West Coast Convergence for Climate Justice September 18, 2009

September 18-21, 2009
3200 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA
http://climateconvergence.org/west
Email: mcjbay@gmail.com, Phone: 510-550-2836

We invite you to join community leaders of Richmond, CA and activists from around the country to spend 3 days learning, building, & preparing for action!

Corporations like Chevron want us to believe that climate change can be solved by “turning stuff off more,” but we know that climate change is rooted in an unjust economic system controlled by corporations at the expense of people and planet. Climate justice means addressing these root causes and creating positive alternatives; localized, low-carbon communities and economies.

The 2009 West Coast Convergence for Climate Justice is a three-day training and movement-building convergence followed by a collective action on Monday, September 21st. Join us to learn about climate change and climate politics, support local communities in their ongoing fights for climate justice, & build a stronger Climate Justice movement on the West Coast leading up to the international days of action on October 24th and November 30th and international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December.

Trainings and workshops at the convergence will cover:
-Political education around climate justice
-Practical sustainability skills (traditional knowledge, local food systems, solar energy, etc)
-Direct action
-Media messaging
-Organizing and campaigning
-Movement building.

The Convergence will highlight the Richmond community’s climate justice struggle against Chevron. For more details, see http://climateconvergence.org/west/background/about-chevrons-richmond-refinery/

This Convergence is part of an annual series of climate camps all over the world. This year there will be camps in the UK, Australia, France, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and the United States. The Convergence is also the second in a series of events organized by the Mobilization for Climate Justice West, a network of environmental and social justice organizations organizing to generate “street heat” around climate justice in the lead-up to the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December.

The Convergence is free, but registration is limited to 200, so apply today! For application and detailed schedule, visit http://climateconvergence.org/west

Sponsored by the Mobilization for Climate Justice-West: Art in Action, Asian-Pacific Environmental Network, Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice, Bay Localize, Burmese American Democratic Association, Communities for a Better Environment, Contra Costa Greens, Direct Action to Stop the War, Earth First!, Environmental Justice & Climate Change Initiative, Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, Forest Ethics, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Global Exchange, Global Justice and Ecology Project, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Greenpeace, Headrush, International Forum on Globalization, International Rivers, Justice in Nigeria Now!, Movement Generation, Pacific Environment, Poor Magazine, Rainforest Action Network, Richmond Mayor’s Taskforce on Environmental Justice and Health, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Ruckus Society, Rising Tide North America, Solidarity, West County Toxics Coalition, Youth in Focus, and 350.org