October 1, 2021 | NEWS | By Valerie Xiong and Evan Rao | Photo by Beck Marshall
Eighty-five years ago, the space that is now Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado was no music venue. It was, of course, still a stunning rock formation. Music giants like the Beatles or U2 would have found it difficult to perform, however, as there was no stage, no seating, and certainly no roads to get people to it.
That all changed in 1933, however, when Congress under President Roosevelt put a plan into action aimed at getting unemployed people suffering from the effects of the Great Depression back to work. That plan became one of the most successful governmental programs in the history of the country: the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Immediately following the passing of the Civilian Conservation Corps through Congress, people all across Colorado were put to work. 32,000 young people in the state found employment at CCC camps, where they worked to construct roads, trails, and campgrounds.
Now, amidst the social and economic struggles exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the broader context of climate change, people across the country are hoping to get the CCC back in action. This modern dream of repeating Roosevelt’s success is known as the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC).
Biden’s American Jobs Infrastructure Bill hopes to include a version of the CCC. One organization, The Sunrise Movement, is pressuring the Biden administration to pass the most ambitious version of the Infrastructure Bill — which includes funding for the CCC.
The Sunrise Movement — an activist group that centers around environmental policy change, and specifically pushing for the Green New Deal (GND) — has around 400 hubs across the county. One such hub has found a home at Colorado College.
The Sunrise Movement made its way to CC when Brita Mackey ’22 and Jane Hatfield ’22 started the Colorado Springs hub in 2018.
“We started by doing actions to pressure Senator Bennet to sign on as a co-sponsor for the Green New Deal,” Rosalee Bayer ’22, the hub coordinator of the Colorado Springs chapter of the Sunrise Movement, said.
The Green New Deal (GND) is a governing ideology backed by politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. The GND vision pushes for both technological and social solutions to our climate crisis, including a pledge of 100% clean and renewable energy and a mission of creating a national standard for living-wages in just ten years, to name only a few of its goals.
The Sunrise Movement works to realize these priorities (such as racial equity and clean energy) by advocating for public policy. For the CC chapter, this was most recently evidenced in support of the CCC.
On Monday, Sept. 20, the Colorado Springs Sunrise Movement hub participated in a National Day of Action to pressure Democrats to support a fully-funded CCC.
“Sept. 20 was the day Congress got back to D.C.,” Bayer said. “This Thursday [Sept. 30] is their deadline to decide the fate of historic spending packages and a generation of climate investments.”
Unsurprisingly, support for the Civilian Climate Corps is split down party lines. Democrats, backed by Joe Biden, are attempting to get the program through Congress. Some estimate that, if implemented, the Climate Corps could employ up to 1.5 million Americans over the next five years.
Jobs would be directed at mitigating and adapting to climate risks, and would include forest management, fire mitigation, various projects aimed at conservation, and community resilience construction.
People could plant trees, help restore wetlands, maintain trials, and help agencies like the National Park Service revive their underfunded and understaffed parks. The potential of the CCC is vast, and could help address both the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the crisis posed by climate change.
During “CC for the CCC,” the Colorado Springs Sunrise hub and a conglomeration of CC students and community members marched downtown to pressure Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper to support a fully-funded CCC and bold investment in public housing, schools, transit, and renewable energy. The march took place at Acacia Park from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 20.
“We marched to Senator Hickenlooper’s office to ask him to pick a side: our side — the side of clean air, clean water, fully-funded public schools, high-quality public housing, incredible public transportation, and millions of good-paying, union jobs — or the side of fossil fuel corporations that pollute our earth, make our communities sick, and are causing the climate crisis,” Bayer said.
Bayer spoke with Hickenlooper’s representative at the office and received an email afterwards from Hickenlooper. In the email, Hickenlooper did not commit to voting for a fully-funded CCC.
CC for the CCC was just one event organized by Sunrise Colorado Springs and the chapter plans on galvanizing more local climate action in the future.
“This year, we will continue to do actions to put pressure on our representatives to support bold climate policy while building the community, knowledge, and organizing power within our hub,” Bayer said.
Bayer also hopes to build out the leadership and working groups within the Sunrise Colorado Springs hub to build their capacity. Working groups include teams for action, art, outreach, book club, social media, trainings, research, and hub-support.
“We are finding our footing again as a hub coming back from a year of organizing online,” Bayer said.
To learn more about the Sunrise Colorado Springs, email Bayer at r_bayer@coloradocollege.edu to join the mailing list or follow @sunrisecoloradosprings on Instagram.
Valerie Xiong and Evan Rao
Eighty-five years ago, the space that is now Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado was no music venue. It was, of course, still a stunning rock formation. Music giants like the Beatles or U2 would have found it difficult to perform, however, as there was no stage, no seating, and certainly no roads to get people to it.
That all changed in 1933, however, when Congress under President Roosevelt put a plan into action aimed at getting unemployed people suffering from the effects of the Great Depression back to work. That plan became one of the most successful governmental programs in the history of the country: the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Immediately following the passing of the Civilian Conservation Corps through Congress, people all across Colorado were put to work. 32,000 young people in the state found employment at CCC camps, where they worked to construct roads, trails, and campgrounds.
Now, amidst the social and economic struggles exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the broader context of climate change, people across the country are hoping to get the CCC back in action. This modern dream of repeating Roosevelt’s success is known as the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC).
Biden’s American Jobs Infrastructure Bill hopes to include a version of the CCC. One organization, The Sunrise Movement, is pressuring the Biden administration to pass the most ambitious version of the Infrastructure Bill — which includes funding for the CCC.
The Sunrise Movement — an activist group that centers around environmental policy change, and specifically pushing for the Green New Deal (GND) — has around 400 hubs across the county. One such hub has found a home at Colorado College.
The Sunrise Movement made its way to CC when Brita Mackey ’22 and Jane Hatfield ’22 started the Colorado Springs hub in 2018.
“We started by doing actions to pressure Senator Bennet to sign on as a co-sponsor for the Green New Deal,” Rosalee Bayer ’22, the hub coordinator of the Colorado Springs chapter of the Sunrise Movement, said.
The Green New Deal (GND) is a governing ideology backed by politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. The GND vision pushes for both technological and social solutions to our climate crisis, including a pledge of 100% clean and renewable energy and a mission of creating a national standard for living-wages in just ten years, to name only a few of its goals.
The Sunrise Movement works to realize these priorities (such as racial equity and clean energy) by advocating for public policy. For the CC chapter, this was most recently evidenced in support of the CCC.
On Monday, Sept. 20, the Colorado Springs Sunrise Movement hub participated in a National Day of Action to pressure Democrats to support a fully-funded CCC.
“Sept. 20 was the day Congress got back to D.C.,” Bayer said. “This Thursday [Sept. 30] is their deadline to decide the fate of historic spending packages and a generation of climate investments.”
Unsurprisingly, support for the Civilian Climate Corps is split down party lines. Democrats, backed by Joe Biden, are attempting to get the program through Congress. Some estimate that, if implemented, the Climate Corps could employ up to 1.5 million Americans over the next five years.
Jobs would be directed at mitigating and adapting to climate risks, and would include forest management, fire mitigation, various projects aimed at conservation, and community resilience construction.
People could plant trees, help restore wetlands, maintain trials, and help agencies like the National Park Service revive their underfunded and understaffed parks. The potential of the CCC is vast, and could help address both the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the crisis posed by climate change.
During “CC for the CCC,” the Colorado Springs Sunrise hub and a conglomeration of CC students and community members marched downtown to pressure Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper to support a fully-funded CCC and bold investment in public housing, schools, transit, and renewable energy. The march took place at Acacia Park from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 20.
“We marched to Senator Hickenlooper’s office to ask him to pick a side: our side — the side of clean air, clean water, fully-funded public schools, high-quality public housing, incredible public transportation, and millions of good-paying, union jobs — or the side of fossil fuel corporations that pollute our earth, make our communities sick, and are causing the climate crisis,” Bayer said.
Bayer spoke with Hickenlooper’s representative at the office and received an email afterwards from Hickenlooper. In the email, Hickenlooper did not commit to voting for a fully-funded CCC.
CC for the CCC was just one event organized by Sunrise Colorado Springs and the chapter plans on galvanizing more local climate action in the future.
“This year, we will continue to do actions to put pressure on our representatives to support bold climate policy while building the community, knowledge, and organizing power within our hub,” Bayer said.
Bayer also hopes to build out the leadership and working groups within the Sunrise Colorado Springs hub to build their capacity. Working groups include teams for action, art, outreach, book club, social media, trainings, research, and hub-support.
“We are finding our footing again as a hub coming back from a year of organizing online,” Bayer said.
To learn more about the Sunrise Colorado Springs, email Bayer at r_bayer@coloradocollege.edu to join the mailing list or follow @sunrisecoloradosprings on Instagram.