Category: Newsletters

June 2013 | Issue #65
Quick Links: DC & National | Maryland | Virginia | Students

FROM DIRECTOR MIKE TIDWELL

Friends,

When CCAN was founded in 2002, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 373 parts per million. Now, despite a growing clean-energy movement worldwide, scientists reported last month that the carbon level had reached a whole new stage of danger: 400 parts per million.

There hasn’t been this much heat-trapping CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere in at least 3 million years. The result has been a marked increase in extreme and destructive weather. Listen to my NPR radio commentary concerning DC’s decision to spend $1 billion to put more power lines underground due to bigger storms. Imagine a world where we trap heat in the atmosphere equal to the energy of 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding every day. That’s what we are doing right now.

So despite the best efforts of CCAN and groups like us worldwide, we have much more work to do to fight dirty energy and promote clean power. In DC, here are two ways you can help right now…

See the full note from Mike>>

Camp David to DC: See you on the trail to stop Keystone XL?
From July 19th-July 27th, scores of activists will embark on a week-long walk from Camp David, MD to Washington, DC. Camp David was named after Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandson, and the march will pressure President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline in favor of bold climate solutions — for the future of all our children and grandchildren. At the same time, activists all across the country will hold creative actions — like raising a wind turbine directly in the path of Keystone XL — as part of the “Summer Heat” campaign. The temperatures will surely be rising in the dog days of July. But so will we. Will you join us on the trail? Learn more and sign up here.

DC needs wind and solar power not black liquor!
Would you rather support clean wind turbines or dirty black liquor with your DC electric bills? Once you learn what black liquor is — a paper mill waste byproduct that pollutes on par with coal — the choice is clear. This summer, CCAN organizing fellows will be educating District residents about the massive black liquor loophole in our city’s Renewable Porftolio Standard (RPS) law and building support for City Council action to close it. First, sign the petition yourself. Then, email DC Organizing Fellow Shelby Brown at shelbyb@chesapeakeclimate.org to learn how you can help gather petitions. Let’s ensure our clean energy dollars are spent on real clean energy!

Tell Governor O’Malley: Keep your promise to get the facts on fracking!
As we keep fighting for a legislative moratorium on fracking, we must also watchdog the fracking review process underway at state agencies. Under Governor O’Malley’s 2011 executive order on fracking, our state has only a year and some pocket change left to determine the full extent of the risks drilling poses to our water, air, and climate. The clock runs out in August 2014. Click here to tell Governor O’Malley: Keep your promises. Hold the line against dangerous drilling and ensure our state has the time and money needed to fully study fracking’s risks.

Want the full update on how Maryland state agencies are carrying out the Governor’s order? Check out Megan’s blog post.

Dirty coal’s new scheme to keep afloat and keep polluting
As the United States begins to move away from coal, coal executives are scrambling to keep their profits high by other means: exporting coal overseas. The stakes are high in our region. Existing coal ports in Baltimore and Norfolk saw record levels of exports in 2012. CCAN is working to block this surge of coal exports for two reasons: 1) We need to keep this pre-historic fuel in the ground to avoid climate disaster; and 2) More coal exports mean more pollution problems at home — from mountains destroyed in Appalachia to coal dust coating homes near railways to toxic pollution in waterways near ports.

We’re fighting back by challenging the export companies as they apply for pollution permits needed to expand their operations. We have our first opportunity to take action in Baltimore: Submit a public comment urging the Maryland Department of the Environment to strengthen water pollution controls at the CSX coal export piers on Baltimore’s Harbor.

Dominion’s new solar program — Is it for you?
Dominion’s new pilot solar purchase program has just opened for applications. Under the program, the company will buy solar power and the associated Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from customers, then sells the RECs to other customers. Check out our blog post explaining — How does it work? Is it good for consumers? Should you participate?

Chasing Ice Coming to Virginia
This summer, we’re bringing Chasing Ice, arguably the most stunning climate change documentary of the last year, to Virginia. It follows the story of a photographer struggling to document the melting of glaciers before they’re all gone. After seeing the film in DC in the fall, CCAN Virginia State Director Beth Kemler told the rest of the team that she wanted to change her Thanksgiving “what I’m thankful for” answer to “the fact that I got to see beautiful glaciers on a trip to Patagonia a few years ago, since they may be gone soon.” Watch the incredible trailer here. Interested in helping to organize a screening in your area? Contact Keith Thirion at keitht@chesapeakeclimate.org or 703-579-6645.

Greet VP Biden with a big “No Keystone XL!” message
Vice President Joe Biden is headlining a gala dinner in Richmond on June 29th, and we’ll be there to show him why Virginians need the administration to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. What would the pipeline mean for the commonwealth? Rising seas flooding Norfolk, hotter temperatures threatening our health and agriculture, more severe storms wreaking havoc on our communities. We’ll be outside the Jefferson Jackson dinner to highlight these climate consequences, which will only be more severe if the pipeline is approved. We need a huge group to show just how strongly we oppose Keystone XL. Sign up to bring a big #noKXL message to Vice President Biden on June 29th!

Success! Climate wake-up call reaches Dominion shareholders
Virginia shareholder activists had a breakthrough at Dominion Resources’s annual meeting last month in Richmond: A resolution on climate change written by CCAN received a record level of support!  InsideClimate News, which recently won a Pulitzer Prize for its investigation of a major tar sands oil spill, covered the vote. Read all about it here, including how Ruth McElroy Amundsen, a 51-year-old NASA engineer and mother of two, paved the way. Then, check out the recap on CCAN’s blog to see the “masterpieces” we displayed outside the meeting.

Ready…set…register for Power Shift 2013!
Power Shift 2013 registration is now open! What could be better than joining more than 10,000 young leaders in the forward-thinking city of Pittsburgh to hatch the plans that will win back our future? This incredible weekend of trainings, actions, inspiration and power-building will take place from October 18th-21st. In order to represent the Chesapeake region, we need to send hundreds of students from our area to Pittsburgh. Together, we’ll build our campaigns to divest from fossil fuels, fight fracking and win clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. Click here to register for Power Shift 2013. On Facebook, you can also join the official Power Shift 2013 event page and share this graphic to spread the word. Join the biggest youth climate convergence of our generation. Sign up before August 10th and pay less!

Meet Maryland community activist Ann Marie Nau

Ann is a resident of Myersville, a small community in Maryland fighting a huge natural gas compressor station that Dominion Transmission wants to build in the heart of their town. Fights like these are happening more and more across our region, as fracking increases the need for gas infrastructure like pipelines and compressor stations. Learn how Ann is pushing back with her neighbors and CCAN…

Your age: 46

Where you live: Myersville, MD

Your profession: Self-employed (transcriber) and stay-at-home Mom

Why are you a CCAN volunteer? I became aware of CCAN while researching organizations to help with our local fight against Dominion Transmission’s proposal to build a16,000 natural gas compressor station within the town limits of our rural community and have been inspired by CCAN’s mission, hard work and the dedication of their wonderful staff.

What has inspired you most working with CCAN? CCAN staff and volunteers are tireless! I have seen them in Western Maryland fighting fracking, in Annapolis working on various environmental and energy bills, in Frederick fighting the incinerator and compressor stations, in Baltimore hosting conferences, and throughout the state working on climate issues. They have marched on D.C. and are active in Virginia. Being a member of Myersville Citizens for a Rural Community and seeing first hand how hard it can be to build coalitions, I have always been impressed with CCAN’s willingness to work with other environmental groups.

What are the impacts of climate change and/or the fossil fuel industry that hit closest to home for you? As unconventional drilling expands, the infrastructure needed to support it also increases. My beautiful rural community nestled in the scenic Middletown Valley is being bull dozed by big business and the federal government via the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to place a huge natural gas compressor station in our town and within one mile of our elementary school. Despite the Town Council denying zoning approval, Dominion has been granted approval to proceed by FERC. If fracking proceeds in Western Maryland and if Dominion is granted the authority to export natural gas via the Cove Point facility, I am afraid Maryland will be faced with the same infrastructure development seen in Pennsylvania, which has turned much of the rural landscape into industrialized areas, polluting the land, water and air.

What do you hope to see happen to address climate change in the next year? On a local level, I am very concerned about the proposed Frederick incinerator and the prospect of fracking in Western Maryland as well as the proposed Cove Point Export Project.

What do you like to do when you’re not working on climate change? I enjoy bird watching, or nature watching in general. I’m a bit of a jack-of-all-trades (and master of none) so whatever project I currently have going, whether it be cupcake decorating for a party, sewing curtains, or working in my (mostly) native flower garden. I adore spending time with my nieces and nephews!

Who would you high five? I would most like to high five those people on the front lines who are negatively impacted by the coal and gas industry and who continue to fight, who continue to “speak truth to power,” and who refuse to be intimidated. It is their struggles that motivate me and remind me that I can no longer be silent.

April | Issue #64
Quick Links: DC & National | Maryland | Virginia | Students

FROM DIRECTOR MIKE TIDWELL

Friends,

First the good news: It’s official. As of today, hanging on the CCAN office wall, is a pen from Governor Martin O’Malley’s bill-signing ceremony for the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013! I was personally gratified to represent the entire Chesapeake Region – including DC – at the signing ceremony on April 9th.

Thanks to the Maryland bill, our region is now on track to incentivize hundreds of megawatts of wind power off the coast of Ocean City in the next few years. And this is just the start of what I believe will be a huge offshore wind industry from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras that will one day provide most of the East Coast’s electricity, while playing a key role in solving climate change.

But for right now, it’s DC’s turn to take a concrete step away from pollution and toward more wind power. How? Well, by banning a substance called “black liquor” that is actually preventing greater wind power development from happening in our region.

See the full note from Mike>>

Help clean up D.C.’s top renewable energy law
A dirty form of energy — the burning of a toxic paper making byproduct called “black liquor” — has snuck its way into the most important clean energy law in D.C., our Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS was intended to ensure that an increasing percentage of our energy comes from clean energy sources, like wind and solar power. Instead, a big loophole is allowing 79 percent of D.C’s renewable energy dollars to support old, polluting plants burning black liquor and inefficient wood waste. Starting this month, we’ll be asking the D.C. City Council to pass legislation to close the “black liquor loophole,” and make sure our renewable energy dollars incentivize true clean energy sources. Sign our petition urging the City Council to end the black liquor rip-off.

One million comments to stop Keystone XL
As the moment of truth on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline approaches — and the recent Exxon tar sands spill in Arkansas reminds us of the risks — the movement to stop the pipeline keeps getting louder and bolder. On March 21st, CCAN leaders joined Interfaith Moral Action on Climate for another peaceful demonstration of civil disobedience at the White House. Tar Sands Blockade activists, including former CCAN-er Ethan Nuss, continue to challenge tar sands profiteers across the country. Wherever President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and influential senators like Mark Warner go — including storefronts in Harrisonburg, Virginia — #noKXL activists are there. On April 22nd, Earth Day, the clock runs out to submit public comments on the State Department’s latest flawed environmental review of Keystone XL. Click here to submit yours and help us reach the ambitious national goal of one million #noKXL comments.

Victory: We won on offshore wind!
On April 9th, CCAN staff were on hand as Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the offshore wind power bill into law, positioning Maryland to lead in harnessing our state’s most abundant clean energy resource. This incredible victory belongs to all of you who took action over the past three years — by packing multiple hearing rooms, flooding key legislators’ offices with emails and phone calls, writing dozens of letters to the editor, and even circling the State House. Governor O’Malley went to bat to make offshore wind power a reality, and he deserves our thanks, too. Click here to send a note thanking Gov. O’Malley for his leadership!

MD Activist Call: Get the inside scoop from Annapolis
Do you want the inside scoop on what happened in Annapolis on e
nergy and climate issues during the 2013 legislative session? Are you wondering what you can do next to build on the momentum of our offshore wind victory? Join CCAN’s Maryland organizers and Mike for a grassroots conference call on Tuesday, April 16th at 7:30 p.m. You’ll learn more about our triumphs and challenges on wind, fracking, black liquor and other keys issues this year, and get a chance to ask questions about what’s ahead for the next few months. Sign up here to get the call-in details and join us on April 16th at 7:30pm.

Getting ready for Power Shift 2013
Have you heard? Power Shift 2013 has been officially announced! From October 18-21st, 10,000 students from across the country will converge in Pittsburgh, PA for a weekend of action, trainings, and unity as we combine our power to take on the fossil fuel industry and fight the climate crisis. Hundreds of Maryland, DC and Virginia students attended Power Shift 2011 in Washington, DC. We need hundreds more to come together this fall in Pittsburgh. Join fellow students from around the country to bring new power to our campaigns to fight fracking, divest from fossil fuels, and demand 100% clean energy on campus.

Click here to pre-register with CCAN today. Then, join the Power Shift 2013 Facebook page, and stay tuned for more information on registration and coordinating travel from your campus.

Virginia’s campus climate leaders come together
Students from across Virginia came together in early April for a leadership summit in Richmond, where they developed a long-term vision for a unified campus climate movement. Students left the summit, hosted by the Virginia Alliance for a Cleaner Environment (VACE) and CCAN, re-energized and ready to keep building a strong statewide network. Read more about the summit and learn how to get involved here.

Introducing Project Planet
This Earth Month, CCAN is telling Dominion Power — Virginia’s top climate polluter — to go beyond token “green” efforts like tree planting and to start making a plan to reduce its climate-disrupting emissions. The project, called Project Planet, launched on April Fools’ Day, when thousands of Virginians saw the spoof headline “Dominion to go carbon neutral!” in emails, on social media or in their local newspaper boxes. Check out the video here.

Throughout April, parents, faith communities, and other concerned Virginians across the commonwealth are working together to demand a new direction from Dominion for the sake of those with the most at stake: our children, grandchildren and future generations. By collecting petitions to Dominion, submitting letters to the editor of local newspapers, and working with kids and youth on creative projects, we are telling Dominion to take serious action to address climate change. Sign the petition, and then sign up to get more involved here.

Hybrid tax moves forward. Next step: Repeal
When Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Virginia’s transportation bill into law this month, an outrageous attack on climate solutions — a new annual tax on hybrid car owners — became state law. Bending to public outcry, the governor reduced the hybrid tax from $100 to $64 per year. But we’ve crunched the numbers and that’s still an arbitrary and excessive amount that unfairly punishes Virginians trying to do their part for the climate. To protest the tax, CCAN supporters led a honking parade of hybrid and electric cars around the Capitol in Richmond and delivered more than one thousand petitions urging the governor to veto it. Next year, we’ll work with our allies in the General Assembly to push for legislation to repeal the hybrid tax.

Meet our Maryland Campus Organizer, Shilpa Joshi

Your age: 25

Where you live: Washington, DC

Your work background: Before joining CCAN this February, I was an educator for the Alliance for Climate Education, where I taught high school students about climate change and solutions. I also had a stint with a performing arts non-profit called Capital Fringe.

Why are you a CCAN employee? I want to inspire young climate activists as I was once inspired by a CCAN
organizer. When I was a student at American University, former CCAN-er Matt Stern taught us valuable organizing and leadership tactics that fueled us to success in several campaigns.

What has inspired you most working for CCAN so far? Although I started after the bulk of the work was finished on the campaign, our offshore wind bill victory was incredibly empowering.

What have you contributed to bringing about a clean energy revolution that you are most proud of? Fighting to offset 100% of American University’s energy use with wind power credits (to great success)!

Who would you high five? Hillary Clinton.

January | Issue #63
Quick Links: DC & National | Maryland | Virginia | Students

FROM DIRECTOR MIKE TIDWELL

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2012 was the hottest year on the record books – in the nation’s capital and in the U.S. as a whole. As extreme weather intensifies at home and worldwide, CCAN continues to push for stronger clean energy policies across our region and to fight bad energy choices that undercut our gains in reducing carbon pollution.

This year we are excited to be working with other clean energy advocates in Washington, D.C. to introduce a bill that will clean up the District’s renewable energy law. While nearby Mid-Atlantic states such as Delaware and New Jersey get more than 70 percent of their renewable energy resources from the wind and sun, these resources make up only 4 percent of DC’s portfolio.

Meanwhile, on the national front, I know you were pleased – as I was – to see President Obama so prominently mention climate change in his inaugural address last week…

See the full note from Mike>>

Help make Feb. 17th the biggest climate rally in U.S. history
Crippling drought. Devastating wildfires. Superstorm Sandy. Climate change has come home — and President Obama must take immediate action to move our country forward in 2013. At noon on Sunday, February 17th, join CCAN, 350.org, the Sierra Club and scores of other groups on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the #ForwardOnClimate Rally. It’s going to be huge – you’ll want to be part of the biggest crowd of climate activists to ever converge on Washington. It’s also the next big way we’ll set the tone for President Obama’s second term, urging him to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline and lead toward climate solutions.

Sign up: Join us Sunday, Feb. 17 for this historic climate rally.

‘Polar bears’ splash into an icy Potomac
On Saturday, as temperatures hovered in the 20s and ice coated the beach, close to 200 “polar bears” splashed into the Potomac River to raise awareness and funds for solutions to climate change. Thanks to plungers and their sponsors, our 8th annual “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge was one of our biggest yet — we exceeded our goal of raising $60,000 to fund CCAN’s work. Congresswoman Donna Edwards joined us for the third year in a row; Dr. James Hansen and Rev. Lennox Yearwood for their second. 11-year-old Rebekah Rowe took part for her fifth year in a row, raising more than $1,400 (even though she couldn’t splash in because of a bout of pneumonia). Special thanks to our event sponsors, and everyone who made this year’s plunge such a success! 

See photos here and click here to pitch in to support Rebekah’s plunge fundraising.

Offshore wind energy gets a strong gust of momentum
The support for offshore wind energy in Maryland continues to grow. New polling shows 72 percent of Maryland voters back investing in this clean energy resource, an increase of 8 points since last year. Last week at the General Assembly, Gov. O’Malley joined CCAN, allies and House and Senate leaders to announce the introduction of offshore wind energy legislation with 24 Senate co-sponsors — the same number of senators needed to pass a bill. Want to help ensure a strong offshore wind bill gets across the finish line this year? Email Megan Jenny, MD field coordinator, at megan@chesapeakeclimate.org to join our Wind Media Rapid Response team.

Step forward for the facts on fracking
Just a week after CCAN-ers held a water “taste test” in Annapolis to showcase the threat fracking poses to Maryland’s drinking water, Gov. O’Malley announced that he is setting aside money in his proposed budget to begin funding studies of the risks of fracking in Maryland. This is a victory for the grassroots movement we’ve built together over the past year, but we know it’s not enough. We must continue to press legislators to pass a fracking moratorium that guarantees legal protections against fracking while the risk studies go forward — and that ensures they provide a full accounting of the many dangers fracking poses to our climate, health and environment.

Take Action: Email your legislators and urge them to pass a fracking moratorium now.

Victory: Polluter pays for coal ash violations
Early this year, CCAN and allies won a three-year legal fight to force GenOn to clean up three coal ash landfills in Maryland that had been cited for hundreds of violations under the Clean Water Act. Often called coal’s “dirty little secret,” coal ash is a woefully unregulated, toxic byproduct of burning coal at power plants. It’s often dumped into unlined ponds or landfills that are known to leach toxins into waterways and drinking water supplies across the country. GenOn has agreed to pay $2.2 million in penalties and to clean up its Maryland landfills. Finally, nearby residents will get the protections they deserve from toxic coal ash pollution. Read more in the Baltimore Sun.

Own a hybrid? Want a safe climate? Join us Thursday in Richmond
With the General Assembly attacking climate solutions at seemingly every turn so far this legislative session, it’s time to make our voices — and hybrid car horns — heard even louder at the Capitol this Thursday. Divisive anti-climate proposals on lawmakers’ docket include: a new tax on owners of hybrid and electric vehicles, the rollback of our state’s already weak clean energy goals, and the elimination of the state gas tax, which would make Virginia the only state without one. On Jan. 31st, we’ll stand up to these attacks with a picket and parade of hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles at the Capitol. Our mantra: tax pollution, not solutions!

Sign up: Join us 1/31 to “Stop the Assault on Climate Solutions.” (If you own a hybrid or electric car, check the box when you sign up for info on joining the parade.)

You’re turning heads at the General Assembly
Even if we aren’t seeing the response we need yet from our legislators, CCAN-ers like you have turned out repeatedly — in bigger numbers than ever before — during this session at the Capitol. So far, more than 100 of you have made the trek to Richmond to watchdog key committee meetings, turn out for rallies, meet with your legislators, and even hold a clean energy “dance party.” We’re hearing from legislators and journalists alike that they’ve definitely taken notice of the droves of people in bright green “Fix the RPS – Wind and Solar Now!” t-shirts walking the halls of the General Assembly. With your help, we’re showing our growing power as a movement!

If you can’t make it to Richmond on Thursday, please email your legislators now and urge them to stand up for climate solutions.

Virginia students give legislators a climate wake-up call
In the midst of returning to classes and preparing for the next semester of school, students across Virginia came together this month to demand real climate solutions at the state Capitol — and to fight the move by climate change-denier Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Dominion Power to effectively repeal Virginia’s core clean energy law. Highlights of the month included: an impromptu lobby meeting between William & Mary students with Senator John Miller, a “stand-in” with community members during a Commerce & Labor Committee meeting, where bright green t-shirts spelled out “We need REAL RPS solutions,” and, of course — the flash mob in front of the General Assembly building with over two dozen students ‘waking up’ from a nap, taking off their bright green blindfolds, and breaking out into dance to deliver a Wake-Up Call
. It’s safe to say that our state Senators and Delegates may never look at a bright green t-shirt the same way again.

Check out the flash mob video here, and let us know if you have some fun ideas to spice things up at the General Assembly this session!

Meet our Executive Assistant & Special Projects Coordinator, Susan Yin

Your age: 22

Where you live: Washington, DC

Your work background: I came to DC during my last quarter in college, interning for the Wilderness Society. There, I worked on the last push for the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and gathered data on states’ progress on Renewable Portfolio Standards. After graduating in fall 2011, I decided to stay in the capital area and pursue a career in nonprofit environmental work. From there, I joined the Health & Environment team at the National Environmental Education Foundation. My main role was to expand the program’s online communications efforts in order to advance environmental knowledge among health professionals and improve public health, with a special emphasis on children and underserved populations. I joined CCAN last August.

Why are you a CCAN employee? While climate change is a global challenge, social change always begins from the ground up. CCAN is a group with a special focus on grassroots organizing. We are educating and engaging local citizens and communities that are all personally affected by the impact of burning dirty fossil fuels. Together, we are building an ever-expanding clean energy movement.

What has inspired you most working for CCAN so far? My colleagues’ and CCAN supporters’ passion and relentless efforts to fight climate change.

What have you contributed to bringing about a clean energy revolution that you are most proud of? One year after my work at the Wilderness Society, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the solar energy development PEIS, establishing 17 solar energy zones in six western states. This is only the beginning for domestic utility-scale solar energy production and I can’t wait for more renewable energy projects to come online!

Who would you high five? My high school AP Environmental Science teacher. She would be proud!