ClimateGroundZero.org – Citizens Direct Action Camp June 1st – 6th

By Matt Ran

bt_rosie.gif“We All Live at Climate Ground Zero”

It is time for American citizens to take leadership & direct action and make our politicians accountable to us. To this end we announce a Citizens Direct Action Training Camp in June 2008 in Montana to oppose and confront the massive fossil fuel development of the Rocky Mountain Corridor from Fort MacMurry, Alberta all the way to New Mexico. We oppose:

  • Alberta Tar Sands and Coal Development
  • Development of Coal in Montana and Wyoming feeding America’s electricity appetite
  • Montana Governor Schweitzer’s plan to import Alberta dirty fossils into the USA through transmission lines from coal plants in Alberta, and 7 proposed Tar Sand refineries in Montana
  • Proposed massive oil shale developments in Utah and Colorado
  • Transmission lines off of coal fired power plants proposed all over US
  • Mountain Top Removal coal mining

The Action Training will be five day training and include skills needed to do effective Direct Action Campaigning against dirty fossil projects and for a clean energy future. Sessions will include History and Practice Non Violent Direct Action, Campaign Strategy, Direct Actions Skills, Media Skills, Community Organizing

Where: Montana – site to be announced
When: June 1st – June 6th 2008

This camp sponsored by ClimateGroundZero.org and GlobalWarmingSolution.org and is being hosted and organized by:

Mike Roselle- Founder – Earth First!, RAN, and The Ruckus Society
JR Roof – Former Director of Greenpeace International Ships and Direct Action Division, Co-founder The Ruckus Society, ClimateGroundZero.org

For further information or to apply to attend – contact: JR Roof at jr@globalwarmingsolution.org

We live in a time that requires citizens to take Action on Global Warming. While our national politicians and leaders propose compromise and weak measures the situation gets worse day by day and year by year. Despite urgent warnings, and the steadily intensifying climate crisis, the strongest bills in both houses of the US Congress call for reducing emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. 42 years from now. We believe waiting 42 years WILL NOT SOLVE the climate problem and demonstrates a clear lack of vision, courage and leadership from our national politicians, and also demonstrates how much the fossil fuel industry controls our politicians, our laws and our democracy.

GlobalWarmingSolution.org has a plan for getting off of fossil fuels as fast as possible. Entitled “Rosie Revisited: A U.S. –Led Solution to Global Warming”, it demonstrates how U.S. and global emissions could be cut 80% by 2025. This plan can be accomplished with present technology and has been endorsed by two of the nations leading energy analysts and is in the best interest of our national economy, national security and combating global warming. See Rosie Revisited – 80% by 2025 at www.GlobalWarmingSolution.org

Confirmed Trainers to Date: (Additional trainers & keynotes will be added as confirmed)

Ingrid Gordon (Climb Trainer Coordinator) Ingrid is Founder and Director of Gear For Good an organization that works with outdoor gear companies to attain gear needed for field and action work with non profit advocacy organizations such as Amazon Watch, The Ruckus Society and Buffalo Field Campaign amongst others. She is a former member of Greenpeace USA Direct Action Team 1988- 1996 and one of the original Ruckus Society trainers in 1995/96. Ingrid brings years of campaign and direct action experience to bear on her climb trainings to our camps.

Celia Alario (Lead Media Trainer) Celia is a media strategist with an expertise in grassroots environmental, human rights and economic justice campaigns. Her past collaborators include the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, the Liberty Hill Foundation, Institute for Policy Studies, The Ruckus Society, Amazon Watch, Global Exchange, the Mobilization for Global Justice, the United Steelworkers of America, School of the Americas Watch, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and many others. In addition, Alario is the founder of PR for People and the Planet

Matt Leonard (Campaign Finance Strategies and Climb Trainer) Matt works on Global Finance Campaign at Rainforest Action Network. He works to get big banks out of big coal – and help build a movement demanding an economy in sync with our ecology. He’s worked as an action trainer with RAN, Ruckus and Greenpeace and others for over a decade and organized on campaigns around ending war, opposing corporate globalization, promoting revolutionary ecology and confronting the root cause of the climate crisis. He is also a member of Rising Tide North America and Bay Rising Affinity Group. He prefers dog to cats, whiskey to rum and rock climbing over Frisbee.

James Brady (Non Violent Direct Action Training) James has been involved with environmental and huma rights campaigns, non violent direct action and trainings for nearly 15 years with Greenpeace and The Ruckus Society. He currently works with Greenpeace USA in the Direct Actions Unit. James has developed highly extensive and practical non violence trainings

Mike Hudema (Greenpeace Canada Tar Sands Campaign Leader). Mike is a long time member of the Albertan activist scene. He was part of a motley band of activists that took to the streets of Quebec City for the FTAA protests, slept on the steps of the legislature to protest rising tuition rates when he was President of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, and occupied Anne McLellan’s office to defeat Canada’s anti-terrorism legislation. In his spare time he co-hosts CJSR’s alternative news program Rise Up: Radio Free Edmonton and co-writes books like the recently published “An Action a Day Keeps Global Capitalism Away”. Mike currently works for Greenpeace as the Tar Sands Energy Campaigner. He is also a climb trainer with the Ruckus Society.

Hillary Hosta (Lead Climb Trainer). Hillary has worked on Mountain Top Removal the last 3 years and lives in West Virginia. Hillary has over a decade of experience in non violent direct action and public advocacy campaigns with various environmental and human rights organizations. Hillary was one of the original Ruckus Society trainers in the mid 1990’s.