Feb 17 Call to stop Keystone XL

Come join the largest climate demonstration in U.S. history on February 17th on the National Mall in D.C. Tens of thousands of people will come together to call on President Obama to move our country forward on climate in his second term -- beginning with decisive action to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.

RSVP to join us Feb 17th. Call on President Obama to stop Keystone XL and move our country forward on climate.

President Obama’s legacy will rest squarely on his leadership in the face of the climate crisis. It's time for him to lead on the scale and with the urgency needed to phase out carbon-intensive fossil fuels, get moving on energy efficiency, and fire up clean, renewable energy sources.

The first big step for President Obama is to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The State Department is working to finalize its environmental review of Keystone XL -- a decision is coming soon. The fossil fuel industry and their backers in Congress are doing all they can to pressure the president to do the wrong thing.

RSVP to join us Feb 17th. Call on President Obama to stop Keystone XL and move our country forward on climate.

Everyone will be gathering on the National Mall by the Washington Monument at noon. You can get more information at http://forwardonclimate.org.

Apply for Greenpeace Semester

The Greenpeace Semester

 Do you care about the environment and want to learn skills to make a real difference?  Greenpeace is looking for the next environmental leaders who want to:

-Learn the practical skills of environmental activism, effective communication, leadership, and strategic campaigning in a supportive environment. 

-Travel to witness environmental destruction first hand and put new knowledge to use

-Get necessary experience that can give them a foot in the door to a career in environmental or social change

During the Greenpeace Semester, young adults learn what it takes to save the planet and gain career experience to become an environmental leader.  The program combines intensive workshops, groups projects, and real experience working on important issues in different communities, working side-by-side with Greenpeace staff. 

     You will:

• join in conversation on critical issues with experts on climate change, protecting our oceans, nuclear energy, forest conservation, toxic pollution, and corporate abuse of the environment
• learn the skills of environmental advocacy, strategic campaigning, communication, and grassroots organizing to win real victories for the planet
• discuss the philosophy of non-violence as a means of making change in the world

Click here to apply!
  

Over 400 participants have joined the Greenpeace Semester to learn the skills of organizing, campaigning, and environmental leadership. Alumni have become leaders on their campuses, secured jobs in the environmental and social justice fields, and some have even started their own organizations.

We invite you to review information about the Greenpeace Semester, including the curriculum, travel details, and the application process.  Please visit http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/semester/ to learn more about the Greenpeace Semester

Internship Fair

 

For more information: http://bethesdagreen.org/Programs/FieldsofGreenInternshipFair2013/tabid/339/Default.aspx 

If you have any questions, please contact Sharon D'Emidio at Sharon@bethesdagreen.org. 

Film Discussion: War Elephants

TODAY (Tuesday February 5) Wechsler Theater - 3rd Floor Mary Graydon Center - American University One of National Geographic’s top writer/producers, David Hamlin, shows clips from War Elephants and discusses the stories behind the film. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, elephants are in crisis. Years of civil war and ivory poaching have left them frightened and hostile toward humans. The world’s foremost elephant researcher Dr. Joyce Poole works to build trust and retrain the animals away from their violent behavior.

Eco-Comedy Video Competition Spring 2013

Click here for more details

$1000 prize! Sponsored by the Sierra Club and AU’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking

GUIDELINES

The contest is open to anyone who prepares a short, funny video for YouTube, which communicates a clear message about climate change.

Submissions must:

• Be humorous!
• Address the issue of climate change. We are interpreting the topic very broadly, so it includes topics like disasters, fossil fuels, clean energy, wildlife (like polar bears), politics, deniers, and so on.
• Reach a broad audience beyond just environmentalists.
• Be an original production.
• Be less than three minutes (including title and credits).
• Posted to Eco-Comedy Video Competition 2013 YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ecocomedy2013
• Submitted by 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday, March 1, 2013.

There will be six judges representing the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Sierra Club, the US Environmental Protection Agency, Mill Reef Productions, and EcoSense. The decision of the judges is final. Awards are based on overall merit of the entries. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award. The organizations listed above reserve the right to post submissions on their websites.

Submissions are due by Friday, March 1, 2013.

Instructions for submission:

1. Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/ecocomedy2013

2. Click on the “Eco-Comedy Video Competition 2013” video.

3. Below the video, click inside the Comments box.

4. Below the right side of the Comments box, click on “Create a video response”.

5. Upload your video by either clicking on “Choose a Video”, if you have already uploaded it to your account; OR if you have not, click on “Upload a Video” to begin the process. Then follow the upload instructions on the screen.

NOTE: Submitted videos will not be visible under “video responses” until they have been approved.

We look forward to watching your videos and awarding the winner $1,000! Good luck!

The winning entry will be announced and shown at American University on Tuesday, March 19 at the DC Environmental Film Festival at 7:00pm in the Wechsler Theater. The creator of the winning entry will receive a $1,000 award from the Sierra Club. In the event of a tie, the monetary prize will be split between the winners equally.

Essay 1

Hi all -- here (below) are your options for Essay 1, due February 13. Please respond to just one of the questions. Further instructions for the assignment are contained in the course syllabus.

Question 1

I'd like you to choose an item that you're in regular contact with -- eg a food or beverage item, an article of clothing, an electronic device, etc. Your task is to produce a thorough "lifecycle assessment" of your chosen item. We'll talk about what this means in class. As a guide, see the excerpt from John Ryan and Alan Durning, "Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things," available in the Content section of our Blackboard site.

Question 2

I’d like you to revisit the Ecological Footprints exercise that you completed for class. Try three things for me. First, recalculate your footprint based on the life you lead in Washington DC. Next, calculate your Washington DC footprint as though you have adopted every environmentally-friendly lifestyle change that the calculator allows. Finally, complete the same exercise in one of the calculator’s other countries. 

What do you learn? What does this exercise suggest about the possibilities and / or the limitations of individual action as a response to unsustainable patterns of social organization?

Discussion Question 2

We here in the United States tend to see technology as a generally positive (or at worst a benign) force in our lives. And for a variety of reasons, there seems to be a widely-held belief that technology holds the key to a resolution of the world's environmental challenges. I wonder what you make of this. For this week I’d like you to consider the following:

Where does technology ultimately fit in to our conversations about how best to respond to a deteriorating environmental condition? More generally, should we consider technology a positive or a negative force in our lives?