Citizen Science

MobilizeU: University organizing opportunity

Details: Created on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 14:27; Written by Alyssa Tsuchiya

SustainUS doesn't have any grassroots campaigns going on right now, but here's cool opportunity from one of our partner organizations, Earth Day Network!

Join Earth Day Network's MobilizeU campaign as a Regional Coordinator! As a MobilizeU Regional Coordinator, you will play a critical role by reaching out to students across the country and inspiring them to mobilize their college campuses. Being a MobilizeU Regional Coordinator is a great opportunity to take on leadership and engage other students in the youth environmental movement - as well as have a lot of fun organizing acts of green throughout the month leading up to Earth Day! We will encourage students to join the MobilizeU movement by participating in four weeks of environmental activism and generating acts of green (actions that reduce individuals' carbon footprints or raise awareness about environmental issues). Through MobilizeU, we have the chance to make a huge impact because every act of green will be counted toward A Billion Acts of Green®, a global initiative to call upon world leaders for international environmental action.

Apply here

Join the national MobilizeU movement today!

Meet the SustainUS Rio+20 delegation!

Details: Created on Monday, 16 January 2012 08:02; Written by Alyssa Tsuchiya

The SustainUS Agents of Change program has selected its SustainUS youth delegation to the Rio+ 20 UNCSD Earth Summit this coming June. The Summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro from June 20-22 2012. The Summit is expected to address two main thematic issues: green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and insitutional framework for sustainable development (also called international environmental governance). It will also follow-up on the commitments made at the previous Earth Summit in Rio and implementation gaps, as well as new and emerging issues.

Follow their tweets @SustainUSAgents and read their blogs at www.sustainus.org/blog.

Meet the delegates after the jump!

AoC Coordinator MJ Shiao assumes position as UNFCCC youth focal point!

Details: Created on Tuesday, 10 January 2012 23:44; Written by Alyssa Tsuchiya

SustainUS' own Agents of Change Coordinator, MJ Shiao, was elected to serve as the 2012 Global North Focal Point for the UNFCCC Youth Constituency! As Focal Point, MJ will help with communications between youth and the Secretariat in the coming year, leading up to the next round of climate negotiations in Qatar.

Today marks the official transition from 2011-2012 Focal Point leadership, so MJ and fellow Focal Point Avi Shrestha are now responsible for all related matters and communication with the Secretariat.

Writes MJ, "our jobs as Focal Points are to liaise information and facilitate action between this movement and the Secretariat which means we need everyone's active, engaged and constructive participation in order to ensure that our needs and influence as a constituency are properly conveyed to and met by the Secretariat."

MJ can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SustainUS Rio+20 Coordinator Lauren Nutter served as 2011 Global North Focal Point.

Meet the SustainUS CSocD-50 delegation!

Details: Created on Monday, 16 January 2012 08:00; Written by Alyssa Tsuchiya

The SustainUS Agents of Change program has selected its SustainUS youth delegation to the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD-50), which will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City from February 1–10, 2012.

CSocD-50 is a policy session and addresses the priority theme of “Poverty Eradication.” Selected delegates will have the opportunity to work with government officials, scientists, civil society representatives, and youth from around the world to review progress on issues related to social development. In the past, AoC delegates have presented case studies and policy statements on behalf of youth; participated in forums with fellow representatives of civil society; and met with government delegates, international organizations, and the US State Department.

Follow their tweets @SustainUSAgents and read their blogs at www.sustainus.org/blog.

Meet the delegates after the jump!

U.S. YOUTH EJECTED FROM CLIMATE TALKS WHILE CALLING FOR NECESSARY CLIMATE PROGRESS

Details: Created on Thursday, 08 December 2011 10:35; Written by Katherine Rainone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8 DECEMBER 2011

U.S. YOUTH EJECTED FROM CLIMATE TALKS WHILE CALLING FOR NECESSARY CLIMATE PROGRESS

Durban, South Africa -- After nearly two weeks of stalled progress by the United States at the international climate talks, U.S. Youth spoke out for a real science based climate treaty. Abigail Borah, a New Jersey resident, delivered a passionate speech calling for an urgent path towards a fair and binding climate treaty and admonishing members of Congress for impeding global climate progress to internationl ministers and high level negotiators at the closing plenary of the Durban climate change negotiations. Borah's speech was met with an eruption of applause while she was ejected from the talks shortly following her entreaty.

Borah, a student at Middlebury College, spoke on behalf of U.S. negotiators because, "they cannot speak on behalf of the United States of America," highlighting that "the obstructionist Congress has shackled a just and delayed ambition for far too long."

Since before the climate talks, the United States has held off on the necessary emissions reductions targets until the year 2020. Studies from the International Energy Agency, the UNEP, and countless other peer-reviewed scientific papers show that waiting until 2020 to begin aggressive emissions reduction would cause irreversible climate change, including heightened tropical storms, worsening droughts, and devastation affecting communities and businesses from Africa to America. Nevertheless, the United States has held strong to its woefully inadequate and voluntary commitments made in the Copenhagen Accord and Cancun Agreement.

"2020 is too late to wait," urged Borah. "We need an urgent path towards a fair, ambitious, and legally binding treaty."

The U.S. continues to negotiate on time borrowed from future generations and with every step of inaction, forces young people to solve the quickly exacerbating climate challenges that previous generations have been unable and unwilling to address.