Past Campaigns
Renewable Energy in Alaska: Our Time is Now
AYEA teens were inspired to take action for renewable energy in our state. The governor had pledged to devote $50 million towards a Renewable Energy Fund, but then she was backing out. AYEA teens wrote a petition and gathered signatures from people in over 60 communities across Alaska. This campaign raised awareness about the need for renewable energy as part of the solution to climate change in Alaska. At AYEA’s annual Civics & Conservation Summit in Juneau, teens met with Special Assistant to the Governor, Mr Balash, and convinced him to sign AYEA’s petition, supporting $50 million appropriations by the state of Alaska towards renewable energy development as well as a federal renewable energy electricity standard. We celebrated when the budget was approved with $25 appropriated to the Renewable Energy Fund, less than we’d hoped for, but still a significant investment.
Why did AYEA pick this topic for a campaign? Here’s the answer from one teen:
“I feel frustrated because there are simple solutions to Alaska’s energy problems and the worldwide climate change problem- like energy conservation, energy efficiency and more investment in Renewable Energy Technology, but our leaders are not doing anything! I am excited for the opportunity of renewable energy development for Alaska.”
Another teen has this perspective:
“Renewable energy makes me feel happy, because we don’t have to spend so much money on oil and we wouldn’t worry too much about air pollution, and we wouldn’t have to worry about oil spills from barges bringing the oil to our village. And most of all we wouldn’t worry about running out of oil to power our village.”
R3: ReThink Plastics!
R3: Rethink Plastics! Reduce, reuse, and recycle: these three words have historically guided Americans in their efforts to minimize waste. Today, as global warming threatens our way of life, landfill space becomes decreasingly available, and consumption reaches an all-time high, AYEA members are adding a fourth “R” to the mix: rethink. AYEA teens launched the Re3: Rethink Plastics! project to inform individuals about the impacts of plastics on our health and environment, and to educate consumers about alternatives to disposable plastics. Their efforts culminated with the youth-created Week Without Plastics April 20-27, 2008.
- Want to learn more? Click here for links to resources & Media about this Campaign
- Get Involved! Contact Megan McBride mcbridem(at)ayea.org
3-2-1 Efficiency! Pledge
After AYEA’s “Letter to our Leaders” campaign in 2005, our youth wanted to address global warming solutions. AYEA teens created and launched the “3-2-1 Efficiency” campaign in the fall of 2006, motivating over 3,500 Alaskan youth and their families to sign a pledge reducing household emissions contributing to global warming. The pledge asks an individual to: replace 3 incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, turn their thermostat down 2 degrees in the winter, and unplug 1 household appliance when not in use. They calculated the pounds of carbon offset by households implementing the pledge. In the spring of 2007, Senator Lisa Murkowski hosted AYEA member Megan Waggoner on the Alaska Report (TV show), commending the youth for the campaign and taking the pledge herself. She has been joined by Senator Ted Stevens and Governor Sarah Palin in signing the pledge.
- Take the Pledge!
- Want to learn more? Click here for links to resources & Media about this Campaign
Letter To Our Leaders
In the summer of 2005, AYEA teens gathered to learn more about global warming impacts and issues. One teen (Verner Wilson, of Dillingham) wrote a “Letter to our Leaders” demanding our elected leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy projects. His peers later turned this letter into a youth petition, and traveled the state engaging over 8,000 other young Alaskans on global warming. In the end, 5,000 youth from 150 villages and cities signed the petition, and a group of AYEA teen leaders brought these petitions to Congress, meeting with Senator Lisa Murkowski. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich was the first Alaskan mayor to sign the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Change Agreement and credited AYEA and youth action as a motivation.
- Want to learn more? Click here for links to resources & Media about this Campaign!
Toxics: Pesticides Right To Know
One of the first issues tackled by AYEA youth was a Pesticides “Right to Know” campaign. Anchorage youth learned about the toxic chemical carbaryl being sprayed in and around school grounds–without parental permission or notification to students or staff. Pesticides pose a high risk to adolescents because they disrupt normal hormone development. AYEA collaborated with Alaska Community Action on Toxics to educate students, parents, health officials and school board members about the use of pesticides in the Anchorage School District, and in 2000 they were successful in getting the ASD to create a “Least Toxic Pest Management” policy established. This policy mandates the use of non-toxic and least-toxic approaches to removing pests instead of toxic chemicals. In later years, AYEA youth helped promote and pass legislation at the state level requiring the tracking of commercial pesticide application, and helped promote an Anchorage ordinance requiring residents to notify their neighbors when pesticides are to be sprayed. Finally, southeast AYEA members rallied in 2003 to promote a ban of aerial pesticide spraying on subsistence lands in Prince of Whales island and neighboring regions.
“I really want to commend Alaska Youth for Environmental Action and Alaska Community Action on Toxics for bringing this issue forward. It shows that the public process works. Our new policy promotes a healthy and safe school environment for students and staff. We will use non-chemical measures first, with pesticides used only as a last resort and with parental notification.” —ASD Superintendent Carol Comeau
- Want to learn more? Click here for links to resources & Media about this Campaign!
RECYCLING: Alaska Youth Reach out and Recycle!
In the summer of 2003, AYEA teens galvanized around the issue of solid waste and recycling–waste management poses incredible challenges for both rural and urban Alaskan communities. They created a recycling campaign with the goals of:
- educating their rural and urban peers about recycling and solid waste options in Alaska and
- creating a sustainable recycling education curriculum to pass down to younger students.
They hosted a Recycling Summit during the 2003 Alaska Forum on the Environment, training 40 youth from twelve communities about solid waste and recycling. They also created Alaska Youth Reach out and Recycle, an award-winning curriculum that is now a requirement for Anchorage School District science sixth grade science teachers. In addition, both Anchorage and Juneau AYEA chapters worked with their cities to proclaim a “Recycles Day” in conjunction with America Recycles Day November 15.
- Want to learn more? Click here for links to resources & Media about this Campaign!
