From an article on HuffPost:
President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined plans for a high-speed rail network he said would change the way Americans travel, drawing comparisons to the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.
Obama’s administration identified 10 possible corridors that could get this high speed rail and among them was the Gulf Coast Corridor that includes Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham, and Atlanta.
admin Green climate change, high speed rail, pollution
Some local students just got back from Power Shift ‘09, a weekend where about 10,000 young people converged on the nation’s capitol and braved the winds and snow to demand bold climate and clean energy policies. They attended speeches from various members of Congress and several environmentalists as well as got training for when they would be lobbying their representatives on Monday. I talked to one of the students from University of Alabama who attended to learn more.
freeThinkBham: What was the point of Power Shift?
Leah: The point of Power Shift was to organize young people to put pressure on their congress members to cut carbon emissions, create 5 million green jobs, invest in clean energy sources and make America a leader in the international community in this issue.
ftb: What was the format for the weekend?
Leah: Friday and Saturday were various workshops. There was everything from training us to get unsustainable practices off of our campuses to learning what must be done before the international meeting in copenhagen on climate change. Most of Sunday was spent preparing for a lobby meeting with our representatives, and Monday we participated in the largest lobby day on climate and energy in our nation’s history.
ftb: What did you get out of this experience?
Leah: I got to hear many important climate change leaders speak, like Bill McKibben. It was also really inspiring to be surrounded by another 12,000 young people who were concerned about the same things as I.
ftb: What effect do you think the weekend had?
Leah: I think it showed Congress that this is an issue that has widespread national support from one of the most important voting demographics at this time.
admin Green Bill McKibben, climate change, Power Shift
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