While our literal Big Oil Carnival — complete with oil-themed midway games, Tony Hayward clowns, and an enthusiastic, stilt walking Uncle Sam — may have been out of the ordinary, it should have felt familiar for anyone who works on Capitol Hill.

The unfortunate reality is that every single day in the U.S. Senate is a carnival of Big Oil.

At every opportunity, a minority of Senators who are in the pocket of America’s largest polluters choose political games and obstruction over working together to solve America’s energy and climate crisis. As a result of their actions, the big polluters will continue to reap record profits at the expense of Americans.

Even before a BP oil well started gushing millions of gallons into the Gulf, a comprehensive climate and energy bill which breaks America’s oil addiction and curbs carbon pollution was a common sense and critically necessary policy.

Now, as we witness the worst industry-caused environmental catastrophe in our history, the deadliest coal mining disaster in 40 years, and sweat through the hottest first 6 months of any year on record, it should be a no-brainer.

It’s time to end the CarnivOIL in Congress. The Senate can no longer play games with our clean energy future.

Today, Big Oil can continue to celebrate their victory over clean energy. However, Senators should know that as long as they fail to act, America’s energy crisis won’t just go away…and neither will the generation of young people fighting for a clean energy future.

Uncle Sam MCs at CarnivOIL

Tony Hayward Knocks Out a Crab

See more photos from CarnivOIL

Unfortunately, so is the time left to act:

• The last decade was the hottest decade on record
• The past 12 months was the hottest year-long period on record
• This past June was the hottest June on record

Last week, we built a giant “Climate Deniers” ice sculpture on the Senate lawn. This visual should be clear enough for even the most conservative senator to understand.

CNN joined us to watch it melt, along with any remaining doubts about the need for action.

This week, the Senate is finally preparing to act on long-delayed energy legislation. We must make sure they listen to climate scientists, not climate deniers.

Watch the CNN video and tell your senators not to let our clean energy future melt away.

We’ve spent the last year fighting for a comprehensive climate plan to secure our clean energy future. Now senators have to make a choice:

They can take action to cut carbon pollution, create jobs, and enhance our national security… or they can let our clean energy future melt away.

It’s their choice, but it’s our future. Tell your senators we are paying attention: http://consequence2010.org/MeltingAway

This our moment. In the next two weeks, we’ll find out where our senators stand. We’re ready for the fight.

Dan Lashof, Director of NRDC’s Climate Center, told the crowd: “We are facing our last, best chance to prevent a meltdown of the environmental systems upon which all of us depend.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brenda Ekwurzel from the Union of Concerned Scientists: “We didn’t choose our energy from coal and oil, previous generation made that choice for us, and we have learned through science that we’ve been paying a price.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Energy Action Coalition Co-Field Director Ethan Nuss: “I call on the U.S. Senate for urgent, bold, and strong action to pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation now! We need a cap on carbon pollution, and a common sense policy to create millions of clean energy jobs for my generation.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

A new Clean Energy Works ad wich will run on national cable networks is designed to counter television ads from the American Petroleum Institute by calling out their “multimillion-dollar smear campaign to stop clean energy legislation.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a separate effort, the American Values Network is rolling out bus ads targeting Sarah Palin for her continued support of increased oil drilling even in the wake of the BP disaster.

American Values Network:

In the wake of the greatest environmental disaster in the nation’s history, Sarah Palin continues to promote domestic drilling as the solution to America’s energy needs. But she knows that domestic drilling will not even begin to address our dependence on foreign oil. We need a smarter approach to energy independence. The BP oil spill puts in sharp focus why political slogans do not make good policy.

AVN is also asking supporters to tell Palin that America needs a smarter approach to energy policy by posting on her Facebook page: post on her wall letting her know why “Drill, baby, drill” is not the answer!

Yesterday, we got a big boost from the top.

Speaking at Carnegie Mellon, President Obama declared: “The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean energy future.”

More importantly, the President matched his words with a promise for action.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Many of you signed a letter to President Obama last month, calling for clean energy leadership. Today, he responded with a strong commitment to fight for comprehensive climate legislation. Locking eyes with students in the crowd he told them:

I want you to know, the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months. I will continue to make the case for a clean energy future wherever and whenever I can. I will work with anyone to get this done — and we will get it done. The next generation will not be held hostage to energy sources from the last century.

President Obama concluded with a familiar message: “It’s our job as a nation to advocate on behalf of the America that we hope for – to make decisions that will benefit the next generation.”

It’s our generation, and it’s our job too. We are leading the fight, the President is with us, the truth is behind us, and the senators can either get in line or find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Send the Senate the message that we will not be held hostage to special interests and petty politics. It’s time for them to fully embrace our clean energy future.

The spot features Louisiana veteran Evan Wolf who was deployed with the National Guard to clean up the oil spill. In the ad, Wolf says: “When I signed on with the National Guard, I did it to help protect America from our enemies… Not to clean up an oil company’s mess here in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The ad points out that our dependence on dirty energy is not only leading to catastrophic climate change and environmental disasters like the Gulf spill, it also sends millions of dollars each day to hostile regimes overseas. The ad ends with Wolf hammering home the message that should be obvious: Some folks in Washington say now is not the time for clean American power. I got to ask – if not now, when?

Click here to view the embedded video.

A comprehensive climate and energy bill would be a win, win, win for these problems. By putting our country on a path to break our fossil fuel addiction, we can avert the climate crisis, prevent environmental disasters like the BP oil spill, and protect our national security.

During the Memorial Day Congressional recess, your senators will be back home and this is a critical time to reach them and let them know we demand clean energy. You can print out these flyers to bring their offices and ask them: “Senator, if not now, when?”

If Not Now When Flyers

As the world celebrates Earth Day, America has never been closer to passing comprehensive climate legislation, but one day of attention won’t be enough. To get this done, we need an Earth Day Revolution.

Click here to view the embedded video.

All the pieces are in place to launch our clean energy future — overwhelming scientific evidence, popular support, a bill passed in the House — all except for one: a Senate brave enough to make history.

Next week, senators will unveil a new bipartisan climate bill. There is a real chance of passing strong legislation, but at this point nothing is certain. It’s up to us to fight for our generation’s future.

It’s not our job to give the Senate courage to act, it’s our job to show them they have no choice.

The Earth Day Revolution is coming. Are you up for the fight?

Let’s get this done.

The need for a more sustainable future helped fuel the idea for the event, which brought in more than 40 local bands and organizations to help gain student support. The theme of sustainability was everywhere to be found, from the vegan hot dog vendor, to the recycled art tents, to the environmental organizations represented such as Energy Action Coalition, Sierra Club, IDEAS, Re-power America, and National Wildlife Federation. At the end of the day, attendees were emerged in a possible green energy future and they were impressed! The Green Waves’ waste diversion goal of 75% was shattered through the use of a single stream recycling bin. Stunningly, the festival diverted 100% of the 1 ton of waste created by the 7 hour event.

While many students were drawn out by a live performance from Florida-based rock band Less Than Jake, even more took part in the several different activities going on throughout the afternoon and evening. All day, many different student organizations filled out “Define Our Decade” petitions, to show our senators what kind of clean energy future we envision. We collected over 360 petitions that day, and it has brought Florida into the leading active state on the campaign.

I.D.E.A.S., Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions, hosted the event along with Campus Activities Board. We look forward to bringing an even bigger and better festival to Orlando next year!

To see more from IDEAS, visit our website at Ideas4us.org.

In his yeas as an educator, Nye says he’s seen a generational gap in the ability to grasp climate change. Unsurprisingly, young people get it.

It’s mostly generational…older people just have a much harder time grasping the idea that you have many billions of people on the planet with a very very thin atmosphere, you’re able to affect its climate…younger people are able to sort of embrace it, understand the evidence and move forward.

This is yet another reason why young people need to make our voice heard on the need for climate action. We can’t rely on our leaders our leaders to recognize the existential threat facing our generation on their own. We have to make them see it, and let them know they can’t put politics ahead of our future.

The video features Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Bateman, Justin Long, Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker and others calling for strong action for a clean energy future.

Take a moment to watch the video, share it with your friends, and email your Senators to tell them this is our moment.

The United States of America can lead in the development of clean energy technology and manufacturing while we lead in the fight against global warming.

Everyone knows we have a dependence on oil we buy from countries that don’t share our values. This threatens our security and our integrity. And it needs to stop. We know it does. Still, we’ve seen our dependence on foreign oil grow and pollute the air we breathe and endanger our planet. But we can change that. Now.

There’s a bill in the Senate that will break foreign oil’s stranglehold on our country, reduce carbon pollution, and create jobs right here in America—good jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced.

It’s one of the most important pieces of legislation of our time. It’s a clean energy bill. And it’s been a long time coming.