Power Shift 2011, a youth-based conference advocating for a clean energy economy, took place this past weekend in Washington D.C. Drawing in notable speakers such as Al Gore and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, more than 10,000 young people attended the event, including 15 students from Hopkins.
Power Shift, which consisted of a series of breakout sessions, workshops, speeches and a final demonstration on Capitol Hill, met with the expressed goals of training youth in community organizing and, on the national level, challenging the government on its energy policy.
“I feel like kids — college kids, kids in high school — feel they shouldn’t be politically or environmentally involved because they have no power. Power Shift connects you to so many other people and trains you to start making change. It really helps people feel like they have power and can make a difference,” freshman Thalia Patrinos, an intern for the Chesapeake Action Network and a facilitator for three breakout sessions at this past conference, said.
The response for Power Shift 2011 has been overwhelmingly positive at Hopkins. “During the last speech the energy in the audience was seriously amazing. It was awesome to be surrounded by so many young people,” Margaret Keener, a Hopkins freshman who attended the event, said.
“This movement of students is growing . . . and on the campus level [the clean energy movement] has been successful,” Joanna
Calabrese, Hopkins Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, said. “On a federal policy level it’s really challenging . . . [but] the energy you feel when you’re [at Power Shift], standing amongst progressive people, it’s very inspiring.”
Approximately 15 Hopkins students were recruited for the event, a substantial increase from Power Shift 2007 when only five attended.
“The students that came really, really liked it,” Patrinos said. “I’m not saying that more people couldn’t have shown up, but I was really happy with the number that came.”
This growing attendance to Power Shift seems to be consistent with an overall increased environmental consciousness at Hopkins. Among other things, the Hopkins administration has been working towards Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification for several buildings and has switched to a composting system in school cafeterias. There has also been a proliferation of campus groups such as the Sustainable Hopkins Infrastructure Program (SHIP) and Students for Environmental Action (SEA) dedicated to promoting cleaner environmental policies.
“Students are the most powerful, significant voice at this University,” Calabrese said. “If you express discontent, they listen to you before they listen to faculty or to staff. Most of the college sustainability commitments have been led by students.”
Yet many pointed out that while there are some targeted environmental efforts, this is not reflective of the entire Hopkins student body.
“I think if people really want to start making a change . . . I feel like people need to get a lot more involved [in the environmental movement] and educate themselves,” Patrinos said. “Hopkins compared to other schools is not as environmentally conscious, so I think we have a lot of work to do.”
“No one’s calling people out at the top [of the University], and students can totally do that . . . I feel like most student groups are programming focused,” Calabrese said. “I think there’s so much potential for students to be politically empowered. Power Shift is an opportunity to plant a seed for political advocacy.”
Power Shift 2011 placed a heavy emphasis this year on empowering youth to enact community, state and regional change. In contrast, Power Shift 2007 was very centered on national change, organizing under the theme of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. This shift reflects, in Calabrese’s opinion, a growing disillusionment with both federal government and Obama’s presidency.
Many of Power Shift’s goals in 2009, largely based on the national level, have had little success. Among other things, the EPA has met many legal obstacles in its attempts to enforce clean air and water laws, former special advisor to green jobs for Obama’s administration was forced to step down after conservative criticisms and the movement to create more environmentally friendly jobs for youth has seen little results.
“We’re all so jaded by Obama’s failure to pass a comprehensive energy bill, so we’re focusing what we can do on a smaller scale,” Calabrese said. “[Power Shift] is bringing it back to the local level. I think that’s the sentiment in America right now. We need to do it for ourselves.”
In particular, there is a move towards bringing change to the university level. Tellingly, the Energy Action Coalition, one of the primary organizers of the event, recruits heavily from college campuses.
While Power Shift has had trouble enacting change on the national level, the general consensus is that the conferences bring about an overall optimistic feeling.
“I think the main objective of the conference is to show people that they’re working in solidarity and that they’re part of a movement,” Calabrese said. “They’re not alone. There are students all over the country that are enacting the same vision.”
