Gators Chomp Up Renewable Energy

The Independent Florida Alligator: News - Poll reveals UF students willing to pay extra for renewable energy


The University of Florida is taking an important step in the field of renewable energy by creating a 50-cent per credit hour fee for students each year to be used to finance sources of renewable energy at "The Swamp." Read the above link by UF student Amelia Harnish to find out more.

Whether you drive a Prius or a Porsche, we all have an equally vested interest in promoting renewable sources of energy when practical.

Don't just sit there--get a few people together and DO something about it!

SAVE YOUR SCHOOL and SAVE THE PLANET!

Going Green

...It's been a while! Like most of you, we have been incredibly busy, as well.

In light of Earth Day earlier this week, we thought we'd highlight one of the coolest sites advocating for better protection of the planet we live on:

Treehugger.com

Manly men need not be wary--no actual hugging of trees necessary to use this site. Rather, Treehugger can help you improve our environment by cutting your own carbon emissions and waste while saving you money on energy.

If you've ever wanted to get active in the great environmental wave sweeping the world, this is the place to do it!!!

Eve Carson

Today we mourn the loss of one of our own--UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.

An enthusiastic and vibrant senior at North Carolina, it has been said that Eve was "everything that was great about Carolina." Her accomplishments were many, but were nothing compared to the care she showed her fellow Tar Heels every day.

We would not be where we are today if not for the support and work of people like Eve Carson. And so, today, we are all Tar Heels.

If you have any stories you'd like to share about Eve Carson and how she touched your life, please post here. If you are a student and are looking for support through this difficult time, contact the Office of the Dean of Students or Counseling and Wellness Services at Chapel Hill. We are all here for you.

Voting and YOU!

In case you need a good laugh before you can vote--here it is! Thanks to the folks at DeclareYourself.com, who are also keeping the stead and trying to get everyone to vote! Visit their YouTube channel or visit their website for more hilarious clips on getting out the vote!

And remember--VOTE!!!

Headline from DeclareYourself.com:

TRIPLE TURNOUT IN IOWA

The youth turnout in Iowa more than tripled compared to the 2004 caucus from 4% to 13%! Young voters came out to support their candidates and their voices were clearly heard as Senator Obama took the lead for the Democrats and Huckabee for the Republicans.

(Hey America--KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!)

Keeping the Vote

“Voting is a civic sacrament.” -Theodore Hesburgh

While political minds have been focused on Iowa and New Hampshire, it's time for the rest of America to get up and get a plan for voting in your own state's primary. In this day and age, voting in your state party's primary or caucus is as important as voting in the General Election.

If you're not even registered to vote--do it! If you're in the armed services, you can register to vote AND get your absentee ballot here: http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.pdf. If you're not in the armed services, you can find EVERYTHING you need to know at MTV's Rock the Vote, or at your state's Secretary of State website (google it, lazy!).

It is going to take a considerable effort from the 18-24 year old demographic to effect any sort of change in this year's election, but it is already happening--a HUGE swell in youth voter turnout helped Democratic Senator Barack Obama win the state of Iowa last Thursday. The moral of the story? When you vote, people listen!

Happy New Year!

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable New Year's celebration, and is ready to welcome in 2008. We sure are--the American Leaders Organization is looking forward to an outstanding year.

We already have many great things planned. "Operation: Vote!" is already underway at the US Naval Academy, registering and requesting absentee ballots for already over 200 students. We are putting in place a program that would register every single student at each US military service academy--that would mean a drive registering over 15,000 people to vote!

On top of that, we're teaming up with Washington/Baltimore area universities to deliver much needed books and supplies to Baltimore city schools. We're putting together care packages for troops overseas. We're helping struggling communities out by partnering them with businesses who can improve their local economies.

In short, 2008 is all about "what [we] can do for our country." We hope that one of your New Year's resolutions will be to take the message of the American Leaders Organization to your school and community--together, we can make America a better place to live!

A new oath holds pretty well; but... when it is become old, and frayed out, and damaged by a dozen annual retryings of its remains, it ceases to be serviceable; any little strain will snap it. ~Mark Twain

Ten Things to Do

"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."
--Mark Twain


The following is straight from the inner-sleeve of the film "An Inconvenient Truth"--the documentary that has brought the fight against global warming to the forefront of many Americans' lives. Visit ClimateCrisis.net to find out more on how you can help save the world, and watch "An Inconvenient Truth" for an innovative look into the future of our global environment.

Ten Things to Do
Want to do something to help stop global warming?

Change a Light
Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Drive Less
Walk, bike, carpool or take metro transit more often. You'll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don't drive!

Recycle More
You can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Check your Tires
Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!

Use Less Hot Water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low-flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).

Avoid Products with a lot of Packaging
You can save 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Adjust Your Thermostat
Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Plant a Tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Turn off Electronic Devices
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Be a part of the Solution
Learn more and get active at ClimateCrisis.net.

Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, "What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?" We have to hear that question from them, now.
--Al Gore

Operation: Vote!

Jimmy V and the 1993 ESPY Awards

"Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my mind; it cannot touch my heart; and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."
-Jimmy Valvano

Jimmy Valvano is a legendary basketball coach from North Carolina State University, leading the Wolfpack to the national championship in 1983 against all odds. A graduate of Rutgers University, Valvano led a brilliant coaching and broadcasting career.

In the early 1990s, "Jimmy V" contracted a particularly devastating form of cancer. In 1993, ESPN awarded Valvano the "Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award" at their annual ESPY awards. His acceptance speech has become legendary, as he accepted the award, announced the creation of the "V Foundation" for cancer research, and imparted passionate words of wisdom to the audience. Two months after this speech, Valvano lost his battle with cancer--but his spirit lives on today.

You can help the memory of Jimmy V live on by supporting cancer research, appreciating those who have survived the battle, and honoring those who have gone before us. The V Foundation is just one avenue in the road to curing cancer--we hope that you will do what you can to bring that cure closer to reality.

"Don't give up, don't ever give up."
-Jimmy V

Rocking the (Primary) Vote

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets. --Abraham Lincoln

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. --John F. Kennedy


With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary just about a month away, it's time to make our first big-time push for voter participation in 2008! As '07 comes to a close, we embark upon one of the most exciting and important election years in the past half-century--an election that will no doubt set the course of the country for years to come.

Shortly, we will post our very own ALO-Election page, but for now, "Connecticut Bob" has a great primary calendar. Also, The Green Papers has excellent resources for everything you ever wanted to know about primaries, caucuses, and how to participate in this important process of selecting a party nominee.

If you're looking for an absentee ballot, visit http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.pdf! And if you have any questions, E-mail us at AmericanLeaders@gmail.com--we've got your answers.

Happy Voting!