Reposted from Its Getting Hot in Here
Yesterday morning before the Youth Clean Energy forum I awoke at 6AM and couldn’t sleep. The anticipation of our movement’s historic opportunity swirled loudly in my head. This was our chance to talk directly to the Obama administration and let them know what we think. In the dim early morning light I wrote this letter to our President and was encouraged to hear that many of the other leaders at the forum felt the same way.
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Dear President Obama,
I have one question for you: When?
When will you seal your place in American history and announce your bold vision to unite this nation behind an Apollo Project for clean energy or a Green New Deal? When will you launch the “Obama Plan” to defend America from one of the greatest threats to our national security, our nation’s health, and our economy?
Our country’s greatest Presidents have emerged to lead us through times of crisis. Mr. President, the solutions to the energy and climate crisis should be your greatest legacy.
During your inspirational campaign for the presidency hundreds of thousands of young people got involved on an unprecedented scale. We knocked on doors for you, made phone calls, harnessed the power of new media, and we voted in record numbers. We voted because we know our future is at stake and we placed our faith in a leader that gave us hope for a better world. Our generation realized its power and we stand proud and ready to see your visionary leadership.
On election night you told us it was our victory and to hold you to your promises, to keep organizing in our communities and revitalizing our democracy. Mr. President I am proud to say that we have. We have led my making our campuses and communities models of the new sustainable society we want to inherit. We are pouring our hearts and our souls into healing our communities from the ongoing violence of this failing fossil fuel economy. We are doing everything we can, but we cannot do it alone.
When will you launch your bold national plan to re-energize America with a new clean and just energy economy, create millions of jobs for those who need them most, unleash our generation’s innovation, and make us the global leader in clean technologies?
Inspire us with a visionary plan rooted in the American promise of “justice for all” and we will unite behind you. We need you as much as you need us. Time is running out, we know what’s at stake, and we refuse to wait much longer. Let’s work together to launch a national campaign for clean energy and make this generation one of the greatest in American history. Our generation has demonstrated the commitment and ingenuity to do it. When will you lead the charge?
Sincerely,
Ethan Nuss
