Climate Compassion
CLIMATE ACTION
Energy Democracy:
Justice and Equity in Clean Energy Solutions
Energy Democracy and Cross-pollination
with Crystal Huang
Thursday, August 9, 2018
North Berkeley (RSVP for location)
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6:30pm-7:00pm - Casual Potluck
7:00pm-9:00pm - Program
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Free, RSVP Required
The November 2016 election not only underscored the urgent need to reform American political, economic and social structures; it also revealed the inter-relationship between energy/climate change and the struggle for racial and economic justice.
In response to the new political climate, mainstream environmental organizations are more aggressively clamoring for a transition to 100% renewable energy. What is getting lost amidst all this activity is the transformation in economic and political life needed to make that renewable energy goal meaningful.
Join Crystal Huang to explore how communities, through cross-pollinating with each other, have the power and solutions we need for change. These solutions reflect that it is not enough to simply decarbonize our economy, we have to decolonize our economy. From Oakland, CA to Jackson, MS to New York, NY, a revolutionary movement to democratize energy is happening. Energy democracy is a way to frame the struggle of working people, low-income communities, and communities of color, and their allies, to take control of energy resources and decision-making from the corporate energy establishment and use those resources to empower their communities.
This interactive session will explore the power of local communities and how we can leverage that to cross-pollinate for a future we want to live in.
Video explaining the Energy democracy movement from the Clean Power Healthy Communities Gathering.
Crystal Huang is building a startup project called CrossPollinators to foster collaboration between grassroots solutions-builders. She has more than 10 years of experience in climate solutions technology – from resource recovery to energy management to solar. After serving as the Chief Operations Officer for a solar startup incubator, Powerhouse, she took on the role of Associate Producer for Oscar-winning filmmaker Dir. Charles Ferguson’s climate film, “Time to Choose” (2016) with the goal of creating a tool that can make the adoption of climate solutions fun and social. Through CrossPollinators, she produced the Clean Power Healthy Communities Gathering at the end of 2017 and is now coordinating the Energy Democracy National Tour for the Local Clean Energy Alliance. CrossPollinators is also working on building an energy cooperative model that will help advance a just transition to clean energy economy with the Sustainable Economies Law Center with funding from the California Energy Commission.
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