This just in from Bill McKibben:
Dear friends,
I just walked out of a disappointing meeting with the White House: they refused to accept the Carter solar panel we came to Washington to deliver and said that they would continue their “deliberative process” to discuss putting solar panels back on the White House roof.
Well, we’re done deliberating. When Pakistan is under water, Russia is on fire, and millions of people are ready for clean energy jobs, it’s not time to deliberate: it’s time to get to work.
We entered this morning’s meeting buoyed by the over 40,000 of you who signed our letter requesting President Obama to make the retrofit. We were equally heartened by the hundreds of work parties that have been registered since our road trip began on Tuesday. And we were humbled by reports of the amazing work being planned in places like Zimbabwe, where a group of students will be installing solar panels on the roof of a rural hospital for 10/10/10.I’m also incredibly proud of the three students from Unity College who stood right up to the officials we met with and explained to them that if they wanted to communicate about the greening of the government they should do something in a place where people pay attention.
This week’s road trip got incredible media coverage in places like Newsweek, the Washington Post, USA Today, and more. Thousands of you helped spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Hundreds of you signed up new work parties to show how you’re leading this movement for climate solutions. Because in the end, that’s what it is going to take: a movement.
Your efforts are building incredible momentum. In the last month, big partners like Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and the World Council of Churches have joined the 10:10 Campaign and 350.org in planning for 10/10/10. The day will be a moment to bring our entire movement together and show our so-called leaders what real leadership looks like.
As for the Carter solar panel, it’s going to stay in Washington for now, ready for President Obama to come take it home. And as for me, I’m going to head home myself for a few days of rest before hitting the road again to drum up support for 10/10/10.
Today marks the one month countdown to the 10/10/10 Global Work Party. Will you help us celebrate by signing up to register or attend an event today?
Your hard work means the world to us, let’s keep up the fight.
Onwards,
Bill McKibben
PS: This week was a big week for our online growth too — we’re super close to 100,00 supporters on Facebook. Push us over the edge: Click here to invite your facebook friends to join you.
About Jeremy Bloom
I understand your disappointment and I’m right there with you. I work with Sharp and have been doing some research on solar panels. Since traditional means of generating electricity call for the burning of coal and other fossil fuels which release harmful pollutants in the environment and solar panels, on the other hand, use the suns rays to generate electricity, that our “leaders” would want to show us by their example how to use this clean and renewable energy source. solar Panels