Powershift 2009 took place in Washington, D.C. this weekend bringing over 10,000 students to the environmental summit. The conference focused on the importance of renewable energy and the call for new, bold legislation. Students Promoting Environmental Awareness in Knoxville or SPEAK took 50 students to represent the UT.

The Energy Action Coalition, founded in 2004, created and organized the event with the help of sponsors, such as the National Wildlife Association and World Wildlife Fund, among many others.

We cannot fix what we have broken...we cannot put the polar ice caps back together. -Jerome Ringo, activist for international environmental justiceThrough a variety of panels, workshops and keynote speakers, Powershift attendees learned about campus organizing, communication tactics, environmental justice, green jobs and the economy, the international climate movement, and skills training for spreading the word.

Workshops ranged from "Addicted to Oil: America's Struggle to Kick the Habit" to "Nonviolent Direct Action Strategy" to "Working with Impacted Communities," among hundreds more. These workshops offered students a variety of options that ultimately provoked thought and discussion among students.

Notable speakers included Nancy Pelosi, Ed Markey and Jerome Ringo.

Pelosi, as the first female Speaker of the House has been a huge player in enacting energy legislation and continues to work to create green jobs.

Congressman Markey chairs the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming where he has participated in over 50 hearings relating to smarter energy.

Ringo, a delegate at the 1998 Global Warming Treaty Negotiations in Kyoto, Japan, promotes environmental justice on an international level. He emphasized the damage that we have already done to our environment. "We cannot fix what we have broken...we cannot put the polar ice caps back together," Ringo said.

The weekend panels and workshops were ultimately preparation for Lobbying Day on Monday. Over 10,000 students marched on the Capitol, demanding stronger climate change legislation. Students were also given the opportunity to professionally discuss specific matters with their local representatives in an organized manner.

In an effort to summarize the overall passion of the students at the conference, one Powershifter was wearing a shirt that says it all, "I am not an environmentalist. I am an Earth lover."