By Pete Griffin

As we speak, thousands of young Americans are rallying outside the Capitol or in meetings with their congressmen and -women, demanding action on issues of renewable energy, green jobs and putting a stop to coal-burning power plants. More than 12,000 young people from across the country invaded Washington, D.C., over the past four days to protest current U.S. policies on energy and climate change.

This revolution was organized around Power Shift, a conference that brought together college students and others from all 50 states.

In addition to the rally on Capital Hill, hundreds of these Power Shift demonstrators organized a nonviolent protest by surrounding the Capital Power Plant. Activists surrounded the entrances of the coal plant in an effort to shut it down and not let people in and out of the facility. At press time, it was unclear if anyone has been arrested at this event.

There has already been buzz in the political world about the power-plant protest, as the godfather of climate change, NASA climate chief James Hansen, called for “mass civil disobedience” in support of the event. While some critics are trying to say Hansen has gone off the deep end by saying this, most young people and climate activists are praising his statement and are rallying around his urgent call.

I was in D.C. at the Power Shift conference, and this was by far the largest, most organized and most passionate conference I’ve ever seen. In talking with these people who came in by the busload from all over the country, it is clear they all see the urgency of the issue. Rally attendee Summer Rayne Oakes summed it up best, saying, “We need to hold our elected officials accountable and make sure they pass significant climate and energy legislation in 2009 on green jobs, renewable energy and energy efficiency. I’m just one of over 12,000 that have come to D.C. today to showcase the solutions we have to combat climate change now, and I’m making sure my representatives know this issue is a critical one for myself, my generation and our planet.”