Just days after the second Presidential debate, Barack Obama returned to Virginia today to rally his supporters in the last few weeks before the big day. While thousands of students, community members, and families lined the streets of George Mason University to show their support for the President, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one thing was on a lot of people’s minds: climate change. And they weren’t happy about it.
Dozens of students I talked with today were not only upset about the state of our national energy debate, but showed that they were more than happy to pledge a PowerVote for clean energy when they hit the polls on November 6th. Mitt Romney’s debate promise to make American energy secure included “drilling offshore in Virginia where the people want it,” but it is clear that students at George Mason today have spoken—and more drilling is not what they want! Perhaps the ‘people’ Romney is referring is the Dominion utility executives, like Tom Farrell, who refuse to include any Virginian wind or solar power in their fifteen-year energy portfolio.
Either way, today was a breath of fresh air for a new Virginian like myself. Big Polluters may have billions of dollars to try and buy our elections and destroy our climate, but we have grassroots power. This month, CCAN will be working with youth across the state to build momentum for a renewable energy future, and demand our elected officials and universities follow our lead.
For more information on the youth climate movement, or to cast your ballot for a clean energy future, please visit: www.powervote.org
