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Hi, I’m Isaac. If you live in SA, chances are you know me. If you don’t live in SA, chances are you know me anyway. But, in the event that you don’t know me, there is no time like the present. Hello.

In exactly one week, I’ll be heading off for three months on a whirlwind adventure with Anna Rose on a tour across the country. Anna’s new book Madlands and her ABC documentary I Can Change Your Mind About Climate will be generating a tidal wave of publicity, and we’ll be surfing it all the way from Cairns down to Hobart. Cowabunga. Dude.

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My role will be helping Anna to organise trainings for local groups, book launches, public forums, schools talks and one-on-ones with community big-wigs.

I come from a small town south of Adelaide, called Yankalilla. It’s not unlike many rural towns: cosy, picturesque and full of cows. However, for a young aspiring activist, there’s not a lot to do, other then… Plant trees. So. Many. Trees.

But, one day in 2010, I heard about a youth climate conference. Powershift was coming to Adelaide. No sooner had I heard, I slopped off my muddy wellies, slapped on my slightly less muddy ones and headed into town. Little did I know, I’d just made a decision that would change my life.

During a workshop about how to call my local politician, I had a phone shoved in one hand, and the number of my local pollie in the other…

“Wow. Ring them? Right now? Here? …In two minutes? Oh, now? Yep. Okay. “

…And I did! And after having a VERYEXCITEDCONVERSATION with the secretary, I slammed that phone down and was changed for life. I was hooked. Everyone around me was calling their pollie too…That sweet, sweet rush of movement building, it had me. Now I follow that rush wherever it takes me.

That’s why I applied for this tour. Because I knew I’d be an opportunity to communicate the urgency of climate action like it’s never been communicated before. After Powershift 2010, that rush led me to start a group back in Yankalilla, last year it took me all the way to the UN Climate Talks in Africa, and now… I’m following that movement building rush all around Australia.

And I hope you’ll follow it with me. See ya soon, amigos.

Written by Isaac Astill, AYCC SA Volunteer

Welcome to a live chat with Anna Rose!

The live chat with Anna will start at 10:30pm.

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An intruiging meeting out the back of a Sydney cafe led to a major ABC documentary and soon-to-be bestselling book, writes AYCC’s co-founder and Chair Anna Rose

On Thursday, I’m co-starring in a climate change documentary aiming to reach those Australians who still have questions about the science of climate change.

On Friday, Melbourne University Press is releasing my first full-length book. It answers all the questions a soft sceptic would have about climate change science and impacts, in an easily digestible way.

And on Monday, I’m embarking on a 100 day book tour with a group of up-and-coming AYCC leaders to change hearts and minds in person as we travel to outer suburban, regional and rural Australia.

How did I get to this point?

Wind back the clock six and a half years ago to December 2005, in the middle of a snow-filled winter in Montreal.

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I wake up in a small loft filled with young climate activists from around the world. To my left is Fawzia, an environmental journalist from Bangladesh. To my right is Ben, an environmental educator from Micronesia. I can smell coffee coming from our kitchen downstairs. As I walk down in my pyjamas, I see a group huddled around their laptops, writing media releases, blogging, reading the day’s agenda and preparing policy responses. We are the youth delegation at the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, and we’re there to make an impact.

I will always remember those mornings in Montreal, because they helped shape the course of my life up to this point.

It was the end of 2005. I’d spent the year travelling from University to University – all over Australia – working with other students to organise and win campus clean energy victories. We campaigned and won major new initiatives for energy efficiency, climate and sustainability programs.

At my campus, Sydney University, a 2-year campaign convinced the Vice Chancellor to invest $1 million in renewable energy research & development. Monash, Melbourne, ANU and Newcastle University also had important victories. I’d dropped out of my law degree that year, to work as National Environment Officer for the National Union of Students. And I was supposed to go back and finish the last year of my degree.

But in Montreal, I met young people like Ben and Fawzia feeling severe impacts of climate change on their countries. For them, climate change was a matter of survival for their people. I realised I needed to do more – much more – than what I’d been doing up to this point.

I knew that we needed to take the youth climate movement beyond small groups of students on University campuses, and onto the national political stage. We needed to turn young Australians from a demographic into a constituency who would make decisions on the basis of climate change.

We needed young Australians to make it harder for our political and business leaders to continue the status quo, which was harming our futures, than to give in to our simple demand for a safe climate with enough clean air, water and soil for everyone.

The idea for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition was born.

And with a lot of hard work by the small group of young people who organised the founding summit in 2006 and the first few campaigns in 2007 (one of whom is now my husband!) the idea took off and became a fully-fledged movement of which you, reading this, are now a part.

I left AYCC as Co-Director in 2010, but remained Chair of the Board. And I embarked on a number of different projects, including completing a Churchill fellowship on peer-to-peer environmental education in China, the UK and the USA. I also worked as Senior campaigns Director at the strategy and communications consultancy Make Believe.

But I left Make Believe at the end of last year to work on the next stage of my original vision of ‘making green mainstream’. I decided to make a concerted effort to reach out to climate sceptics. My aim? To re-establish the foundational case for the science and the need to act. In the heat of the debate about the carbon price, many Australians have forgetten why we needed to cut carbon pollution in the first place.

Through a mutual friend, I was approached by a TV producer called Simon Nasht. He wanted to create a TV program to be aired on the ABC that reached beyond the sound bites on climate change science. His vision was to send a film crew to capture the journey of a climate activist and a climate sceptic as they took each other around the world trying to change each other’s minds.

Simon Nasht had secured one of the remaining few high-profile climate sceptics in Australia, Nick Minchin, to be part of the project. (I say remaining because many other former sceptics in business and government, even the former head of Exxon Mobil, John Schubert, have now accepted the science.) Now, Simon required someone willing to go head to head with Nick to argue the case for the science and the need to act on climate change.

After a lot of reflection (which you can read about in my book!) I decided to say yes. And so began an extrardinary journey, of which the documentary is the first, not the last, step. Along the way I wrote a 90,000 word book in two months, and decided to take a group of AYCC volunteers with me on the road to travel around the country reaching out to people who still have questions about the science and the need to act.

I’m so proud to be part of the AYCC and the youth climate movement in Australia. Ellen, Kirsty and the team of staff and volunteers and state coordinators and local group members inspire me every single day. I look forward to the Repower campaign update emails as the highlight of my week and I get so excited to read about what’s been happening with the grassroots.

If anyone can change a sceptic’s mind, it’s the young people in their lives. So if you have a climate sceptic uncle or grandfather or friend of a friend, make sure you sit down with them to watch the documentary on Thursday night – and then order them a copy of Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic.

Written by AYCC co-founder and Chair of the Board, Anna Rose

One of the most powerful things about this movement is sharing our stories. So please, tell us your story by commenting on this blog, and then share it with your friends. Sharing experiences builds this movement.

We’ve been sharing our stories here in the AYCC office this week – from telling AGL to disassociate themselves from EnergyWatch, stopping Rob Oakeshott’s motion for the burning of native forests to count in the renewable energy target, and fighting for the carbon price.  What huge wins!

But what makes this so spectacular is that it involves all of us – a movement of young people taking action.

And who is this “us” that I speak of? It’s you.

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It’s all young people who stand up and say “Hey, that’s not right! That’s our future you’re talking about, and we will not sit by and let you ruin it. We’re part of a movement of young people. We’re making the change that needs to happen.”

To get others to join us, we need to share our stories about why we’re part of this movement. To get you started here’s a few stories from AYCC members all over the country.

Josh Creaser, ACT Member

Like so many I grew up fascinated by the natural world and enjoyed spending time outdoors. While appreciating these natural values and the lifestyle they afford me, I was troubled by the many environmental and social issues which plague our time. The climate crisis overshadows so much of my thinking about the world we live in and our future. In the face of such an all-encompassing problem, how do I harbour a strong and growing sense of hope for the future? I’m a part of a movement that unites people across the country and connects with activists the world over to fight for a more equitable future. I joined the AYCC in 2011 – it sounded like a fun and engaging group to be involved with. I quickly discovered that it was a place to meet young people who have a burning passion to create change, the skills to create the future they dream of, and I was not alone in my many concerns and hopes.

Jaden Harris, NSW Member

As someone who lives on the coast and loves surfing, I want future generations to be able to do the same and not experience the negative effects of sea level rise and ocean acidification. Young people have been the catalyst in every social movement, we have more to contribute and can influence society more. I became involved in AYCC in 2010 since then I’ve built a cardboard solar plant at Parliament House, met Tony Abbott, and am now repowering a local Manly business. The AYCC gives me immense hope and inspiration for the future. We are fun, exciting and take a fresh approach.

Jill Beale, VIC Member

I don’t normally devote myself to social movements, Powershift 2011 changed that. I found myself in Brisbane, engulfed by the smartest, funniest people I’d ever met. They had a vision for a better future. Politicians celebrities, scientists and staying in bad hostels that housed climate skeptics inspired me to act. Being surrounded by 1000 young people that were bursting with enthusiasm and energy was contagious and led me to believe that change is possible. I shared the vision of change on a large scale. The flashmob was the initial plunge into sacrificing a little, to be part of something huge.

CJ Fraser-Bell, NT Member

I live in Darwin. The NT was the last State or Territory in Australia to have an AYCC group, in 2011 we started one. Two of us went to Powershift, two voices calling out in a sea of 1000 “We are here, we exist and we care!” It’s hard, being a young person who cares. We scream out and no-one answers. That’s why standing up and calling out pollies’ and corporations’ wrongdoings is so vital. Building a movement is important; a movement that includes every young person – regardless of race, religion, language, or geography. Young people are waiting to be called to action. So we’re bringing them the microphone – That’s why I’m part of the movement.

What’s your story?

Let me start of by saying, my first week as an AYCC intern was by far the best week of work experience possible. The highlight of which was definitely the Quit Coal protest I was lucky enough to take part in.

Tuesday April the 3rd was the day when we, along with Quit Coal Australia, took to Mr Baillieu’s office. Dressed up as coal fighting zombies with baby powder in our hair and delicious syrupy blood dripping down our faces, we ‘zombied’ our way from the steps of Parliament House to Mr Baillieu’s office.

After a few zombie chants we were overwhelmed by the amount of carbon in the air that was emitted from Mr Baillieu’s office. As a result, we all ‘died’!

However, we were awakened from our momentary slumber by the devastating consequences of Mr Baillieu’s actions. We were simply not at peace, so we felt it was necessary for us to start a zombie conga line – as you do.

Meanwhile there were six members of Quit Coal who locked themselves together with bike locks and remained stationary in the foyer of the building.

Throughout the entire event there was fantastic media coverage from all the big networks, creating awareness and provoking discussions about vital issues that need to be addressed. Furthermore, there was an excessive police force present with the number of officers almost outnumbering the protesters.

After we finished ‘zombieing,’ around six committed protestors continued their lockdown for another eight hours, until they were finally offered a meeting with Mr Baillieu and immunity from all charges, which they accepted.

A big thank you to Quit Coal for organising the protest and for all those who took part in the lock down!

All in all it was a fantastic to kick start my week of work experience.

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Written by AYCC volunteer – Gawesha Weeratunga, AYCC Victoria

Congratulations team! Let’s recap some of the most exciting parts of the week:

88 Repower events registered – that’s a mere 12 events away from our target of 100!

Your inspiring work is infectious, Blue King Brown and Claire Hooper have joined us as Repower ambassadors this week.

Next up, Melbourne community kitchen Lentil as Anything will be working with our VIC crew to get some Repower action going at all 3 of its venues – at Footscray, Abbotsford and St Kilda!!

In Sydney, champion Castle Hills vollie Matthew Nguyen organised a Super heroes vs Villains Mufti day for his 2000 fellow Cherrybrook High students and raised a whopping $1600! Check-out their event pics here.

And as if all that wasn’t enough – our movement is growing strong check this out:

In the past week (yes you heard me correctly – w-e-e-k!) this happened in NSW:
Epping gained 2 new members
Eden gained 2 new members
Castle Hill gained 2 new members
Blacktown gained 3 new members
Manly gained 4 new members
Milton gained 11 new members
Armidale gained 16 new members, have now formed a mini branch and are in full swing to Repower their local PCYC

VIC had seven new Repower events registered in one day and and their Big Solar Facebook photo got 500 likes!.

We also now have online coordinators in EVERY state!!

Got an amazing story like this to share? We’d love to hear it, so send it through to charlie@aycc.org.au!

Keep up the great work with registering events – we’re so so close to the 100 event jackpot!

AYCC National Director, Ellen Sandell, and AYCC Policy Advisor, Nathan Atterton, prepared the following submission to the Energy White Paper. Download it here to see what they have to say about our energy future. Soon you’ll be able to access this submission from the Energy White Paper website as well, but has not been added to the list yet.

In the wake of last week’s election, it’s time to step back and uncover how a transition in Queensland politics will impact the environment.

Whilst Anna Bligh promised that the environment would be one of three major priorities during her  campaign, the Liberals and Campbell Newman focused on the creation of a four pillar economy based upon tourism, agriculture, resources and construction.

Where is the environment and conservation?

The biggest concern is the LNP’s shift away from action towards renewable energy and climate change; his concern currently is attempting to pull out of a $75 million contract regarding the implementation of a solar thermal energy plant near Chinchilla, west of Brisbane. It is part of a larger federal government Solar Flagships program which supports the construction of solar power stations across Australia.   Newman has also ordered, Greg Withers, Head of Queensland’s Office of Climate Change, to abolish several green energy programs, claiming  that they are made redundant by the federal government’s carbon tax and mandated Renewable Energy Target.

The initiatives to be axed include the $50 million Smart Energy Savings Program (aimed at helping businesses improve energy efficiency), the Waste Avoidance and Resource Efficiency Fund, the Local Government Sustainable Future Fund and The Future Growth Fund.   Neman also announced the closure of the $430 million Queensland Climate Change Fund which provides $30 million annually to climate change initiatives.

Despite the currently volatile situation of environmental programs in Queensland,  according to its website, the LNP is committed to allocating $107 million towards a range of initiatives aimed at providing sufficient protection of the state’s natural heritage, with particular focus on biodiversity and improving conservation in our national parks.  The LNP will continue existing funding towards the Healthy Waterways program and the  protection of the natural areas and waterways of Cape York, as well as retain the solar feed-in tariff which subsidises households that generate solar power.   The LNP has also offered $12 million toward Everyone’s Environment grants for local communities and environment groups who strive  to deliver environmental improvements.

To insure real protection of the environment join our Repower Campaign and be apart of a movement of young people making tangible change in their communities.

Written by AYCC QLD volunteer, Emily

I was lucky enough to spend this weekend on the Mornington Peninsula with some amazing Vic core volunteers, at our state training camp.

We arrived at Rosebud on Friday night and decided to have a relaxing evening before beginning training the next morning. Of course when you throw 13 Vic vollies into a house together, the definition of the word ‘relaxing’ becomes slightly skewed: some very intense conversations were had, some remarkable stories were told and some fantastic food was eaten.

We got up early on Saturday morning to get started with the training. In true AYCC form, we ignored the fact that we’d all slept together in one room the night before and did a few ‘get to know you’ activities. It was great to hear what motivated our recent recruitments to join the Vic team, as well as hear some hilarious bug-related experiences!

Our first workshop was on climate science. Most of us are pretty clued up on the science, so the workshop was pitched in a different light. Charlie went over the basics with us, then taught us how to frame the issue so that it inspires, not scares. I took a lot from this workshop – particularly an appreciation for the importance of language in communicating climate change, and the presentation of realistic and possible solutions.

Our last workshop of the day was on Repower. I’ll be honest – things started to get a little emotional here. We were all super pumped by what lies ahead for AYCC and our excitement certainly showed in our Repower goals. I don’t want to give too much away, but Repower in Vic this year will definitely be HUGE!

Though the training finished at 5.30, we managed to squeeze in some team building before bed. We all put our design and technology skills together and built one of the most impressive cubby houses Rosebud has ever seen. We celebrated our industriousness by watching a movie as a group IN the cubby house (yes, it was that great), and then got some well-needed sleep.

On Sunday morning we got started on some skills-based workshops. Michael explained the importance of a decentralised movement, and went over some important skills for supporting one. I learnt how to communicate, delegate and recruit effectively. In between lunch and a clean up, we also went through some difficult scenarios and brainstormed how we would deal with them. Before we knew it, time had gotten past us (despite the end of Daylight Savings!), and we had to skip the last planned workshop – Personal Efficiency. Oh, the irony! We rushed back to Melbourne, all motivated to get Repower supersized in Vic.

I know this is cliché, but really this weekend was so enlightening, educational and inspirational. The skills I learnt will definitely stay with me forever. And I really hope the people I got to know do too. I was reminded by them and by all the fantastic workshops I attended how lucky I am to work for such an amazing organisation.

Written by AYCC Volunteer, Caitlin Westney

AYCC Hills, formally known as the AYCC North-West/ Castle Hill had its very first Repower event this month!

Being situated in a relatively conservative part of the Sydney, the Hills team knew we had a challenge on our hands to in acquiring a venue to repower. We decided to set our focus on a local High School in Cherrybrook where we thought we had the best chances of repowering.

The event was held at Cherrybrook Technology High School on the 14th of March in the form of a Mufti day with the theme “Super Heroes vs. Villains”.

With more than 2000 students to cater for this was sure to be a success with each student dressing up in mufti making a compulsory gold coin donation.

Many students attended with creative and interesting costumes which made the day enjoyable for the school community. A team of vollies from the school promoted Repower Australia through putting up posters on the noticeboard and handing out Repower postcards and stickers to students across the school.

The school got $1600 from that Mufti Day. The SRC of the school had a variety of quality options available to expend this money and after much deliberation and passionate discussion, we had achieved seeing $1000 of the cash being approved to go towards the Repower Campaign! And $600 would go to other school projects.

- long-time AYCC volunteer and secretariat of the Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance, Ahri Tallon, reports

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk to those with the power over what I think is one of the the most important things in the world: education for sustainability. The day of lobbying was the beginning of the Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance (AESA)’s campaign to ensure that all Australians have the opportunity to receive effective education that instils knowledge, skills and values of sustainability, through the formal education system and through ongoing information and training throughout life.

As a youth organisation that works with climate change our movement is made up of people that were educated and inspired enough throughout their childhood to care for our future. Care so much that they would one day join a movement to make sure its the one we dream of.  This is why the AYCC has worked so hard to create AESA - an alliance of education, union and environment organisations who are advocating for sustainability education.  Our vision is to build a sustainable Australia by ensuring all Australians have access to sustainability education through school, tertiary education and professional development.

After a year of hard work, it was amazing to launch AESA publicly in Canberra.  We met over 20 politicians with our platform for increased leadership for sustainability education, particularly focusing on getting the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) program re-instated.

AuSSI is a highly successful sustainability program developed in 2003 to provide practical sustainability education to schools across Australia.  Since then, it has reached over 3200 schools, supporting teachers to embed sustainability lessons in their classrooms and giving students hands-on experience in sustainability, by reducing the school’s waste, water use, energy and increasing biodiversity. In the last year, all Federal funding for the AuSSI program has been cut.  

We spoke to many politicians, including, Environment Minister Tony Burke, Education Minister Peter Garrett and Shadow Environment Minister Greg Hunt about reinvesting in AuSSI in this year’s budget.

We also had 7 AuSSI school students, from primary and high schools around Canberra, join us at the press conference to tell their stories about sustainability.  It was really inspiring to hear about their  vegetable patches, recycling and re-use programs and how they take the sustainability lessons they learn in schools home to their parents and community.  Our launch was covered on range of media including the Age, SMH, Canberra Times, Brisbane Times and Canberra ABC.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who made this possible. If you want to join the mailing list for updates on AESA, sign up here and to volunteer with the AESA team you can email me on ahri.tallon@youthclimatecoalition.org

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Here in SA we take O’Week pretty dang seriously. So, for the past couple of weeks we’ve been polishing our shirts, ironing our hair, and combing our shoes so we can spread the good word of 100% renewable energy.

Each day started with somebody climbing inside Fluffy the polar bear, lockin’ and stockin’ the clipboards, and a few of us would get the blood pumping with some early morning chalking. Then all at once, we’d come launching out of the cafeteria, the smell of first years heavy in the air.

Needless to say, we had fun. Fun with a ph. Phun. The signups came think and fast, everyone was loving our message of a safe climate future. And for every sign-uper we got, we’d hand out flyers about our upcoming meet’n’greet nights, with particularly interested sign-uperers directed to tick the ‘Attending Event?’ column. Seems to me that ‘yes’ is definitely the new ‘no’.

Eventually people started leaving the o-week party and hitting their first ever lectures, where they were warmly greeted with their first ever lecture bash. We were everywhere. In a lecture? We’ll be talking. On the lawns? We’ll be talking. In the toilet? …We’re less likely to be talking. But we’ll definitely send you a sticker to speak on our behalf.

And oh, did we dance. After a quick conference with the ‘Lost On Campus?’ Panda, the ‘Cornetto’ Bear, and the ‘Subway’ Sandwich we got ourselves and old style dance off, with Fluffy as the leading act. Fluffy pumped, crumped and star jumped, with maybe his only real competition coming from within our own ranks! Then we all stomped out a crowd capturing reprise of the Power Shift 2011 flash dance right in the middle of UniSA.

We were only just getting started, with meet’n’greet events around every corner. We cranked up the promo efforts from 25% reduction to 100% renewable, with every Uni Group hosting callout parties, digidoorknock parties and party parties (for networking obviously).

Promo clearly paid off, because from picnic to dinner to street party, every event was packed out. Attempting to meet new volunteers often became a game of actually trying to cross the room in the first place. It may have been an OH&S nightmare, but it was an event organiser’s dream.

Without a doubt, O-Week was a rockin’ success. We collected almost 1500 signups across three universities, whilst simultaneous proving our prowess on the dance floor. We met and made friends with heaps of groovy youth who are keen to join up with action groups or hold Repower event themselves.

Finally, we showed people that an Australia powered by 100% renewable energy is not only possible and necessary… Its gonna be pretty phun getting there as well.

Written by Isaac -SA volunteer

We won!

At 6pm last night, Parliament voted on whether or not to count burning native forests as ‘renewable energy’. And guess what? They voted ‘no’!

Thanks to AYCC members all across the country, money will now go to where it’s needed most: solar and wind. We’ll also protect the important carbon stores in our native forests. In his speech to Parliament, Rob Oakeshott directly mentioned AYCC has running a campaign against his motion (meaning: we had an impact!)

How did this happen?

Just one month ago we heard that Independent MP Rob Oakeshott wanted to introduce a motion that would allow burning of native forests to get special monetary incentives and count as ‘renewable energy’. In usual fashion, AYCC jumped to action straight away. We were the first organisation to send out an email to all our members, asking them to Tweet at Oakeshott and call their MPs  (especially Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie, whose votes would be crucial). The Greens and GetUp! also used their influence to push politicians to do the right thing and vote against it.

For this campaign, we tried something we’d never done before…

… asking AYCC members to chip in to put an ad in Oakeshott’s local paper. Over 100 people donated, from $2 to $100, and we were able to put this ad in the paper the very next day. This ad showed Oakeshott and other politicians that we were a strong force in their communities, and that we could quickly and powerfully get our message out to the public.

Oakeshott hit back quickly – sending a letter to AYCC members and all MPs saying AYCC was misleading people. However, we knew we were in the right, so just an hour later, we responded with our own letter dispelling his misinformation.

We also sent our letter to all MPs and got this response from Andrew Wilkie:

“Dear Ellen. Thank you for contacting me regarding Robert Oakeshott’s Motion… Having now consulted with stakeholders I’m pleased to be able to confirm I will not support the Motion.
Kind regards, Andrew.”

Tony Windsor also replied to AYCC members saying that he decided to vote against the motion.

This win is thanks to you – the AYCC members and volunteers who tweeted @OakeyMP, called MPs offices, and donated your hard earned money to put an ad in Oakeshott’s local paper.

Our pressure on MPs made sure they voted ‘no’. Now money will be put into solar and wind, where it’s needed.

But our fight doesn’t end here. We are still a long way off from getting Australia powered by 100% renewable energy. That’s why AYCC is running the Repower Australia campaign. It shows our politicians how committed we are to renewable energy, by making tangible changes in our local communities.

It’s about running an event at a local pub, cafe, sports club or school that raises money to reduce emissions of that venue – but by inviting media, politicians and community members to the event, it enables us to also spread the message that we want to live in an Australia powered by 100% renewables. If you haven’t yet signed up to run an event, please do so here.

Thanks to all those AYCC members who sprung into action to make a real different to our forest carbon stores and to renewable energy.

Today is a day to celebrate!

Cheers, Ellen.

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On Saturday, more than 200 other voracious tweeters and 10 AYCC New South Wales volunteers made sure our voice was heard on national TV – Channel 7′s morning program Sunrise! This was in response to MPs Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb saying that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is a ‘waste of tax payers’ dollars’ (more details here).

The NSW volunteers arrived super early in the morning, armed with our signs and trademark enthusiasm, to make sure that we got our message across: Joe Hockey doesn’t speak for young people regarding renewable energy in Australia.

I watched it on TV and I jumped up and down seeing friends putting the pressure on the media to acknowledge that a clean and safe energy future for Australia must include renewable energy.

Sunrise presenter Andrew O’Keefe even came outside to talk to AYCC volunteers about renewable energy!! And we got two mentions during the climate change segment on Saturday morning.

While the NSW volunteers were talking to Andrew, it became evident that the story that Sunrise was interested in was telling was not about Joe Hockey, not about the effect of climate change on the recent floods in NSW and Victoria, but about renewable energy. Sunrise mentioned that they are even interested in telling the story of Repower in the future. This is big!

And then today, a press release came out (see the full release here) from the Clean Energy Council saying that a study of more than 40 senior executives around Australia indicates support a well-designed Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).  Executives interviewed said that the $10 billion dollars for the CEFC would ideally “act as a co-investor to help unlock capital from large institutional investors, major banks and international markets.”

So what does this all mean?

It means it’s time to get serious about Repower. If we want to get interviews on Sunrise and national media around how important an investment in renewables is then we need to make sure that every single community across Australia has pledged to Repower! We need Repower events everywhere.

Are you planning an event? Make sure to register your Repower event today and it will keep the momentum building on renewable energy!

If we’ve learned anything about our experience from last weekend it’s that social media is a seriously powerful medium. So, once you’ve registered, make sure you’re getting the message out there – our communities want to repower – by utilising facebook and twitter.

In fact after you’ve registered, why don’t you go ahead and tweet us @aycc and share it on our facebook page too?