December 14, 2008, agenda of Carbon Caps Task Force

Carbon Caps Task Force – 13 Dec 2008
Location and Time: Omni Center @ United Campus Ministry, 1:30pm
Agenda
1. Repower Arkansas – Update on roadshow, materials, state action
2. Fayetteville coal moratorium resolution
3. National policy/strategy debrief
4. Poland international climate talks update
5. The Green-collar Economy discussion groups
6. Formation of fundraising event committee
7. Powershift 2009
Attachments and Links
1. Repower Arkansas Friday letter (attached)
2. 350ppm newsletter - http://www.go350ppm.org/Latest_Issue.html
3. Green-collar Economy discussion guide (attached)
Friday Letter No. 4
4 December 2008
This past week was devoted to getting ready for and then presenting 3 Road Shows in Jasper and
Russellville. Our second conference call was not very successful as we had only 4 participants.

On Thursday evening, December 4th, I gave the Presentation in Jasper at the Newton County Public
Library. There were 25 people in attendance and the presentation led to much discussion about the
future of energy in Arkansas and the creation of the grassroots network to contact their legislator
during the General Assembly next year. To encourage everyone to fill out the contact cards I had 3
door prizes to hand out at the end of the slide show: a poinsettia, fluorescent bulbs, and switch and
socket insulators. Afterwards the librarian, Jennifer, had refreshments. For over an hour we had
informal talks with a number of people. Barry Weaver who helped organize the event emailed me that
the event was viewed as successful and “There is very good feeling here about what you are doing.”

At 2:00 PM I spoke to a standing room only crowd at Arkansas Tech University. Heather Kowolski
and the local campus environmental club, had done an excellent job in advertising and getting a turn
out. There were a number of questions and comments about global warming, green jobs and getting
involved. It was an exhilarating experience. Door prizes were again given to encourage completion of
the contact cards. Here’s a link from the Tech website after the presentation.
http://www.arkansastechnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=442:dr-robert-
mcafee-speaks-at-tech&catid=1:university-news&Itemid=2

After this presentation at Tech I had the opportunity to talk with some of the students active in
environmental issues at Tech. We had supper together before my presentation at the Pope County
Library at 6:30 PM.

Although the turn out at the Library was small (15) it was still an interested group and appreciative that
Repower Arkansas was doing this outreach. We gave the same door prizes as in Jasper. For nearly an
hour after the program ended individuals continued to talk and find out more about our project.

The intense and quick paced 48 hours left me tired and exhilarated at the same time. As a woman told
me in Jasper, your grassroots campaign is just what a number of people are wanting -- somehow they
can feel they are taking action that can make a difference. The effort produced new contacts: 20 in
Jasper, 42 at Tech, and 11 at the Pope County Library. I am going to send each of the new contacts an
email next week.

These Road Shows have convinced me that there is a great many people who are willing to help with
what we are doing and we just need to get to as many locations around the state as possible.

Thanks so much for your support and help along the way. Together we are building a very exciting
movement across the state that is empowering Arkansans to repower, rebuild, and refuel their state.

All the best for your endeavors next week.


www.repowerarkansas.org

Dear Group Leader,
Thank you for your interest in The Green Collar Economy and for taking the next step of using
the book to generate discussion. Green For All has partnered with The Engage Network to cre-
ate this guide and to begin the process of building small community groups on this issue around
the country.
This book guide has a companion video guide. Use these tools to bring people together, to eat
(we love eating!), to talk and to create an economy that can lift people out of poverty and save
the earth at the same time. We can create a world that is truly GREEN FOR ALL!
The book guide and the video guide are slightly different. Feel free to mix and match the top-
ics we have given you or to focus your whole discussion on the questions you feel are most important. Each section of
the book guide has a place for you to write your thoughts. We also encourage you to create your own list of ques-
tions and quotes. You can email us your thoughts and opinions at smallgroups@greenforall.org. We may use your
questions or notes in future versions of this guide.
We want all of you who read the book to become part of the effort to make a difference. If this book leads you and
your group to want to become more involved, or if you are inspired to take some kind of action, we want to know!
To see what others have done to get involved and to bring attention to the issue and get involved, view the great
videos and photos at www.greenforall.org and www.greenjobsnow.com. We hope you will do the final exercise and
collage a vision of what is possible in your town/city. We would love any photos or videos of your book group or
community group that you would be willing to share with others around the country.
Green For All,
Van Jones Marianne Manilov
Green For All The Engage Network
www.greenforall.org www.engagenet.org

• Do you believe the United States can create a green
economy? Why or why not?
• What do you think are the blocks to creating a green
economy? What are the opportunities?
The American Midwest is the Saudi Arabia of wind; indeed, North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas alone produce
enough harnessable wind to meet all of the nation’s electricity demand. As for solar, according to a study in
Scientific American, photovoltaic and solar-thermal installations across just 19 percent of the most barren
desert land in the Southwest could supply nearly all of our nation’s electricity needs without any rooftop instal-
lation...
Introduction
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Solar Richmond: Richmond, California, a Green For All Partner Organization. For more info go to www.solarrichmond.org
© Ella Baker Center Solar Richmond / GRID Alternatives training
page 1x:
my thoughts:
• Where do you see problems of the environment and
the economy in your everyday life? Where do you see
this nationally? Internationally?
• Create a list of the businesses in your town or that you
have heard of around the country that employ or train
low-income people. Create a list of the green
businesses in your town or that you have heard of.
Are there some that do both? Are there some that
could do both?
The Katrina story illustrates clearly the two crises we face in the United States: radical socioeconomic inequal-
ity and rampant environmental destruction . . . Is there a way to address both crises simultaneously? Can we
help the people without harming the planet? Can we protect the planet, without dooming more people to mate-
rial poverty? I believe the answer is yes. And if so, the key to a dual victory is to be found in the heart of the
one sector of the U.S. economy that is still thriving and growing: the green part.
CHAPTER one:
The Dual Crisis
pages 24 & 33
Global Green’s construction on New Orleans green affordable housing in the Lower 9th Ward: August 21, 2007. For more info go to www.globalgreen.org
© Global Green USA
my thoughts:
• What is eco-apartheid? • Where do you see signs of it in your community?
It is not too early to sound the alarm against the possibility of eco-apartheid. In that scenario, on one side of
town there would be ecological “haves,” enjoying access to healthy, morally upstanding green products and serv-
ices, and on the other, ecological “have-nots,” languishing in the smoke, fumes, toxic chemicals, and illnesses of
the old pollution-based economy. This kind of morally disgraceful, politically untenable, and ecologically unsus-
tainable result is not far-fetched—at all.
CHAPTER two:
The fourth quadrant
Page 53
Playground and Chemical Plant, Texas City TX
© Sam Kittner www.kitner.com
my thoughts:
• Who are the key people who would need to get
involved to create a green economy? Can you name
five in your community and five nationally?
• What are the three things required for a successful
movement for change? Can you think of something
you can do to help the green collar economy effort?
If the crusade to racially integrate the dirty, gray economy represented the height of nobility in the last century,
then how morally compelling is the calling to build an inclusive green economy in this one? If Dr. King and
other activists were willing to face attack and dogs and fire hoses and murderous mobs to get everyone included
in the pollution-based economy, then what should you and I be willing to do today to ensure that the new,
clean, and green economy has a place in it for everyone?
CHAPTER three:
eco-equity
page 72
my thoughts:
• What are the barriers you face in being ready to
participate in creating a green collar economy? Which
barriers are inside of you? Which are outside?
• What practices do you or could you undertake to help
you find a place of more compassion inside and out?
We are not just battling the polluter without; we are also battling the polluter within...We all have inner
demons that pollute our minds and hearts—that cloud our thoughts and distort our actions.
CHAPTER four:
The green new deal
page 110
my thoughts:
• What are the five subsystems of sustainability the
book talks about?
• Of these, which do you think is the easiest to start
action on?
Which would be the most difficult? Why?
In Los Angeles, the community-based group Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE)
convened the local Apollo Alliance. Campaign Coordinator at SCOPE, Elsa Barboza says the local Alliance’s
first step was “to collect signatures from black, Latino, Asian, and Anglo working-class families throughout Los
Angeles’ inner city neighborhoods.”...One of the people knocking on doors with a petition was Oreatha Ensley,
a lifelong civil rights activist, a mother and grandmother, a former teacher [who said], “I expected some folks
to tell me that jobs are number one and cleaning our environment is just a nice wish. Instead, they told me
that it’s about time reinvest in our community, because we are slipping away further into poverty and getting
sicker because of it.”
CHAPTER five:
the future is now
pages 116 & 117
my thoughts:
• What are the key factors and leadership that have led
to Chicago’s success? Are there local leaders in your
community who are examples of great leadership?
• What are the five areas of local policy change that
local and state governments can embrace?
One American city is quite clearly at the forefront, leading the way toward sustainability, but it’s probably not
the place you’d guess. “With its strong industrial base, Chicago is perceived to be a meat and potatoes kind of
town,” says Chicago’s chief environmental officer Sadhu Johnston, “so for it to set a green example is different
than a city like San Francisco or Boulder doing so.” It’s true. For such groundbreaking environmental leader-
ship to come out of “ The City of Big Shoulders” rather than the land of tofu and hot tubs is remarkable. And
the example the city is setting is a powerful one for industrial centers across the nation and the world.
CHAPTER six:
the government question
Pages 165 & 166
my thoughts:
• What are the key factors and leadership that have led
to Chicago’s success? Are there local leaders in your
community who are examples of great leadership?
• What are the five areas of local policy change that
local and state governments can embrace?
One American city is quite clearly at the forefront, leading the way toward sustainability, but it’s probably not
the place you’d guess. “With its strong industrial base, Chicago is perceived to be a meat and potatoes kind of
town,” says Chicago’s chief environmental officer Sadhu Johnston, “so for it to set a green example is different
than a city like San Francisco or Boulder doing so.” It’s true. For such groundbreaking environmental leader-
ship to come out of “ The City of Big Shoulders” rather than the land of tofu and hot tubs is remarkable. And
the example the city is setting is a powerful one for industrial centers across the nation and the world.
CHAPTER six:
the government question
Pages 165 & 166
my thoughts:
We would love you to photograph or
send your collage to Green For All.
Green For All
1611 Telegraph Ave. 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
For more information,
or to join our efforts go to
www.greenforall.org
1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
510-663-6500
www.greenforall.org
P.O. Box 330446
San Francisco, CA, 94133
www.engagenet.org