Video: Keystone XL Victory
We stopped the Keystone XL pipeline! Take a moment to pat yourself on the back. I sure tried to enjoy the moment, as well as the flood of emails I received from friends and family across the county who were just as excited as I am.
The video below is an excellent wrap up of the campaign and has Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska and Bill McKibbin of 350.org’s immediate thoughts after the victory.
Bill also plugs the action happening on Tuesday the 24th here in DC. As Congress returns to business, we’ll be ready to blow the whistle on their corruption. Hundreds will gather at the Capitol dressed in referee uniforms, and then heading to the American Petroleum Institute – Big Oil’s top lobby – to do the same. Check out the facebook event here if you are interested in attending!
As Bill McKibbin said in this video- this is a “real victory for people standing up. ” So here’s to standing up for what you believe in!
Groups to Sue Over Delayed Coal Ash Standards
Offshore Wind activists an unmatched force at Maryland General Assembly opener
If measured by the turnout at the rally at the Annapolis state house yesterday, of all the issues confronting the Maryland General Assembly as it reconvenes this week, offshore wind power enjoys the most energetic public support.
Maintaining the grassroots momentum from a statewide series of packed “Wind Works” town hall forums, over 100 citizen clean energy advocates from across Maryland descended on Lawyers’ Mall on Wednesday morning to greet returning state lawmakers with an unequivocal message: “Get it done in 2012! Wind works for Marylanders’ health, jobs, climate and energy costs!”
Decked out in blue campaign t-shirts, wind advocates were the most visible activist presence on the opening morning of the 2012 legislative session. The impressive show of support for a cold weekday morning jibed with recent statewide poll results which showed that nearly two-thirds of Marylanders support developing the state’s robust offshore wind energy resources, even if it means a small initial bump in energy costs.
Speaking to the rally crowd, state Senate Majority Leader, Rob Garagiola scoffed at charges from critics that Marylanders can’t afford to invest in offshore wind: “The price of coal goes up; the price of gas goes up. Does the price of wind ever go up?
The crowd responded with a resounding, “No!”
“That’s right,” Garagiola continued, “It doesn’t go up. This is going to save ratepayers money.”
Other speakers included the state House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, climate justice and health advocate Vernice Miller Travis, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Director Mike Tidwell, MD Delegate Tom Hucker, Johns Hopkins student Tippy Patrinos, business innovator Joe Gaskins, and state Senator Paul Pinsky.
After the rally, the sea of blue shirts shifted from the mall to the inside of the state house and the legislative office buildings where activists took the wind works message to legislators and other dignitaries.
On his way to address the opening session, Governor Martin O’Malley stopped to greet wind activists distributing fliers on the mall, and reiterated his support for pushing the bill through the Assembly this year. The Governor’s new offshore-wind energy bill is expected to drop in the next few weeks along with the rest of his ambitious legislative package. With other big ticket issues like same-sex marriage, a proposed sales or gas tax increase on the agenda clean energy advocates certainly have their work cut out for them in keeping wind at the top of the priority list. But if advocates keep bringing the same grassroots energy they brought to Annapolis on Wednesday, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Learn more about the “Wind Works for Maryland” campaign and get involved at www.marylandoffshorewind.org.
New Poll Numbers Bolster Evidence for Statewide Support of Offshore Wind Power
Marylanders: Rally for State's Clean Energy Future!
In less than one week on Wednesday, January 11th, the Maryland General Assembly will begin its 2012 session. If reducing childhood asthma attacks, bringing back Maryland manufacturing, and solving our climate crisis are important to you, there will be one issue you’ll be watching above all others: offshore wind power.
And if offshore wind power is important to you, please join Marylanders from across the state at 10:30am next Wednesday to rally in front of the State House as legislators enter for the first time this year. Let’s show our leaders that we are expecting leadership on Maryland’s clean energy future. They’ve passed laws to develop renewable energy and reduce global warming pollution. Now it’s time to fulfill the promise of those laws and we’ll need offshore wind power to do it.
Solar Energy Myths
This is reposted from Solar Energy World.
Solar energy is on the cusp of becoming a mainstream form of energy. As more information about alternative energy flies around the Internet, it is important to realize that not everything you hear about solar energy is true. Here are the top five myths about going solar:
Wind Power and Efficiency Make Big Gains Under Utility Merger Agreement Today Approved by Gov. O’Malley
Activists Issue Letter to MD House Speaker and Senate President: Pass Offshore Wind Bill in 2012 for Jobs and Health
Dr. James Hansen & 10-year-old Rebekah Rowe Join Forces for the Climate
Dr. James Hansen, the nation’s leading climate scientist, is most recognizable as the scientist who sounded the alarm about climate change at a Senate hearing in 1988. Following Dr. Hansen’s testimony, global warming first gained international awareness. In recent years, Dr. Hansen has become an activist for action to mitigate the effects of climate change, which on a few occasions has led to his arrest. He often touts the concept of intergenerational justice — the idea that we must preserve the earth’s climate for the benefit of future generations.