First Power Shift Ohio Summit to Be Held at Oberlin College

Nov 04, 2009

OBERLIN, OHIO -- Oberlin College, in partnership with the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition and the Energy Action Coalition, will host youth from all over the state in the first Power Shift Ohio summit November 6 to 8. The event is a regional spin-off of last year’s Power Shift 2009, in which 12,000 young people gathered in Washington, D.C., to lobby for environmentally friendly jobs and clean energy in the largest youth activist event on climate change in history.

The Power Shift Ohio summit anticipates the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will focus on environmental justice, green jobs and community planning and will take place in Copenhagen December 7 to 19.

“Right now, as we approach the international climate conference in Copenhagen, youth involvement in the climate change movement is more important than ever before,” said Erika Zarowin ’11, one of the summit’s organizers. “It is time for our generation to start demanding an economic system that is truly clean and just, to tell business owners, legislators, and the world that we will fight for our future.”

The summit will feature lectures and discussion groups, workshops, and direct actions such as mass phone calls to elected officials. Speakers include Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, former Ohio senator Charles Butts, Cornell University Professor Emeritus of Entomology David Pimentel, youth delegate to the Copenhagen conference Liz Trombley, and others.

For more information on the summit or to register for events, visit the Power Shift Ohio website.

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Oberlin College
153 West Lorain Street
Oberlin, Ohio 44074
(440) 775-8474
www.oberlin.edu
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