Netroots vs. Astroturf: Standing Up For Clean Air & Water

One of the most moving aspects of Netroots Nation for me is the sheer amount of personal capital in the convention hall. People leave their families, draw down their precious few vacation days, and invest hundreds of dollars to make the trip. That 2,200 people are here in Minneapolis is a testament to the passion of the progressive movement.

But in the battle of Progressives vs. Polluters, all that personal capital is up against massive amounts of polluter capital. AFP, founded & funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, invested some of that capital this week in bankrolling RightOnline, which shadows Netroots each year. Check out AFP's email to supporters offering subsidized trips, which begins like a used car ad - "We have a great deal for YOU":

From: Americans for Prosperity Foundation
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2011 11:02 AM
Subject: Get on the Bus to RightOnline, Only $49

Dear XXXXXX,

We have a great deal for YOU and our shared Conservative Values.

You can attend the RightOnline conference in Minneapolis, MN– and WE WILL DRIVE YOU THERE!

Our RightOnline conference will be held at the same time and in the same city as the left-wing NetRoots Nation convention.

We want to show them who truly represents America’s values – and to teach people like you the most effective online advocacy practices around.

We have buses lined up in Wisconsin to bring activists like you to Minneapolis June 17-18. Overnight packages including transportation and lodging and start at just $49 per person by using the code "doublebus" and "quadbus." Click Here to Register.

Buses are picking up from:
Eau Claire, Green Bay, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Rancine, Waukesha, and Wausau!

Governor Tim Pawlenty, Michelle Malkin, Andrew Breitbart, Senator Mike Lee, Reps. Michele Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn, John Kline and Thad McCotter, businessman Herman Cain, and many more will be there.

JOIN US JUNE 17-18 – AND LET US DO THE DRIVING

RSVP - AFP - Right-Online

Doesn't seem like many people took AFP up on their offer - Right-Online is notoriously poorly attended & a "Right Meets Left" happy hour inviting both NN & RO folks was at least 90% progressives.

But polluters have a long history of flooding groups like AFP with cash (annual budget: $40 million) to fund phony grassroots tactics, from busing in oil workers at rallies to forging letters from veterans groups. How do progressives combat that kind of buying power?

On Saturday at 1:30pm at Netroots Nation, I'll be moderating a panel talking about the best ways to fight back against just one angle of what I just heard Rep. Keith Ellison calls the GOP's attempted "dismantling of the social compact." How do progressives defend against a seemingly endless wave of attacks on the Clean Air Act & Clean Water Act?

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Green for All CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins & Grist's David Roberts will take on the topic. And with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) voting the wrong way, we won't spare Democrats, either.

Netroots Nation 2011: How to Cross Cultural Lines on Conservation Issues

The Green Miles arrived in Minneapolis today for Netroots Nation. Took the new Minneapolis light rail from the airport - clean, fast, cheap, and dropped me off two blocks from my hotel. Very happy to find that the downtown Minneapolis Westin participates in the Starwood Hotels Green Choice program.

At a panel on environmental justice, just heard a great example on how to reach across cultural lines on conservation issues. Refugio "Reg" Mata of Heal the Bay told the story of how his grandmother used to use a reusable bag when she took him to the market. It wasn't because she was some hippie treehugger, but because in Central America you have to bring a bag - small markets in Honduras don't hand out plastic bags like they're going out of style. Reg talked about how making that emotional connection to reusable bag use - remember how your grandma used them when you were growing up? - can be a much better motivator to action than facts & figures.

Definitely makes me want to learn more ways to broaden the appeal of conservation issues. Great way to start the conference!

The Green Miles on the Warming Web

I went to this year's Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh for my day job with the National Wildlife Federation. I got a last-minute surprise when a colleague had to cancel a panel appearance due to a family emergency and the moderator asked me to join in her place.

Here's the video of the panel, "A Warming Web: The Blogosphere and Climate Change" (I spoke first at one minute in, then last at 65 minutes in):

The Green Miles Meets Big Coal

While at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh last weekend, we spotted several barges of coal being pushed up the Alleghany River. The barges belonged to Consol Energy, a coal company I'd never heard of until last weekend. But I see they're a prominent funder of an anti-clean energy front group.

Consol Energy, consider yourself On Notice!

Netroots Nation Through the Eyes of The Green Miles

A week overdue, here's my travelog from Netroots Nation 2008 in Austin.

I was waiting for the SuperShuttle at the airport when a horrific shriek had me jumping out of my flip-flops. It was my introduction to the great-tailed grackle. I asked an Austin resident about the birds, who told me with a scoff that they were introduced from Europe as songbirds. As was the case with Florida's love bugs, turns out locals often fall for tall tales. The grackles are native.

As much as I'd heard about Austin's BBQ, I ended up enjoying the Mexican food more. This enormous lunch from Las Manitas cost just about $10, much less than dinner at the famed Stubbs BBQ which was just OK.



Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean arrived on Thursday in the "Register for Change" tour bus. Was a little disappointed not to hear more about climate action from the former Vermont governor. In two speeches, he only made one reference to global warming, a passing reference to creation care.

An all-star panel on energy featured two top Democratic challengers for U.S. Senate -- Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, running against Ted Stevens, and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, running against Gordon Smith. Can you imagine those seats flipping from climate action foot-draggers to true climate activists? Interesting point from EnergySmart's Adam Siegel -- school buses use 550 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. If school districts bought hybrids to replace their aging bus fleets, America could cut that almost in half.

Al Gore made a surprise appearance to tout his plan to make America's electricity carbon-free in 10 years. But most felt Van Jones was the best speaker of the conference, presenting the need for climate action in an urgent, compelling and inclusive voice.

Early in NN08, some bloggers were grumbling about how Barack Obama wasn't scheduled to appear. Later, we learned Obama had a good excuse for not making it -- his trip to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, and Europe. I suppose that beats schmoozing the bloggers. Obama did send along a video message.

The only souvenir I splurged for on the trip -- a Texas belt buckle. Don't act like you're not jealous.







The big DailyKos-sponsored blowout was held at Austin's Maggie Mae's (props to convention organizers for making sure everything -- hotel, convention center, events -- were in walking distance, greatly reducing the need for rental cars or cabs). To go to the roof deck, you had to pour your drink into a plastic cup and toss your empty bottle into the trash. When I asked the bouncer about it, he said he was shocked when he first saw that, too, but that scavengers apparently pick the recyclables out of the trash and make a profit off of them.

Went to a reception for Glenn Nye (far right), running for Congress in Virginia's second district against Rep. Thelma Drake. I love how Thelma's website expresses her deep concern for the future of the Chesapeake Bay but search for either global warming or climate and you'll get "No documents matched your query." Saying you're concerned about the Bay but not worried by climate change is like saying you're concerned about your car failing to start but not worried about the battery.

Got to go see the bats emerge from underneath Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge. It's not an overwhelming force of nature or anything, but it is a pretty cool sight. It takes about 10 minutes for all the bats (up to 1.5 million of them) to come out, forming clouds off in the distance.

Gathered to watch the bats in the lounge of the nearby Four Seasons. It features the Batini, which claims to be the official drink of Austin. Blackberries, grapefruit juice, vodka and champagne. Tasted pretty good, but the presentation was obviously key, featuring a blackberry with mint "wings."

More great food -- chorizo and cheese with corn tortillas and not one but two Dos Equis. When I ordered a Dos Equis, the waitress said, "Amber or lager?" One of my friends blurted out, "BOTH! Get both!" So I went along with the gag. Yes, my friends are easily amused.






Finally, my favorite part of the trip -- Fat Tire everywhere! Before I arrived, I hadn't realized I'd be west of the Mississippi River where New Belgium's sustainable beer is available, but I was thrilled to find it on tap just about everywhere we went.

The Quintessential Picture of Netroots Nation

Blackberries and booze.

Who Needs The Dark Knight? Austin Has REAL Bats.

Did you know that in the summertime, there are more bats than people in Austin? Up to 1.5 million of them spend the summer under the Congress Ave Bridge, emerging each night to suck the blood of the unsuspecting tourists that locals tricked into gathering nearby.

Just kidding! LOL! And also ROTFL! The Green Miles is only pulling your leg. They actually eat insects -- up to 20,000 pounds of them a night (more on the bats & their bridge here).

I hear they're quite a sight when they emerge from under the bridge each evening, so I'm going to check them out Friday night while I'm here in Austin for Netroots Nation. The Four Seasons lounge apparently has a great view, even offering a Batini cocktail, which is allegedly "the official drink of Austin."

The Four Seasons concierge desk keeps track of when the bats come out and estimates Friday's show will take place around 8-8:15pm. If you're at Netroots and want to join us, email me!

Now That's an Excessive Package: Netroots Nation Schwag Bag

Product: Netroots Nation registration bag

Approximate weight: 5 pounds

Percent suitable for recycling: 80

Most recyclable item: Salsa-flavored tortilla chips from Wired for Change (already eaten)

Most interesting item: Condom from Center for Constitutional Rights

Item most prone to waste: Small t-shirt from One.org, which if I wasn't a damn dirty hippie would go right in the trash, but since I'm a treehugger I'll follow the instructions to go to the One.org booth to trade in the shirt for my proper size

Full credit for coining term "Schwag Bag": Meghan from WakeUpWalMart.com

The Green Miles' level of disappointment Netroots Nation didn't do anything at all to make their Schwag Bag less wasteful/more sustainable: 100 percent

I'm Just Keepin' It Weird, Yo: Heading to Austin for Netroots Nation

The Green Miles is at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport right now. I’m on my way to Austin for Netroots Nation, a blogger convention (formerly known as YearlyKos).

The second leg of this trip will be my fourth flight in five days. I take the train or drive as much as I can on personal and business trips to keep my carbon footprint to a minimum, but some flights are unavoidable. While doing the jet-setter thing, I do what I can to at least minimize waste, bringing my reusable coffee mug and downloading articles to read rather than buying newspapers and magazines. I also ask flight attendants if they recycle cans and paper, if not taking them with me into the airport, which usually offer recycling these days.

From an environmental perspective, I actually find the view from high up to be heartening. For all the wide highways and sprawling cul-de-sacs scarring the suburban landscapes as you take off and land, there remain vast expanses of forest and rolling hills untouched by development. And from 20,000 feet, it’s nice notice that among of the few identifiable man-made structures below are baseball diamonds.

I’ll be spending most of my time at Netroots Nation on the job for the National Wildlife Federation, but I’ll try to post interesting tidbits here as time permits. Considering how much time liberal blogs tend to spend focused on political races and Iraq, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many environmental sessions are on the agenda.

And with the Democratic National Convention putting so much effort into going green, I’ll be watching to see how well Netroots minimizes its environmental impact. Will they give me a big bag full of junk when I get there? Will the convention site and hotel offer recycling?