sending an official invite. And don’t take no for an answer.
For members of Congress who cannot make it back to their districts on Jan. 31, Focus the Nation’s Green Democracy project is setting up “video-chat” options. Imagine hundreds of congressmen and women and senators heading to their offices, opening up a laptop, and instantly appearing on campuses in their districts to meet with students in a virtual round-table. The technology (via Skype or iChat) is so good now that this option is easily available to any school with an Internet connection, a computer and a projector. On Janaury 31st, Green Democracy will send a clear message from campus to congresss and Focus the Nation.
One month from now, the first weekend in November, thousands of students across the country are literally heading from campus to congress, joining the Powershift convergence (www.powershift2007.org) in . After a weekend of networking and training, students will fan out across the capital with demands for action. That same Saturday, across the country, civic, faith and campus groups are also calling out their congresspeople as part of Step It Up 2. (www.stepitup2007.org) Focus the Nation organizing committees can participate, inviting their congressman or woman to events on Saturday, November 3rd. Step It Up makes the invite process very easy, with an e-mail option. Don’t worry if they say no; that only ups the chances they will say yes for January 31st! Please do not let these opportunities for engagement pass.
Eban will be leading Focus the Nation workshops and discussions in NYC (10/3); in PA (10/5-6); in CO (10/29) and in at several locations in mid October. Stay tuned for details at www.focusthenation.org/comingevents.php. And the Focus team will be joining thousands of student climate leaders in DC for Powershift the weekend of 11/2-4.
Thanks for the work you are doing.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director
Chungin Chung, Communications Director
On Tour, Focusing the Nation
Clif Bar’s 2-Mile Challenge
Over the next month there will be opportunities on both coasts to rally support around your individual organizing teams. Focus business partner, Clif Bar, will have their 2-Mile Challenge visit college campuses throughout the western states. They will be traveling in totally hip 1958 Greyhound biodiesel bus that has been converted into a global warming interactive exhibit. The entire tour is based on the fact that 40 percent of car trips are for errands within two miles of your home. They will be challenging people to ride or walk for these trips instead.
eNRG Kayaking’s Outdoor Stewardship Tour
This tour will be traveling to colleges along throughout Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and inspiring people to engage in more human-powered recreation, plus showing some really cool kayaking films.
Check out these two tour schedules (www.focusthenation.org/mobiletours.php) to see when they might be coming to your campus. Use these events as a way to drum up excitement and support with more students at your schools! Use them to focus your schools about Focus the Nation.
FOCUS PHONE-IN Join us for the next half-an-hour conference call to share information and respond to questions. Wednesday, October 3rd, at 9 am Pacific Time. Calls will be the first and third Wednesday of every month, at that time, so mark your calendars! Call in to 1-218-339-7800, passcode 1312008.
Focus News:
*Raise $$$ for your Focus the Nation event: check out the national Polar Bear Plunge! (www.keepwintercold.org)
*Re:Vision joins Focus as a Business Partner. www.urbanrevision.com
*Step it Up again! A second round of national rallies is set for November 3rd. Get involved at (www.stepitup2007.org)
*Chill Out is back! Campus Ecology’s Video contest for sustainability. Deadline 11/1. www.nwf.org/chillout
*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. www.41pounds.org
Eban Goodstein
Project Director
Focus the Nation
in...@focusthenation.org
www.focusthenation.org
503-342-6863