DC Youth Environmental Alliance

DCYEA members will be joining Climate Ride 2008 and biking from New York City to Washington, D.C. in late September to raise awareness and money for Focus the Nation and Clean Air, Cool Planet.  Stay tuned for more information!

For More information check out : www.climateride2008.org.

Brita Climate Ride 2008 is the first multi-day bicycle ride where your pedal strokes help raise money and awareness for meaningful climate change and renewable energy legislation! This transformative event is ideal for anyone who believes that change is possible and that America can take the lead in a green economy.

Beginning on September 20th, one hundred Climate Riders will pedal 320 miles from New York City to the nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C. in five days, departing from the heart of Manhattan and then meandering along country roads through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. On the fifth day, riders will cycle past the iconic Washington Monument to arrive near the marble steps of the Capitol building. Here we will celebrate the riders’ amazing accomplishment and valuable contribution to the advancement of climate change education and renewable energy policies.

Along the way, expert speakers will educate and inspire Climate Riders about the science, the policies and the solutions to the climate crisis. Our riders and the communities we pass through will learn that our government, businesses, and each individual American will benefit from a cleaner, healthier climate. This is a unique event—a fundraiser and climate conference on wheels.

If you’re interested in joining the DCYEA Team or sponsoring a rider, contact Jeff Gustafson at jeff.gustafson@mac.com or contribute directly at http://climateride2008.kintera.org/dcyea.

DCYEA is preparing for another successful year of environmental action in Washington, D.C!

Get involved and join us as we:

-Build a DCYEA Political Action Team to make our voices heard in the U.S. Congress and the D.C. City Council

-Expand a high school branch of DCYEA, called DCYEAHS (D.C. Youth Environmental Alliance - High School)

-Host a service project along the Anacostia River for National Public Lands Day in September

-And much more…

DCYEA will be holding organizing conference calls every 2 weeks throughout the summer, beginning on Tuesday,  June 24th at 9:00 PM EST.  To join the conference calls, help organize for the coming year, or share ideas you have for DCYEA, contact Jeff Gustafson at Jeff.Gustafson@mac.com.

Check out Updates Below!

Everyone is invited to our Earth Day 2008 Events. Check it out:

Saturday, April 19th

The boat tour will begin and end at The Matthew Henson Eath Conservation Center, where we will also hold the panel discussion. It is about 1 mile from the Navy Yard Metro Station, but the weather is supposed to be really nice. We will meet at 1:30 at the M Street Exit. If you want to meet us directly at the Matthew Henson Center, the address is 2000 Half Street, SW Washington DC. Here is a link to walking directions from the Metro.

– Boat Tour of Anacostia with Earth Conservation Corps, 1:30-4:00
Members of DCYEA will tour the environmental
injustices and current pollution issues in the Anacostia River.

– Local DC Environmental Panel, 4:00-5:15
The boat tour participants and anyone interested will convene at ECC’s facilities to hear from several local environmental leaders on what we should focus on as a priority for DC’s environmental agenda. Panelists include Chris Weiss of the DC Environmental Network, Jim Dougherty of the DC Sierra Club Chapter, and Rachel Edwards of Environmentors. Refreshments will be served, please check back for exact location.

Sunday, April 20th
– Tree Planting with Casey Trees
Come help beautify DC by planting trees at the Embassy of Zambia, from 9:00am-1:00pm. Meet us at Massachusetts Ave NW ad 24th Street NW at 9:00am. If you would like to travel as a group, either get one together with your campus or meet a group from GW at 17th and I St NW at 8:00am. A light breakfast will be provided. Please RSVP to FollowerofThoth@mac.com

– Green Apple Festival with Earth Day Network- 11:00am-7:00 +set up/down
This will be the huge exciting part! We will have a 10′x10′ tent with tables at this giant outdoor festival and concert on the National Mall. It’s all free, and the likes of The Roots, Umphrey’s McGee, O.A.R. (acoustic), and Thievery Corporation will be there. At our table we will have face painting, a video booth to speak to your Congressional Reps, bike powered generators, environmental personality quizes, the 1 Sky petition, and giant “no coal” kites. ***Our booth will be west of 7th street on the north side of the Mall.*** Also, email Claire at claireroby (at) gmail.com if you want to help out at our booth.

Monday, April 21
We will be tabling again, this time at the DC government’s Green DC Day fair at Freedom Plaza. We will be booth #8, we will be there from 10:00am - 4:00pm.

Tuesday, April 22 EARTH DAY!!!!
Some of you have full schedules of activities on your campus in honor of Earth Day. If you are looking for a way to implement some political involvement, check out Earth Day Network’s Call for Climate Campaign. There are details on how to get involved on our website. This could also be an easy tabling thing if you don’t have anything planned. In the evening, Chesapeake Climate Action Network is having an awesome event with foremost climate scientist James Hanson and Amy Goodman.

Announcement: DC YEA’s first coalition effort will center around Earth Day 2008. Earth Day falls on a Tuesday this year. While we will each be working on projects for our campuses for that day, in the days directly proceeding Earth Day we will come together for a district-wide event series.

Our current ideas for the event series include: a rally on the mall, organizing skills trainings, a coalition banquet, a concert, a toxic tour, and lobbying Congress. To plan this effort we have set up the following committees:
Event Planning
Policy and Lobbying
Community Outreach
Communications
Fundraising

If you would like to assist with any of these aspects of our projects, please contact us at dcyouthenvironmentalalliance (at) gmail.com

DC YEA had a great meeting today. See the video for more reactions.