Seize the Grid: Students Seek 100% Clean Energy

Joining the #cleanenergyu dialogue this Earth Week has been several new Sierra Club #seizethegrid campuses which are mobilizing students to campaign for 100% clean energy purchases at their universities. Students from Sacramento State, Florida International University, Michigan State, Georgia College and the University of Montevallo (UM) all embraced the invitation to envision their 2025 clean energy future by sharing their “vision selfie photos” on #cleanenergyu – and simultaneously created a 100% clean energy photo petition to send to their administrations!

Faced with an energy dialogue in Alabama focused on conventional fossil fuel resources, Sierra Student Coalition leader, Morgan Pennington, shares what motivated UM students to send dozens of post-it photo messages to their University leaders calling on them to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Interested to see how #cleanenergyu post-it conversations can drive student activist petitions?

Read on… And join other #cleanenergyu campuses and leaders as we distill what we learned from this Earth Month’s 2015 #cleanenergyu dialogue.

First Seize the Grid Campaign Event at University of Montavello! Earth Fest 2015, by Morgan Pennington:

Over the weekend I realized how dire the situation is for clean energy in Alabama. And realized why it is so important that the citizens of Alabama take the initiative to change our state energy system. So on the day before Earth Day, students took action. Seize the Grid at the University of Montevallo held its very first event at the Earth Fest Celebration.

This past weekend I attended the Samford Energy Forum where people associated with Energy in Alabama came together to discuss energy. At this event, one of our state legislatures discussed how renewable energy is just not geographically feasible for Alabama, and that it would be a very long time before we stopped the use of fossil fuels.

The agenda consisted of topics like: The Status of Oil & Gas Development in Alabama, Development of Gas and Oil Resources: Recent Regulatory Innovations in the US, The Energy-Water Nexus, Alabama Legislative Energy Update, Status of CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery in the United States, Geological Assessment of Alabama’s Oil Sands Resources, The Future of Unconventional Oil and Gas in Alabama, and Hydraulic Fracturing Current Best Practices.

And I realized state legislatures and leaders in Alabama are not keeping renewable energy in the picture. Although the Energy Forum was disappointing, students at UM would like to transfer this negative energy into positive energy by changing where our energy comes from to power UM’s campus.

Our goal for Seize the Grid at UM is to get the administration to commit to creating an energy plan that will allow UM to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2030. So at Earth Fest on Tuesday April 21st, UM Seize the Grid urged students to participate in a photo petition. Students wrote their vision for the future of renewable energy at UM on a post it note and took a photo to submit to our Administration.

During our photo petition, many students shared their visions of a campus powered by solar and wind, which excites me for Seize the Grid at UM – our campus is composed of students that are passionate for renewable energy.

UM has the responsibility to be powered by 100% renewable energy because the coal, gas and oil that Alabama and UM are relying on are polluting our air, water, and lives. We want our Administration and students to lead in the movement for renewable energy because people’s lives are impacted by climate change, pollution, and other consequences of the use of using fossil fuels for energy.

As of now, our vision for 2015 will be working with administration to start the conversation about where our energy at UM comes from, and how renewable energy can be brought into the picture. -Morgan Pennington, SSC Student Leader