RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth

8/9/2019 RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth

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RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth



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Intro.

What is RYSE? What isRAN?

Social Justice inEverything We Do.

Plugging InCampus Climate ChallengeFreedom From Oil

Old GrowthGlobal FinanceProtect an AcreRainforest Heroes

Step by StepRead this whole zineIf you are working solo,Meet upIf you want school recognitionGet at us & get some resourcesDecide campaign goalsInvestigateDecide tacticsFundraiseCreate an action planBuild alliancesCelebrate and evaluateGroup sustainability

More Resources

The End!

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Photo and art credits: Amazon Watch, Banksy, Eric Slo-manson, Garth Lenz, Jon Schlede- witz, Joshua Russell, Legs Kraus,Microcosm Publshing, ChristophHormann.

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Nothing, really.Just sit back and watch the Earth and our com-munities go down. Just kidding! There’s a lot

we can all do, which you already know. That’s why you’re reading this. We don’t have all the

answers, but we have some. Other people havesome.

You have more.

Like puzzlepieces, everyone’s part is

essential. Together we cansupport and build the growing

movements for environmental,economic and social justice and

assert our people power. There aremultiple ways to take your activism

beyond a recycling program or a

single issue. That’s what this toolkitis all about.

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So if RYSE is

RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth,

what is RAN?

RAN stands for Rainforest Action Network. Although we s tarted more than 20 years ago working to protect rainforests and defendthe rights of their inhabitants, our work has

grown to include protecting the lifesystems that support the Earth through

corporate campaigning, education,grassroots organizing and non-violent

direct action.

RYSE is the youth branch of RAN.

WHY RYSE?

Why not? When we work alone it can feel

like we’re not getting anything done. But when we are working on common campaignsand sharing our challenges and successesacross a diverse and broad international network of young people who share our commit-ments, really dope things can happen. Ouractions build on each other, our numbers

build our power, and our inspirationnourishes each other.

“the movement’s about to bubble like soda” –chamillionaire

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?

You are. Any young person who is committed tosustaining the Earth. As a part of RYSE, you can

opt to become part of creating it, or simply join usby taking action. More on that later.

Audre Lorde once said that “there is no such thing

as a single-issue strugg le because we do not live

single-issue lives.” We believe that a lot of theproblems in this world are bound up together, and

that it is difficult to separate one from another.

Racism and Environmental Devastation

and Gender Oppression and War and Pov-

erty and Corporate Power are all connect-ed. For us...

Rainforest protection also means supporting Indig-enous peoples’ rights and stopping corporate coloniza-tion of culture and land.

Switching our energy systems from coal and oil to wind and solar means 1) getting giant banks to divestfrom dirty energy companies and invest in the future;and 2) getting our cars off dir ty oil and plugged intoclean green energy.

Global warming and climate change activism alsomeans solidarity with affected communities, like New

Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

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Our strategy is to go after corporations that areharming the Earth and destroying peoples’ lands. We aren’t your average environmental group. We strive to build alli-ances and solidarity with other folks working for social and

environmental justice, and we get things done.

RAN has been dubbed one of “the most effective environmentalagitators in the business” by the Wall Street Journal, and a “mos-quito in the tent” by Fortune Magazine.

We target the biggest and baddest companies in an industry, put

pressure on them, and force them to change. Then the rest of theindustry follows suit. It works. It’s happened again and again inour campaigns.

We’ve convinced dozens of companies – including Home Depot,Boise Cascade, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase – to make environ-mental and social commitments and transform their practices.

How do we

apply pressure to make

them to change??

By any non-violentmeans necessary...

We use many differenttactics including writing

letters, hanging giantbanners in public

spaces, boycotting products, support-

ing alternatives,

blocking roads,getting mediaattention with

street theatre,

and negotiating with the corporate big wigs directly.

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Working for positivechange also means working to changethe behaviors and institutions that makeour world and our lives unjust. Inequalti-es based on things like age, skin color,

culture, wealth, gender, and sexualpreference are so integrated into our

everyday lives that unless we arepurposefully working against

these inequalities, we aresupporting them.

That’s what we mean

by the word “Anti-Oppression.” It’s not poss-

ible to just be non-oppressive.Being a non-something is a

non-possibility in a world that is ascrazy as ours. But instead of just being against oppression, you can be for social,economic and environmental justice andfor human and (non-human) rights. That’s

why we are mentioning this up front, andthat’s why when you sign up to work

with us, we ask that you sign our anti-oppression statement. Anti-oppres

sion is a pair of glasses to look atthe world through as well as alifelong process of learning and

unlearning; it is looking at ouridentities and the kinds of

power we have or don’t havebecause of them.

It also means taking action. There is no comp-rehensive guide for how

to be anti-oppressive,but there are somethings we can all work

towards...

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Work with the perspective that social, economic and environ-mental issues are interconnected and interdependent. People currently have unequal access to clean and healthy food, air, water, homes andland. These are historic inequalities, and they continue to be largely

based on race, class, gender and sexuality.

Understand and learn about systems of oppression and challengethe power structures which support those systems and create injus-tices.

Examine the resources and privileges we have and utilizethem thoughtfully, respectfully, honestly and transparently. Wouldn’t itbe cool if adults worked on youth issues, men supported the empower-

ment of women and girls, straight people worked for queer inclusive-ness, and white people worked to stop racism? We think so. That’s why we do this work.

Incorporate the principles of participatory democracy in ourmeetings and actions, recognizing that all people should have equal ac-cess to the decision-making processes that affect them.

Take responsibility for equalizing power and creating a

space where all are encouraged to actively engage, listen, speak andact with respect.

Learn about the histories and struggles of impacted communities andother groups.

Work in solidarity with communities directly impacted by corpo-rate power by taking our lead from those communities and supporting their efforts to determine their own futures.

Prioritize and build our relationships with impacted com-munities and a broad base of constituents across social, economic andpolitical boundaries.

Become better allies by helping to build broad based move-ments for environmental, social and economic justice.

Listen to, learn from, and amplify the voices of our allies

and not speak for or represent them.

Actively seek feedback and evaluation of our work in order to be moreaccountable.

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Check out the

we are working on that we would love your help with…

The Campus Climate Challenge is a project of more than 30 lead-ing youth organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Chal-lenge unites young people to organize on college campuses and

high schools to win 100% Clean Energy policies at their schools.Get your school to become as energy efficient as possible by:

• Getting your administration to switch your school’s light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs and turning off computersand other electrical equipment at night.

• Getting your administration to power the school as muchas possible from clean energy, either by buying itfrom the local utility company or by install-ing solar panels or wind turbines .

• Joining the GreenFleets program! Get your school toagree to only buy fuel efficient vehicles or use sustainable,locally grown or recycled

biodiesel fuel.

Campus Climate Challenge has an amazing web site and training manual (kind of like this one, but with more details and informa-tion about the CCC) check out www.campusclimatechallenge.org.

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The Freedom From Oil campaign works to endour addiction to oil . What issue is at the heartof global warming, asthma, pollution,deforestation, forcing Native

communities off their land, and the war in Iraq?

It’s our addiction to oil . We want a world with no gas stations,no oil wars, and no oil spil ls.Ultra fuel-efficient cars arepossible today - but we

have to hold car companiesaccountable for their rolein holding us hostage to oil .Together, we can build a world where we all have access to mass transit, renewable en-

ergy sources and pollution-free vehicles.

Help us end oil addiction by:

• Starting an Oil Addicts Anonymous

Meeting: Get together and support eachother to become oil free! Download

an OAA t oolkit at www.freedomfromoil.org

• Joining the Oil Enforcement Agency !President Bush says we need to break our

addiction to oil , but he’s not doing anything about it (maybe because he’s from Texas?). Check out our

OEA Action Pack for tools to educate people about the prob-lems of oil , to identify gas guzzlers, and to ticket vehicles that

are keeping us hooked on oi l !

• Is there a car dealer in your town? Get it to join the cam-paign for clean cars! Download our

free Adopt-a-Dealer packet!

For more on the Freedom from OilCampaign, check out www.FreedomFromOil.org

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The Old GrowthCampaign worksto protect forests,promote sustainableand democraticeconomies, and protect Indigenous rights by transforming the global logging industry. Right now, RAN is partner -ing with green-builders, community activists, Indigenous communi-

ties, workers, logging communities, and allied organizations to pres-sure Weyerhaeuser, the largest lumbercompany in the world, to:

1) adopt ecologically sustainable logging practices2) obtain community consent before logging within or buying woodfrom the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples.

• Host a movie night or assembly! Contact [email protected] and request a

copy of As Long as the Rivers Flow: The Grassy Narrows Blockade Story.

• Get your local lumber yard to stop selling Weyerhaeuser products (calledTimberstrand or Trus Joist) that are made from wood taken from the Grassy Narrows First Nation traditional territory in northwestern Ontario.

• Tell Weyerhaeuser (and get others to tell Weyerh- aeuser) to stop tak-ing wood from Grassy Narrows’ territory without the community’s consent.

• Stop the use of endangered forest products at your school by passing anendangered forest policy . Visit http://ran.org/what_we_ do/old_growth/smartpaper/ to learn more about this project, or contact [email protected] and

we’ll send you info.Find out more at http://www.freegrassy.org

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Every single destructive project in the world is made possible because

someone finances it. Whether its an oil pipeline in a rainfor-

est. a gold mine in Romania, or a coal-fired power plant inTexas, these projects are funded by giant investment banks. Banks

may lend you money to buy a house or car, but what incentives do they offer you for solar power or mass transit? Its time to bring sanity andsustainability to the global economy. here are some of the things youcan do now:

• Host a movie night about the banks. (send your request to [email protected] and he’ll send you a movie).

• Ask your economics teachers to talk about the costs to people andthe planet that corporations “externalize.” Have them check out www.ran.org/education for lesson plans.

• Create a skit that explains the connection between a specific bankand what they fund, and perform it in front of the bank. After eachperformance, pass out information about how people can call on the

bank to stop funding dirty projects. Check out www.dirtymoney.org for current campaign information, materials andmore.

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Protect an Acre (PAA) is a program that gives money to Indigenouscommunities working to protect their own land. People of all ages can fundraise intheir classrooms or communities and send that money to the PAA program, know-ing that it will go directly to supporting human rights and rainforests. There are anumber of ways to fundraise for this. You can:

• Organize a fun, entertaining event with music, theatre or poetry; ask for money and pass around a collection jar or hat.

• Write a letter with your stated goals and show it to everyone you know.

• Have an “athon”. A walk-athon, a bike-athon. swim-athon, etc., where peoplepledge to donate a certain amount of money per mile or meter traveled.

For more info about the Protect an Acre program, check out

http://ran.org/what_we_do/protect_an_acre/

Rainforest Heroes is RAN’s elementary schoolprogram. We have activities, fact sheets, letterdrives and other projects to help kids help theEarth. The best allies kids can have are middle

or high school students who believe in what they aredoing and can support them. You can:

• Visit an elementary school and give classroompresentations.

• Organize activities that local kids can get involved in.

• Become a mentor. Invite them to get involved in what your group is doing.

For more information, check out www.rainforestheroes.com or email [email protected]

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Whether you are a student working with other stu-dents, an individual working alone, an already established club, oran educator with an active classroom, this list is for you. Adapt it

to t your needs and follow the suggested steps that make sense.Ignore the ones that don’t.

# 1 Read this whole zine.

# 2 Find others to work with you.

• Make a list of all the people you know who might be interested inthese issues.

• Invite them to a meeting by talking to them in person, texting them, calling them, IMing them, or dropping a comment on face-book or myspace. At this initial conversation, share your ideas andget feedback.

# 3 Meet up. Regular meetings hold your grouptogether. While taking action should be the heart and soul of any activist group, it’s important to regularly meet to plan and strate-gize. We suggest trying to meet once a week. At your rst meeting,make decisions together about….

• How you make decisions together: Do you work by consensus where everyone must agree (or at least no one disagrees) or do

you vote?• Roles: Who is responsible for what? Who is the point person who will talk to the administration, RYSE and other allies? Do theseroles rotate? What other roles might be useful? Some groups havea secretary, fundraiser, snack bringer, meeting facilitator, meeting organizer, researcher, etc.

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• Group goals: Do you just want to do one project together andcall it quits? Do you want to establish a club that is still around when your baby brother starts going to your school? Why are youinspired to create this group? What kind of changes do you want tosee as a direct result of your work in one year? In two years?

• A name for your group: okay so maybe not in the first meeting,but at some point soon come up with a name that everyone likes. We invite you to use RYSE in your name (and the RYSE logo if you’dlike) as long as you send in the licensing agreement.For more tips about holding and facilitating meetings, check out the“Meeting Tips” online at www.ryseup.org

# 4 If you want to be recognized by your school…

• Find an advisor. Ask your favorite teacher- while they may be re-ally busy, they will probably be happy to support your work, even if they don’t have time to go to all your meetings.

• Pay a visit to your administration, ask them what the process is tostart a club, ask for the forms you will probably have to fill out, andproceed as they advise.

# 5 Get at us and get some resources. Go to www.ryseup.org and register.

Once you become part of the RYSE network, you and your group candecide how involved you want to become. For example, you decide if you want to:

• Receive our e-newsletters.

• Use our online events tool to post your events and find other

events you or your group can plug into.

• Use our other online resources like the wiki zine, email lists, ac-

tion alerts, etc.

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• Join regular conference calls to discuss campaigns, issues,events, skills, group dynamics or anything else.

• Receive community service hours! Depending on what youdo, as a nonprofit we can sign off on community service hours.Email [email protected] with a description of what you have done,how many hours it took, and what you need. We will fill therequest when appropriate.

• Receive invitations to regional and national action camps,trainings and retreats to strategize and learn from one anoth-er and the rest of the RYSE and RAN community. The trainings

will be on things like:

Non-violent Direct Action (NVDA), Anti-Oppression, Arts Activism, Media Cov-

erage, Corporate Campaigning, Campaign Strategy, Leadership Development,

Running an Effective Group, Facilitation Skills, Strategic Planning, Grassroots Or-

ganizing Basics, Recruiting New Activists and Volunteers, Fundraising and more.

• Receive materials like pamphlets, stickers, buttons, post-

ers, bandanas, magnets, brochures, fact sheets, zines, books,t-shirts and more. Depending on your needs, we may be able toprovide materials that your group designs.

• Become a part of the RYSE Council which means helping tocreate and guide RYSE. Write articles for the e-newsletter, par-ticipate in decision making meetings, develop materials, etc.

• Use the RYSE or RAN name and logo. If you do use the nameRYSE or RAN, that’s great, but we ask that you:

- Use the RYSE or RAN name only when doing work that

fits within our broad mission.

- Sign and return the licensing agreement.

- Sign and follow the Anti-Oppression and Non-violence

Statements and send them back to us. Share and

discuss them with new group members. We won’ttolerate violence, racism, sexism, homophobia or other

exclusionary behavior under our name.

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# 6 Decide Campaign Goals. Creating big changelike stopping Global Warming is possible, but it’s not going to happenovernight. There are a number of little steps to take in order to getthere. But with these steps, anything is possible. We believe actions,

even ones that seem small – like getting your school to switch to re-cycled paper – can be linked to other small actions that create a muchlarger impact, as long as we are organized.

For this process we recommend reading through the details of our cam-paigns both here and online, and then checking out upcoming events atcommunity.ran.org. Share your ideas with the group, and then try to

answer the following questions together:

- What are your long term goals? – Think big here. What is your vision? What are you really working for (not just against)?

- What are your medium term goals? –What can actually beachieved before the end of the school year?

- What are you short term achievable, measurable and cel-ebrateable goals? What can you get done by next month? It’s im-portant that you set goals you can measure, reach, and then celebrate.Nothing gets inspired activists burnt out faster than working on vagueprojects indefinitely with no clear objective or way to measure success.

“all the tragic misfortunes that ll the his-

tory books, all the political blunders, all

the failures of the great leaders have

arisen merely from a lack of skill at

dancing.” - Moliere

# 7 Investigate. What does your group need to

know in order to start working? For example, if you will be talk-ing to students about alternative energy sources, do you need toknow more about energy alternatives? If your group is hyped about working on one of RAN’s campaigns, go find out more informa-tion about the campaign, ‘cause this zine doesn’t have room toinclude all the exciting things we are doing.

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# 8 Decide TacticsOnce you know your short term goals you can decide what the best ways are to achieve them. How would you, for example, educate 100people by March? There are many, many tactics that you can use. Which ones you use, the order you use them, and who you work with is your strategy . Some tactics are easy and can be done at the drop of ahat. Others take more planning. Some are friendly and legal. Others areconfrontational and may break the law. All of the tactics we use arenon-violent. These tactics are ways of asserting our power.

SAY SOMETHINGPublic speechesLetters of opposition or supportSigned public declarationGroup or mass petitionsSurvey with public resultsMeet with your administration

GET THE WORD OUTMake presentationsSlogans, caricatures, and symbolsHang a giant banner for all to see

Make posters and put em upUse Postcards, Leaets etc.

Tabling, Giant PuppetsPimp my green ride car show

Global Warming JeopardyPublish article in the school

paper, or make your own underground paperGive your teachers lesson plans

Play music over the school sound systemTalk on the radio

Myspace.com, Facebook.comMybloc.net

Flash movies

GET TOGETHER Poetry and music eventsPartiesMeet-upsTrainings and Teach-insPanels and SpeakersConferences, big meetingsMovie NightsMarches

SUPPORT OTHERACTIVISTSSupport the workof other activists attheir events.Fundraise for othergroups.

EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST

Humorous skitsImage TheatreMock awards

Radical ClowningPoetry events

Dancing with a themeDrumming

PuppetsSinging

REFUSE TO COOPERATEBoycotting: refusing to buyproducts of the targetcorporation

WHEN NOTHING

ELSE IS WORKINGWalk-outs: leavingschool early (for apurpose!)Sit-in: Sitting down toblock a pathLocking down to blockan intersection or doorto disrupt business asusual.

Here are some explanations of some of the tactics above that are easy to do in a school setting:

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Whether you’re looking to expand your group’s membership, enlistsupport for an action, fundraise, or you just want to educate peopleabout an issue, putting up a table is really effective. Check with your school’s administration so you’re clear on any rules, then setup a table during lunch in a high traffic area. Display all of yourinformation (email us your address and we can send you postcards/petitions/ t-shirts and other materials on whichever campaign you’re working on).

Have your teachers check out www.ran.org/education for highschool and middle school lesson plans that they can use in theirclassrooms to talk about your issues.

Culture Jamming takes images, symbols and characters frompopular culture and alters them to make a social critique. It’spowerful because it changes people’s assumptions. Pick an issue

that you and your group wants to tackle, then brainstorm howthis issue is being portrayed to the masses. Who are the mediasaying the sympathetic characters are, what is the media saying the conflict is about? Think of an object or symbol that repre-sents that story and use it to tell your story. For more ideas,check out: www.thebubbleproject.com, www.billionairesforbush.com, www.milkandcookies.com/article/739/, www.adbusters.org, www.theyesmen.org, www.revbilly.com

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Similar to the party idea, except the main attraction is an

educational movie with a discussion afterwards. We have mov-ies about mountaintop removal coal mining, logging in Grassy Narrows and more. For your free copy, email [email protected]. You can also ask your teachers if they would be willing to showone of these movies in your classroom. Another option is going guerrilla style and projecting a movie on a blank wall outside.

Find a DJ (aspiring or pro) who likes music with a socialor political slant, ask your local MCs or garage band toplay, or invite a few folks to write poetry or short storiesabout the issues you’re working on (e.g., an ode to oil). You could also add in a global warming jeopardy. Set the

line-up; pick a date that works for your performers; finda free space at a house, community center or café; andcreate and send out the invites. If you want a really big turn-out, flyer your school like mad at least two weeks inadvance, get on community calendars, and use whateveronline bulletin (myspace, facebook, RYSE events, etc.)people in your community use. At some point during theevent, make an announcement about what you are work-

ing on, how people can plug in, and the date of the nextmeeting/event/demonstration. Have a table set up withmore materials and information.

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Street theatre is an ex-cellent way of

sharing yourmessage, attracting mediaattention, getting people

laughing, and joining youall at the same time. Youdon’t need to be a trainedactor or have any the-atre skills at all to pull itoff. Simply dream up thecharacters you want torepresent; decide on a be-ginning, middle and end;

improvise a simple scene;and rehearse it a lot! There are a couple of things to keep in mind when doing theatre in the street or in a public space:

• Use enormous physical movements; exaggerate all your actions so thatpeople far away who can’t hear you can still tell what you are doing.

•Be loud and boisterous.•Use big props (you can make them out of cardboard) and simple re

peating images that stand out and are easy to understand.

•Before starting a scene, run around like mad banging pots and pansand calling people to the public stage.

Check out: www.beyondtv.org/nato/new/performance/index.htm, www.ground- worknews.org/culture/culture-artrevol.html www.buskercentral.com

Giant puppetry is a form of street theatre that is especially great to use for actions becauseit draws crowds and media, itcan be moving to watch, and it isfun to create. If you have amarch of 200 people withoutpuppets and a march of 100people with puppets, the march with puppets will leave muchmore of an impact. Write yourmessage on the forehead orbody of the puppet. That’ll almost always get photographed and pub-lished in the newspaper. This way, no matter what the media says, your puppet’s picture will speak the truth.

Check out: http://www.zeitgeist.net/wfca/radpup.htm, www.gis.net/~puppetco/, www.breadandpuppet.org/, www.wisefoolnm.org and www.puppetista.org

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Once you have an issue you want to take up with the school ad-ministration (such as a policy or commitment) or a car dealership(say, a commitment to only sell cars that get over 30 mpg), put

your proposal in writing. Decide with your group who should go tothe meeting – two or three people is a good number. Decide before-hand what your message is and who will talk about what. Identify the person in the administration or dealership that would be ableto make a decision on your group’s proposal. Next, talk with theirsecretary to set up a meeting. At the meeting, explain what youare hoping to get from them. Summarize your proposal and ask alot of questions like: “What do you think of the proposal?” “Will you adopt it (or submit it to the decision maker)?” “What would be

a timeline for a decision?” “Do you need anything else from us inorder to get the proposal approved?” Take lots of notes and afterthe meeting send the person a thank you card.

If, after meeting with your local dealership or school administra-tion, it seems like they will need pressure or a show of public sup-port in order to pass your proposal,organizing a peaceful demonstrationmight be just the thing.

To get started, talk withlocal groups and organizationsand ask them to come out for it. Picka date for the demonstration andpost it everywhere. Put up postersand post the event on the RYSEevents tool (www.community.ran.org), myspace or facebook.Call and email the local media and ask them toattend. Prepare your statement, some

songs or chants, beautiful and interesting banners, signs, post-cards or flyers to letpeople know why you are there. Depending on the issue, we can send you what youneed. A giant puppet or two will alsoreally draw attention. As will performances,drummers, and speakers with bullhorns.For info on how to bring drumming into ademonstration, checkhttp://puppetista.org/drums/

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Okay, here is where you really f igure out with your group how yourideas are going to become a reality. We included a worksheet you canuse, but you can also create your own form and write it up on theboard for everyone to see during a meeting. A couple things to keepin mind:

• Make sure your short term goals are actually doable and thateveryone who is responsible for a task actually wants to do it.

• Oure worksheet has only one long term goal, one mediumterm goal, one short term goal, and two tactics. You canhave many goals and even more tactics under each goal. Justmake sure you’re being realistic about what you can accomplish with the people, time and resources you have available!

• Be flexible. As your group completes one planned tactic, revisitthe action plan and figure out if there are any adjustments thatneed to be made before you proceed with the plan.

• Have fun and celebrate when you finish a tactic. Celebrate evenbigger when you reach your goals.

What resources will you need to getgoing on your tactics? Can you do it

all for free? Do you need money formaterials, costumes, paint supplies,etc.?

• make a list of the items needed• make a list of people who

might be able to donate theseitems

• ask them for the items!

If you can’t get what you need donated, then ask for money. Ask everyone. Write a letter explaining how much you need, why you need it and then send it around. When you give it tofolks, ask for a fraction of the total: $5? $10? Whatever peoplecan comfortably give. You can also ask for money in the middleof events that you host by passing around a hat.

# 9 Fun-Raise

# 10 Create an Action Plan.

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# 11 Build Alliances and Stay Connected.

Find out who else is involved with or cares about the issues you’re working on and talk with them. Check out www.community.ran.org tofind out what other RAN groups are doing nearby. Brainstorm a list

of teachers and community activists that are down for the cause andinvite them to your next event. Ask them how they might need supportfor what they are organizing and get your group to show up for theirevent. This part is crucial. This is how we build movements and sup-port a culture of collaboration rather than of competition.

# 12Celebrate and Evaluate.• Party when you accomplish a goal.• Stay in touch! Please! Let us celebrate your accomplishments

too! If you send pictures and information about your action [email protected], we will post it on our web site.

• Check in with your group. What worked? What didn’t work? What should you do differently next time? How might you allneed to adjust your action plan?

# 13 Group Sustainability

If your high school group consists mostly of seniors or your middleschool group is mostly 8th graders, your group will disappear next year unless you do something about it.

What you can do is actively involve younger students in your work.

When they join, empower them. Don’t treat them like they’re too young to have an impact. Have them learn some of your dope lead-ership skills by working alongside you and slowly taking on biggerresponsibilities in the group. Also, make sure your advisor feels involved and that your group is useful so that he or she will continueto help promoting it to incoming students in the future.

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Activism:Letter From Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out - Dan Berger, Chesa

Boudin, and Kenyon Farrow.Refections On Student Activism - Abbie Hoffman.Stand & Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership, And Hip Hop Culture - Yvonne Bynoe.Globalize Liberation: David SolnitIdeas for Action: Relevant Theory for Radical Change - Cynthia KaufmanNo More Prisons - Billy WimsattIgniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth - Steven Best & An-thoney Nochella.

The Activist Handbook: A Primer - Randy Shaw.Zapatistas!: Making Another World Possible, Chronicles Of Resistance2000-2006 - John Ross.

Democracy & Corporate Power:Earth Democracy - Vandana Shiva.Democracy’s Edge - Francis Moore Lappe. A Post-Corporate World, Life After Capitalism - David Korten.The Conquest Of America: How The Indian Nations Lost Their Continent

- Hans Koning.Let Me Speak!: Testimony Of Domitila, A Woman Of The Bolivian Mines- Domitila Barrios De Chungara.How Can One Sell The Air? - Chief Seattle.No Logo:Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies - Naomi Klein.Earth for Sale: Reclaiming Ecology in the Age of Corporate Greenwash- Brian Tokar.

Forests:

Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests - Derrick Jensen andGeorge Draffan.Breakfast of Biodiversity - John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto.

Climate Change and Oil:The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change - Dinyar GodrejFeeling The Heat: Dispatches From The Frontlines Of Climate Change - JimMotavalli.Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists and Activists

Are Fueling the Climate Crisis--And What We Can Do to Avert Disaster - Ross Gelbspan http://www.heatisonline.org.Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food And The Coming Crisis In Agriculture - Dale Allen Pfeiffer.The Party’s Over: Oil, War And the Fate Of Industrial Societies - RichardHeinberg. Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights & Oil - Ike Okonta and OrontoDouglas.

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Documents

RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth