Month: April 2011

Students Demand that Facebook Unfriend Coal

I just got back from a trip to North Carolina. I met up with some rockstar student activists in Forest City, NC – where the construction site of Facebook’s newest data center is located. In November 2010, Facebook disclosed its plans to invest $450 million in the 300,000 sq. ft. facility and to power the center using dirty coal power.

Emma Wicker, one of the activists, grew up 10 minutes away from the construction site. Emma is stoked to have Facebook bring some much needed jobs to the area, she just wants those jobs to drive an energy revolution, not increase demand for dirty coal power. Duke Energy, the local electric utility, relies on coal for over 50% of its generation mix and is currently building another large 800MW coal plant just 10 miles away in Cliffside, North Carolina.

The action didn’t just happen in North Carolina on Friday. Students across the country stood up to demand more from Facebook. In Austin, Texas, students gathered outside Facebook offices in an effort to talk with employees about the campaign. The students were denied access to the building, but they were able to deliver a letter for Mark Zuckerberg to the security guard that works on Facebook’s floor, and get the attention of Facebook staff passing by.

As the student activists in Austin said on Friday, “Facebook is in a relationship with coal? Dislike!” Join us in asking Facebook to Unfriend Coal by Earth Day 2011.

Why it’s awesome to intern with Greenpeace

So, we’ve got a stellar team of interns here in the San Francisco office, working with the Greenpeace Activist Network. It’s no exaggeration to say these folks are the lifeblood of our network – without them, there’s no way we could mobilize nearly 1000 activists nationwide to do great things with Greenpeace, like host 200 vigils for Japan all across the country, for example.

Here’s what they had to say about why they love their internships.

Top 10 reasons why interning for Greenpeace is GREAT!

1. Inspiring amazing volunteers and getting people excited to save the planet.
2. Getting a glowing references at the end of your internship.
3. Attending non-violent direct action training and paint banners.
4. Being part of a great team. It’s a fun office with lots of energy. People don’t walk around like zombies.
5. You can be yourself.
6. There’s flexibility in terms of how you spend your time.
7. Learning how to mobilize people online.
8. Improving your communications skills.
9. It’s like internship boot camp.
10. You get to meet Greenpeace campaigners, media officers, direct actions team people who are friendly and will talk with you about how they got to have the cool job they have.

So what are you waiting for? Apply to intern with the Greenpeace Activist Network in San Francisco today!

Are you a student passionate about the environment? Spend your summer with Greenpeace!

If you’re a college student who cares about the environment, you should spend 5 weeks this summer with Greenpeace. Here’s why.

Year round, students from across the United States and Canada come to train with Greenpeace and learn how to tackle the most pressing environmental issues we face today through the Greenpeace Semester. We look for passionate, visionary students – and every semester, I am in awe because the students we ask to join us go above and beyond our expectations. The thing is, that’s what the Semester is all about – talking to some of the most passionate and dedicated university students and giving them the tools to succeed as change-makers.

We train students who are not only interested in environmental issues, but who are itching to learn how they can contribute in a big way to the environmental movement through community organizing, and student activism. Students like Ren Ostry, who was part of the Greenpeace Semester last fall and is back at work with the Student Network on campus.

Students apply for the Greenpeace Semester for many reasons. Sometimes they are already involved in an environmental group on campus, but it just isn’t running as effectively as it could. Other students have always been passionate about environmentalism and aren’t sure how they can become a catalyst for change. Still others are already working with the Greenpeace Student Network, and are looking to find additional training that can give their campaign the boost it needs. Whatever the reason, these students apply for the Semester because they are eager to learn how to be effective environmental leaders.

We are accepting applications for our summer and fall programs now. The deadline to apply for summer is today, March 31st – so don’t wait, apply today to join the Greenpeace Semester and learn how you can become an effective, inspiring leader on your campus.

Not a student, but know someone who would be a great fit for the Greenpeace Semester? Nominate a student today, and we will contact them to tell them more about the program!