Dave Johnson Leads New Green Economy Panel at Blogger Convention

Commonweal Institute Fellow Dave Johnson led a well-attended panel discussion and workshop on "Bloggers and the New Green Economy" on July 19, as part of the 2008 Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas. This topic was a good fit for Austin, where there is strong interest in building a strong green economy locally and throughout the state.

“In spite of the national policy vacuum – really even active resistance from Washington – a green economy is starting to emerge around the country. This new green economy is driven by local actors, often with partnerships between government, business and non-profits,” said Johnson. “This is another instance of the grassroots flowing around the gatekeepers. But since companies are making money, the design of an eventual ecosystem is appearing.

“How can local, state and national bloggers help drive and coordinate these efforts?” Johnson asked. “This is not a discussion of blogs as opposition or protest tools. We want ideas about how bloggers can support positive economic development that has a green aspect to it and use blogs to promote positive change in local economies.”

Experts on the panel were:

Susana Almanza, a founding member and Co-Director of PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources) , a grassroots environmental, economic and social justice organization. She is a longtime community organizer, educator, mother and grandmother who has served on the city of Austin’s Planning Commission, Environmental Board and was recently appointed to the Community Advisory Committee for the Redevelopment of the Saltillo District. She has also served as co-chair of the bi-national Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice and is a member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Enforcement Sub-Committee. Almanza is a crusader for human rights, demanding environmental justice and a better quality of life for people of color, for all humanity and for future generations.

Larry Joe Doherty, a Democratic candidate in Texas’ 10th Congressional district, takes his message of doing right and accepting responsibility to heart — cultivating his ranch into a preserve that protects animals and the environment. Larry Joe is past president of the Washington County Wildlife Society and a member of the Texas Wildlife Association and a past member of the Texas Quail Council. Doherty is also a successful Houston attorney, known nationally for his stance on legal ethics. He played the role of “Judge Larry Joe Doherty” on the television courtroom series, TEXAS JUSTICE.

Jeff Sharp, the Director of New Media Communications for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and Chairman Edward J. Markey. Sharp is keenly interested in how bloggers can help with the effort to develop AND PASS energy policies on the national level.

Adam Siegel, who blogs in the domains of energy and environmental implications at Get Energy Smart! NOW!!!, a website dedicated to the search for more intelligent approaches to critical issues in American and global society, principally in terms of energy. He is a founding board member of The Energy Consensus, a non-profit focused on enhancing the policy dialogue related to energy issues, and Energize America, which focuses on developing energy concepts for potential legislative action using the blogosphere as a developmental platform. Siegel is working from the Home to the Globe in an effort to find paths that will make Energy CENTS to improve his own, his community’s, his country’s, and the globe’s energy situation.

As the session leader, Johnson started the workshop by asking the audience for short brainstorming statements. What works when trying to use blogs to positively influence local political actors? How have blogs been used in local or state-based policy efforts?

The panelists then weighed in, with a lively exchange between panelists and audience about how bloggers can support and organize around the efforts of environmental justice activists, politicians, and government officials to help create a new green economy. The scope of their vision extended from what could be done at the local level up to ways of eventually impacting national policy. See below for some of the ideas discussed.

Notes from the brainstorming and discussion:

Individual blogger actions:
Blue buttons on blogs for green candidates (and other online tools)
Write / aggregate local success stories and promote them locally (e.g. Right to Dry laws)
Comment about green ideas on non-political blogs
Promote conversations across blogs
Address social and economic justice, democratize energy
Push economic frame – see Green for All
Create and/or promote local green business directories

Increase connections among bloggers and organizations working on green issues:
Join Al Gore’s We Can Solve It – big player
Find “hidden allies”, such as the Reef Stewardship Foundation, whose missions are in line with preventing global warming
Use the same keywords across multiple issues
Hold blog carnivals; e.g. ScienceBlogs
Promote your own channels and lessons
Build a blog aggregator
Follow and blog about what is going on in Congress
Plan Global Green Economy Conferences
Expand blogs to include audio and video

Personal actions:
Keep our relationship with the land
Communicate across the digital divide, including training people from disadvantaged communities in how to participate in blogs and benefit from online resources
Get involved with and publicize the new Wisdom University effort on social change for a sustainable future
Publicize Global Solar Center for resources and info about solar power
Get involved with American Renewable Energy Day, Aug 21-23, 2008, Aspen, CO
Pool training resources (like a directory) for training people for green economy / living skills
Purchase carbon offsets to offset green house gas generation through the Carbon Fund

Panelists’ web addresses:
http:// www.poder-texas.org
http:// www.larryjoe.com
http:// www.getenergysmartnow.com
http:// www.actblue.com/page/energysmart
http:// www.seeingtheforest.com
http://www.commonwealinstitute.org
http://www.globalwarming.house.gov

Hold green events:
-Reverb Rock
-Native Energy
-The Observer
-PG&E
Join FaceBook Group: Renew Solar and Tax Incentives Now
Support Renew PAC – Renewable Energy for America
Plan next year’s Netroots Nation conference to comply with the International Green Standard:
British Standard 8901; see HEASC Sustainable Meetings and Conferences Report, Version 2.0

Brad Johnson’s Hill Heat blogroll:
1Sky
350.org
Appalachian Voice Front Porch
DeSmog Blog
Celsias
Climate Ark
Climate Progress
DKos: Global Warming
A Siegel: Energy Smart
Environmental Economics
Global Public Media
Going Green DC
Great Decisions: Climate Change
Gristmill and Grist
It's Getting Hot In Here: Youth Climate Movement
Local Warming (Maryland)
NRDC Switchboard
Prometheus: Science Policy
Real Climate
Renewable Energy Law Blog
Science Blogs: Planet Earth
Stop Global Warming
Step It Up: National Climate Action
Warming Law
WattHead