CP's Climate Guru Tommaso Boggia reports:

On February 27th, more than 12,000 young climate leaders from throughout the nation (really, all 50 states, most congressional districts, even all territories!) made their way to Washington D.C. to demand action on the climate crisis at the 2009 Power Shift Conference. Power Shift was organized by the Energy Action Coalition, a group of over 50 the diverse local and national organizations working together to support and strengthen the student and youth clean energy movement in North America. As a part of the Energy Action Coalition, Campus Progress staff and student representatives worked tirelessly in the preceding months, and in the end, we were able to recruit over 300 people from campuses and communities across the country to join us at this year’s Power Shift.

Over the course of 3 days at Power Shift, attendees heard from amazing speakers like Van Jones, Majora Carter, and Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Ed Markey, learned essential organizing skills, and grappled with many of the controversial issues facing the environmental movement, from the deceiving malice of Natural Gas to the promise of renewable energy to empower indigenous communities. The conference culminated in a lobby day, in which young people rallied on the lawn of the Capitol demanding action on climate change, and met with their local representatives to lay out their demands for decisive action on the climate crisis.

Not only was the conference a blast, I heard people say over and over that Power Shift had changed their lives. 

As Saturday’s headlining musical act the Roots left the stage, it was close to midnight, and I was ready to fall asleep right then and there. My feet hurt from a long, fulfilling day, and I was not willing to wrestle the crowd to leave the building. Instead, I hung back and waited for a while, as the 12,000 people left the room that they worked so hard to fill. Finally, as the crowds were thinning, I started to make my way out of the room. That’s when I heard a familiar chant coming from the atrium: "Power Shift! Power Shift! Power Shift!" Although I thought it was pretty cool, I moved on, expecting the chant to end and the crowd to disperse any second. It didn't. For over 30 minutes, thousands of young people refused to leave the Conference Center where they had been for over 12 hours. Full of energy, they continued to chant, and the more they chanted, the more the movement became their own. Finally, the excitement turned to chills and brought me close to tears.

And now, after thousands of people rushed Capitol Hill calling for climate justice, Power Shift is continuing throughout the nation. Those who came to D.C. are returning to their communities to recruit more young leaders to the cause. They are building relationships with their representatives to ensure that the principles of Power Shift will be the guiding force for the 111th Congress. In fact, on April 6 -19, you can join the Power Shifters in your home district to lobby your representatives while they are on recess.

I remember when I started working on this issue and it was so hard to mobilize anyone. People didn't get it. They felt a distant connection to the issues of climate change, but few owned the movement. Things have finally changed. Our generation not only gets it, we own it. We are determined to put an end to the reign of death of the “Fossil Fools.” We are ready for a Power Shift!