Police Arrest Climate Protesters in Brussels

by David Sassoon, from Solve Climate

Photographers Phillipe Reynaers and Eric de Mildt shot these pictures today of a protest in Belgium which was organized by Greenpeace to pressure EU finance Ministers to help developing nations tackle climate change. It was yet another example of the growing frequency of civil disobedience in support of climate action.

 

Last week in the Washington, D.C., thousands of protesters risked arrest to surround the coal-burning power plant that supplies Congress with electricity in the largest act of civil disobedience in support of climate action on US soil. The capital’s police force declined to make any arrests.

Continue reading

EPA & Clean Cars

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering reversing a Bush administration decision that has prevented California and other states from taking action to reduce global warming pollution from cars – they’re holding a hearing on this very issue today, March 5th. In addition, the EPA is taking public comment before making a ruling.

What does this mean? It means that MD, DC and the 11 other states that passed the California standard for stricter vehicle emissions can actually start implementing this law, something that was blocked by the EPA under our friend George W.

So what can you do? The We Campaign has a petition going to the EPA, showing people’s support for the California clean cars waiver. Check it out. By which I mean: take a moment to sign it – it’s another small step in the right direction.

Clean Water: A blow against mountain top removal mining

black mountain, mtr
In what could be a major victory for Virginia’s mountains, the Clean Water Protection Act was introduced in the Senate today with a record 115 co-sponsors. The act would outlaw the act of dumping mining waste into streams, a crucial and destructive step in mountain top removal mining.

607 Virginia students attended Power Shift this weekend, and lobbied their representatives to end the destructive practice of MTR. Many of these students are from areas in Virginia that have been devastated by this practice, which blows the tops off mountains and dumps the waste in the valleys and streams below, just to get at a seam of coal that could be only 4 inches thick. Wise County, where Dominion is planning to build a new coal plant, has already seen

MD Senate Passes Global Warming Bill

While I was busy protesting coal in Washington DC, the MD state senate passed GGERA, a with a whopping vote of 36-9. Check out the vote count after the jump.

And last week, while I was at PowerShift 09, two committees in the House of Delegates held a hearing on the bill, which also went well.

What’s next? The House committees will hold a vote (hopefully sometime in the next few weeks), and then it’s on to the Senate floor. Overall, things are looking good, but of course, I will let you know the minute anything changes.

I also want to take a moment to send a giant THANK YOU shout-out to all of you, the grassroots activists who worked on this bill so tirelessly for the past few years. You are the ones responsible for making MD’s leadership on global warming a reality!
Continue reading

Artists for the Climate Event

Artists for the Climate: A Night with Wendell Berry, McKibben and Speth

We are honored to host Wendell Berry, one of the giants in environmental literature

"We're doing this for you!"

captiol climate action

When I arrived at Spirit of Justice park, at least four inches of snow were on the ground and more was coming down. On the largest day of civil disobedience on climate change in history, an unusual March snowstorm hit the region. Braving the cold, frozen toes and wet snow, thousands of activists still came out to participate in this action. They were joined by the “stars” of climate activism: Bill McKibben, Gus Speth, James Hansen, Wendell Berry, Mike Tidwell and others, and by stars in other realms: Robert Kennedy and Daryl Hannah. Check out pictures and video on the Capitol Climate Action site.

As we marched around the plant, residents in the neighborhood came out to yell cheers of support. Standing in the doorway with her young son, a woman shouted, “Thank you!” Continue reading

Coal Action Heats Up

It’s no secret that Virginia’s General Assembly is overly influenced by coal interests. Northern Virginia’s Dick Saslaw has accepted $85,000 contributions from Dominion Power and their investment has paid off. Over the years he has blocked any action to regulate the coal industry, and this year he even stepped up to block an efficiency bill that could have saved Virginians approximately $15 billion on electricity bills by 2025. These efforts have earned him the title, “the poster boy for the Commonwealth’s culture of coal-fired corruption” by Huffington Post. But he’s small beans compared to the federal legislators who are backed by coal.

This video by American News Project connects Monday’s Capitol Climate Acton and Power Shift to the embedded coal interests in congress. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has taken over a half a million from the coal industry, and has blocked efforts by some congress people, including Virginia’s Jim Moran to convert the coal plant that powers Capitol Hill to natural gas.

“For every member of congress, there are four lobbyists who are working on climate change, many who are opposed to sharp carbon reductions.”