Revitalizing the Website

Now that it has been a few months after the election I figure I need to stretch out my blogging skills. As you can see, I’ve been working on redeveloping my website to match my life as a community organizer and keep better track of all the activities I’m involved in. Check out the issues page to get an idea of where I'm headed with the design: http://www.brycecarter.com/issues/

I'll do my best to provide regular updates my final semester, especially with Earth Hour, Virginia Tech Move Beyond Coal campaign and the Wise County Project. This week I presented the Virginia Tech Energy and Sustainability Committee and the Blacksburg Town Council with a letter presenting Earth Hour. I've copied my letter to Town Council below:

To the members of Blacksburg Town Council,

As you know, climate change is happening all around us and its pace is accelerating. From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, climate change is already impacting life across the globe.

To make a bold symbolic statement of collective concern for our planet, the World Wildlife Fund sponsored an event in 2007 in which active citizens in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour—Earth Hour. By 2009, Earth Hour became the largest event of its kind in the world with nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries turned out their lights, as well as international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids, and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong, and Tel Aviv.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30p.m. the world will send a powerful message that climate change is a priority that must be dealt with now. By turning off non-essential lighting during Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people across the globe will show their support for lasting action to protect Earth’s natural resources, environment and climate, now and into the future. Earth Hour reminds us that by working together, we all have a working role to solve one of the most critical issues of our time. Earth Hour also provides an excellent forum for citizens to hold meaningful conversations about the ways in which all of us can act to be part of the solution.

With the Town of Blacksburg already demonstrating extraordinary leadership by signing the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, joining the ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability Program, and establishing the Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Protection and Sustainability, Earth Hour provides a new opportunity for the diverse communities of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech to come together to show support for action to save our planet for future generations. In potential partnership with Virginia Tech, our joint participation will show that we care as a community and send a powerful message to the world that the United States is a leader in the movement to address climate change.

As planning continues, it is our hope to utilize either the Drillfield on Virginia Tech’s campus and turn off the lights at Burruss Hall or utilize the newly renovated Market Square Park as a community gathering place for citizens and students to enjoy each others’ company in candlelight. With the assistance of Virginia Tech Electric, our electricity demand both on and off campus will be monitored during Earth Hour and the savings will be shared with the public.

With the assistance of Town Council, we hope that the Town of Blacksburg will choose to partner with the Student Government Association Sustainability Committee and participate in Earth Hour 2010. We look forward to your response.

For more information about Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org or watch the video below.