Stop the Ban on Land-based Solar Power In Montgomery County, MD. “Progressive” Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz, and others could harm regional progress on clean energy

I’ve been a climate activist for 20 years in this region. Google Mike Tidwell and “clean energy” and you’ll see what I stand for. 

In 20 years, I’ve learned to push aggressively for strong climate policies — but to seek legislative compromise when that’s what it takes to move public policy forward. From the small city council of Takoma Park to the Governor’s office in Richmond to Senate committees in Annapolis to legislative efforts on Capitol Hill, I’m proud to have been part of balanced but ambitious agreements that advance clean energy.

Which is why, as a fellow Montgomery County, MD resident, it pains me to tell you I’ve never seen such a total ABSENCE of compromise – and such a scale of misguided energy policy – quite like the vote that six members of the Montgomery County Council are apparently prepared to make tomorrow. They are about to effectively ban land-based solar power development in our county. 

Our County Council is doing amazing work protecting us from the worst impacts of the Covid-19. And I know their intentions are well-meaning on the environment. But the solar vote they are about to make will not only harm our county, it will likely have negative consequences for solar throughout our state and region. I’m not exaggerating. This view is shared by the Montgomery County Sierra Club, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and key environmental legislators in Annapolis, including veteran Delegate Kumar Barve who sent the Council this remarkable protest letter last week.

I’m presenting an unusually long argument in this email. So bear with me – if you can — till the end. It’s that important. 

Tell MoCo Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz and others: Don’t land-based ban solar  

For the record, the legislators who are on the wrong side of this solar issue and who have resisted a reasonable compromise so far are: Councilmembers Andrew Friedson, Gabe Albornoz, Nancy Navarro, Sidney Katz, Craig Rice, and Will Jawando. The two leaders who probably need to hear from you most are Will Jawando and Gabe Albornoz.

To repeat, our ask of them now is to simply withdraw the amended solar bill. Withdraw it so we can start over and create a lasting and positive solar policy for our county. Meanwhile, the PRO solar councilmembers who’ve already done all they can to achieve a balanced solar policy are Hans Riemer, Evan Glass, and Council President Tom Hucker. Their work is greatly appreciated.

Solar power in the Agricultural Reserve: A controversy?

Chances are you’ve heard something about the idea of placing a limited amount of solar production in the MoCo Agricultural Reserve. Unfortunately, as often happens in public debates, opponents have often been noisier and more extreme in their claims than those of us seeking a truly balanced solution. Indeed, opponents have accused solar companies of greed and “over reach” while saying community solar on farmland would economically harm the farmers themselves, destroy our local food base, and lead to widespread deforestation and harm to the Bay — from solar!! None of this is true. Some critics have even claimed environmental groups like Sierra Club and CCAN are pushing solar for their own financial benefit – which is utterly false.

Now these same critics claim a “compromise” has been reached on the issue. They are asking the MoCo Council to give final passage to the Zoning Text Amendment 20-01 tomorrow. Why? Because that bill, as I mentioned above, has been amended into a de facto ban of land-based solar. Again, I’ve spent 20 years reaching real compromises on clean energy across this region — and this is no compromise. It’s a policy failure.

In the beginning: We had a good solar bill

A good solar policy was in fact proposed last year by MoCo Councilmember Hans Riemer (D-at large). It would have permitted farmers to harvest sunlight on no more than 1800 acres of land in the Ag Reserve (out of 93,000 acres) through a process called “community solar” development. Much of the solar would have benefitted up to 50,000 households, including many low- and moderate-income households and earned nearly $15 million in tax revenue for our cash-strapped county and state. The bill would have allowed a modest 300 megawatts or so of solar. Yet even that modest amount would have lowered total greenhouse gas emissions in the county while lowering the price of electricity for ratepayers and generating a healthy $83 million in local net economic spending. Virtually no tree loss would have been permitted and pollinator-friendly native grasses would have been required to be planted under and around the panels. It was a carefully crafted and balanced compromise bill supported, again, by the County’s two largest environmental groups — Sierra Club and CCAN — and group’s like Poolesville Green and farmers like Doug Boucher. 

But on January 26th, this good bill was amended into a bad bill, one that now stands as a de facto ban on land-based solar power. To repeat, the Council Members who voted for one or both of the bad amendments are Friedson, Albernoz, Navarro, Rice, Katz, and Jawando. 

Again, I cannot urge you strongly enough to REJECT the claims of council members and others when they tell you this amended solar ZTA is a “compromise.” They’ll tell you the amendments simply ban solar on “class two” soils and subject all solar projects to “conditional use.” But it’s a near-total ban. One MoCo solar company has already announced it will cease operations in the county due to the January 26th amendments vote. The two major regional organizations representing the solar industry have confirmed that their members will find it impossible to build projects in Montgomery County under the ZTA as now amended. Unless the bill is withdrawn tomorrow without final passage, more solar jobs will leave our county and we’ll have almost no chance of meeting our renewable energy goals during a full-blown climate emergency.

Tell MoCo Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz and others: Don’t land-based ban solar

How did we get here? Clean energy confusion in liberal MoCo

Last week, a WAMU radio reporter wrote that an activist in rural Montgomery County considered solar development an EXISTENTIAL THREAT to the Ag Reserve. The activist wasn’t quoted as saying climate change was an existential threat. There was no mention of sod farming as an existential threat – where topsoil and non-native grasses are peeled off of the land and shipped off to golf courses and suburban homes. (More land in the MoCo Ag Reserve produces sod grass than table food for humans). There was no mention of livestock as a threat, where a majority of the Ag Reserve land is used for raising feed crops for the region’s unsustainable livestock industry, venting net greenhouse gas emissions from most of those acres. 

No, the existential threat to the Ag Reserve is apparently solar energy, in the minds of critics. That pretty much sums up the tragically misguided anti-solar movement in our county. Many of the critics of the proposed policy of putting a VERY LIMITED amount of “community solar” production in the AR, will tell you they strongly support clean energy. Some have solar panels on the roofs of their homes. But they don’t want to see farmers harvest solar energy. They describe it as “industrial” solar that will harm the rural character of the reserve. Again, sod farming is apparently okay. Corn fields for pigs are okay. But solar is an existential threat. They want solar in MoCo to be on rooftops and “brownfields” — not as part of a farmer’s mix of operations.

There aren’t enough rooftops and brownfields in MoCo

The problem is there is no way we can reach our county and state clean energy goals with rooftop solar alone or on qualifying brownfield areas left by former industrial sites. These areas are still relatively expensive to develop and, as for stable, non-shaded rooftops, there just aren’t enough qualifying roof areas. We have to put a limited amount of solar on land surfaces. Meanwhile, our farmers are increasingly hammered by extreme floods and droughts from climate change and many of them need the option of harvesting sunlight as a small but supplemental income stream that allows them to hang on to their family farms. 

So last year Councilmember Hans Riemer (D-at large) proposed a sensible policy idea. Let’s change the zoning law to allow a very limited – but needed – amount of solar in the Ag Reserve. No more than 2% of the reserve could be solar – and pollinator-friendly native grasses that sequester carbon into soils would have to be planted under and around the solar panels. Better yet, the energy would have to be produced under the state’s “community solar” program with much of it dedicated to low- and moderate-income families. It was a great compromise bill that was passed twice by a joint committee of the MoCo Council.

But then, on January 26th, before the full council, all pretense of compromise was stripped away. The bill was amended into a ban on agricultural solar. Again, council members will tell you it’s not so! The amendments represent a balanced compromise, they say. But years from now when no solar is built and the county loses tens of millions of dollars in taxes and investments, and vulnerable families have no access to cheaper power – and sod farming continues to flourish in the reserve – then we will all will see the solar ban for what it is.

Right now the Council must be persuaded to simply withdraw the bill and start over. If the bill goes forward as is, it will harm more than Montgomery County. 

The regional harm of a bad MoCo Council vote on solar

Clean energy has to go somewhere. Tragically, even as sea-level rise accelerates worldwide, the mayor of Ocean City and some business leaders there have strenuously objected to offshore wind power even though the turbines would be tiny images 17 miles offshore. And in western Maryland, land-based wind farms are opposed by some Marylanders even if the windmills are placed on ridgetops already strip-mined for coal and gravel. And now, in Montgomery County, solar is fine as long as it’s not on any farmland. 

If the MoCo Council passes the amended solar ZTA, it will set a terrible example for the entire region on clean energy development. If liberal Montgomery County can’t reach a sensible compromise policy, imagine the push back from Republican county and state elected leaders who think climate change is a hoax anyway. Why not ban solar in every rural county in Maryland and Virginia? Clean energy activists like me will be forced to explain the MoCo solar “hypocrisy” every time a clean energy vote comes up anywhere, especially as the years go by and – as intended – no solar farm projects get developed in our environmentally chest-beating county. 

This is doubly unfortunate when recent polling shows nearly 70 percent of Montgomery County voters support a balance of solar production on farm land in the county. And, again, by banning such solar, the Council is denying the county badly needed tax revenue and green investments over the next ten years.

Was a ban on solar the goal all along? 

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has told me personally that some residents of the Ag Reserve came to him last year and asked him to support a total ban on land-based solar projects in the Reserve. He told them he would not support a ban like that. 

Many of those same residents then moved on to the full council, trying to achieve a ban through other means. The January 26th amendments dramatically shrink the amount of qualifying acreage in the Reserve by banning Class Two soils. Then any solar projects that do somehow find a few scraps of qualifying land will be subjected to potentially endless legal challenges through a second passed amendment, one that requires a permitting process called “conditional use.” Again, as we’ve seen above, these amendments are already driving solar investments OUT of our county ahead of a possible final vote on the bill tomorrow. 

Does the MoCo Council really care about climate change? 

In December 2017, the Council voted unanimously to declare a “climate emergency” and to commit the county to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions countywide by 2027. Since then, three long years later, the Council has passed no major legislation to actually cut emissions significantly. Only in December did County Executive Marc Elrich release a long-awaited Climate Action Plan, produced by consultants using $400,000 of taxpayer money. Yet the 230-page report itself endorses no specific concrete legislation and sets no specific timelines for meaningful policy implementation. Watch this video.

Honestly, all of this makes voters wonder whether our county government is really serious about climate change at all, even as extreme weather events become more frequent here and nationwide. 

Think about it. If we can’t even compromise on land-based solar, then how will we ever eventually pass county legislation banning gas hookups for new homes and buildings while investing real county dollars in electric vehicle infrastructure and all the other things climate scientists say we MUST do in the next ten years? 

I wish I could be more optimistic. But right now, things are so bad that the withdrawal of a bad solar ZTA bill would actually constitute a victory in our county. So let’s begin with that. 

Tell MoCo Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz and others: Don’t land-based ban solar

Hopefully, they’ll hear us – and we can actually move forward with the real work that needs to be done to fight climate change right where we live. 

Sincerely, 

Mike Tidwell

Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund

CCAN Statement: They broke windows. They broke laws. They didn’t break us.

At the height of the Capitol insurrection yesterday, members of the U.S. House of Representatives lay on the floor in fear for their lives. As police drew weapons at rioters banging on the barred door, lawmakers were reportedly advised to remove the pins on their lapels that identified them as House members. This was to help them avoid being identified, beaten, and possibly murdered in the very place they make laws. 

Our team at CCAN today grieves with you over the horrifying and shocking events of yesterday. Our thoughts go to those injured and traumatized while defending our Capitol building from the ignorant and violent mob incited by President Trump. And we grieve with black and brown Americans who once again watched blatant white supremacy play out in Washington, DC. 

We also grieve over the efforts of rioters to break more than just windows and the Capitol’s trespassing laws. They tried to break the very system of debate and lawmaking that allows social change – and social change groups like CCAN – to exist.

CCAN was founded 18 years ago on the understanding that this is a nation of laws. If you want to change this nation, we believe, you must change the nation’s laws. Historically, that applies to racial justice, health care, immigration – and certainly climate change and clean energy.

So when rioters attack the lawmakers themselves, the very fabric of social change is set ablaze. Donald Trump and his followers – who will not go away even after January 20th – yesterday achieved the logical endpoint of their four years of destruction, where not only facts and evidence are thrown out the window but lawmakers themselves are forced to throw themselves under desks out of fear for their lives.

But during this dark moment, I also think of the great strides our region and our nation have made in the last 18 years to elect new leaders who reflect a rising American electorate, one that seeks justice and inclusion. I think of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, and Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones – all three of whom care deeply about climate change and whom I’ve had the honor of personally lobbying on clean energy issues.

These are the brave leaders who will now lead us as we move past Trumpism and toward a more perfect union of greater care for human rights and climate justice.

But they cannot do it alone. We must all speak up and speak out – not just for our own issues – but for the restoration and preservation of a safe and truth-based system of lawmaking itself, where legislators and advocates, and the very system of legislative debate and change, are possible. 

For these reasons, CCAN joins so many of our colleagues in the nonprofit world in utterly condemning President Trump and his despicable followers for their actions yesterday. We join in the call for the full prosecution of every person who broke laws and engaged in violent behavior. 

And we ask you – our members — not to give up hope, no matter how disturbing and disheartening the images of yesterday were. Remember, we defeated Trump at the ballot box in November. And our new President – Joe Biden – appears utterly sincere in his commitment to heal our nation and our Earth. 

Yet hope can be hard to come by after a day like yesterday, we know. So we ask you to consider the words of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who reminds us that hope flows from action. When you take action – on climate, race, and health care – hope flows inexorably through the action taker. More action, with more people, means more hope. 

It’s a formula that’s worked for me for 18 years as founder and director of CCAN. As I type these final words, I feel more hopeful than when I started writing this message. The whole CCAN staff and I are ready to fight with you – to take action — for a safer country and climate in 2021. We will rise up from the sad ruins of the Trump era and the vandalism of January 6th. 

Sincerely, 

Mike Tidwell
CCAN Director

PS: Learn more about CCAN’s clean-energy campaigns in Virginia, Maryland, DC, and at the federal level. Join us in changing our regional and national laws for a safer world.

Letter from the Director: Closing Out 2020

hands up in celebration

Dear friends, 

Have you finished exhaling yet? Joe Biden won! Donald Trump lost! The US Senate runoff races in Georgia won’t wrap up till January 5th, I know. But HOLY COW, the biggest victory is complete. The “climate arsonist” Donald Trump is on his way out. 

Across this nation, we know time is almost up for a swift and transformative clean-energy revolution. But here’s what gives me hope. In the middle of a pandemic, with a hate-spewing President explicitly trying to push disruptive chaos into the process, our country at every level and in every state conducted an incredibly smooth and fair election with record turnout. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is proud to have played our role, both regionally and nationally, in the climate movement with several major victories. As the year comes to an end, won’t you make a gift to keep us going? 

Another four years of Donald Trump would have wrecked our global atmosphere — period. Now our next President, Joe Biden, can quickly rejoin the Paris climate agreement, rebuild the US EPA, end all drilling on federal lands, and bring science back to policy. 

But Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can’t do it alone. They need the help of the states. The Biden climate platform was amazing. It included a call for 100-percent clean electricity nationwide by 2035 with net zero emissions by 2050. And it put equity for disadvantaged communities at the center of all climate policies. 

So here’s what you’ll see CCAN doing in 2021 to begin a down payment on those goals:

Nationally, we’ll use our geographic proximity and sizeable connections to the Biden administration to pressure the White House to keep its promises on all executive actions on climate. We’ll also work even harder on Capitol Hill to hold climate polluters accountable for past denial and current deceptive practices.

In Virginia, we’ll insist state lawmakers pass a clean cars bill to open a floodgate of electric vehicles in the state. The bill will help move us toward a net zero economy while, separately, we work on affordable, equitable public transit for all Virginians. And of course we’ll follow our huge victory in July of stopping the Atlantic Coast Pipeline by keeping up the fight against the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

In Maryland, we’ll push for the “Climate Solutions Now Act” to plant five million trees, cut climate pollution 60 percent by 2030, and incentivize solar. And speaking of pipelines, we’re not done fighting the absurd “Eastern Shore Pipeline” for fracked gas. Plus, we’ll push for a fair and equitable “price on carbon” in the state.

In DC, we’ll make sure the DC government stays on course for 100% clean electricity by 2032. And we’ll insist that electric vehicle charging stations spread quickly in the city while we work to “de-gasify” all the city’s buildings.

So yes, despite four years of Trump, Americans can still come together to do great things against long odds for the common good. We did it in November by preserving our democracy. 

Now let’s do it across our region and nation to preserve our planet. 

On we go,
Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network & CCAN Action Fund

Photo at the top from Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Letter from the Director: A World in Shock

Dear friends, 

The year 2019 began with the world in shock. Scientists said we had barely 10 years to cut carbon emissions in half if we wanted to avoid a full-on climate catastrophe. Then, just 12 months later, the year ended with Swedish schoolgirl and climate activist – Greta Thunberg – being named Time Magazine’s “person of the year.” 

A lot happened in between. And the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is proud to have played our role, both regionally and nationally, in the climate movement with several major victories. As the year comes to an end, won’t you make a gift to keep us going? Honestly, we’re tired but inspired and soon-to-be-recharged to fight for more wins in the new year.

It’s clear that climate has now become a global issue. In 2019, the Sunrise Movement really took off, calling for a Green New Deal. Then climate activists in the UK shut down roads and airports to protest inaction there, declaring themselves the “Extinction Rebellion.” Their movement quickly spread to America. And throughout this year, Thunberg led students worldwide in “Fridays For Future” strikes, culminating in upwards of 8 million strikers across the world on September 20. 

Our movement is BIG now. A full 76 percent of the US public believes climate change is a major problem, according to a recent Washington Post poll. 

Now, what do we do about it? Well, in 2019, CCAN joined the mayor of Washington, DC in passing a 100% clean energy bill that will power Congress and the White House with wind and solar power by 2032. We passed the sweeping “Clean Energy Jobs Act” in Maryland. And we continued to work successfully to stop two major fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia. 

Not to mention, we worked with U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in grilling former ExxonMobil scientists in a hearing focused on the company’s 30-year effort to deny climate change and harm the public.

What’s next for us in 2020? A lot. Stay tuned for new campaigns for radical carbon reduction policies regionally and nationally. Plus more work to hold Exxon accountable. 

But we need you. None of our work is possible without the financial support of people like you. Please make a generous donation today so we can continue our inspired climate leadership tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. 

On we go, 

Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network & CCAN Action Fund

Photo at the top from Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Letter from the Director: Numbers Don't Lie.

Dear Friends,
Did you know that one in five Americans now live in a city or a state that is legally committed to reaching 100% clean energy in the next few years?
Let that sink in for a moment. There’s been a total sea change of support for climate action across the country. And much of that action is taking place right here in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. Thanks to CCAN supporters like you, we helped pass two transformative clean energy policies just within less than six months. Now, as the new CCAN fiscal year kicks off, I hope you’ll consider making a donation so we can keep fighting for policies that match the urgency of the climate crisis.
Most recently, on April 8th, the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act became law. This policy will convert half of the state’s electrical grid to renewable power by 2030 and create a pathway to 100% clean power soon after that. This happened just four months after elected leaders in the District of Columbia passed a local bill mandating 100% renewable electricity by 2032.
Both states are now aligning themselves with the goals set by the world’s top climate scientists to reduce carbon emissions. And CCAN is now building the momentum to pass a strong carbon cap in Virginia, and setting the stage for a groundbreaking clean electricity policy in that state too.
At the federal level this year, we worked with US Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia to re-introduce the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act. We are also working with Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) to increasingly draw attention to the role of oil companies in historically denying climate change science.
Through all of this, one thing remains clear. As long as President Donald Trump blocks climate action at the federal level, states will continue to have to take the lead, and we are proud to be a part of this exciting movement of state climate action.
The situation, meanwhile, could not be more urgent. Here are some more big numbers for you:

  • 415 ppm: In mid-May, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached 415 parts per million, a level never seen in human history.
  • 1 million species: A recent United Nations report stated that 1 million species globally are at risk of extinction, many within the next couple of decades.
  • 11 years: We have 11 years left to cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half.

While we are reading these gloomy headlines, it is important to also acknowledge the positives. New polling shows that Americans are waking up to the climate crisis, with climate change moving higher on their radar for the 2020 election — and candidates are taking notice. Some have already released their climate change strategies, a stark difference from 2016.
No matter what, know that CCAN will continue to push for change and to take back the driver’s seat from utility and oil companies. All of our work would not be possible without your support, so thank you for all that you do for CCAN, our region, and our planet.
Sincerely,
Mike Tidwell

Letter from the Director: more good news than you've heard all year

Friends,
In the next 60 seconds, I’m going to give you more GOOD news on climate change than anyone has given you all year. Ready?
The District of Columbia will soon pass the strongest clean energy legislation in American history! Seriously. It includes a mandate for 100% wind and solar power for the entire DC grid by 2032. Meanwhile, members of Maryland’s General Assembly have now reached “supermajority” status in support of a bill that will convert half of that state’s grid to renewable power within a decade. The bill also creates a pathway to 100% clean power soon after that. And Virginia? The citizens there are beating back — with real success — two major fracked-gas pipelines while pushing Governor Ralph Northam toward a statutory cap on carbon pollution for all dirty power plants.
Whew. Yes, all of that is happening. And the Chesapeake Climate Action Network has been at the CENTER of each one of those campaigns in all three states. Which is why, during this season of giving, we ask you to consider making a generous donation to our proven climate leadership in the states of Maryland, Virginia and DC. Please give. We can’t do it without you. Give now.
And yes, worldwide, the news is bad, bad, bad on global warming. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we have barely ten years to cut the world’s carbon emissions in half. And a Trump Administration report, dumped the day after Thanksgiving, says huge climate impacts are already harming the US economy and public health.
But you – in partnership with CCAN – are part of the solution. We live in a region that includes and encircles the nation’s capital. So when the DC Council passes the “Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act” for 100% clean power, people across America and the world will notice. When Maryland creates tens of thousands of new wind and solar industry jobs by passing the “Clean Energy Jobs Act” – which we predict it will by April – then other states will notice. When the citizens of Virginia fight back against the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, then dirty-energy investors nationwide get the message: We don’t want your stinkin’ pipelines. We want clean energy.
Of all the regions of the world, you and I live in the one that can truly accelerate the clean-energy revolution worldwide in time to save the planet. Thank you for your activism. And thank you for considering a gift to CCAN. Your support gives our region and our fragile planet a fighting chance to survive and to prosper.
Happy holidays,
Mike Tidwell

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Letter from the Director: When clichés become reality

Dear CCANers,
It’s a cliché for nonprofit leaders to say to supporters: “We have NEVER needed you more than right now!” But in the case of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and YOU, it’s really true: We have never, ever, ever needed you more than right now.
That’s because the extreme weather of climate change is all around us. The little town of Ellicott City, Maryland just got wiped out by the second “1000-year” flood in less than two years. The chances of that happening are one in a million. Large parts of DC, meanwhile, have flooded in recent days due to record rains, and Virginia’s coastline continues to get pounded by the march of higher and higher seas.
Meanwhile, the dirty energy industry is growing more extreme too. Companies like Dominion Energy and TransCanada continue to promote radical fossil fuel development in our region. Dominion is planning to decapitate entire mountain ridgelines in Virginia for construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for fracked gas. And TransCanada, with the unconscionable assistance of Governor Larry Hogan, is planning to plow a fracked-gas pipeline across Maryland and under the Potomac River. Besides the climate harm from burning fracked gas, the TransCanada pipeline could harm the drinking water of all 680,000 residents of the District of Columbia.
But that’s where you come in. Our goal at CCAN is to always give you an “on ramp” in the fight against dirty energy companies. And we tell you how to fight for alternatives, like clean wind and solar power. In DC, you can help pass a historic “carbon fee.” In Maryland, you can help double wind and solar power in Maryland. And in Virginia, you can push the Commonwealth to cap carbon pollution from power plants while investing in energy efficiency and climate-friendly farming techniques.
Is the weather strange where you live? Have you grown tired of pipeline companies who want to take your land or trample through your region? Are you impatient with politicians who aren’t feeling the urgency of climate change enough to really fight hard for clean energy?
Then, as I said at the start, we have never needed you more. Please do what you can to help the movement. Ask your friends to sign up for our email list. Attend an upcoming event. Make a donation. And make a difference.
Sincerely,

Mike Tidwell

Photo at the top via Flickr user Stacker with a Creative Commons license. 

Letter from the Director: Saving the North Pole

Dear friends,
There are a million causes to give to this time of year. But keep this in mind: We at CCAN are fighting to save the actual North Pole!
And the South Pole! And everything in between.
Please give with all your might to all of the other good causes, but remember to keep climate change near the top. Without a solution to climate change, all the good causes we donate to this time of year will be made worse, from childhood hunger to animal welfare to the restoration of your favorite river. So please, as 2017 draws to a close, would you consider a generous gift of $35, $50, $100, or more to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network?
What has CCAN achieved this year? In Virginia, we’ve delayed one massive fracked-gas pipeline and gone to court to stop another. In DC, we’ve made huge progress in passing an innovative carbon rebate bill. And in Maryland, we’ve advanced the cause of rooftop solar and offshore wind power — and don’t forget the BAN ON FRACKING!
It’s been a year of big freaking deals, in the words of our friends. A true banner year. So, we’re celebrating.
But we need your support to help us keep this momentum up next year. So will you celebrate with us and help us keep fighting in 2018 with a generous gift today? Or would you consider signing up to give monthly?
To save the North Pole — and the hopes and dreams of all children everywhere — we’ve got to keep fossil fuels in the ground while we power all our menorahs and Christmas trees and Kwanzaa lights with sunbeams and ocean breezes.
Happy holidays from the whole CCAN family!
Mike Tidwell
 

Letter from the Director: How Trump is helping the climate movement

No one would have guessed it in November, but 2017 has turned out to be the best year on record for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. After 15 years of hard work – partnering with local activists like you in Maryland, Virginia, and DC – our efforts are paying off with stunning wins this year.
And Donald Trump is actually helping. For years, many people thought it would take a huge natural disaster of epic proportion to wake Americans up to the dangers of climate change. It turns out that the massive political disaster of Donald Trump is having a similar effect. As writer Bill McKibben recently observed, no president in US history has unified more Americans to fight FOR clean energy and AGAINST climate change than President Trump. Withdrawing from the Paris climate accord was tragic. Dismantling much of the EPA’s work is horrifying. But when it comes to Maryland, Virginia and DC – and many other enlightened states nationwide – the climate movement is now accelerating at warp speed. Seriously.
Want proof?
VIRGINIA:
Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe – a foot-dragger on climate issues for three years – announced in May that he will finally impose a hard cap on carbon emissions from power plants by the end of this year. It’s a huge victory, and CCAN led the fight for three years demanding that McAuliffe impose such a carbon cap per his legal authority. But then Donald Trump came along and, according to McAuliffe himself, it sealed the Governor’s decision to finally do the right thing. We set the table, darkness gathered at the national level, then a southern coal state moved toward an historic solution.
Thank you Governor McAuliffe…and P.S., you’ve got to stop supporting oil drilling and fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia too!
MARYLAND:
Republican Governor Larry Hogan stunned the entire nation in March by supporting an outright legislative ban on fracking in the state. For seven years, activists pushed for a bill to prevent violent fracking for gas. We rallied. We marched. We went to jail. Then a fracking ban finally became law in 2017 with bipartisan support. Why? The hard work and vision of citizens like you set the table. Plus, Hogan’s own polling showed that Marylanders’ support for a fracking ban INCREASED with every day that Republican Donald Trump talked about drilling everywhere and burning everything. We were ready. Trump provided a spark that was dangerous to the planet AND Governor Hogan’s political future, and the tides of change moved faster than anyone expected. Everything came together.
And not just on a fracking ban. Maryland legislators in 2017 significantly expanded support for wind and solar power, and adopted a nation-leading energy efficiency law for electricity. Then, in a coup de gras, the state’s Public Service Commission in May approved development of two major offshore wind farms off the Maryland coast. What a year! Since January, we’ve had more energy victories in Maryland than during the previous five years combined!
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
We’ve seen staggering advances at the local level in DC over the past 12 months. Last July, before Trump’s election, the DC Council passed a 50% clean electricity standard for the city, making DC a national leader in clean power. Since then, CCAN has been leading a snowballing campaign to pass a “carbon fee-and-rebate” bill for the city. The initiative, now supported by dozens of faith, business, justice, and environmental groups, would force polluting companies in DC to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit and then rebate the lion’s share of the revenue back to all DC residents in a way the INCREASES the net income of low- and moderate-income residents.The policy would also expand the city’s economy, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions by 23%. Again, in the first year of the Trump Administration, momentum behind this “Climate and Community Reinvestment Act” for the District has mushroomed. What better way to “resist” in DC, after all, than to send carbon-priced electricity and gas to the White House whether they want it or not? Stay tuned.
MOVING FORWARD:
Revolutionary change is underway all across our region on clean energy. Six months ago, stunned by Trump’s election, none of us at CCAN could have predicted the progress we’ve seen in Maryland, Virginia and DC. At the national and international levels, what’s happening on climate is truly depressing. But in America, achievements at the state level are, in the long run, more resilient victories. No single president or Congress can come along in the future and undo clean energy laws in all 50 states. Trump is forcing us to build a deeper, more resilient, and more grassroots movement – and to do it with lightning quickness.
But we cannot rest on our recent laurels. We now have to push even harder to fulfill our responsibilities to the world, to make up for the losses on climate at the national level, and to provide leadership – right here in Virginia, Maryland, and DC – to the world. In 2018, we need to DOUBLE the mandate for wind and solar power in Maryland. This year, we need to block Gov. McAuliffe’s massive fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia. And right now, we need to show the world that America’s capital city can tax carbon pollution, reduce income inequality, and create jobs all at the same time.
Sound good? Are you fired up? Then stay involved and stay busy. The planet needs you more than ever.
On we go,
Mike Tidwell

Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.
 

Letter from the Director: How Trump is helping the climate movement

No one would have guessed it in November, but 2017 has turned out to be the best year on record for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. After 15 years of hard work – partnering with local activists like you in Maryland, Virginia, and DC – our efforts are paying off with stunning wins this year.
And Donald Trump is actually helping. For years, many people thought it would take a huge natural disaster of epic proportion to wake Americans up to the dangers of climate change. It turns out that the massive political disaster of Donald Trump is having a similar effect. As writer Bill McKibben recently observed, no president in US history has unified more Americans to fight FOR clean energy and AGAINST climate change than President Trump. Withdrawing from the Paris climate accord was tragic. Dismantling much of the EPA’s work is horrifying. But when it comes to Maryland, Virginia and DC – and many other enlightened states nationwide – the climate movement is now accelerating at warp speed. Seriously.
Want proof?
MARYLAND:
Republican Governor Larry Hogan stunned the entire nation in March by supporting an outright legislative ban on fracking in the state. For seven years, activists pushed for a bill to prevent violent fracking for gas. We rallied. We marched. We went to jail. Then a fracking ban finally became law in 2017 with bipartisan support. Why? The hard work and vision of citizens like you set the table. Plus, Hogan’s own polling showed that Marylanders’ support for a fracking ban INCREASED with every day that Republican Donald Trump talked about drilling everywhere and burning everything. We were ready. Trump provided a spark that was dangerous to the planet AND Governor Hogan’s political future, and the tides of change moved faster than anyone expected. Everything came together.
And not just on a fracking ban. Maryland legislators in 2017 significantly expanded support for wind and solar power, and adopted a nation-leading energy efficiency law for electricity. Then, in a coup de gras, the state’s Public Service Commission in May approved development of two major offshore wind farms off the Maryland coast. What a year! Since January, we’ve had more energy victories in Maryland than during the previous five years combined!
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
We’ve seen staggering advances at the local level in DC over the past 12 months. Last July, before Trump’s election, the DC Council passed a 50% clean electricity standard for the city, making DC a national leader in clean power. Since then, CCAN has been leading a snowballing campaign to pass a “carbon fee-and-rebate” bill for the city. The initiative, now supported by dozens of faith, business, justice, and environmental groups, would force polluting companies in DC to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit and then rebate the lion’s share of the revenue back to all DC residents in a way the INCREASES the net income of low- and moderate-income residents.The policy would also expand the city’s economy, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions by 23%. Again, in the first year of the Trump Administration, momentum behind this “Climate and Community Reinvestment Act” for the District has mushroomed. What better way to “resist” in DC, after all, than to send carbon-priced electricity and gas to the White House whether they want it or not? Stay tuned.
VIRGINIA:
Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe – a foot-dragger on climate issues for three years – announced in May that he will finally impose a hard cap on carbon emissions from power plants by the end of this year. It’s a huge victory, and CCAN led the fight for three years demanding that McAuliffe impose such a carbon cap per his legal authority. But then Donald Trump came along and, according to McAuliffe himself, it sealed the Governor’s decision to finally do the right thing. We set the table, darkness gathered at the national level, then a southern coal state moved toward an historic solution.
Thank you Governor McAuliffe…and P.S., you’ve got to stop supporting oil drilling and fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia too!
MOVING FORWARD:
Revolutionary change is underway all across our region on clean energy. Six months ago, stunned by Trump’s election, none of us at CCAN could have predicted the progress we’ve seen in Maryland, Virginia and DC. At the national and international levels, what’s happening on climate is truly depressing. But in America, achievements at the state level are, in the long run, more resilient victories. No single president or Congress can come along in the future and undo clean energy laws in all 50 states. Trump is forcing us to build a deeper, more resilient, and more grassroots movement – and to do it with lightning quickness.
But we cannot rest on our recent laurels. We now have to push even harder to fulfill our responsibilities to the world, to make up for the losses on climate at the national level, and to provide leadership – right here in Virginia, Maryland, and DC – to the world. In 2018, we need to DOUBLE the mandate for wind and solar power in Maryland. This year, we need to block Gov. McAuliffe’s massive fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia. And right now, we need to show the world that America’s capital city can tax carbon pollution, reduce income inequality, and create jobs all at the same time.
Sound good? Are you fired up? Then stay involved and stay busy. The planet needs you more than ever.
On we go,
Mike Tidwell

Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.