—
How does one go from college meetings to organizing global demonstrations?
We launched Step It Up in the campus dining hall. The day after graduation we moved to an office in Burlington, Vermont, to run the campaign, which took ten weeks. When the day of action ended we wrote a book, Fight Global Warming Now, and then Bill asked if we thought the Step It Up model could work on a global level. We moved to San Francisco and began fundraising. Now we鈥檙e based out of Berkeley. We don鈥檛 pay ourselves much, but we eat, and we all have roofs over our heads.
Any tips for people who want to drum up support for a cause?
First, collaborate with other people. If you have an idea that you want to build a trail network, don鈥檛 spend a month writing a proposal; share your idea with local outdoor groups. is a good online network. Second, don鈥檛 think you need to be an expert about your issue. With climate change, we tell people there are a few things you need to know. But not everything. You need to be passionate and willing to act. Third, use the media. Even if what you鈥檙e doing is small, tell the local paper.
How do you recruit the , who has publicly supported your movement?
That came out of the ether. We heard out of the blue that he鈥檇 written a statement endorsing our cause. Unfortunately, we couldn鈥檛 publicize it–we鈥檙e working with too many groups in China.