Make a Powermove and PowerVote! (Powervote.org)

So if you happened to notice, my earrings in the picture above say "Power Vote". What is Power Vote you ask? Well it is the hottest new campaign to hit the environmental movement in a while. Power vote is all about leveraging the power of the youth of North America (There's PowerVote Canada too!). The goal is to show our candidates that we care about our futures and we want to see an economy that cares about our futures as well.

What kind of economy would that be you ask? Well one that's based off of Clean and Renewable Energy such as wind and solar of course! Studies on Renewable energy show that it will create more jobs, reduces our dependence on foreign energy and saves millions of lives because we are not using dirty and polluting energy made from Coal and Oil.

Dang! That's alot and there's so much more. So I encourage everyone if they have not done so already to Sign the Pledge at Powervote.org!

Sign the pledge and let them know that the youth of North America are not only going to vote but we are also going to hold your leaders ACCOUNTABLE!

Powervote.org

Forty Acres and a Hybrid Cadillac....

In June of 2007 someone asked me what I thought justice would be and I jokingly said 40 acres and a hybrid cadillac. Then the other day I got a call from a friend who told me that Cadillac had just put out a hybrid Escalade! (WHAH) okay, I was more than excited and immediately went to the website to check it out. I mean, I know I can't afford one on my salary but hey it's just one step closer to my personal dream of reparations.

What I found out though was a nightmare! Cadillac was trying to play its consumers (which we must admit is a lot of black and brown folk plus our grand parents) for fools. Although Cadillac is taking the first step towards greening their car line and now rappers, actors, ball players and grandmas will have a fly AND eco-friendly alternative, it still ain't no Prius. The Cadillac hybrid only gets 20 miles per gallon (Mpg). This is an upgrade compared to the 12mpg of a traditional Escalade but terrible when you compare it to the Toyota Prius which gets an estimated 48 mpg, or a regular engined Honda Civic Coupe which gets 36mpg.

The Hybrid Escalade might not be as bad on our environment as the original but it sure isn't doing much for the pocket book. So in my opinion. Wait it out on the hybrid Cadillac and purchase a bike instead. by the time we're all thousandiares they should have made it a little better. Maybe by then they'll even give me my forty acres too ;).

What's it Like to be Black and Think Green

The Father of Environmental Justice, Dr. Robert D. Bullard once told me (as he says very often) that if you breathe this air, live on this earth and drink this water, than you are an environmentalist.” As the Campus Climate Challenge Coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, I work on mobilizing students of color, specifically at HBCUs around environmental and Climate justice issues. Since last summer I have been going around the country sparking little fires of interest. From Morgan State in Baltimore to Grambling State in Louisiana, I have been on a mission. A mission to show my folk that yes you are an environmentalist and it is okay!

In all reality, People of Color invented going green (see: George Washington Carver or almost any indigenous people of Asia, the Americas or Africa). We also are avid energy conservationist. Almost every Black person in America has had someone in their family tell them to “turn that Da*n light off”. I remember getting chastised by my Granddad for hours about electricity, water bills and the price of paper towels. I also remember never eating store bought greens, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, or jalapenos because my grandfather always made sure to grow them in our backyard every spring.

Since my granddad died in 2003, a new trendy slogan has risen to the top ranks of popular culture. That term is “Go green”. Everything from Toyota to America’s Next Top Model has promoted some sort of eco-friendly alternative to the common way of life. Unfortunately, when I speak with young folk of color, they just can’t relate. Maybe it is the advertising, the tree-hugging, or those ugly ass sustainable shoes. Or maybe it is the outrageous prices for even the simplest of energy-efficient products ($5 for a light bulb though?).Whatever it is, folk of color are giving it the stink eye and the yuck mouth. That is until they hear the reality of the situation, which is that communities of color cannot afford to not think green.

In the Redefining Progress and Congressional Black Caucus report, African-Americans and Climate Change: An unequal burden (2004), they found that 65 percent of African- Americans and 80 percent of Latino Americans live in 437 counties with substandard air-quality. We are also three-times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and other respiratory illnesses. With global warming and climate change these numbers are supposed to increase something vicious.

From an economic standpoint, we need to bombard the government and our quirky tree-hugging friends with the question, “how much green will I lose going green?” Already, people of color spend an average of 20 percent more of our annual wages on energy based expenses (gas, electricity, etc.) If we are not at the table NOW ready to put the fear of God into these policy makers than we will be a day late and a dollar short from being able to even live. People of color are the voices that must be heard and loudly if we are going to create a new economy that is not only ecological but also economically friendly.With that being said, I would like to give a shout-out to all of my eco-tokens of color that I meet at every climate and environmental conference. Just want to let you know, You are definitely not alone.

Environmentally friendly people of color are a force stronger than any convenient, re-usable, eco-friendly box can hold. We are (among so many other things) hip-hop heads, “thugs”, student government leaders, fashionistas, church deacons, veterans and spades players. Even my own die-hard pork eating, slightly conservative, “Murder She Wrote” watching granddad is in this mix. But even though my Grandfather’s favorite color was green, he never ran around calling himself apart of the “green movement” or asking people to call him “greenpa”. Like many people of color, his practices were a part of his reality and his upbringing. Considering this, I am calling all of my people of color who see this as more than just a hybrid trend to let the world know, We are here, we are building, and we are so much more than what you bargained for.

Many Blessings,

MsKGreen.