Step It Up 2

Diary USA[]

November 3 2007 Step It Up 2, call for leadership on global warming.

Building on the success of April's event[]

Step It Up 2 will build on Step It Up’s April 14 rally that produced more than 1,400 events in 50 states, the largest global warming event in U.S. history.

Timing[]

The events across the country—held one year before the 2008 election— will show the contrast between the intense concern of ordinary Americans and the leadership vacuum in Washington. At some of the rallies, people will dip an index finger in green ink, a reminder that they plan to cast their vote next fall with global warming in mind.

Decentralized approach[]

The November 3 rallies will be organized using the same decentralized Web 2.0 approach by a core team of committed youth in New Hampshire and hundreds of independent organizers across the country.

While Step It Up rallies issue a call for action from local communities, thousands of youth will gather at the University of Maryland at College Park, calling for change at the November 2-5 Powershift 2007 conference.

Priorities[]

Participants in rallies will call for real leadership on global warming including the 1 Sky priorities:

no new coal plants
80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050
5 million new green jobs.

Quotes[]

“November 3 represents a new move towards political accountability. So far it's been enough for politicians to say: I care. Now, one year out from a pivotal global warming election, it's time to see who's going to lead, From melting ice caps to erratic weather, we already see the impact of global warming, But while global warming presents our most pressing challenge, it also presents our most inspiring opportunity. As the first Step It Up event showed, Americans will unite across partisan, racial, economic and religious lines to pressure leaders to solve this crisis,” author and Step It Up spokesperson Bill McKibben.

“We unlocked a pressure cooker of public concern for global warming in April by simply calling for local action.,The enormous participation across the country, by people from all walks of life, should be a wake-up call to politicians,” Step It Up co-coordinator May Boeve.

“Americans are demanding real solutions that will reduce carbon emissions and stop global warming before it is too late. Many events will occur in historic places such as the Lincoln Memorial or on Paul Revere’s route to symbolize the need for politicians to provide leadership on global warming,” Step It Up co-coordinator Jamie Henn.

External links[]

Step it Up campaign website

References[]

Step It Up, press release, September 17, 2007