Summer 2008: 3 US Convergences for Climate Action!

West Coast Convergence for Climate Action: July 28 – August 4, Eugene, OR

Southeast Convergence for Climate Action: August 5-11, Louisa County, VA (near Richmond)

Northeast Climate Confluence: July 27 – August 3, High Falls, NY

The past year has no doubt seen a tipping point in attitudes towards climate change in the US. All of the presidential candidates are talking about it, banks are touting their “Carbon Principles”, college campuses are claiming to be carbon neutral. And yet emissions are still rising and the climate crisis escalates.

They promise us alternative fuels and instead we get bread lines and food riots around the world. They promise us clean energy and give us “clean” coal and nukes instead. They call for regulations on greenhouse gases, then fight tooth and nail against even the weakest, most inadequate climate legislation that is proposed. They tell us the markets will take care of it, and then try to privatize the very air we breathe.

It has become abundantly clear that the governments and corporations of the world will not solve the climate crisis, they are after all, part of the problem. Instead it is up to us to build a powerful grassroots movement to create the world we want. Fortunately, this movement is growing.

Building off the success of last years two Convergences for Climate Action in the US, we are excited to announce there will be 3 action packed gatherings this year. The climate convergences are gathering places for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together to take direct action against the root causes of climate change while working to build a just and sustainable world. This year the US convergences will take place alongside several similar gatherings in the UK, Germany, Australia, and beyond.

At the convergences there will be dozens of workshops and trainings, networking opportunities, and strategy sessions aimed at building a strong grassroots movement for climate justice. The convergences are spaces not only to fight climate change but to throw off the yoke of corporate control over our lives, working to build community controlled alternatives to Wall Street and Washington. The convergences will be models of the world we wish to live in, utilizing sustainable living skills and consensus based decision making by all participants.

The convergences are also an opportunity to hone your direct action skills and put them into, well, action. While creating sustainable alternatives is important, indeed necessary, we must also continue to confront those that are creating and profiting from the climate crisis. Each climate convergence will culminate in an exciting and empowering direct action taking on a different aspect of the climate crisis in each region.

So come on out for a fun filled week of networking, sharing skills, and strategizing. A list of likely workshops includes:

-Direct Action 101
-Debunking False Solutions to the Climate Crisis
-Permaculture
-Grassroots Disaster Response
-Blockades
-Community Organizing
-Supporting Immigrant Rights in the Face of Climate Change
-Media Skills
-Climate Justice/Just Transition
-Homemade power generation
-Antioppresion
-Puppetry and Street Theater
-Fighting Tree Plantations in Latin America
-Resisting the Coal Rush
-Natural Building
-Nukes Aren’t the Answer
-Primitive Living Skills
-Consensus Decision Making
-Know Your Rights
-Carbon Trading and the Privatization of the Atmosphere
-Ecosystem Defense and Restoration

www.climateconvergence.org

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