I hope you have been enjoying the break, holidays, winter weather and new year. New Year is probably my favorite holiday of the year, and it's not just because of the parties. New Year is a time of serious reflection. A time to look back on the past year and consider what you did, and what kind of impact you are having on the world around you. Here at Energy Justice Network we are proud of the work did in 2010 and eager to raise the bar in 2011. Here are some of our current projects.

Power Shift 2011

It is now officially Power Shift recruitment season! Power Shift will be held April 1-4 in D.C. It is a national youth conference held in D.C. every other year and an incredible opportunity for young people to meet other like-minded young adults. Participants of the summit are passionate about the environment, global climate change, political action, energy issues, policy making and activism, which makes Power Shift an electric place to be. 

This year has already started with a bang: in just two weeks over 200 grassroots leaders have signed up to be Power Shift Coordinators! Power Shift Coordinators recruit, raise funds and secure transportation to DC so that their community/campus can participate in this extraordinary event. 

Power Shift is happening April 1-4 in DC this year! Sign up to be a coordinator for your school or community and learn more below!

Please visit: http://energyactioncoalition.org/powershift2011/organize

That was the campaign tagline someone suggested in the "How to Keep Them Out" strategy session of the 2010 National People's Oil and Gas Summit in Pittsbugh, PA (Nov. 19 and 20, 2010).  I jotted it down because I thought it would be a fitting slogan to allude to a campaign to slow, stop, and antagonize the oil and gas industry. After all, for me, living in Philadelphia, gas drilling is about MY water, MY tax dollars, MY politicians. It is about others (presumably YOUR) woods, prairie, and mineral rights, and it has a profound impact on OUR public lands, OUR Congress, OUR health, OUR community, and OUR democracy.

For those of you who haven't watched Gasland, I would strongly recommend checking it out. Besides the cool shots and excellent banjo accompaniments, the story at the heart of the film is extremely compelling and well told. There are honest and admirable protagonists in the movie, as well as shadowy corporations. The movie was created by Josh Fox, self-described child of hippy parents who built a house in the woods of North Eastern Pennsylvania where he now lives. Josh first encountered fracking through a letter in the mail offering him around $100,000 total for the right to drill on his land. Fox, unsure about this financial proposal, sets out to find more information. He starts out with a town near him where drilling is already underway and ends up embarking on trips to Wyoming, Texas and other highly drilled areas in the country.