Volunteer Night to Stop Coal!

Are you ready to fight coal?

All across the country coal plants are being rejected. Yet somehow in Virginia we are building a new coal fired plant in Wise County and proposing a plant three times the size in the Hampton Roads area.

During the presidential campaign, both candidates invested a lot of time and energy to make phone calls in to key swing states to influence critical votes to win the election. This is a GREAT strategy to win.

In our campaign to stop this proposed plant, we have critical votes just like swing state votes. Right now, Virginians living in electric cooperatives served by Old Dominion Electric Coop have a unique voice in this fight. Tomorrow night we will start calling these folks to educate them on why this coal plant is a bad investment and get them to take action!

We will be meeting tomorrow at the St Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington, near the Clarendon Metro stop for our first volunteer night to stop coal. The details are below, and I hope that you can join us.

What: Volunteer Night to Stop Coal!

Where: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Parish
3304 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, Virginia 22201

When: Tuesday, April 13th 5:30-7:30pm

**We will have a couple of laptops on hand, but please if you have one, bring your own as well as your cell phone..**

Any questions please email: Lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org

Thank you activists: MD's Climate Bill is Done!

Dear CCAN activists,

It is with great pride that I announce that today, on the last day of the 2009 session of the MD General Assembly, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act jumped through the last logistical legislative hoop, and is headed to Governor O’Malley’s desk for signing. If you haven’t already done so, take a moment to thank/spank your legislator for their vote on the bill.Remember this? Rally for Global Warming in the snow!

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for all the hard work you did over the past few years. Thank you for calling your legislator – and calling others in your district to tell them to make a call as well. Thank you for coming to Annapolis during a snow storm to show Governor O’Malley and the General Assembly that we were serious about passing this bill. Thank you for coming BACK to Annapolis to lobby and to thank the Governor for his support. Thank you for organizing constituent meetings in your district, attending town hall meetings across the state, and making sure that every legislator in the state knows that fighting global warming is a top priority for MD voters.

And the timing couldn’t be better: we’re gearing up for a big fight on the federal level, with two climate bills already introduced. Here in MD, we can be proud of doing our part to add to the pressure Congress is feeling to pass something strong – and we need to make sure that our elected officials on Capital Hill know that we plan on holding them accountable to passing strong climate legislation, just like we did on the state level.

Thanks again for all your hard work,

Holly, MD Campaign Coordinator, and the rest of the CCAN team

PS – Keep your ears open for details on a thank you celebration and victory party, to be scheduled some time in May.

Virginia General Assembly defeats energy efficiency measures

As you saw if you tuned in to Lauren’s detailed twitter feed last night, the Virginia House of Delegates killed the Governor’s amendment to SB 1248 which would have re-instated a voluntary target for reducing Virginia’s energy use 19% by 2025 through energy efficiency measures. The vote was close: 47 in favor, 50 against. The amendment squeaked by in the Senate by a vote of 22-18.

In the other energy efficiency bill that landed on the Governor’s desk, Delegate Pollard’s bill HB2506, the General Assembly passed the Governor’s amendments which removed a bad portion of the bill giving authority to the Attorney General’s office to study energy efficiency programs implemented by the utilities and added a positive addition to require the SCC to consider energy efficiency and environmental protection when reviewing applications from small-scale industrial facilities for opting out of energy efficiency programs. The original language only looked at economic development as the sole point for opt out consideration. This bill passed the Senate 23-17 and the House 47-44.

Just to put things in perspective: Virginia currently ranks 45th in the country in percentage of utility revenues spent on efficiency – a total of just $84,000 statewide in 2006. In comparison, utilities in Alabama and Mississippi spent more than $400,000, and North Carolina energy providers spent $3.8 million.The bills passed this session do help move efficiency measures closer to being on a level playing field with new generation like coal-fired power plants. But the completely fail to set even a voluntary target, which is necessary to counter subsidies in Virginia for coal power.

It’s very unfortunate that the target was defeated but at least we now have some form of energy efficiency on the books. This gives us a foundation to work from next year to push even harder for stronger language. And the votes were close, which just goes to show that a statewide mobilization of grassroots efforts can be effective here in Virginia.

Press release here.

More detailed analysis coming soon.

Va. Lawmakers Kill Key Energy-Efficiency Target in One-Day Veto Session

In the one-day veto session yesterday, the General Assembly rejected a critical amendment from Gov. Tim Kaine on SB 1248 that would have set a voluntary goal of reducing energy use 19% by 2025, a primary recommendation of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change. The Wise Energy for Virginia coalition and other clean-energy advocates strongly criticized lawmakers for rejecting the Governor’s amendment to the bill. The Senate narrowly passed the amendment by a 22-18 vote but the House rejected it by a 50-47 vote. Continue reading

The VA efficiency bill is about to pass in the General Assembly!

Efficiency was a hot issue this past General Assembly session. The bills that passed were short of our goals, but in a midnight amendment, Governor Kaine added efficiency targets, which gives us tangible goals to work towards and sets precedent for passing a mandatory standard next session.

The General Assembly reconvenes today to vote on all the amendments put forth by the governor. Stay tuned here to get the up-to-the-tweet updates from Richmond.

People talking about the Virginia Efficiency bill on Twitter

Follow CCAN on Twitter!

Jellyfish Burger: the delicious new global warming snack of champions

One of the bonus side effects of global warming is that warming water is super hospitable to jellyfish. This will have impacts in the Chesapeake Bay as well – more open seas as marsh lands floods, along with warmer temperatures and dead zones caused by algae blooms all mean more jellyfish.

The fate of the crab cake sandwich that you love so much? Well, since blue crabs are in trouble due to loss of habitat, we’re going to have to replace them with the squishier and potentially less delicious jellyfish burger, like this one,

DC residents: save some green on local eco-products!

Want to save some $ while supporting sweet local businesses like Sticky Fingers (mmm, vegan treats!), Clean Currents (yay! wind cheaper than coal!), and Zipcar? (ok, so Zipcar’s not local. They’re still pretty awesome.)

Now you can with LiveGreen, a new organization where, for a membership of only $13, you get special deals and discounts from local eco-friendly businesses, from energy auditors to yoga studios to clean energy businesses. Check it out!

Now that’s what I call going green.

Van Hollen Releases Cap and Dividend Act of 2009

Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8), one of the highest-ranking members of the U.S. House of Representatives, today unveiled landmark legislation to help solve the global warming crisis. Van Hollen’s “Cap and Dividend Act of 2009” employs a novel but increasingly popular approach that will help grow our economy and help working families prosper. It is simple, transparent and fair. Continue reading

Having fun, low-carbon style

With a new carbon-free economy in the works, we’re going to need to start thinking creatively about how we entertain ourselves. Seriously. The carbon-budget of a Hollywood blockbuster is generally out of control (transportation for starlets, megawatt lighting, building all those crazy pyramid sets…), so I think we should support more entertainment like this:

Why it’s awesome and low-carbon:

1. LEDs. Nuff said.

2. No special treatment for the sheep stars.

3. It’s outside, and involves all low impact technology for fun. Like dogs.

So here’s what I suggest. Next time you and your friends are looking for something fun to do, get on your bikes, grab some LEDs, and make your own fun. Extreme sheepherding style.