Powershift

Reviewed By Simone Morse

Enlightened Youth

Cars rose over the Maryland northern horizon as the sun began warming up Washington DC. The caravans and car pools of students and older activists alike bloomed as they stepped out of the confining car; for the multiple hours of driving from Cincinnati, Chicago, Iowa, Washington State and San Francisco is compacting. The green banners of DC streets streamed with the natural wind and the Convention Center opened its doors.
Parking alongside the American University one would notice the pilgrim architecture which so classically aligns the side streets. Complimentary to the wonderfully tasteful large homes are the plethora of cheap restaurants or cafes inviting people in until the late hours. Dc was ready.
The convention Center was a metropolis stuffed with hearty information about anything environmentally friendly; spanning from “Meat Is Not Green” to “Sierra Club is an Environmentally Friendly Group”. Everyone could find their nook and even reach beyond their previously known topics to tables that handed out Tee Shirts and 10ft long posters for the most obscure yet pertinent causes.
Luckily enough Powershift handed out giant reusable bags so to hold all the reading that people wanted to read along with a pamphlet that spoke about every panel discussion and talk session where enlightening speakers would present themselves. The panels were a great way of recognizing areas of the world and our global systems never thought of before, or never elaborated on as much. And speaking with these green minded self-spokes persons after the hour long panel or seminar was great just to understand how that person looks like up close along with how their thoughts internally look.
Powershift created a great medium for vivacious youth to scream out to the world the need for a greener planet. I thank Powershift for all their cooperation with organizations and permit bureaus. I will be attending Powershift in the upcoming year and hope the 1,000 in 2008 and 5,000 in 2009 can turn to 10,000 in 2010.