In the fall of 2006 hundreds of students from across Virginia converged on the campus of William and Mary for a Youth Energy Summit (YES) conference.  It was this event that kick-started the environmental youth movement in the state.  In the summer of 2007 a committed group of students from colleges across the Commonwealth met in Harrisonburg, Virginia to help establish a statewide network called the Virginia Climate Action Network (VaCAN).  The first unifying goal of VaCAN was to stop the building of a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County.  Since then the network has outreached towards many thousands across the state.

Attendees at the Youth Energy Summit in the fall of 2006.

Attendees at a VaCAN visit to Wise County, Virginia in the fall of 2007.

Virginia Power Shift is a continuation of this movement, providing the next step from last year’s historic national Power Shift on a statewide scale.  Students at Virginia Tech stepped up and took the initial challenge and brought in dozens of other devoted youth across the state to host a conference in which over a thousand youth will come together and be empowered to find their place in the movement towards a just transition for a sustainable Commonwealth.  As the youth are coming together in an unprecedented fashion, it will put pressure on our local and state representatives to move forward with climate legislation.  As environmental catastrophes threaten the world as we know it, now is the time to step up and make a difference.

What is Power Vote?

One of the strongest ways to have your voice heard is by utilizing the most important tool in a republic: your vote.  As several critical elections approach it is necessary for us to demand of all candidates to put climate change and sustainability on the top of their agendas.  As stated on the Power Vote website:  Youth are already successfully fighting new dirty energy developments, supporting local green jobs initiatives and pushing for campuses to become carbon neutral. It is time for our elected officials up and down the ballot to join us and become champions in the fight against global warming.

With Power Vote, a non-partisan campaign spearheaded by Energy Action Coalition, youth will elevate the importance of green jobs, greenhouse gas emissions cuts, and justice in the elections. We will push candidates to become bold political leaders and then hold them accountable once they're in office. We will build the numbers and the power of the youth climate movement so that we can work together even more effectively on our campuses and in our communities to usher in a clean and just energy revolution.  We need millions of young people committed to creating a better, healthier, more just, and sustainable future.  We are building a youth voter bloc 1 million strong to demand bold federal climate legislation, a moratorium on coal and other dirty energy, and to create millions of good, green jobs. Youth will start by signing our Power Vote pledge and then get plugged into the incredible youth climate movement sweeping the nation. We will not only elect people who support our position, but will hold them accountable to it.