on the road

April 4th-6th

It began to drizzle lightly as Elder Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., started her address from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. She stood on the spot that her father fell 40 years ago to the day, and preached to the crowd. She wove a beautiful lesson from her faith into the tapestry of the crowd: that the Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land.

We were in Memphis for a conference beginning Friday, April 4th entitled “the Dream Reborn.” Organized by Green for All, a green jobs initiative out of Oakland, California that promotes the equitable development of the green economy, the conference was set to mark the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination – to celebrate, to reawaken, and to reorganize the equity and inclusion that Dr. King lived and died for.

As Elder Bernice King put it, just as the Israelites wandered for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land, we have done the same. The generation that witnessed the civil rights exodus has wandered through the realizations of King’s dreams, and is now passing the torch to the future of the social rights movement.

We are the future of the social rights movement. The Dream Reborn was a meeting of the minds from around the country, set to place the power of the emerging green market in the hands of the communities that need it the most. “Green pathways strong enough to pull people out of poverty” is a rally of this movement. Create and sustain a populist response to our current environmental situation that centers itself upon those that should, and must, receive the most benefit.

Van Jones, the Director of Green for All, summed it up nicely. “Your generation will no longer be charged to ‘take back’ our Country. From here on out, you will be asked only to take it forward.”

For more information on Green Jobs, check out the following links:

• Green for All
• Sustainable South Bronx
• The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
• Dream Reborn
• 1Sky

And be sure to keep posted on our green jobs initiatives, especially as we head down to North Carolina…

February 16th – April 16th

Gulfport, Mississippi was ground zero when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast over two and a half years ago. While New Orleans was receiving the Nation’s attention, Gulfport, like most of the Gulf Coast, just waited. Until we set foot there, we hadn’t realized that they’re still waiting.

The state of the Gulf Coast of the United States of America is heartbreaking. Its hard to imagine that we can keep our people un-housed, unfed, broken, worn and hopeless for such an excessive amount of time while the money and attention necessary to solve those problems was funneled elsewhere. Private rebuilding sprouted enormous casino’s and resort locations along the Gulf, filling the wetlands, destroying America’s delta, and pulling private funds away from the communities in which they were situated. And, as we found, the term environmental injustice takes on a whole new meaning in the deep South. But even a cloud as dark as Katrina, as they say, has a silver lining.

Working with numerous groups in and around Gulfport, we realized that something very important is coming out of the destruction brought on by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And something even more important will come from the experience of the communities in handling this disaster basically on their own. We were taken in by the Gulf Coast Conservation Corps, a dynamic and beautiful community of young volunteers from Mississippi and around the country working to restore and conserve the natural environment of the region. Their hospitality and friendship allowed us to spread our wings and really survey the region for opportunities to help.

We traveled to Thibodaux, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Mobile, Alabama; back to New Orleans; and all over the Mississippi coast from Gulfport. Working with the Katrina-Ritaville Express, we drove a FEMA trailer to Austin to protest outside the Democratic debates at UT along with 40 community activists from across the region. We got to know BISCO, the Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing, an incredible organization helping to rebuild and support communities throughout Southwest Louisiana. We attended conferences, joined in on panel discussions, got to know the people, places, and organizations that make up the recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast.

Our experience in the entire Gulf Coast region, and specifically in Gulfport, Mississippi, makes us hopeful for not a silver but a diamond encrusted lining around those dark clouds of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. There’s so much work to be done there, both for the communities in the area and for those of us throughout the nation who believe that regions of this country shouldn’t be third world. We’re so excited to have a hand in it. The people of the Gulf Coast are still waiting for help, but not idly, sitting on their hands. They are taking the reigns, with the help of the government or not, to rebuild their lives and restore their future.  (by Jon)

The streets were fresh from Mardi Gras excitement as we got to work in the Crescent City. Our trailer was parked in Lakeview, thanks to the kind people at Lakeview Presbyterian Church. Even three years after Katrina, many of the beautiful homes of this neighborhood stand empty, boarded up and stained from the floods that tore the community apart. The church had just finished its reconstruction – the entire first floor was destroyed. We cooked up a delicious stir-fry in our trailer, settled into our sleeping bags and got ready for the coming challenge of approaching community-based energy issues in a city that is deeply engaged in a rebuilding effort.
New Orleans is a remarkable city; a sense of commitment and uniqueness pervades its organizations, events, attitudes and individuals. One group that we were very lucky to get in touch with is the Alliance for Affordable Energy, an organization that works towards “creating fair, affordable, environmentally responsible, community-based energy policies for Louisiana and the nation.” The Alliance is involved in a remarkable number of projects, including weatherizing houses to make them more energy efficient, running a resource center and working on job training programs designed to build a Green Jobs workforce within New Orleans. The ability that the Alliance has to engage entire communities and work in solidarity towards energy efficient solutions is inspiring.
We teamed up with both the Alliance and Common Ground Relief to see where we could help out with some of these projects. We taught at Warren Easton High, the oldest high school in the state, and spent some time talking about the emerging green job workforce. Tulane University came into the picture when we gave a workshop on campaign planning and followed with a discussion on how the university students of New Orleans can engage the high school students in working towards energy efficient rebuilding, community service and green jobs.
Sitting in the Common Ground office with the organization’s leaders as well as Forest Bradley-Wright, the Sustainable Rebuild Coordinator with the Alliance was one of the most exciting moments yet – we watched as bridges were built and new coalitions began to get rolling. We can’t wait to continue these relationships and stay involved with the intense efforts underway to rebuild New Orleans in the most energy efficient way possible, with the community and by the community.  (by Gina)

Janurary 27th-February 2nd

After an intensive three weeks in South Carolina working with a coalition of environmental organizations on a clean energy campaign surrounding the presidential primaries, the six of us headed down to Louisiana to conduct our scheduled programming, and work on environmental justice issues through community organizations, presentations and workshops at universities, high schools, middle schools, and more.

The drive down took us three days, including a pit stop in Georgia where we were able to stock up on some waste vegetable oil. We arrived late night in White Castle, LA and woke up early to meet with our new friend Albertha Hasten, founder and president of the Louisiana Environmental Justice Community Organizations Coalition. Albertha invited us into her home and quickly showed us the lay of the land. White Castle is situated in the heart of Cancer Ally, an eighty five mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with some of the worst environmental conditions in the country. Albertha quickly told us to move our trailer from its’ parking place because, “it is one of the most polluted towns in the area,” then Albertha warned us that we should not shower or drink the water where our trailer was previously parked. We also learned that the county next to White Castle, St. James Parish, has 140 petrochemical plants and a population of 22,000. This area is a perfect example of environmental injustice – environmental problems that disproportionately impact people of race, ethnicity, class, or gender. St. James Parish has a 55% higher percentage of people of color than the national average and 48% higher percentage of people of color below the poverty line.

There was not a minute to waste and Back Porch set to work learning as much as we could about environmental injustice, interviewing community leaders and helping Albertha and others with their environmental campaigns. It was truly inspiring to visit Albertha who has dedicated her life to fighting for basic rights for her community. We also got to know her grandson Tobias, who unfortunately has severe asthma common with many children in the area.

In the midst of extreme environmental issues and injustice, the people of White Castle are incredibly generous, caring, and passionate. Albertha showed us true southern hospitality treating us to delicious meals and welcoming us into her home. Environmental injustice issues are not things that you read about in school text books. After visiting these areas of environmental injustice and working on various campaigns, Back Porch hopes to continue to tell Albertha and other’s stories, as well as work with these groups more closely in the coming months, aiding them with campaign assistance from our central location.

January 27th, 2008

As we were traveling from South Carolina to Louisiana, we had to make a quick pit stop in Alabama because our truck broke down. This can be a very stressful experience with little money and mechanical expertise. But, I speak for all of us when I say, “WE ARE SO EXCITED TO COME BACK!“

This quick blog is a tribute to our brief experience in Alabama. Thank you Alabama for the following:

• A random guy who stopped in the Lowe’s parking lot to make sure we were ok. “I know what having truck troubles are like,” he said.
• Mark Allen who stopped his truck to see what was wrong. He helped us change our filters and then blessed our truck. Five minutes later when our truck wouldn’t start, he came back and took Andrew to an auto parts store to buy more parts and fix our truck. He also bought us some orange soda and refused to accept any compensation for his help.
• The women at the Starbucks who were so kind to Virginia and me when we left to go get coffee in the midst of the frustration. One woman gave Virginia a tiny cup of soy milk in addition to her cup of coffee so that Virginia could add as much or as little soy as she saw fit. Another woman recommended I put honey in my soy latte…and it was delicious.
• The Lowe’s parking lot that allowed Gina to record a song on the trailer while we were stopped.

Now we are truckin’ along on our way to Louisiana and it is all thanks to you Alabama – we will see you in a month and a half!

January 8th – January 26th, 2008

As a non-partisan non-profit organization, we were a little wary driving into South Carolina for primary season. Our understanding of our role as activists changed the minute we stepped off the sidelines and jumped into the game. By day 3, Andrew was dressed as a jellyfish and we were holding “Clean Energy“ signs next to activists in SCUBA gear and snowwoman costumes at the “Make a Splash“ rally. Seriously, check the slideshow on the On the Road page.

And here we are, travelling in and out of Columbia, South Carolina, working on a 10 organization coalition (and growing!) pushing the Environment America Clean Energy Pledge, in hopes that whichever candidate makes it to the White House will take on the full challenge of CLEAN energy independence. Our bus is parked behind the officespace which was donated to the cause, and we’re working as a team of 14 activists, working together to run this campaign in South Carolina.

Check out some of our coalition partners and their work in placing climate change at the forefront of the presidential primaries!

• the Heat is On!!, the League of Conservation Voters campaign
• One Sky, one climate, one future, one chance
• the Coastal Conservation League
• the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
• the Carbon Coalition

As a bit of follow-up, Brenna and Jon attended the State Corporation Commission hearing regarding the proposed coal-fired plant in Wise County, Va. Expecting a small group of the powerful activists we worked with in Wise, we walked into the SCC building to find two courtrooms overflowing with the young and the old from all over the state. 176 people registered to make a public testimony before the judges and legal teams. For more information, check out the Richmond Times Dispatch article on InRich.com. It was a moving show of the conflicts and emotions inherent in these issues.

So, keep an eye out for our continued activities in South Carolina. Check out In the Press for the attention that we and this powerful group of activists are receiving in promotion of a Clean Energy Future for America!

December 10 – December 18, 2007

Appalachia, Virginia, located in the heart of Wise County, was covered by a cold, dark mist throughout our stay. The mountains surrounding the hillside town seemed to smoke day and night as a constant drizzle made sure the ground (and one’s shoes, and one’s vehicle) was covered in the black spray from the road. Every few seconds, whether you’re in the center of town or in a house on the hillside, you can hear a large black truck drive by, rattling all windows and doors, beating its path through a once lively and booming town. The population is diminished now; coal companies spent much of the nineties replacing their workers with machines and explosives, so many people have left for lack of jobs. Some stay, for a mining position that hasn’t yet been cut, for family, or because they’ve nowhere else to go. Others stay to fight the wanton destruction of the once lush Appalachian mountains and the culture that grew up around them. In West Virginia, coal companies have considered lobbying for forced depopulation to quiet their concerns.

Every so often, less frequently than the coal trucks but more powerfully than their enormous loads, a ray of sunshine would break through: one’s name was Matthew, one’s Mike, another’s Hannah, most of them tied together by a woman named Cathy and the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.

Back Porch traveled to Wise in order to aid in the preliminary permit hearings regarding a new coal-fired power plant to be placed in Virginia City. This site would be 5 miles from the existing Carbo plant, one of the most environmentally threatening plants in the area, and less than 1 mile from the St. Paul Elementary and High Schools. The Department of Environmental Quality came to present on the initial air-quality permit, showing standards meeting the national requirements of the EPA, but failing to recognize the health and social justice concerns of the immediate regional community. We thought we’d come help Cathy and the community members involved in this process to really debunk the information and organize the community’s response to Dominion’s plans. Instead, we learned that energy conservation, just turning off your lights when you’re not using them, is deeply connected to the lives of our neighbors and the justice of our energy economy.

As we move into the 21st Century, as we work with eachother to create a sustainable life for ourselves and our children, and as we deal with various brilliant, moving, global concepts, we are also charged to remember that injustice still prevails in our own backyards. But there are rainbows. Cathy Selvage has put the entirety of herself into saving her life, her land, her history and OUR Appalachians. So have Hannah Morgan, and Bill McCabe, and countless others working with Cathy and SAMS, and the folks at Appalachian Voices, and the I Love Mountains campaign, not to mention the Sierra Club, CCAN, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

There are many groups working for social and environmental justice in our Appalachian Mountains. So much information out there, such a call for help and awareness, so much work to be done. But we can do this. That’s what Cathy taught us as she cooked us breakfast our final morning in the area. From Cathy’s porch one can see the cold, dark mist rising off what used to be the Appalachian hillside and is now a bald, terraced moonscape. But what one hears is not the rattling of the trucks or the dynamite on the mountain, but rather Cathy’s soft, subtle voice calling for the power of equality, justice, and activism toward what is right and good in the world.

For more information and to sign the urgent petition, please see the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards website. In addition, ILoveMountains.org and the Appalachian Voices website, including their Front Porch blog, have a good deal of information regarding the issues and ways to get involved. Depopulation plan speech provided by Mountain Justice Summer.

The Back Porch Energy Initiative has been on quite a roll the past few weeks. Successes abound, with the general trials and tribulations of bussing around the country with a mission to promote an issue important to us all. We’re hitting all four corners of Virginia, three technically, bringing faces and feeling to energy conservation and sustainability issues in the United States.

But its not us witnessing the successes of our programs, its the Virginia community at present. We haven’t met a sad face yet. Everyone we’ve spoken to, literally, has been at least supportive if not active in transforming this issue into something genuinely positive, helping us help them to form a community network of invested partners in energy awareness activism. We realize this takes time and effort, and that’s what we’re here to donate.

An enormous honor was recieved by Virginia Walters, our Executive Director. Style Weekly, “Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion,” awarded Virginia as one of the five “GREEN HEROES” in Central Virginia. Standing beside established professionals from around the region, Virginia accepted the award as a part of the whole. Style Weekly found it necessary and important to reward environmentally focused activities in the region, and we couldn’t be happier to be a small part of those activities. Together we can change the world.

Back on the road, we recieved an offer from Twin Oaks, an intentional community in Louisa County, to host us for the week. We pulled onto the farm and were immediately at home, eating local, organic and community grown foods, sleeping by the heat of a wood burning stove, and surrounding ourselves with passionate, involved and extremely warm people.

Which brings us to now. We’re on the road and heading south, a brief stop coming up in Wise County, Virginia where we’ll be volunteering on a strong environmental justice campaign in the area. Until then, you know where you can find us… (by jon)

Before taking a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, we had two busy weeks in Fredericksburg and Petersburg, Virginia. In Fredericksburg, we initiated and facilitated with a handful of various projects, including helping the local Sierra Club chapter with their Cool Cities campaign. “Cool Cities” is a national Sierra Club campaign encouraging communities to fight global warming through local energy initiatives. For more information about this campaign, check out www.coolcities.us . In addition to assisting with this campaign, we conducted an energy audit of New Vision, a local non-profit, providing the organization with energy efficient supplies, eco-friendly cleaning products, and a comprehensive report and plan to reduce energy consumption in their beautiful new building. While in Fredericksburg, we also facilitated community-university partnerships through Mary Washington University, networking the environmental groups with other social justice groups to address environmental justice issues.

After Fredericksburg we headed to Petersburg, Virginia, where we truly delved into the various aspects of community organization entailed in our mission. From canvassing local businesses to working with Dr. Holvar Olsen on making CARES Inc. an energy efficient and environmentally friendly building, our team found Petersburg to be a vibrant and developing environmental community. (by Brenna)