Story and Photos by Meaghan Morawski
It’s Saturday morning, but while most college students are suffering through hangovers from the night before, environmentally conscious students from schools all over the western United States are attending panels and workshops on energy efficiency.
Power Shift West 2011 was held in Eugene this year. It was a three-day event, beginning the night of November 4^th and coming to a close Sunday evening. It was held at the University of Oregon, and approximately 500 people attended the conference.
Power Shift West is a large gathering of youth who brainstorm ways to address the most relevant environmental issues of the current time and culture. There are three main facets to the event: panel discussions, workshops, and a service project. Through these projects the students and panelists seek to build knowledge for environmental problems that plague our current state of being, as well as initiate involvement and inevitable change.
During the Saturday lunch break of veggie sandwiches and large sticks of carrots, students discussed panels and workshops they were especially excited to attend throughout the rest of the day.
“I’m most excited for the panel of ‘Energy Efficiency and Conservation’ because that is my career pursuit,” says Tyler Kimble, an energy management student at Lane Community College. “I’m interested in hearing the debate over whether conservation is the main priority, or to know whether we should be looking at alternative energy sources.”
In addition to building knowledge and initiating change, the conference is also aimed at giving participants certain skills to bring back to their communities to start building a movement for the things they’re passionate about. Some of the 30 groups attending the event included OSPIRG, WashPIRG, PETA, ASUO, and even EWEB.
Sasha Rosen, the organizing director of OSPIRG and WashPIRG, as well as a panelist at the “Energy Efficiency and Conservation” discussion asks, “How can we build giant movements of people who want to solve problems? Teaching people is not enough; we have to do policy.”
Rosen says that the public needs to be informed and motivated to change through groups of volunteers spreading their knowledge through teaching others about policy and issues.
Sarah Higginbotham, the state director of Environment Oregon and another person on the panel says that though she thinks “a lot of this [environmental talk] can be doom and gloom,” it is possible to make changes to the way things currently function.
Environmental organizers were not the only ones to take the stage at Power Shift West though. Mayor Kitty Piercy and Oregon State Representative Nancy Nathanson were guest speakers at a panel examining the benefits of a high-speed rail running through Oregon and into Washington. OSPIRG’s executive director, David Rosenfeld completed the three-person discussion.
“We have to keep our eyes on both what’s on our hands and on what’s coming,” says Mayor Piercy, in regards to the future of making a more efficient system for trains possible. “It’s not just for the pretty ride, but for the environment.”
At the end of the weekend, students who attended the conference joined at the Wesley Center across from campus to weatherize a number of local fraternity and sorority houses. They also took to the streets to hand out surveys on energy use and light bulbs that are more energy efficient.
By weatherizing the houses and handing surveys and more efficient bulbs out to the general public, the conference organizers and attendees seek to instill understanding in those around them.
As panelists and event organizers echoed to attendees throughout the weekend, the change has to start somewhere and with people who really care to make a difference.

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