UCF hosts regional climate change conference Power Shift ’09

UCF students were pressed for time to organize Florida Power Shift '09, but with the cooperation of several organizations on and off campus, the event's pieces fell into place.

 The two-day event last weekend was held at the UCF Arena and at nearby areas on campus and was one of only two Power Shift '09 conferences held in the South. Neal Shonyo made the trip from the University of South Florida for the conference. "Power Shift is about people discussing the climate issues that are plaguing the environment," he said.

It was one of 11 youth-organized campaigns to demand action from the new administration on climate and energy legislation.

      Members of activist groups like I.D.E.A.S. and Eco-Advocates, along with a slew of others on campus, helped plan the event.

 "The [Energy Action Coalition] got in touch with us no longer than a month ago and expected us to hold a national conference at UCF in that time," said Chris Castro, president of I.D.E.A.S.

The Energy Action Coalition is a facilitator of 50 focus groups from around the country working to reach and empower individuals who are uninformed about the climate crisis.

 "Increasing the diversity of our movement is increasing the legislator's receptivity to our message. The more people we get together, the louder we get," said Mandy Hancock of the Southern Energy Network and a sponsor of the EAC.

  UCF was chosen as the region's host due to its location, size, dedication to the environment and involvement on campus, according to Hancock. "This is the largest energy gathering in Florida yet," Hancock said.

 About 150 people attended Florida Power Shift '09 with representatives from 17 different colleges in the South.

    The weekend served as an opportunity for students to network and to expand their scope on environmental issues. "Power Shift is an educational experience. So, we'll come out of the weekend with new ideas dealing with what we've learned, like pushing the no-nuclear campaign," said Alice Pernezny, an organizer and member of Eco-Advocates.

 Power Shift '09 is the Energy Action Coalition's extension of the National Power Shift that took place in Washington D.C. in February, in which 12,000 young people lobbied Congress for legislation. Meghan Ryan and Graham Penniman were two students at the Capitol Building for the demonstration. "This is a campaign to push legislators to do the responsible thing for our environment," said Ryan, a freshman and organizer of Florida Power Shift '09. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the climate bill over the summer, so now lobbyists are reaching for Senate approval, according to several speakers at the event.

    Organizers planned several occasions at and around UCF to increase involvement and awareness leading up to Power Shift, such as lake cleanups, off-campus recycling and T-tote making, were some of the efforts volunteers made.

     Saturday, Power Shift supporters were led to Memory Mall to form the number 350 in the lawn as part of a global campaign organized by 350.org to unite the world on climate issues. The Earth was formed inside the zero by students wearing blue and green shirts. One hundred and eighty-one countries recognized Oct. 24 as an "International Day of Climate Action" to pledge support to the cause.

      In December, the United Nations will hold the Climate Change Conference in Denmark, in which 170 world leaders will discuss the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 and initiatives to preserve Earth's systems and atmosphere. "We want our president to take something to Copenhagen, because if we don't, China, India and others won't take action. The world has made us the leader in the climate issue," said Graham Penniman, the student media coordinator.

      Power Shift held a segment titled "A Call to Action" in which college representatives from around Florida spoke. Bleu Waters, an FIU student, proclaimed that "global warming is this generation's civil rights cause." Waters asked the audience to consider the oppressed groups around the world suffering from greenhouse emissions.

      Workshops on a variety of topics were held in classrooms around campus, such as "Florida Climate and Energy Policy" and "Eco-Feminism." Elena Dulys, a student from Virginia, presented "Voting With Your Fork" to a group of 15 and discussed the importance of consuming local and organic produce. As a general rule, she said: "Don't eat something your grandmother wouldn't recognize," referring to artificial products now available at the grocery store.

      A group of veterans stopped at Power Shift to promote "Operation Free," a campaign across 21 states reaching out to citizens and community leaders to raise awareness about the threat of climate change to the national security of the country. Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Hector Samario kept it simple. "We have broken the world by exhausting its resources, but the good news it that we can fix it by things like promoting mass transportation on campus and energy conservation," he said. Four veterans spoke to the crowd and emphasized that climate change has to be an across-the-board issue.

      Alice Pernezny and University of Florida student Chris Cano led a discussion on the Green Fee during an open sessions portion of the day. About an hour of open sessions was set aside for attendants to bring issues to the table that hadn't been covered during the conference. Students from across the state took notes on ways to get approval of the fee. "The students are into the Green Fee at FIU, but we just need to figure out how to get it through the student government," said Jessica Okaty, a member of Students for Environmental Action at Florida International University.