I always have a hard time trying to keep from smiling when I run into a young person kicking ass on environmental issues. I was graced with the presence of Gladys Nobriga from Talahasse, FL at the Chicago Power Vote Training. These young people are gearing up to mobilize in thier resepective communities spreading the word about the power of voting in this key election. After riding a school bus, that took us on a tour of toxic industrial plants, I sat down with this "Power Vote All-Star" to talk about some key issues. Watch the video and read below for more:
Zakee - What environmental and energy issues are young people working on in Florida?
Gladys - Young people in Florida are working on numerous issues such as alleviating
the need for nuclear power, promoting solar energy, land and water conservation,
monitoring political finances, urban farming, seed saving, educating, and integrating
other young people in the movement.
Zakee - How is Power Vote helping build the power of the movement in Florida?
Gladys - In Tallahassee, Power Vote is creating a sense of intrinsic value for young
people in relation to our environment. It is allowing others to realize they can get
involved and really instill positive change.
Zakee - Who are the biggest dirty players corrupting politics in Florida? And what are you
doing to push back on them?
Gladys - In Florida, the largest dirty corrupting factors in politics are Progress Energy,
Koch Industries, TECO Energy, Southern Company, National Rural Electric Cooperative
Assn, Murray Energy, George E. Warren Corp, Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp, Devon
Energy and many more. All these have contributed more than $10,000 to our Senators
and Representative. What we are doing to push them back is educating the public,
helping them to research on their own and calling out these dirty corportations.
Zakee - How did you get involved in grassroots organizing and the Power Vote campaign?
Gladys - I became involved through an organization at my campus called Environmental
Service Program at Florida State University. We volunteer around Tallahassee and
encourage political action. One of the campaigns we have won is successfully stopping
Nestle from bottling water from the local Wacissa River.
Zakee - What advice would you give someone just getting involved in organizing?
Gladys - The best advice I can give is to go out there and talk to people. You will be
pleasantly surprised that many people care about these issues and want to voice
change. It becomes much easier from there. Also, never take your eyes off those
politicians, follow the money!!
To learn more about how to get involved in Power Vote click here.
