Strike Out Exxon at Nationals Park…and get a free ticket!

Strike out Exxon
Strike Exxon Out of Nationals Park. Volunteer>>

Do you want to have fun protesting global warming this summer? Do you want to feel like you’re making a difference despite your busy schedule? Want to do all this AND get a free ticket to a Nationals game?

Then we have you covered. Join us this summer as we protest ExxonMobil’s presence at DC’s new “green” ball park by passing out literature outside the stadium. Why protest? Because ExxonMobil is the single biggest contributor to global warming of any corporation. Period. And because the oil giant is the dominant advertiser at DC’s new LEED-certified ballpark.

Learn more at www.strikeoutexxon.org!

Join us starting on June 20th to creatively protest ExxonMobil’s dominant advertising presence at the new “green” ball park. Plus, the first five volunteers for any home game will get a free ticket! Sign up by contacting volunteer coordinator Lisa Lincoln at lisa@chesapeakeclimate.org.

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Last Chance to Stop Dominion's permits

weekend in wiseCCAN and our partners are organizing a couple days of activities on June 23-24 in Wise County around the next Air Board meeting. Folks from all across Virginia will be coming down to show their support for clean air in Wise County and to testify against Dominion’s proposed coal-burning plant. This is HUGE. It’s the final permit between Dominion and their no-good, dirty scoundrel of a coal-fired power plant.

The power is in the hands of the bureaucracy right now. As a citizen’s board, the Air Board has the power to reject Dominion’s permit and stop construction. They could also stall on the permit because the board is not currently at full capacity

Letter from Mike: Is climate change stealing your vacation?

58% of the Chesapeake beaches will be lost to sea level rise unless we do something about climate change.

If this Memorial Day weekend is anything like the last, about 350,000 people will cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, many headed to enjoy the beaches of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Yet a new report released today by the National Wildlife Federation paints a shockingly stark picture of the fate of our beloved beaches thanks to global warming and with a click of a button, you can help stop it.

NWF’s report, Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Habitats of the Chesapeake Bay, finds that the region could lose more than half of the beaches along its ocean coasts. No, that’s not a typo. Fifty-eight percent of the region’s beaches could completely disappear due to sea level rise caused by global warming. Read the report summary here>>

Yet this terrifying statistic is NOT a foregone conclusion. Maryland has already made some remarkable steps towards addressing global warming. With Governor Martin O’Malley at the helm Maryland has passed the Clean Cars Act, enacted strong energy efficiency standards, and committed to reducing per capita electricity consumption 15% by 2015. Yet the biggest step of all, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which would have reduced Maryland’s overall global warming pollution 25% by 2020, was defeated in the Maryland House of Delegates at the very last minute.

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Virginia beaches vs. political will

Washington Post reporter, David Fahrenthold, writes about a new report by the National Wildlife Federation in the news today. It paints a shockingly stark picture of the fate of our beloved beaches thanks to global warming–that the region could lose more than half of the beaches along its ocean coasts. Fifty-eight percent of the region’s beaches could completely disappear due to sea level rise caused by global warming. Read the report summary here>>

This report comes out as we enter into a new phase of our campaign to stop the coal-burning plant in Wise County. Kaine is about to appoint two new members of the Air Board, a body which reviews permits for polluting facilities. There are no requirements for appointment; merely that a “significant portion of their income within the previous two years” not come from the businesses they regulate. ”The term Continue reading

Rain, Rain – Get in my Barrel!

With all the rain that’s coming down, it’s no wonder that 2 of CCAN’s staffers had to deal with flooded basements last week. I came home (after being soaked at the Radiohead concert) to ankle deep water, which was coming in through the walls and floors. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice to have a rain barrel so that I could collect some of this water?

As luck would have it, Aquabarrel is offering CCANers a 20% discount on their rain barrels! Contact me at susanna@chesapeakeclimate.org for the promo code.

Stop Global Warming!

Make Citizen Voices Matter

Activists like you are making energy efficiency and alternative energies top priority solutions to global warming. Did you know a county’s land use plan is a solution too?

Vehicle emissions make up 1/3 of the global warming pollution we put in the air. The structure of our towns, cities and society forces us into traffic and excess miles traveled everyday just to get to work or do simple weekend errands. So, the way our towns and cities grow could be a big part of the solution.

If we want efficient, cheap transportation choices that help drop global warming pollution levels we need to support smarter development in our states and end sprawling, status quo growth.

Land use plans (in most counties called Comprehensive Plans or Master Plans) can give us smarter growth and reduce global warming. But there’s a hitch! The Maryland Court of Appeals recently decided that counties don’t have to follow their plans. A good plan can be thrown out at the whim of a developer, no matter how far you have to drive daily just to live there. On top of the damage more pollution will do, this ruling takes away citizens’ rights to choose how their community grows. This is a huge obstacle to fighting global warming.

Help us stop global warming by fighting for smarter development in our state. Learn more about our petition and sign!

Many thanks to CCAN for giving 1000 Friends of Maryland this guest spot on your blog.