We just got back from Powershift 09, the largest youth summit on climate change in history. After attending various workshops and lectures, it became very clear to me that we are in more trouble than we have been reacting to. We have the tools in Slippery Rock, in each of you, and in our need for a clean climate future to make a huge difference, and I know that we can do it.

Currently, with the help of former organizer Dan Cannon, we are drafting up our new campaign. We will be asking Slippery Rock University and President Smith to do the following things:
* Eradicate the use of Bituminous coal in the central boiler plant. This is DIRTY coal. The black stuff you see spewing out of the coal plant leads to localized pollution. We are talking about our health here-you don’t want coal in your stocking, why would we want it in our lungs?

*Take accountablilty for our carbon emmissions by designating a permenent on-campus carbon sink. Think trees! Think forests!

*Have President Smith sign the Presidents Climate Commitment. He has previously said that this is too much to commit to, and while we disagree, we have a compromise. We will help President Smith draft his own version. We want to know that we can count on the administration to back us while we do the right thing.

The important thing to realize is that we can’t do this on our own. We need to all work together. When the people lead, the leaders follow. These are big plans we have, but I have every confidence in each and every one of us that we can do it. Keep checking back for updates, and invite your friends to the facebook group. I will be blogging every step of the way, and we will be organizing a meeting for after spring break. As always, contact me with any questions at rachel {at} leaveitgreen(.)org.

The time for Change is NOW!!!
Rachel

Powershift ’07 was arguably the most pivotal movement in our generation’s involvement in the climate change movement. It allowed us to band together with thousands of other college students from around the country, and show the politicians our great concerns with the current treatment of the environment. The energy at the conference was so intense, and everyone fed off of everyone else’s ideas. One of those ideas inspired the Green Fund. The action taken by participants after the conference was overwhelming and really fast forwarded the environmental movement.

Now, we have the opportunity to attend Powershift ’09, where we will be calling to President Obama to make the right moves regarding the environment. There will be panel discussions, speeches, and workshops hosted by the people who are making a difference. There will also be a concert, featuring environmentally-friendly artists, a job fair, and the opportunity to network and meet people with the same passion as you.

The conference will be held from February 28th to March 2nd in Washington DC, and will be wrapping up with a rally on Capitol Hill. Come and let your voice be heard! This is an amazing opportunity that you should take advantage of. For registration information, visit http://www.powershift09.org .

I will be heading that way, so if you are interested in sharing transportation, we will be organizing car pools. E-mail me at rachel {at} leaveitgreen(.)org if you would like more information!!

This is just to let everybody know that Leave It Green, in conjunction with the Cycling Club and The Green Bike Initiative, is hosting Slippery Rock’s first ever Bike and Music Fest this Saturday.

The day will kick off at 1:00pm with bike activities including speakers, clinics and give-aways (you could even win a brand new bike!), then at four, the mood shifts to music with performances by Brad Yoder, Dali Rocket, and The Unified Theory.

After the festival, we will be remembering last year’s movement, and the beginning of Leave It Green, by kicking off our second annual week long camp-in! There will be friends, fire, and music, and everybody is welcome!

We hope to see you there!

**this event is sponsored by donation from the PA Film Institute, whose Global Wealth Environmental Film Festival is going on Monday thru Thursday of this week and next, with films starting at 7:30pm nightly in the ATS Auditorium. Admission is free, and the documentaries are interesting…CHECK IT OUT!

For all of you activists out there, tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be meeting in ATS 311 at 7:30. We will be discussing the campaigning and making signs. It should be pretty cool. If you have any posterboard, markers, paint, etc., bring it along! Hope to see you guys there!

If I had to pick my favorite Green Fund week so far, this week would definitely be it.

On Tuesday, Doug and I met with the SGA executive board to discuss the logistics of President Smith’s plan for us. We quickly discovered that it was not quite feasible for the mission of The Green Fund, and at that time the board was insanely helpful in figuring out other ways for The Green Fund to be successful. So in the end, it came down to us going back to our original plan. While Doug and I were with SGA, Dan and Matt met with a group of communications majors who will be helping out The Green Fund as their class project. We are really excited to have them and their talent on board.

Later that day, probably the most exciting thing in the history of The Green Fund happened–we had our activist meeting!! All of us were really excited to see the turn out at the meeting, and I know we have a GREAT team to work with. Already, I have seen signs put up, pins handed out, and you guys wearing your shirts. I even heard about the plans that the hecklers have, and quite frankly, I dig em. What it all comes down to, is that you all rock, and I know that with your help we will be successful. Stay tuned for more meetings, and if you couldn’t make the meeting but still want to be on our activst team, let me know at rachel {at} leaveitgreen(.)org.

On Thursday, Dan and Allie met with SGA, where they approved our voting days, APRIL 7, 8, and 9. Dan gave each member of SGA a button, so hopefully they will wear them as much as we do (everyday)!

Then Friday, we met with Larry Brink and President Smith…you can read the details in the post below.

So this was a very active week, and it is only going to get better!

This coming week, we will be working on adding to the video, so keep your eye out for us! As for you activists, keep checking your emails, and remember, if you have ANY questions, don’t hesitate to call or email us.

Peace and Momentum!

Rachel

This morning, we met with Larry Brink, SGA president, as well as SRU President, Dr. Robert Smith. Basically, we told him that we were uncomfortable with incorporating our fee into the General Services fee. The General Services fee is basically SGA’s money, and while we would be able to fund the student activities portion of the program with that account, we would be unable to do anything for any building upgrades, maintenance issues, department requests, etc. Basically, the only things that could be funded would be student club’s requests. Since Leave it Green is grassroots, and intends on remaining that way, we would be going against our mission by becoming a recognized group, and the bulk of The Green Funds intentions would not be satisfied.

After explaining this and much further discussion, President Smith and Leave It Green agreed that we would wait until the referendum passes, and explore our options at that point. It really has come down to us sticking to our morals as an organization, and we can’t back down on what we believe is right. So though no concrete resolution has been made at this time regarding the path we will take after the referendum, we will continue to stand up for our beliefs and make the best decision when the time comes. So keep on keepin’ on guys, we need your support and help more than ever!!! Remember that the voting dates for the referendum are April 7th, 8th, and 9th.

You guys ROCK!!!

Rachel and Dan

Well, as always, The Green Fund has had another pretty eventful week! We have been working very hard on getting all of our documents and literature ready for the public, and we will continue to work on that over spring break!

On Thursday, Dr. Lang Smith of the GGE department came to speak to Leave It Green members about his experience working for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and gave us tips on how to be better activists. Dr. Smith offered us some priceless advice, and it was awesome to see all of the work he has been involved with. He asked us some hard questions, and really helped us to prepare for our big meeting on Friday with President Robert Smith.

When Dan, Doug, Allie, and I met with President Smith on Friday, we were pleasently surprised at how supportive he was in regards to our initiative. He gave us some options on how we can acheive our goal. We definitely have some things to think about, and no decisions have been made. We will be meeting with him again after spring break, and are happy to have him on board to reach our goal!

I will be taking the next two Saturdays off, because it is SPRING BREAK, and there are no classes to remind me what day it is, but rest assured that I will keep you guys posted on anything that happens as soon as I get to a computer. I hope you all have a WONDERFUL spring break. Explore new places, see new things, and take lots of pictures!

Peace and Relaxation!

Rachel

This week was a HUGE week for The Green Fund. If you have been checking the site regularly, some of this may be review, but since it all sounds so good, I’m going to say it all again.

First on the exciting list is that SGA approved The Green Fund’s referendum! To quickly explain this to you, a referendum basically poses a question on an issue to the whole student body. For us, the question will be simple–we want to know whether or not you guys support The Green Fund. Depending on what you guys vote, we will be able to take the results to the administration and Harrisburg so that we can officially show student support. The voting date is TBA, so look out for updates on that.

Immediately following the SGA meeting, Dan and I talked with Amber on WSRU. Anyone who listened to the radio show got to hear everything there is to know about The Green Fund. We were asked such good questions, listened to some sweet music, and just had a lot of fun.

The excitement did not stop on Thursday, however. Friday, Dan, Dr. Jerry Chmielewski and I met with Dr. Bucha again, and have officially set up the Green Fund Foundation! Dr. Bucha has been so much help showing us the ropes and offering suggestions, so we really appreciate that. The foundation account is now open for donations, so if anyone is interested, just let any of us know.

We also have a big week ahead of us. This Friday, we will be meeting with President Smith so that we can involve the administration. This will be a very big meeting for The Green Fund, and we will keep you posted on the outcomes.

In other, but related, news, something really awesome is coming right to Slippery Rock. The PA Film Institute will be presenting the “Largest Environmental Film Festival in PA” called the Global Wealth Environmental Film Festival. It is running from March 31 thru April 4, and April 7-April 10. There will be some sweet documentaries, speakers, and music. for more information, visit http://www.pafilminstitute.com .

So that’s all the news I have for you today. As always, Dan and I are open to answering ANY questions and concerns you guys have. Just ask.

Peace and EXCITEMENT!

Rachel

The Green Fund Foundation was officially set up this morning!! Tell all of your friends and family, and if anyone is interested in making a (tax deductable) donation, just let us know!! The establishment of this account means that our short term goal has been accomplished, and now we can focus our energy on thinking long term!

You’ll have to pardon the lack of news updates. Everyone is now back at The Rock and should be settling by now.

Our new officers are Rachel and Dan. They have taken over and will be following in the footsteps of Scott and Abbie.

Leave It Green is under new management and they should be posting news about upcoming events shortly. Check back soon for news about gatherings and community events.