In the middle of our new administration's first 100 days, Power Shift 2009 will bring 10,000 young people to Washington to hold our elected officials accountable for rebuilding our economy and reclaiming our future through bold climate and clean energy policy.

From February 27th to March 2nd, 2009 young people from across the country will converge on Washington D.C. to take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Capitol Hill. We will leverage the momentum we have built through the Campus Climate Challenge, Power Shift 2007, and our election campaign Power Vote to pressure our politicians to take the action our generation demands.

Our window of opportunity is short; the first months of the new administration are critical in achieving significant, lasting changes.  We must use the time we have to redefine what is politically feasible and achieve what is scientifically and economically necessary to safeguard our future.

And we will.

At Power Shift, not only will we deliver our message of change to our elected officials, but we will continue to strengthen the climate and clean energy movement far beyond 2009 by infusing our nation's next generation of leaders with new learning, skill, connection to each other, and opportunities for action and employment.

Power Vote

This past fall, hundreds of thousands of youth mobilized to vote and demand bold solutions to our generation's defining issues. The Power Vote campaign collected 341,127 pledges calling on our politicians to create millions of green jobs, invest in a clean energy economy, cut global warming pollution immediately, end our dependence on dirty energy, take dirty money out of politics, and re-engage as a leader in the international community. Youth of all backgrounds will use their experience from local and state level climate change movements to create a fresh, positive, and inspiring vision of the future, one focused on our potential to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, build a clean energy economy, achieve energy independence, create millions of green jobs, increase global equity, and revitalize the American economy.

Power Shift 2009

will take the climate movement to new levels. At this conference, leaders of our generation will share ideas, learn new skills, make new connections, establish a national voice for our generation, and send a united message to our national leaders: we are moving beyond the same old special interests, empty promises, and inadequate results to embrace a new paradigm that leverages our strengths and achieves what is possible for our future. With new leadership, we are presented with a fresh opportunity to harness solutions to the climate crisis, record unemployment rates, and a depressed economy. But we must unite in a collective call for change.

• Push the new Administration and Congress to pass bold, comprehensive, and just national climate legislation before entering international climate negotiations in December 2009 and to build and ratify a strong global climate agreement.  Bold climate policies will protect us from the worst impacts of climate change and help us build a new clean energy economy that keeps and creates jobs and allows all communities to participate and benefit.

• Develop a comprehensive movement strategy for 1.) continued and increased political pressure and accountability and 2.) a uniform vision/direction that helps facilitate the development and implementation of individual and group action plans for the overall growth of our movement.
  
  
• Strengthen bonds between diverse youth constituencies, train and empower participants with the skills needed to create one movement that tackles climate change, environmental injustice, and economic failure.
  
  
• Connect with fellow organizers and build community to strengthen our movement and sustain our own involvement over the long-run.
  
  
• Understand the magnitude of both the challenges and opportunities at hand (climate, socio-economic injustice, personal, etc.) and explore our own capacities to create transformative change.

That's where you come in. To reach our goal of uniting thousands of young people at Power Shift, we need your help. You can grow our movement by inviting ten of your friends to register for Power Shift !  The shift starts with you!