The GOT – A Marvelous Victory

Posted on June 2, 2010 by lindacapato1

Posted on behalf of Bessie Rose, GOT Spring 10 Alum:

I’ve just returned from the most life changing experience I’ve had yet in my 19 years on this beautiful Earth. The experience I speak of is the Greenpeace Organizing Term. This semester, also called the GOT, provides students that have a passion for environmental activism, organizing, or are just curious about environmental issues in general an outlet to turn their concern into action.

When I signed up for the GOT, I’ll admit, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into. Once I had completed the interview, and then been accepted, I realized my vision – to act on something I cared deeply about – would become a reality.

The semester was filled with action (quite literally) on all ends.

Some major highlights for me were the campaign simulation, the trainings, and the expedition trip. The campaign simulation gave each student two days to prepare, plan and implement a hypothetical environmental campaign on their campus or in their community using the tools we had gained while on the GOT.

It was hard but rewarding work, and after completion of the simulation, my confidence in my ability to run an environmental campaign increased ten-fold.

Our expedition trip to Canada to bear witness to the tar sands was perhaps the most eye-opening experience for me while on the GOT. Before leaving for the trip we spent weeks studying the tar sands.

We learned just how detrimental the tar sands are both to the land which contains large amounts of Canada’s wetlands and vast amounts of biodiversity, and also for the people including indigenous populations whose rights have been endlessly violated by oil companies.

Once we got to Canada, we went on an exclusive tour through the tar sands. Along with the DC GOT class and Greenpeace Canada, we successfully planned and carried out an action in front of the BP headquarters in Calgary.

Our action coincided with BP’s annual general meeting in London and other protests going on as part of the “BP Fortnight of Shame” to re-brand BP as an environmentally destructive company and demand that they divest from tar sands development.

The Calgary BP action was tons of fun to plan and carry out, but also required lots of hard-work, organization, and focus since it was almost entirely up to the GOT to plan and organize the event. Luckily, Greenpeace Canada was kind enough to give us space and materials to work, and also helped coordinate media to arrive at the event.

It’s hard to encompass exactly what the Greenpeace Organizing Term did for me in a few paragraphs. I want to say that if you decide to join the GOT, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

The GOT has and taught me how to align my beliefs with action that matters. For me, that’s the core of hope. And that, in itself, is a marvelous victory.

-Bessie Rose, Greenpeace Organizing Term Spring 2010 Alum

Changing the world, one student at a time

Posted on February 19, 2010 by lindacapato1

Every semester I get a chance to witness something incredible. A handful of students from all around North America take a break from their traditional semester, and join the Greenpeace Organizing Term. This might not sound like an incredible feat to you, but to me, I see the future of the movement investing in their skills to learn how to make a bigger impact.

The Greenpeace Organizing Term is not just a chance for students to take a neat trip across country. This program is an important piece for us to grow a massive movement. Yes it’s important for us to have folks from every walk of life fighting in the streets for legislation, corporate accountability, and even our lives. What is so unique about the youth movement, and building up leadership in it, is not only will students continue to carry the torch long after I’m gone, but because the world we leave as adults, is the one their children are actually going to inherit.

Students who have just started learning about the problems are taking the leap and making time to learn how they can be apart of something bigger.

The GOT teaches students how to do everything from recruit fellow students into the movement, plan full campaigns, to actually doing the work in the field. We’re not necessarily looking for the students who have done this work for years (although we do have many experienced students join), we’re looking for any person 18-24 who wants to learn how to fight corporate power, ensure a greener future, and learn how to inspire others to take action.

Everyday I tell the story of a particular student I admire. I admit, I barely know Basil, seeing as he was in the GOT before I came to work with Greenpeace. I feel the effects of his hard work and dedication every day.

Basil was a student at UVM who was excited about learning more about how to effect environmental issues, he took the plunge and joined the GOT. Since his time with Greenpeace, he has been able to effectively build a massive movement on campus. He helped recruit tons of students to the largest convergence of youth for climate issues in history (at Powershift ’09), helped to build momentum to break his schools’ contract with Kimberly-Clark, and he was even one of the brave activists on Mt. Rushmore in our direct communication with the President.

Why Basil inspires me everyday, is not the impressive wins he’s had, but more that he’s been able to inspire years of students from his community to take the plunge with him. Each semester we have at least 1 student from his community join the program and become a leader. The work Basil and his group the “Forest Crimes Unit” has accomplished has inspired every one of these students.

That’s why it’s so important that you take a minute and talk to any student you know between the age of 18 to 24 to check out our program. Tell them about Basil and the amazing work he’s accomplished, tell them that this is their fight and that will continue long after me and you.

If you are a student, I hope that you take a minute to check out our site and apply to a program that will give you the necessary tools to build a movement in your community and the world.

My Inspiration

Posted on October 26, 2009 by lindacapato1

I don’t have to tell you that the threats that face the planet are absolutely dire. People are doing things they never imagined in hopes of ensuring that our children’s children have a planet that is livable.

What keeps me inspired through all of this? Working with youth that are willing to put their lives on hold, to join the Greenpeace Organizing Term. Every semester, 25-30 students are taking time off of school, fundraising to cover tuition, convincing parents to let them join, and moving their lives sometimes across the country to learn how to become leaders in the environmental movement.

The Greenpeace Organizing Term is a semester long program where students learn basic to advanced campaign and grassroots organizing skills. Students spend 12 weeks learning how to build the movement back home, pressure big corporations and elected officials, and how to inspire coming generations of environmental activists.

During the program students’ travel to work on campaigns in the field, where they get to use their new skills on Greenpeace campaigns. On their expedition trip, they get a chance to see how environmental issues effect global communities, and have a chance to support those communities through organizing. .

Check out this awesome slideshow that we put together of a few of our over 200 alumni sharing why they decided to take a stand:

Do you want to be apart of this growing movement of youth who are willing to take a stand for the environment? Check out the G.O.T.’s website for more info and to apply!

The Organizing Term is an amazing experience for current undergraduate students who are 18-24. If you are, or know someone whois currently a student who is passionate about environmental change, check out our site at http://www.greenpeace.org/got and apply today for our Spring 2010 semester!

You Too can be a Greenpeace Fan!

Posted on October 2, 2009 by supportercare

This past Tuesday the Supporter Care team and a handful of Frontline staffers were fortunate enough to represent Greenpeace at the U2 concert in Washington, DC. Greenpeace’s history with U2 goes aways back, from U2 partaking in an anti-nuclear action with our UK counterparts in the early 90′s to a stop aboard the Rainbow Warrior II. If you look inside an older U2 cd, you will see a tear-out to join Greenpeace. Believe it or not, some still trickle in with the mail.

That afternoon the thirteen of us piled into the van headed for FedEx stadium to meet with volunteers from Amnesty International, One (Bono’s own), and Free Burma. After a quick run down of our do’s and don’ts: no stickering concert goers and meet back at 8:30 or else, we set off to canvass the grounds. Our goal: gather 900 signatures to show our government leaders they have grassroots support for strong, ambitious, science-based climate legislation in Copenhagen. This early in the afternoon though the only people there were back in the gravel lot where the van was or rushing to claim their space in the general admission line.

Not wanting to trek right back over the stream and through the woods, quite literally, I positioned myself near the general admission line ready to catch someone on their way to pick up their holy wristbands. The first young man I stopped enthusiastically signed the petition but asked no questions, instead I found myself asking him questions about U2. He said, “This is my 29^th U2 show, I’ve been following them around the states.” Yes, you read that correctly, twenty-nineth U2 show. I can not even wrap my mind around seeing a show twenty-nine times! I quickly realized while these people would spare a second to sign the petition, they could not physically spare another second to talk about climate legislation. I wondered if such die-hard Greenpeace fans existed somewhere out there in the parking lots..

Josef and I figured we would try our luck back in the gray lot where we had parked the van. We tried our luck with a few tailgaters, got a few signatures, before spotting a couple enjoying some good eats and the afternoon sun by a bright yellow VW bug. As we approached with clipboards outstretched and our respective Greenpeace shirts on, I opened our pitch, “Hi! We’re with Greenpeace..” but was quickly cut off, “Oh! Greenpeace! How awesome!” Had we met our equivalent of the die-hard U2 fan? Yes! Yes, we had! We talked about climate legislation, told them about the Greenpeace Organizing Term their freshman college daughter may be interested in, who wouldn’t be?! An action-packed semester of organizing, non-violence training, and traveling to see first-hand areas of devastation! I passed along my contact information for their daughter and we wished them a good time at the concert. Riding high from meeting this couple from the DC suburbs, Josef and I headed back to the stadium ready for the show itself.

By the time 8:30 rolled around, we were being briefed on our part during the show. We, all forty or so of us, were going to walk out on stage with U2 during “Walk On”, the tribute song to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Excitedly we were led down to the inner circle, the best seats in the house, and sang along through “It’s a Beautiful Day”, and the other songs that have brought U2 international acclaim the past two decades. Finally, it was our time. Mixed inbetween volunteers from One and the other organizations we were handed our masks of Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under house arrest in Burma. Bono began “Walk On” and with that we filed out one by one to the front of the raised platform. There we stood in our respective t-shirts holding our masks in unity looking out over a crowd of nearly 90,000. I honestly do not remember hearing Bono sing, I simply remember looking down from the bottom of the mask and eyeing a sea of people and feeling an incredible, unexplainable calm. We were sharing the stage with U2 and looking out over the same crowd. I thought, “How many of these people did we talk to today? Does anyone out there think, ‘Hey! I talked to that Greenpeacer earlier!’”

Despite our exhaustion the following day, we all retold our stories from the U2 show, from meeting truly cool people and talking about Greenpeace to canvassing for food in the parking lots before the gates opened, to being a part of “Walk On” and showing our solidarity. It was a day none of us will forget and that was only made possible by Bono’s generosity and belief in Greenpeace’s campaigns.

I have attached a video of “Walk On” from the DC show, but there are other videos available on YouTube capturing the quiet..

Tales from the Tar Sands

Posted on August 10, 2009 by starbuck

Our Greenpeace Organizing Term students have just returned from their expedition north of the border to a place named Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. One of their reasons for traveling was to ‘bear witness’ to the environmental destruction of this region.

Connor, who has been working with the students this semester, sent me his account. He writes:

The US gets more oil from Canada than any other country, if you haven’t heard, and more and more of it is coming from the largest industrial project in the world, probably the world’s largest environmental disaster site.

Now that it is obvious that peak oil is upon us, meaning that we have reached the peak of easy oil extraction, alternative forms of obtaining oil are becoming economically viable. One such form is the mining, filtering, upgrading and refining of Alberta’s tar sands into synthetic oil.

Getting oil from tar sands is environmental genocide. These deposits are located in three main chunks of Alberta, and are altogether the size of Florida. To get at the tar sands, the ancient boreal forest that naturally covers the landscape is completely leveled, and all of the land is dug up.

Let me emphasize that- a 10,000 year old forest ecosystem is rapidly being transformed into a desert. As the trees are cut and the soil dries, stored CO2 is released into the atmosphere, habitat for both animals and people is wiped away, and global climate change gets that much closer to the tipping point we’re desperately trying to avoid. The tar sands compounds the problem through an overwhelmingly intensive mining process that poisons everything for miles and miles around.

Recently, I went to the main site of tar sands mining operations, which as stated above takes place in the Fort McMurray area in the Athabasca river region. Along the way, I finally was able to see and appreciate the beauty of the boreal forest, a vast expanse of distinct, deep green conifers. From the road, I knew that there was no way for me to fully appreciate the seemingly endless miles of this gorgeous forest that spans the entire continent, but I got a taste, and it was delicious.

The flavor turned more than sour pretty suddenly. Eventually, the boreal disappears and the landscape turns gray and dead. Tailing ‘ponds’ (the size of lakes), full of the industry’s toxic chemicals, replace the trees. Scarecrows are placed along the edges, and propane cannons are constantly blasting in order to keep wildlife from venturing into these deadly lakes. The smell of pollution is overwhelming- I could feel an unsafe burn from the acrid air with every breath. A dirty haze covers the sky, billowing from smokestacks all along the landscape and invading the territory of clouds. Piles of black sulfur, discarded sand, and other desolate material is scattered as far as the eye can see. No more green boreal. This place has been completely transformed into something more barren than the moon. The tar sands have brought new meaning to the word ‘rape’.

Seeing this was more than I could stand, and I wish I could fully describe what it is like to stand there, in a place that is devoid of any feeling. It looks, smells and sounds like a war zone, with the constant blasting of propane, thick smog in the air, and dead landscape. All I could think was, “I can’t believe this used to be the boreal forest,” and “I can’t believe that people could do this.” It was a truly horrifying place to be; it made the bottom of my stomach drop out, and I don’t know if I could have kept from crying even if I tried.

It is important for me to try to get this reality out there to people- I knew about the tar sands long before visiting it, saw the awful pictures, read the awful facts and got angry, but none of that could get the desperation of the situation across to me. My account won’t have any sizeable fraction of the impact of actually seeing that deathly landscape, but I can at least try to add a more personal touch to the situation. Please check out a couple of the links and videos here and familiarize yourself with the problem. With a climate that is already spiraling out of control, the tar sands is the most disheartening thing to see for anyone trying to protect what is left of the planet as we know it.

You can go here to find out more and take action: Greenpeace Canada Tar Sands campaign

Get Down with the GOT

Posted on February 26, 2009 by josef

My friend Kate and I think the Greenpeace Organizing Term is pretty rad; so much so, that we’re currently working for it! We’re talking to students all across the country about the student activist training program that Greenpeace runs, and here’s what Kate has to say about her awesome experience in the GOT:

Hello from San Francisco!

My name is Kaitlin Finneran, and I’m a student at the University of North Carolina—Greensboro. In the fall of my sophomore year, I joined a brand-new environmental club on campus. One day, a girl came in to talk about Greenpeace, so I checked out the website and found the page for the Greenpeace Organizing Term. I was in awe over the program description and applied right then!

When I was accepted into the program, I thought I would learn about environmental issues and work with Greenpeace for a bit. What I ended up getting out of it was so much more valuable: I now have the skills and the confidence to organize people around a cause, and I’ve learned how to pass those skills on to others. I also discovered the importance of collective effort, and that we must learn how to unite people in order to tackle the major problems that face the earth today.

My action-packed semester with the GOT included some awesome trips around the world, from getting community support in Tucson, Arizona, that successfully pressured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to sign onto the Safe Climate Act, to joining a direct action in Hamburg, Germany, against the construction of new coal-fired power plants. And one of my favorite success stories was getting the University of California—Berkeley to kick Kleenex off of its campus… I even helped write the resolution that was passed by the university’s Student Senate!

The Greenpeace Organizing Term is literally an action-packed semester, and is basically the best hands-on training for student activists like you to become environmental leaders. Kate and I are confident telling you this because the GOT is going to give you a lot more skills and experience than you would ever learn in a typical internship. Think about it: When was the last time an environmental victory was won by fetching coffee for a guy in a suit?

The grassroots organizing and campaign skills that you’ll learn from trained professionals will lay the foundation for you to succeed in future semesters as part of the Greenpeace Student Network, as well as the rest of your life and career.

Take a look at what some of the GOT alumni are doing now:

Emily Russell-Roy (Fall ’04 alum): Working for the Pacific Forest Trust on climate policy
Zo Tobi (Fall ’04 alum): Northeast Regional Organizer for the Sierra Student Coalition
Andi Plocek (Spring ’05 alum): Director of Marketing, Sky Fuel
Rohini Banskota (Summer ’05 alum): Working on making Colorado College climate neutral
Kyle Saari (Spring ’06 alum): Greenpeace field organizer
Gabe Gerow (Spring ’06 alum): Greenpeace Organizing Term coordinator
Suzanne Graham (Summer ’06 alum): Greenpeace field organizer
Christine Irvine (Summer ’06 alum): Youth Organizer, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Christy Hartman (Fall ’06 alum): Sierra Student Coalition Organizer in WV, OH and PA
Whitney Kraner (Fall ’06 alum): Arizona PIRG
Georgia Hill (Fall ’06): City Coordinator, Greenpeace Los Angeles Frontline program
Christina Alexa-Liakos (Fall ’06 alum): Board member, Greenpeace Student Network
Audry Mills (Fall ’07 alum): Board member, Greenpeace Student Network