Power Shift Network

Power Shift Network is a North American nonprofit network that organizes young people and youth-led groups around climate action, clean energy, environmental justice, and broader social-justice goals. It developed from Energy Action Coalition, a coalition created in June 2004 after environmental organizations coordinated a large series of public actions against fossil-fuel dependence. The network's work is not centered on consumer products or commercial services; instead, it provides organizing infrastructure, campaign coordination, political advocacy, training, and movement-building support for member organizations, student groups, and community campaigns. The organization's immediate predecessor emerged from the April 1, 2004 Fossil Fools Day mobilization. More than 125 actions were coordinated across the United States to criticize fossil-fuel dependence and aspects of the George W. Bush administration's energy policy. Representatives of nearly 20 environmental groups subsequently met in Washington, D.C., and formed Energy Action Coalition. The coalition used coordinated national campaigns and high-profile gatherings to connect campus activism with federal climate and energy policy. Its membership and alliances included environmental, climate, social-justice, and youth organizations, allowing local campaigns to participate in larger national efforts. Among its early major initiatives was the Campus Climate Challenge, launched in 2006. The campaign sought to build student pressure for renewable-energy investment and stronger climate commitments at colleges and universities. It ultimately reached more than 700 campuses, with hundreds making institutional commitments toward carbon neutrality. The organization also convened the Power Shift youth climate conferences. Power Shift 2007 brought approximately 5,000 to 6,000 young people to the University of Maryland and the U.S. Capitol for training, discussion, demonstrations, and lobbying. Its policy agenda included clean-energy employment, substantial greenhouse-gas reductions, restrictions on new coal plants, and an end to fossil-fuel and highway subsidies. The 2008 Power Vote campaign focused on youth participation in the U.S. election and linked voting to clean energy, climate policy, and green employment. The campaign appeared at national political conventions and presidential and vice-presidential debates, received support from climate scientist James Hansen, and hosted a nationwide webcast featuring Al Gore. According to the organization's reported figures, more than 350,000 young people engaged with the effort. In 2009, Power Shift convened a substantially larger national summit in Washington, D.C. More than 12,000 participants from all 50 states, every Canadian province, and several other countries attended. The event sought to pressure the Obama administration and Congress to advance comprehensive climate legislation before international climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Later that year, regional Power Shift gatherings extended the campaign through local and state-level organizing. The network continued its conference and movement-building model with Power Shift 2011 in Washington, D.C., which attracted more than 10,000 participants, and Power Shift 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 2013 gathering addressed coal production, the Keystone XL Pipeline, Indigenous rights, and the relationship between climate policy and environmental justice. Following the 2011 conference, the organization also launched WeArePowerShift.org as an online community and organizing hub for youth climate activists and allied groups. In 2016, Energy Action Coalition changed its name to Power Shift Network. The change accompanied a structural shift from a traditional coalition toward a network model and was presented as a way to reflect new leadership and strengthen local organizing. Rather than holding one large national conference, the organization organized four regional Power Shift convergences in Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando, and Berkeley. Executive Director Lydia Avila announced the new name at the Philadelphia gathering in July 2016. Power Shift Network's activities include campus organizing, community campaigns, political engagement, corporate accountability work, public demonstrations, leadership development, and coordination among member nonprofits and student groups. As of February 2020, reference material described approximately 91 participating organizations and a staff of six full-time employees. The network is also associated with the wider Global Youth Climate Movement. Its present public profile is best understood as that of a movement network rather than a conventional operating company, retailer, or product brand.

Power Shift Network traces its origins to a coordinated environmental day of action held on April 1, 2004. Known as Fossil Fools Day, the mobilization involved more than 125 actions in the United States and criticized dependence on fossil fuels and the energy policies of the George W. Bush administration. Although the event was not initially a project of Energy Action Coalition, the coordination required to stage it helped demonstrate the value of a standing youth and environmental network. In June 2004, representatives of nearly 20 environmental organizations met in Washington, D.C., and established Energy Action Coalition. The coalition connected national environmental groups, student organizations, and local activists around clean energy and climate campaigns. Its model combined centralized campaign coordination with local organizing, particularly on college campuses and in communities affected by fossil-fuel infrastructure. Fossil Fools Day continued in subsequent years; the 2005 edition included more than 300 actions in the United States and Canada, as well as activity in England, Nigeria, and Panama. Later annual actions included lobbying, film screenings, campus events, demonstrations, and protests at polluting energy sites. The coalition expanded its campus focus in 2006 through the Campus Climate Challenge. The initiative encouraged students to demand renewable-energy investment and institutional climate commitments from their schools. It reached more than 700 colleges and universities, and reference material attributes carbon-neutrality commitments to more than 550 of those campuses. The campaign helped establish campus climate organizing as a major component of the broader youth movement. Energy Action Coalition then developed the Power Shift conference series. Power Shift 2007, held at the University of Maryland from November 2 to 5, attracted approximately 5,000 to 6,000 students and young people. The program included workshops, panels, a large Capitol rally, and a congressional Lobby Day. Its policy demands included a Clean Energy Job Corps, long-term greenhouse-gas reductions, a moratorium on new coal plants, and the removal of fossil-fuel and highway subsidies. The gathering featured prominent climate and political speakers and helped give the youth climate movement a more visible national platform. During the 2008 U.S. election cycle, Energy Action Coalition operated Power Vote. The campaign sought to increase youth participation in elections while making clean energy, climate change, and green employment central political issues. It maintained a presence at the Democratic and Republican national conventions, presidential and vice-presidential debates, and other election-related events. The campaign was supported by NASA climatologist James Hansen, included a nationwide webcast with Al Gore, and was recognized as a project associated with the Clinton Global Initiative. Organizational accounts stated that more than 350,000 young people participated and that the effort generated substantial media attention. Power Shift 2009 took place in Washington, D.C., from February 27 to March 2. More than 12,000 young activists attended, representing all 50 U.S. states, every Canadian province, and 13 additional countries. The conference focused on pressuring the new Obama administration and Congress to pass comprehensive and socially just climate legislation before the December 2009 international negotiations in Copenhagen. It also emphasized leadership training, movement strategy, coalition building, environmental justice, and the creation of local action plans. A national summer campaign followed, seeking to maintain political pressure for climate and energy legislation. In the autumn, 11 regional Power Shift summits were held in states and regions including Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, the Carolinas, the Northern Plains, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Appalachia, Florida, Ohio, and the western United States. The third U.S. national conference, Power Shift 2011, was held in Washington at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from April 15 to 18. More than 10,000 people attended. Afterward, Energy Action Coalition launched WeArePowerShift.org as an online community for organizers, partner groups, and allies. Power Shift 2013 was held in Pittsburgh from October 19 to 21, marking the first U.S. national conference outside Washington. Its program included opposition to coal production, organizing against the Keystone XL Pipeline, and attention to Indigenous and environmental-justice concerns. In 2016, the organization deliberately moved away from a single large national gathering and instead arranged four regional convergences. The stated purpose was to strengthen local communities and use regional organizing power to influence national climate politics. At the Philadelphia convergence on July 23–24, Executive Director Lydia Avila announced that Energy Action Coalition had changed its name to Power Shift Network. The new name reflected both new leadership and a transition from a coalition structure to a network structure. The remaining 2016 gatherings took place in Detroit, Orlando, and Berkeley between August and October. Power Shift Network is described as a network of youth-led environmental, climate, and social-justice organizations rather than a conventional corporation. Its work spans campuses, communities, political institutions, and corporate practices. Reference material reported approximately 91 member organizations in February 2020 and a staff of six full-time employees, with an office in Washington, D.C. The network participates in the wider Global Youth Climate Movement and continues the organizing traditions established under Energy Action Coalition.

• 2016

  Name change to Power Shift Network

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  Energy Action Coalition adopted the Power Shift Network name while shifting from a coalition model toward a network structure.

• 2013

  Power Shift 2013 in Pittsburgh

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  The first U.S. Power Shift national conference outside Washington focused on coal, the Keystone XL Pipeline, and environmental justice.

• 2011

  Power Shift 2011 and online organizing hub

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  The organization held another large Washington conference and subsequently launched WeArePowerShift.org for grassroots organizers.

• 2009

  Power Shift 2009

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  More than 12,000 participants attended the Washington summit, followed by a national summer campaign and 11 regional gatherings.

• 2008

  Power Vote campaign

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  The organization mobilized youth voters around clean energy, climate policy, and green jobs during the U.S. election cycle.

• 2007

  First national Power Shift conference

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  Power Shift 2007 brought approximately 5,000 to 6,000 young people to Maryland and Washington for training, advocacy, and a Capitol rally.

• 2006

  Campus Climate Challenge launched

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  The coalition began a national campus campaign promoting renewable-energy investment and institutional climate commitments.

• 2005

  Expanded Fossil Fools Day

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  The second coordinated day of action included more than 300 activities in the United States and Canada, with additional actions overseas.

• 2004

  Fossil Fools Day mobilization

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  More than 125 actions across the United States coordinated opposition to fossil-fuel dependence and helped create the conditions for a permanent coalition.

• 2004

  Energy Action Coalition founded

  [1]Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org

  Representatives of nearly 20 environmental organizations formed Energy Action Coalition in Washington, D.C.

A youth-led, grassroots climate and environmental-justice network that connects campus, community, political, and organizational campaigns across the United States and Canada.

• 2009Power Shift 2009 Summer Campaign

  United States

  A coordinated national organizing effort intended to carry the momentum of the 2009 conference into sustained pressure for comprehensive climate and energy legislation.

  Outcome. The campaign maintained a national youth organizing framework and was followed by multiple regional Power Shift summits.

  Source
• 2009Regional Power Shifts

  United States

  Eleven regional gatherings organized youth activists around clean-energy jobs, climate legislation, political accountability, and local movement development.

  Outcome. The events extended national organizing into state and regional campaigns while federal climate legislation and international negotiations were under discussion.

  Source
• 2008Power Vote

  United States

  An election-season campaign that organized young people as climate voters and promoted clean energy, climate action, and green employment as political priorities.

  Outcome. The campaign reported engagement from more than 350,000 young people and increased public and media attention to climate change during the election.

  Source
• 2006Campus Climate Challenge

  United States · College and university campuses

  A campus-focused campaign designed to increase renewable-energy investment and climate commitments by colleges and universities. It used student organizing to connect institutional decisions with the wider clean-energy movement.

  Outcome. The campaign reached more than 700 campuses, and reference material reports that more than 550 made commitments toward carbon neutrality.

  Source
• 2004Fossil Fools Day

  United States

  A coordinated day of demonstrations and public actions opposing fossil-fuel dependence. The first edition helped lead to the formation of Energy Action Coalition, while later editions expanded participation across campuses and communities.

  Outcome. The 2004 mobilization helped catalyze the coalition's creation; subsequent editions became recurring youth climate actions.

  Source

• 2016

  Shift from a coalition model to a network modelStrategy

  Background

  The organization concluded that regional and local organizing could better amplify community voices than a single large national gathering and that its existing structure no longer fully represented its leadership and membership relationships.

  Action taken

  Energy Action Coalition adopted the Power Shift Network name and organized four regional convergences in Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando, and Berkeley instead of one national conference.

  Aftermath

  The reorganization clarified the organization's identity as a youth-led network supporting distributed climate and environmental-justice organizing.

  Source

1. 1Power Shift Networken.wikipedia.org