Joseph Cao, Congressional Representative from Louisiana has an independent streak and won't buckle down to Republican Party rhetoric. As seen in this video(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tcAYd7QXyI) on the day of his landmark election in December 2008, this lawyer hopes to represent his community even in areas that aren't considered Republican today. On November 7, 2009, Cao, a lawyer and the first Vietnamese Representative in the history of the United States, demonstrated his willingness to break from the Republican Party rhetoric by voting for a landmark healthcare reform bill. While the bill is still considered a win for the insurance industry by and large, the young Republicans break sharpens points of difference between the teabagging Constitutionalist Party leaning Republicans from more moderate voices. Cao, who ran as independent in a previous election, was the first Republican to win this district since Reconstruction. Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Fun video by Polidoc featuring the Yes Men's Halliburton Survivaballs Escorted down Market Street by "Chevron Minions" during this San Francisco action on November 1, 2009. Serving up the message of corporate responsibility to San Ramon, CA based Chevron Oil, the YES Men marched down San Francisco streets after the premiere of their activist movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" on November 1, 2009. In conjunction with Global Exchange and other Bay Area environmental and human rights groups, the Yes Men hope to link Chevron's plan to expand its refinery in the East Bay to human and environmental rights abuses in other countries and part of the United States. In "The Yes Men Fix the World," the infamous pranksters, amongst them Andy Bichlbaum, heaps doses of irony to shine a light on the negligence of companies that place profit over people. Clever vignettes, something that crosses between "Ocean's Eleven" "Pink Panther" and "Get Smart" weave the documentary pieces of their actions together into a great piece of entertainment. This movie now showing across the nation serves up a hopeful and eviscerating commentary on the corporate players of our world.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Climate Activists Charge the Fence of a Coal Energy Plant in the United Kingdom in a series of protests leading up to the U.N. Climate Convention in Copenhagen in January, 2010.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Saturday marked a day of unprecedented international climate actions by activists in 170 countries who are building momentum to inspire political leaders to take substantial steps towards climate reform at the U.N. Climate Change Conference inCopenhagen this December. In the Bay Area of California, cyclists from as far away as Arcadia descended upon Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco in the culmination of the kickoff. City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, a consistent fighter for green legislation in one of the greenest cities in the country. Mirkarimi most notably initiated the anti-plastic bag initiative which has since spread internationally. However, he's also been a strong advocate for local control. In a speech Mirakrimi offered at the rally, he urged people to push their municipal and state legislatures to take aggressive action to reform climate regulation, regardless of what the international community does (or does not) do. The international day was spearheaded by the group 350.org and supported by numerous environmental activist groups, including GreenPeace. The number 350 represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions that the atmosphere can bear if we want to avoid runaway global warming.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Heather Graham embodies an energized and healthy government sponsored public health insurance option in a race with health care insurance company execs who seem to have forgotten the benefits of competition. It's a very hopeful and funny ad campaign for public option.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

"This event is about the only sane thing for the US Chamber of Commerce to do." defended the bold and theatrical Hingo Sembra, one of the celebrated or notorious Yes Men, depending upon your position, at a Press Club event in Washington, D.C. this morning. The Chamber of Commerce has been criticized recently for holding out against Climate Bill efforts, though a growing number of business have pulled away. Sembra, a master of political hoaxes started his style of activism pretending to be a DOW chemical company executive and apologizing for the Bhopal disaster on the BBC. Based upon how nervous he appeared in this action, he might be suspecting his poser days are numbered. His new activist movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" premiered in NYC last week, introduced by the Reverend Billy, a political performance activist and Green Party candidate for Mayor of the city. And this last weekend, it had it's West Coast Premiere at the Bioneers 2009 convention where the audience responded with uproarious laughter and applause.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia has taken a lot of heat these days, all for the love of coal. Protesters in the state Capitol insisted that the two-time Governor could arrest the violent surface mining of Coal River Mountain, situated in the South-West of the state if he wanted to. However, the only thing arrested were the protesters. Our friend and fellow videographer, "FluxRostrum" posted this video today showing local and student activists squatting at the Governor's with a burning desire to speak truth to power. Manchin has said that he does not have the authority to overstep the federally granted rights of the out-of-state corporations who are conducting the surface mining. A legal opinion called Dillon's Law which instituted, the rights of property owners ( in this case corporations) over the right of individuals (read "communities"), provides the necessary veil behind which the Governor can defend himself. However, the opinon can be challenged and that would be a strong statement from the pro-death penalty, anti-choice Democratic Governor of West Virginia for his constituents. Where the Governor's pro-corporate cards may be more apparent is in the lack of prosecutionof errant coal and drug companies whose accidents have often cost local communities their survivability and have compromised the health of its residents. West Virginia residents concerned with demanding local rights within their state may have to model themselves after other communities seeking to dominate local control. In Spokane, WA, a town under the oligarchical control of a few families, a nexus of organization have created Envision Spokane. Guided by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), Envision Spokane has placed an initiative on their November ballot calling for a community bill of rights that could challenge Dillon's Law. Speaking at the 2009 Bioneers, CELDF spokesperson Breean Beggs said, "The game is up all over the country." It is perhaps time for

Our friend Flux Rostrum has posted this video of a rally and march against Mountain Top Removal (MTR) going on over a five day period in West Virginia. Starting at the Capitol steps, senior members of ILoveMountains, Christians for the Mountains, and others have taken to the streets. Jesse Johnson, the Green Party's 2008 Gubernatorial candidate was on hand and has described a growing tension between the marchers and coal workers. We'll update when we get more news.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

The National Sierra Club ad campaign targets schools in 11 states which currently rely on coal power. * Indiana University-Bloomington * Indiana University of Pennsylvania * Lewis and Clark * Ohio University * Penn State University * SUNY-Binghamton * University of Colorado - Boulder * University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill * University of Georgia * University of Iowa * University of Minnesota-Twin Cities * University of Missouri-Columbia * University of North Dakota * University of Southern California * University of Washington * Virginia Tech * Washington University-St. Louis It offers a petition website for students.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell MoveOn.org Political Action brings us this bit of satirical political humor from Will Ferrell and friends.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

At the 2009 International Day of Peace held on September 21 in New York City, former Vice President Al Gore addressed a crowd of scientists and urged them to become involved in politics, but added with a smile, "Keep your day job." Citing how other scientists have joined the Administration, Gore said, "Scientists can no longer in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilization in which you live...We do have the capacity to make this generation one of those generations that changes the course of humankind. The stakes have never been higher." US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu was amongst the first scientists tapped by President Obama to serve in the administration. However, Chu's political engagement had begun before the 2008 Presidential Election cycle, when an organization called Science Debate 2008 entreated Democratic and Republican candidates to engage in a national debate on science issues. As a sign of the times, faith trumped science in the public arena. Science Debate 2008 chased the candidates throughout the campaign season. During the run-up to the Pennsylvania primary, Obama and Clinton put their campaign markers down on a faith-based conversation instead, which McCain (not renowned for his position on faith) declined. In a last ditch effort to establish a conversation, Science Debate 2008 acquiesced to receive written responses from the final candidates, Obama and McCain, to questions that only glazed the topic on which environmentalists and scientists craved to vet candidates. Ironically, the Green Party, largely seen as the environmentalist party, was shut out of the debates despite efforts to get one of its Presidential candidates, Kent Mesplay, Ph.D., an environmental scientist in on the debate. Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

"SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST from The Yes Men on Vimeo."WE'RE SCREWED": MEDIA HEIST BLANKETS CITY WITH "SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST Tabloid Tells Truth About Climate Change and How It Will Affect City, World Early this morning, nearly a million New Yorkers were stunned by the appearance of a "special edition" New York Post blaring headlines that their city could face deadly heat waves, extreme flooding, and other lethal effects of global warming within the next few decades. The most alarming thing about it: the news came from an official City report. Distributed by over 2000 volunteers throughout New York City, the paper has been created by The Yes Men and a coalition of activists as a wake-up call to action on climate change. It appears one day before a UN summit where Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will push 100 world leaders to make serious commitments to reduce carbon emissions in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Ban has said that the world has "less than 10 years to halt (the) global rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet," adding that Copenhagen is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity." Although the 32-page New York Post is a fake, everything in it is 100% true, with all facts carefully checked by a team of editors and climate change experts. "This could be, and should be, a real New York Post," said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men. "Climate change is the biggest threat civilization has ever faced, and it should be in the headlines of every paper, every day until we solve the problem." The fake Post's cover story ("We're Screwed") reports the frightening conclusions of a blue-ribbon panel of scientists commissioned by the mayor's office to determine the potential effects of climate change on the City. That report was released in February of this year, but received very little press at the time. Other lead articles describe the Pentagon's alarmed response to gl

Awakening the Dreamer Symposium Trailer from Pachamama Alliance on Vimeo.The Pachamama Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a spiritual path that embraces environmental sustainability and social justice, will launch a series of international symposiums starting this month. These meetings held all over the world will lead people in a conversation about personal choices and its impact on our environment. From the "Awakening the Dreamer" Website: In the mid-1990's, through a mysterious set of circumstances, a group of North Americans visited a remote and intact group of indigenous people - the Achuar - located deep in the Amazonian region of Ecuador. This relationship that was to become The Pachamama Alliance, was actually initiated by the indigenous elders and shamans themselves who, out of their deep concern for the growing threat to their ancient way of life, and their recognition that the roots of this threat lay far beyond their rainforest home, actively sought the partnership of committed individuals living in the modern world. From the beginning, our indigenous partners have reminded us that one of the most powerful actions that can be taken in support of the rainforest and its inhabitants is to “change the dream of the North,” since it is our dream—our desires and appetites—that is driving the destruction of the rainforests around the world. Ultimately, to assure the long-term survival of our rainforests, and indeed of the natural world and even ourselves, we need to address the core values and ways of seeing the world that are deeply imbedded in our modern worldview. For events in your area, go to Awakening the Dreamer.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

This new video of Inside the White House features a follow-up story on the White House garden, the first garden of its kind on the grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's minimalistic yet symbolic "Victory Garden". The first Lady describes why this attention to food production is meaningful. "The garden is really an important introduction to what I hope will be a new way to how the country thinks about food...and I also want to encourage people to think about doing more family meals," Mrs. Obama says. "We've found that we've been able to do that, and part of the message is that if the President of the United States can sit down with his family and have dinner, hopefully more families find the time to do the same thing." Back in April, when the First Lady announced that she was going to break ground on an organic garden, big-Ag shovelled considerable criticism her way for highlighting the local and pesticide-free choice rather than celebrating "conventional" farming practices. In a letter sent by Mid-America CropLife Association (MACA), an organization that represents producers of fertilizers and pesticides, Obama and, by extension, we are asked to consider, amongst other things, the great value of getting California strawberries to the mid-West a few months earlier than would otherwise be possible; a miracle of conventional farming, not local. While it is wonderful that we have plentiful crops in America and still have a capacity to ship around the nation (unlike Kenya and Afghanistan this year for example), all is not well with our conventional use of chemicals nor our dependence on their transport for sustainable living, particularly during a crisis. With her first White House summer literally under her belt, Michelle Obama still takes heat from trolls in the comment sections of articles such as this Huffington Post one. One commenter even takes a crack at Van Jones, who appears nowhere in the article and has been recently called out as a "Communist" by right-w

Ellen Miller, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Sunlight Foundation, discusses ways to use the Internet to make government more transparent. Formed three years ago, the Sunlight Foundation set out to offer grants to organizations such as Opensecrets.org, Followthemoney.org and OpenCongress.org to digitize and present information that was only available on paper and sometimes only in the obscure recesses of a government building basement. A soon to be released database on Propublica focuses on lobbyists working for foreign entities. SFPartytime.org focuses on the fundraising events of members of Congress which are sponsored by interested entities. Hottest topic right now? You guessed it. The health care industry. For more information: http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/ Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Diverse Communities Team UP to Clean UP from Polidoc on Vimeo.On a uniquely beautiful August day in San Francisco, a handful of community , government, job training groups and neighborhood volunteers joined to tackle the grit on the urban facade of the complex Fifth District. Festooned with rakes, brooms, shovels and garbage bags, over 300 people fanned across the district's widely dispersed neighborhoods. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was on hand to celebrate and put some muscle in. Interview with organizers and volunteers lend a real taste of the event in this video.Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Americans have lost faith in the political system because of the influence of big money. An elected freshman spends 20 per cent of their time trying to raise money for the next election, rather than doing their job of legislation. The Fair Elections Now Act is currently being deliberated in both houses. In a citizen-funded "Fair Elections" system, qualified candidates who take no contributions larger than $100 can run for Congress on a blend of small donations and public funds. The system has been tested with great success in three states have: Arizona, Maine, and most recently Connecticut. Altogether, seven states have implemented Clean Elections for some of their statewide offices. For decades, big business money fawned over Republicans. Democrats raised money from ordinary voters and labor. However, after the Democrats lost both the Presidency and the majority in the Senate in 1980, the DNC opened the way for big PAC money to waltz in. Since then, campaigns have gotten longer, more expensive and less substantive, offering fewer and fewer truly liberal candidates and pulling the center more to the right. References: Common Cause Open CongressEco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Giacomini Forsakes Party System to Fight California's Legislative Inertia from Polidoc on Vimeo. The empowered parties and lobbyists have wreaked havoc on California government and nothing short of a Constitutional Convention can create a long-lasting solution to this state's problem, according to Andrew Giacomini, lead counsel for the organization Repair California. Giacomini hopes that the populist rage and involvement will fuel voters to adopt Repair California's strategy to create a people's convention. For more information, go to RepairCalifornia.org Future Meet-up dates: Thousand Oaks Constitutional Convention Town Hall Monday August 3, 2009 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. San Francisco: Repairing California: Time for a Constitutional Convention Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Orange County Constitutional Convention Town Hall September 2, 2009 7:30 a.m. Breakfast | 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Program Sierra Nevada Constitutional Convention Town Hall August 21, 2009 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (tentative) Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Cynthia McKinney, activist, Green Party Presidential Candidate in 2008, and former Democratic Congresswoman, proudly walks with British Minister George Galloway during a stop before their...

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