Pigs Can Fly and "Clean Coal" Sings!

clean coal carolers

Wow! I don’t know what’s more disgusting, the lies of the clean coal industry or the the messengers they have chosen: anthropomorphic lumps of singing coal. I joke not! You can see the “Clean Coal Carolers” here in their jolly polluting glory. Really, I’m torn about what to make of these jovial Christmas turds. On one hand it is the funniest thing ever! Holy crap just listen to them! I couldn’t have created a more perfect mockery of the “clean coal” myth if I tried. Coal will be clean when pigs can fly…..or when coal starts singning. I only hope that when these coal types see the spikes in traffic to their site that they can trace most of the attention to the mockery of climate activists in the blogosphere.

But on the other hand I feel a deep sickness in my stomach to know that it’s creators truly believe that the American public is stupid enough to be won over by some festive fossils. No amount of smiling googly-eyed lumps of coal can hide the tragic devastation that coal has wrecked on our communities and our children. Unconscionable. We must continue to do everything within our power to fight this foolishness.

In the meantime, “clean coal” thanks for the laugh.

Maryland's Manufacturing Moguls and Me

As many of you know, Maryland’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act died a slow and painful death mainly because of opposition from the industrial community – the usual suspects in the lineup of enviros vs “them”. That’s how I saw these folks – the other who obviously didn’t care about my future, and wanted to make as much money as possible while destroying any chance we’d have of combating climate change.

However, because the clashes of 2008 Session of the General Assembly were so acrimonious, a series of stakeholder meetings and discussions were set up by Maryland’s Department of the Environment to try and work out a compromise. Even though MD’s climate action plan calls for no explicit changes to be made in the industrial sector with a net benefit to the state’s coffers (check out pg 36 for a cool graph), I wasn’t too hopeful that the industry folks would be willing to compromise on anything that cut into profit margins, especially with the spiraling news of economic downturn.

As a matter of fact, these meetings have been eye-opening for me. We’re breaking down the us-vs-them mentality on both sides of the table. Yesterday afternoon, an industry representative turned to me and said “Maryland being a leader on global warming isn’t just about having the most aggressive reduction targets – we can lead by breaking the impasse between environmentalists and manufacturers that’s been around for decades.”

From the first meeting, everyone in the room agreed on three goals: 1) Significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 2)Protect existing jobs, and 3) Grow Maryland’s economy.

So I don’t want to jinx everything by preemptively trumpeting our victory, but I do want to share that there is some compromise on policy that would accomplish the above goals. Stay tuned – I’ll let everyone know what the details of the 2009 bill are as soon as they’re finalized! But what I’m really excited about, as cheesy as it sounds, are the relationships that we’re building. Who knows?

A Reality Check for "Clean" Coal

If you’re like me and you found yourself heckling the TV set one too many times this election season in response to the countless commercials and candidate plugs for the oxymoron of the century – clean coal

CCAN is looking for INTERNS!

sarah
Sarah, CCAN intern, having fun with CCAN.

Clean Energy Internships

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is accepting applications for Clean Energy spring internships.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Our mission is to educate and mobilize citizens of this region in a way that fosters a rapid societal switch to clean energy and energy-efficient products, thus joining similar efforts worldwide to slow and perhaps halt the dangerous trend of global warming.

We are in need of 3-4 qualified and dedicated individuals to work with us in several different capacities. We are looking for interns to support the following areas:

* Communications/media support for our clean energy and global warming campaigns/trainings.
* Campus Climate Challenge campaign and other campus activities
* Federal and state policy campaigns in Virginia and Maryland, with focus on grassroots activism
* Web Development/Online campaigns

In your cover letter, please indicate whether you would be most interested in working on the national, campus or state campaigns.

The position requires a commitment of at least 15 hours/week during Spring ’08 (January – May). Location of the internship is flexible. Dependent focus – campus or state – interns may have the option of working at the Takoma Park or Richmond offices, or from home.

Applicants should have excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to work independently, experience with organizing on campuses, and a strong commitment to clean energy and the fight against global warming. Positions available beginning in September.

Contact information

Please e-mail cover letter, resume and one optional short writing sample (500 words or less) to:

Holly Gorman
holly@chesapeakeclimate.org
P.O. Box 11138
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Got $6 billion? Another new coal plant proposed for VA

On Tuesday, good ol’ king coal proposed another new coal plant for Virginia, but this time it’s going to be over 3 times as expensive and in Richmond’s back yard. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative says it will cost $6 billion to build the plant, which is necessary “to meet energy demand that the cooperative projects will double in the next two decades.”

Of course this is outrageous. Despite the climate crisis, and the fact that 72% of Virginians believe that immediate action is needed to address global warming, the coal barons of Virginia are still trying to sneak through midnight coal plants.

It’s ironic that this announcement has come on the heals of Governor Kaine’s Climate Commission report. The report calls on the state to reduce its total carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Despite this goal, based on the findings of climate scientists around the world, the Wise and Surry County plants would result in millions of tons of additional greenhouse gas pollution undermining efforts to actually reduce emissions.

Says Glen Besa in a press release by CCAN and our allies in our fight against the Wise County plant: “Utilities in Virginia seem to be in denial about global warming.”

The Surry site is about 60 miles from Richmond and 40 from Virginia beach. Local pollution of methane, sulfur and NOX can be expected to increase, as will mountain top removal mining in Appalachia.

The ACEEE report recently released in VA shows clearly how Virginia can eliminate the need for any new coal plants through efficiency alone. By enacting strong policies that set strong targets, reduce peak demand and incentivize efficiency, Virginia can hold energy use steady and start investing in clean energy like wind and solar. It’s time that our leaders start investing in what Virginia really needs, not another new coal plant.

Climate Action Now rally

Slideshow by Jay Tomlinson

On November 18th, nearly 300 concerned citizens joined Bill McKibben and Congressman Van Hollen in front of the US Capitol to welcome the new Congress and encourage them to make climate action a priority. Our message: Re-Engage with the international community, Re-Power America with clean energy, and Re-Build our economy by creating millions of new green jobs.