Thousands of students gathered outside Congress today to lobby for a greener future. Students from all over the US representing several college campuses from Alaska to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico left their differences behind, overcame student apathy, and united in one voice to demand bold changes with the current environmental Legislation. With their personal stories and passion students proposed the 1SKY Platform in the US Congress. The 1Sky Platform consists of bold principles to be applied in specific pieces of legislation that address global warming as a priority.

The 1Sky movement puts priority in what it takes to tackle global warming in an effective way. The first principle consists on creating over 5 million green jobs creating opportunities of involvement in the environmental movements to the working class. These green jobs would trigger the momentum needed to create healthy, efficient communities, and develop our local economy while we conserve 20% of our energy by 2015. Second, as the US we need to lead the world once more in technology and innovation and take the initiative to cut reduce carbon emission by an 80% by 2050. Lastly, the 1Sky Platform proposes that Congress should reprogram their investments to more clean energy and smart transportation.

In times in which we are deeply concerned for the effects of global warming, students and voters took action once more and discuss with their congressmen the actions needed to put an end to global warming. The students had undergo a weekend of training and discussion regarding the environment in the 1st annual Powershift conference. This conference was organized by a joint group of organizations known as the Energy Action Coalition. Powershift ended today with a massive lobby day in which students from across the nation meet outside the House of Representatives, wearing green hard hats and chanted with all their heart “20% by 2015.” We expect that as youth from this nation our voice is heard as much as our vote is taken into consideration. And as we make history, we know that Powershift is the beginning of a long journey. A journey that got started today when thousands of students took the challenge to develop some networking and relationships that are needed so that their voice for a greener future is heard loud and clear and we always “remember, remember the 5th of November.”