Well ask and you shall receive I guess…

We’ve all been calling on the BLM to stop being an Energy Delayer and lift a moratorium that locked up the vast reserves of solar energy located on federal lands. Today, the BLM announced that they would lift the planned twenty-two month moratorium on land it stewards in six southwest states rich in solar energy. The BLM had claimed that an extensive environmental impact review was necessary before solar development on federal lands could move forward and called for the moratorium on May 29th.

Today’s refreshingly smart move from the federal government clears the way for over 130 solar energy development projects already submitted to the BLM to move forward and opens up the possibility of further development of this untapped and vast American energy resource.

“We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications,” BLM Director James Caswell said in a statement, “and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections.”

I’d love to think my blogging had something to do with this, but there were plenty of voices calling on the BML to end it’s dangerously crazy obstruction of new clean energy sources. Among those calling for an end to the insane moratorium on solar development was Senate Majority Leader and solar-rich Nevada’s senator, Harry Reid (yeah he’s been busy!) who I imagine might be slightly more influential than this blogger…

Either way, it’s clear that as the price of oil continues to rise, buoying inflation and economic insecurity along with it, the time is now to tap our vast reserves of abundant renewable energy and develop the clean and cheap new American energy sources that will power the 21st Century.

So wether it’s the Bush Administration, Congressional demogauges or NIMBY enviros, we can’t afford to let Energy Delayers stand in the way of a new American energy future.

I’ve got to hand it to Harry Reid - he’s willing to speak truth in a way most politicians never do. This video clip of Reid on Fox Business Network has exploded in the past 48 hours - garnering nearly 400,000 views on YouTube.

“….. But the one thing we we fail to talk about is the costs you don’t see on the bottom line. Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It’s global warming. It’s ruining our country, it’s ruining our world. You’ve got to stop using fossil fuel…. It’s making us all sick”

What is interesting - is that the video itself is actually quite boring. There’s no sex, no screaming, no explosions, no irreverent humor, nor even great creativity - the usual traits of popular viral videos. So what made this video so popular? Is it because a politician (the Senate Majority Leader of all people) was willing to say the things that we all know to be true - but few of his social status dare say publicly? There are some reports floating around that the viral popularity of the video can at least be partially attributed to conservatives - who are promoting the video in hopes of painting Reid and other Democrats as “out of touch”.

If you happen to work for the coal industry disagree with Reid - check out this great compilation of facts on the health impacts of coal, courtesy of Coal Is Dirty.

The SustainUS Agents of Change program is now accepting applications for its delegation to the UN Climate Negotiations, COP14, happening in Poznan, Poland this December. We will be extending the application deadline to July 12, 2008 at 5pmEST. COP14 will determine the future of international policy on climate change, and youth must make their voices heard.

The SustainUS delegation, comprised of key leaders in the youth climate movement from various organizations and backgrounds, will have the unique opportunity to represent American youth at the COP. Delegates will work with each other and with international youth in advance of the conference to educate themselves, develop policy priorities, acquire skills in effective lobbying, and engage the broader youth population in a conversation about international climate policy.

Apply to be an Agent of Change today!

Feel like you’re always moving too fast? Next time your in Tokyo, take the chance to slow down at a unique cafe on the outskirts of the city.

Claire Tsai, one of our newest staff members from Taiwan, and I are currently working in Japan to build the 350 movement here and connect with organizations and activists. One of the first people we met was Keibo Oiwa, founder of the “Sloth Movement,” in Japan and owner of Cafe Slow. Claire and I talked with him over a delicious, slow-food meal at his cafe – the epicenter of the growing slow movement in Japan.

Keibo was inspired to found his first organization, Sloth Club, on a trip to Ecuador. Visiting the rainforest there, he encountered the sloth for the first time and decided the slow-moving animal was a perfect symbol for Keibo’s philosophy.

Sloth Club is not just an environmental organization but an “eco-cultural” group. The group’s mission, Keibo explains, is to  “revive our culture and create a revolution in our lifestyle.” The consumeristic lifestyle and Japan and around the world is no longer fulfilling people’s basic needs: friendship, peace, and, perhaps most important, happiness. “What we call a wealthy society is actually quite a poor place,” he concludes.

Throughout our conversation, Keibo cracks jokes and smiles from ear to ear as he describes all the projects he is working on. “A sense of humor is so important,” he says, talking about how he picked the name of his organization. “The type of society we’re trying to create needs to be a fun one.”

Young people are a key part of Keibo’s vision. “Young people are really starting to move,” he says. “We can’t create the new story for them, but we still have certain advantages, some useful knowledge we can share.” Keibo employs as many young people as he can in his Slow Cafe and other sustainable business ventures to give youth employment opportunities outside the mainstream.

The cafe also serves as a community hub, one of the shrinking number of places in Tokyo where youth can relax, meet with their friends, hold concerts, and talk about how to create societal change. The Cafe also houses two other eco-cultural organizations, a fair trade shop, an art gallery, and a small bakery.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the challenge of global warming and changing how our society thinks about energy. In Japan, for example, it takes one and half nuclear power plants to run the 5.5 million vending machines that dot nearly every street corner.

When Keibo meets people who feel powerless to act, he tells them a story he first learned in Ecuador. It’s a parable that sums up his approach to activism and is nice reminder about the power each of us have to slow down and take the time to work for change. It goes like this:

The forest was on fire.

And Kurikindi replied, “I am only doing what I can do.”

Cross posted from 350.org.

Actions spoke louder than words today as Blue Ridge Earth First! (BREF!) and Mountain Justice (MJ) blockaded Dominion’s Richmond Headquarters early this morning. The all-woman lock down team anchored a climber who hung off a suspension bridge in protest of the air permit awarded to the company’s proposed coal plant in St. Paul, Virginia last week. This blockade is another in a line of escalating actions against coal plants and mountaintop removal in Virginia.

Backing up traffic for miles, police eventually cleared their way through to cut the activists out of the lockboxes and barrels. The climber came down on his own. The police also detained eight other support people standing on the sidewalks supporting the lockdown team.

Non-violent direct actions against coal-fired power plants and mountaintop removal coal mining are increasing this year as it becomes more and more apparent that challenging the plants legally, legislatively and in the regulatory process are only parts of the strategy and that radical action is needed as well.

Earlier this year, U.S. based-activists engaged in civil disobedience actions in Boston, New York, North Carolina and Richmond in protest of coal and coal finance. Earlier this month, U.K. activists stopped and occupied a coal train headed to the Drax power plant for combustion.

Last week, Dr. James Hanson, NASA’s climate scientist, called for “radical steps” to stop the “perfect storm” of catastrophic climate chaos.

In the spirit of Dr. Hanson’s call to action, BREF! and Mountain Justice’s message was loud and clear this morning: “We Won’t Stop Until You Do.”

While plants in Florida, Kansas, Florida and beyond are being stopped in the courts, boardrooms, regulatory commissions and statehouses, the coal industry is mobilized, motivated and well-funded to lock the U.S. into decades of coal-fired power.

We must move out of our comfort zones and step up the actions against King Coal.

We Won’t Stop Until They Do.

WE NEED YOUR DONATIONS FOR BAIL! To donate to BREF! please login to your paypal account and send your donation to Drumplaya112@yahoo.com

Check out the pictures here.

Check out the press release here.