Photo by Eliza Simon

From November 2-5, more than 5,500 students from around the country—including 500 members of the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC)—converged on Washington, D.C., for Power Shift 2007, the first-ever national youth climate summit. 

Photo by Hilary Coleen

High school and college participants spent the weekend in College Park, Maryland (above), strategizing ways to take action on their campuses and in their communities. SSC National Campaign Coordinator Maura Cowley says she was moved by how outspoken and creative the students were. She gives a special tip-o-the-hat to Andrew Nazdin, a University of Maryland undergrad SSC executive committee member, for helping organize the weekend's activities.

Photo bySvetaki

On Monday more than 2,000 students gathered for a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol (above) before spending the rest of the day lobbying their representatives in Congress (below). "In some offices there were 40, 50, even 100 students," Cowley says.

Photo by Hilary Coleen

The SSC and more than 20 other youth organizations planed and recruited for the 4-day summit, which grew out of the Campus Climate Challenge to reduce the carbon footprint of more than 300 colleges and universities. "We really got a diverse base to turn out," says Cowley. "The SSC organized buses coming in from New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Iowa, West Virginia, Minnesota, Oregon—more places than I can name."

Photo by Svetaki

Power Shift coalesces local movements into one vision for America's energy future, which includes 80 percent reductions in carbon emissions by 2050, the creation of five million new green jobs, and investment in clean energy solutions.