CCAN Takes a Break to Celebrate – join us!

Next Tuesday, June 9th CCAN will take a break from organizing for a night to honor some of Maryland’s clean energy and climate champions.

We have a lot to celebrate this year – passing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, seeing movement to cap carbon at the national level and through the EPA. While we still have a lot of work ahead of us, it’s important to celebrate the victories along the way.

So…we’ve put together a great party. We’ve got excellent food, beer, wine, and live jazz lined up. Plus an excellent list of honorees.

You can reserve your tickets at www.chesapeakeclimate.org/mdaward.

Reserve them by 5pm tomorrow and you can bring a friend for half price. Don’t miss out!

Our award winners range from a U.S. Congressman to a local climate activist. Even the lists of hosts is impressive: Bill McKibben, Energy Action’s Jessy Tolkan and Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin join the long list of those hosting the event.

We are proud to present award to the followed guests: Continue reading

Put A Cap On It – Song & Video

Thousands of people from Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. are calling for a science-based cap on global warming pollution in 2009.

If you love it, then you better PUT A CAP ON IT… Enjoy the video!

Video and Backup Vocals: Adiel Kaplan

Lead Vocals: Gabbi Winick

Lyrics by: Kirsten Collings

Md. Climate Bill Sends Urgent Message to Congress: ACT NOW!

This morning, Governor O’Malley signed into law legislation to combat global warming and create green jobs in Maryland. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, SB 278/HB 315, mandates the strongest economy-wide reduction in global warming pollution of any climate bill in the country.

“This is a landmark moment for Maryland and sends an urgent message to the federal government,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Maryland has done all it can do, now it’s time for Congress to enact a nationwide cap on carbon.”

The bill requires the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 2006 levels by 2020 and directs the Maryland Department of the Environment to craft a plan and a timeline to achieve that goal. With this bill, Maryland joins six states in enacting a legally binding goal for emissions reductions. Maryland’s short term target is the strongest of all the states with legislative commitments to reduce pollution.

Governor O’Malley’s signing of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act today was the culmination of years of sustained efforts from dedicated citizens, business leaders, environmental groups, and religious and health organizations.

The diverse coalition that formed to raise awareness of Maryland’s climate bill — called the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions — included the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Environment Maryland, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition, the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Lutheran Office on Public Policy, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, and other groups.

The bill signed today is similar to last year’s Global Warming Solutions Act, which did not make it out of the 2008 General Assembly session. The bill that eventually passed was a result of a series of facilitated talks between stakeholders. Leaders within the Maryland climate movement spent several months participating in talks to work out an effective, fair agreement with union and business leaders.

Van Hollen, Waxman introduce major climate bills

CCAN sent out this email to our list yesterday…

We’ve waited years for serious climate legislation from Congress, and last week we got our wish. Two major bills were introduced – and both need your quick attention. Please, take five minutes to read more below and send quick notes. This session of Congress is one of our last chances to get it right and avoid major climate change impacts for future generations.

Climate bill #1:
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) proposes historic “cap and dividend” bill

Congressman Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland environmental champion for decades, has authored the strongest “carbon cap” bill ever proposed. HR 1862 has all the right features: It’s simple, fair, and built to last. It makes polluters pay by auctioning 100 percent of carbon permits instead of giving them away, contains no controversial “carbon offsets,” and returns all carbon revenues back to the American public as a monthly dividend. Watch this short video featuring CCAN director Mike Tidwell. And learn more at www.capanddividend.org.

Here’s what author/activist Bill McKibben said last week about the Van Hollen bill: “This is the most innovative, yet obvious, piece of climate legislation in the 20 years I’ve been following this battle. Van Hollen’s bill sets out a straightforward mechanism for reducing carbon in the atmosphere in a way that will actually be popular with voters.”

TAKE ACTION: Please show your support right now. Please ask your Congressional representative to co-sponsor the Van Hollen bill. If Van Hollen is your Congressman, please thank him for his leadership.

Climate bill #2:
Waxman/Markey bill provides landmark first step but needs to be stronger

Also last week, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced a comprehensive clean energy/climate bill. The Congressmen deserve our gratitude for their years of hard work promoting climate solutions. As you would expect of a very comprehensive energy bill, there are both strong and weak provisions. The bill sets excellent statutory targets for clean energy development by increasing the requirements for renewable energy and energy efficiency. However, the bill funnels public funding into unproven carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects, allows new coal plants to be built through 2015 without proving they are CCS-compatible, and allows billions of tons of controversial carbon offsets. Read a good summary of the bill from CCAN’s Policy Director.

TAKE ACTION: Please email your Congressional representative and ask him/her to support the strong provisions in the bill and insist that the weak provisions be strengthened. With Arctic ice melting and sea level rising fast, we need a STRONG carbon cap right now.

Historic Shift: Wind Cheaper than Coal in MD!

Like residents of most other states, Marylanders who wanted to buy 100% clean energy were used to paying a premium to be green. Starting this summer, the roles will reverse.

In Maryland, all BGE and Pepco residential customers (about 80% of the population or 1.73 million people) can now sign up for 100% wind power through Clean Currents at rates that are below Pepco’s and BGE’s rates for conventional coal-powered electricity!

CCAN director Mike Tidwell joined Clean Currents president Gary Skulnik (pictured at right) at a press conference last week to announce the historic shift. Standing before a gaggle of TV cameras, microphones and reporters, Gary began: “Usually renewable energy requires an upfront investment, but we’re in a unique situation where you can choose green power and save money at the same time. It almost never happens.”

And he’s right. This crossing of cost lines between wind and coal energy doesn’t happen often, but the shift is beginning. When a similar shift happened in Austin, TX three years ago, Lester Brown described it as “a milestone in the U.S. shift to a renewable energy economy.” A similar situation also unfolded in Colorado around the same time as in Austin.

So what happened in Maryland to make this price shift possible?
Here in Maryland, the decreased rates are the result of a steady decline in wholesale energy prices. Utility companies set their customers’ rates periodically and have not reduced them to reflect the lower prices they are now paying for energy to produce electricity. But Clean Currents and other companies have taken advantage of the downturn in the price and are offering residents as much as two years of power for 10 to 15 percent less than the utilities’ summer rates.

How do I sign up?
To sign up, simply go to www.cleancurrents.com and click on “residential.” It only takes a few minutes to complete the enrollment process (you will need your Utility Account #). Once switched, there will be no interruption of service. Power outages are still fixed by Pepco and BGE, and billing is still handled by the utility. The only difference is that you will save money and be supporting clean, renewable wind power.

Kicking Congress' Ash

By Bill McKibben, crossposted from Gristmill

Snow doesn’t dampen turnout for anti-coal rally in D.C.

The day’s scorecard:

1) Largest anti-coal action yet in the United States: Thousands and thousands of people flooding the streets around the Capitol Hill power plant.

2) Largest demonstration in many years where everyone was wearing dress clothes: The point was to stress that there’s nothing radical about shutting down coal-fired power. In fact, there’s everything radical about continuing to pour carbon into the air just to see what happens.

3) Smallest counter-protest in world’s history: By my count, the Competitive Enterprise Institute managed to muster four demonstrators for its “celebration of coal” rally, which is about the right size. (But they were kind of sweet; they had signs that said: “Al Gore, Not Evil, Just Wrong.”)

4) Number of arrests: None, zip, zilch, nada. The police said so many demonstrators showed up that they had no hope of jailing them all. So we merrily violated the law all afternoon, blocking roads and incommoding sidewalks and other desperate stuff, all without a permit or a say so. We shut down the power plant for the day. And we’d pre-won our main victory anyhow, when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid preemptively cried uncle last week and announced they weren’t going to burn coal in their plant any more.

5) Quantity of broad smiles afterwards: Almost unlimited. And in the air, there was the strong sense that we can do this. Really. What fun.

Bill McKibben, a Grist board member, is co-founder of 350.org, and author most recently of Deep Economy.

Ask the Governor

Yesterday I called in to WTOP‘s monthly “Ask the Governor” show with Gov. Tim Kaine.

I’ve called many times before and don’t always get on but this time I was able to ask my question on the air.