"If you don't do politics, politics will do you."

Last Saturday at the Prince George’s County Green Power Awakening, politicians, business leaders, and local citizens came together to talk about their vision for a “greener” PG county – one that creates new jobs, protects waterways, diverts new growth in smart and green ways, and helps head off climate change by reducing carbon emissions. It was pretty amazing, actually, the discussions that all of these diverse stakeholders were having about how going green would benefit all of us. I’m not going to go too much into the details of the event itself, since the Gazette had a great write up of what happened.

Instead, I want to focus on the keynote speech given by Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus. There were the anecdotes about how far the Hip Hop Caucus has come in building community power over the last four years – going from protesting outside the White House to drinking tea and eating cheese on little sticks inside building with President Obama.

But what really stuck with me was this phrase, which reminded me once again why I do the work that I do: “If you don’t do politics, politics will do you.”

I’d never put it that way before, but the desire to not let politics “do me” is why I started going to anti-war marches as a college student. Why I get so excited about working for CCAN every day, as we’re continually doing politics here in MD and keeping our leaders accountable. Why I’m willing to risk arrest on March 2nd because it will mean sending a clear message to our elected leaders that it’s time to power past coal – that we cannot keep building and maintaining dirty coal plants that spew global warming pollution into our atmosphere.

In writing this, I realized that the sentence about doing politics also applies to global warming in a way. If we don’t step up and start drastically make changes in the way we get our energy and commute to work and build where we live, global warming is going to start to do us – all of us – in a major way.

MD Environmentalists Are Awesome Once Again

A full house (image courtesy of Gene Huskey)Ok, so this is a little bit overdue (though, honestly, MD enviros are awesome all the time, so this may not even be news). But on Monday, they showed up in full force in Annapolis once again to make sure that all of MD’s legislators know that we’re watching them as they consider a bevy of environmental bills.

This year, priority legislation includes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act (of course), a package for Smart and Fair Growth, Defunding the ICC, and greening the budget. For details on all the priorities, MD League of Conservation Voters is a great resource.

Also in the works are a BUNCH of bills that will help MD reach the reduction targets of the GGRA in a swift and effective manner. So stay tuned also for updates on:

Secretary Shari Wilson talks about GGRA (photo courtesy of Gene Huskey)1. Energy Efficient Buildings

Call Senators – loan guarantees for nukes AND "clean coal" in stimulus package!

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee late on the night of January 27 snuck in a provision to President Obama’s economic stimulus package that would allow as much as $50 BILLION of your dollars to be used as loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear reactors. This would be on top of the $18.5 Billion taxpayer dollars already authorized by Congress during the Bush administration.

Please CALL your Senators today (202-224-3121).

These loan guarantees would mean more nuclear reactors and more radioactive waste piling up in communities across our country. They would also mean less money for safer, cheaper and cleaner energy alternatives like solar and wind power.

The provision is vaguely worded. It would authorize $50 Billion in new loan guarantees for “eligible technologies.” These technologies include nuclear, “clean coal,” renewable energy sources and electric transmission. But the stimulus package is intended to create new jobs and economic activity over the next two years. Not only should new nuclear reactors and the false concept of

Fight for Bike Rights

Sweet bikes (like this one) are yet another way that we can help fight global warming. Not that I need to tell you all this – after all, the easier it is to bike, the more people will do so, and the fewer cars we’ll be using. Woo!

If you want to learn more, and get involved in some MD bike advocacy, check out the Maryland Bike Symposium on February 4th, hosted by One Less Car.

Learn about MD’s bike trails, upcoming legislation,

WANTED: Citizen Scientists

Youth ages 13-26 are invited to submit original scientific research or position papers to the Citizen Science Technical Board for the 2009 Citizen Science paper competition! Winners will, in addition to publication, have the chance to present their work at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD), convening at the United Nations Headquarters (NYC) from May 4-15, 2009.

“The ability to speak before some of the most influential people in the
world was indeed an honor and something that I will remember for years to come.”
Continue reading

Schools, the dealth penalty, and global warming

What do these things have in common?

They’re part of Governor O’Malley’s legislative agenda. Woo!

Of course, the part that I really care about is the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act of 2009 (formally known as the Global Warming Solutions Act), also known as SB 278 to the policy wonks. For a summary of exactly what the bill does, you can check out O’Malley’s list of legislative priorities. It’s on page 10. Oh, and by the way, thank our favorite clean energy superhero if you haven’t already.

So why do I keep getting so excited about this bill? Well, a lot of reasons. Not only does it take a crucial step in regulating our global warming pollution right here in MD, it also creates jobs and stimulates the economy (check out this report for how investing in clean energy will create thousands of jobs here in MD). It puts us on the right path to actually reducing pollution right here in MD – something that’s sorely needed considering that we emit almost as much global warming pollution as Sweden and Norway combined, even though MD is WAY smaller in size.

The best part, though, is broad-ranging support this bill has. For the first time, Maryland’s top labor leaders and many key manufacturing companies support the legislation. This is thanks to in-depth discussions facilitated by the Governor’s staff late last year and involving all key stakeholders from across the state. We hope these kinds of stakeholder meetings can be seen as an example as other states and the federal government move forward on climate legislation. During facilitated stakeholder meetings it became clear that, in addition to Maryland’s global warming bill, we also need a very strong federal carbon cap. This cap will complement Maryland’s effort by creating a level national playing field for industries and workers. Maryland can take a big step by passing this bill, but our one state can only do so much. After the passage of this bill, we’ll be setting our sights on Washington and look forward to working with Maryland’s influential federal leaders to champion much-needed climate legislation.

By the way: as your friendly and official Annapolis Correspondent, I’ll be posting updates on the GGRA as it moves through the legislative process, and keeping you informed on how to get involved. The next step for the bill? A hearing in the Senate Committee on Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs. If there are any shenanigans, you’ll be the first to know. Continue reading