Chesapeake Bay Program says Bay will rise 2.3 ft

chesapeake bay
Letter from from Skip Stiles, Wetlands Watch

The federal Chesapeake Bay Program yesterday released a study on climate change impacts on the Chesapeake Bay that summarizes our best estimates of climate change impacts up to 2100. The paper is solid and has undergone complete peer review – and is being issued by the federal government.

The conclusions are sobering. Fully slamming on the brakes in our green house gas emissions gives us a minimum 2.3 foot relative sea level rise by 2100. When Wetlands Watch first warned Governor Kaine about the impacts of sea level rise in a letter to Kaine in May of last year best estimates of sea level rise started at around 1.5 – 2 feet. Every time we take a closer look we unfortunately get higher estimates.

More troubling are the temperature increases predicted – nearly another 2 degrees C. This warming will force major habitat shifts and produce impacts such as the inability of eel grass to survive in much of a warmer Chesapeake Bay.

This is a clear warning call that we need to 1) dramatically reduce emissions and 2) begin adaptation planning today for the sea level rise and other impacts. With the Governor’s Climate Change Commission starting its final work on its report, there is an opportunity to have an impact there. As well, many local governments are undertaking revisions of their comprehensive land use plans – which include consideration of the natural resource base of the locality. Every one of those plans should include consideration of these coming changes.

Skip

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Skip Stiles
Executive Director
Wetlands Watch

Voters for Climate Action, Unite!

I think I’m not alone in being ready for this election season to be over. That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m about the completely disengage from the process at this most critical time.

Mike and Josh express their outrage

Reporters and supporters were at a rally today to protest Maryland State police surveillance of Mike Tidwell and Josh Tulkin while working for CCAN in 2005-2006. Josh and Mike regularly met with church groups, politicians, 3rd graders–so do all these people need to be worried that their information is also in these databases?

We’re calling on the police to release this information immediately and explain their actions.

Write Governor O’Malley today>>
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Virginians hope for clean energy at Obama rally

Virginians Unite!

And unite we did. At the Obama rally held at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, Virginians sent a unified message about energy. When Obama mentioned investments to create 5 million green jobs and investing in renewables like wind and solar, the crowd in front of him responded with cheers and a public display of hundreds of green scarves to show their support. It was an amazing site to behold to see a message that was so loud and so clear that it didn’t even need words. Here in Northern Virginia, we know what real clean energy is and expect the next President of the United States of American to have a plan to put us on the path to Clean Energy Future.

No one wants to gamble our future on the fairytale of “clean coal.” When our economy is in such a fragile state, the time for telling bedtime stories to ease our fears is over. We need real solutions and when we hear them you better believe we get excited. That’s what happened yesterday in Leesburg and what will continue to happen as this 21st Century energy economy becomes a reality.

Jim Hansen's letter supporting Wise County protests

James Hansen recently sent this letter out to his email list regarding the Wise County protest:

Obstruction of Justice
“You’re Hannah, right?”  Hannah Morgan, a 20-year old from Appalachia, Virginia, was one of 11 protesters in handcuffs early Monday morning September 15 at the construction site for a coal-fired power plant being built in Wise County Virginia by Dominion Power.  The handcuffs were applied by the police, but the questioner, it turns out, was from Dominion Power.

“Mumble, mumble, mumble”, the discussion between police and the Dominion man were too far away to be heard by the young people.  But it almost seemed that the police were working for Dominion.  Maybe that’s the way it works in a company town.  Or should we say company state?  Virginia has got one of the most green-washed coal-blackened governors in the nation (http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/20080529_DearGovernorGreenwash.pdf
).
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Virginia Environmental Organizations' Core Recommendations to the Governor's Commission on Climate Change

The Governor’s Commission on Climate Change is meeting tomorrow, October 23. The current plan falls shockingly short of what scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Governor Kaine’s plan would return Virginia to 2000 emissions levels by 2025. Scientists, in comparison, say we must cut emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020! This means that by 2020 Virginia should reduce emissions 35% below the 2000 level. The Commission on Climate Change has the ability to increase those targets.

Virginia Environmental Organizations’ Core Recommendations to the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change

Secretary L. Preston Bryant, Chair and Members of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change

Dear Mr. Secretary and Commission members,

We recognize that developing climate change policy recommendations is an extremely complex endeavor. The variety of sources of carbon emissions, combined with the even greater number of control measures, the uncertain economics, and the competing stakeholders make this a most difficult charge.
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