The holidays are here and we're still at war

Video by Jay Tomlinson

From October 21-23, 2007, hundreds young and old rose up against war and global warming by participating in an intervention in Washington DC. Their demand:

STOP the war in Iraq and future resource wars by ending our addiction to fossil fuels.

SHIFT government funding to rebuild New Orleans and all communities suffering from racism and corporate greed.

GO green and promote environmental justice with new jobs in a clean energy economy.

Resistance is building, and the call continues. Visit www.nowarnowarming.org to learn more.

Australians R Us!

No country in the world is more like the U.S., so where’s our national climate-change leader?

This essay from Mike Tidwell was published in Grist on December 14th.

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Culturally, politically, and spiritually, what country in the world is most like the United States? It’s not Canada and it’s sure not Great Britain. The answer is Australia. Ask anyone who’s been there. It just feels like America there, from the sprawling suburbs to the cars people drive, from the obsession with sports to their unit of currency: the Australian dollar. Add these factors too: both countries were British colonies, both wiped out indigenous peoples, both have big cities in the east and vast frontiers to the west, both have huge coal deposits and per capita greenhouse-gas emissions that lead most of the world, and, in the last several years, both have had conservative national governments that basically deny the reality of global warming. The Aussies R Us!

So how, then, did Australia just complete a national election where the issue of climate change played a central role and may have determined the outcome? How did a country so steeped in America’s brand of fierce self-reliance, consumerism, and fossil-fuel addiction throw out a “climate skeptic” prime minister and hand a landslide victory to a Labor candidate who talked persistently about ratifying Kyoto? And most important, if they can do it Down Under, is there still hope for America?

Feeling the heat

Several factors help explain how a “global-warming candidate,” Labor’s Kevin Rudd, unseated incumbent John Howard after 11 years of conservative rule. But first among them is probably the nation’s nightmarish drought. Beginning in 2002, the drought conditions intensified each year until a staggering 25 percent of all food production was lost in 2007. Emaciated livestock now roam a vast landscape of dry riverbeds. Rice production and wine grapes have been devastated. Food prices have soared and up to 1 percent of the nation’s entire GDP has been lost, according to credible estimates. Continue reading

Va. Energy: Questions to Ask Before Construction

Today is the last day for placing questions and comments before the Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC) (comments) about two major issues from Dominion Virginia Power.

  1. Wise County coal-fired power plant (application, 14 page pdf) PUE-2007-0066

  2. A 500 kV transmission line to bring coal electricity to Northern Virginia from Ohio (application, 29 page pdf) PUE-2007-00033

CCAN has had excellent discussion and impassioned calls on the first, the UNWise County coal-fired plant. And again, since today is THE LAST DAY to submit your comments against the Wise County coal plant, please take a moment to do so>>

Now let’s turn to the Power Line question. Quite simply, there has been no efficiency focus in the power line debate, with too much NIMBYite focus. Public officials, before rushing forward with approval of Dominion’s proposal, should ask the questions that follow and consider potential responses.

Continue reading

Md. Student Climate Coalition holds state-wide Day of Action

Green out

On December 5th and 6th students across the University System of Maryland took action on climate change. Undaunted by the first snow of the season, students across the state rallied in a series of creative actions for clean energy.

The day of action was organized by the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC). A coalition of student groups from across the University System of Maryland (USM) who have united in a campaign to get the entire university system to adopt a comprehensive carbon neutrality policy. This policy includes using basic energy efficiency technology, clean energy purchasing, improving mass transit, and integrating sustainability into the curriculum. The students are gathering 13,000 signatures across the state to present to the Board of Regents on February 15th and urge them to pass the policy. Their efforts have already made headway with recognition on the USM’s website. The Maryland Student Climate Coalition’s campaign slogan is: “Invest in our Future: Make Carbon Neutrality a Maryland Reality.”

The headline actions occurred at Towson University and the University of Maryland College Park. The campus group, Towson Energy Activists creatively dressed in costumes and staged a mock fight between a smokestack (to represent the dirty fossil fuels of the past) and a wind turbine (symbolizing the clean technology of the future.) The wind turbine won! The event also had a special unveiling of Captain Climate, a new generation super hero sent to our planet to solve the climate crisis. Through their exceptional press work they garnished media coverage from The DC Examiner, the 501, and the Towson Towerlight.

Green out

Another highlight event was at the USM flagship institution, University of Maryland College Park. The group UMD for Clean Energy held a big “Green Out!” day in which they got hundreds of students across campus to wear green to show their support for clean energy. They also got dozens of students to volunteer to gather signatures for the USM carbon neutrality petition. They got 700 signatures in a single day! This brings them just 118 signatures shy of their semester goal of 5,005, which they expect to easily reach the final week of school. The culminating event of the “Green Out” was when dozens of students convened on the main campus lawn for a big clean energy rally. Against the backdrop of a field of 6 foot scale homemade wind turbines they cheered, beat drums, and listened to speeches from student leaders and student body president, Andrew Freidson. The event also drew campus and local media attention from the Prince George County Gazette, Prince George’s County Sentinel and the Diamondback newspapers.

Other coordinated actions occurred at Salisbury University, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Baltimore, Frostburg State University, and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

The Maryland Student Climate Coalition’s Day of Action was a great success, by capping off an active semester on their campaign for system wide carbon neutrality.

To support the MSCC and their campaign you can sign the petition here or by joining the facebook group “Support the MSCC”.

CCAN takes the plunge

Video by Jay Tomlinson

Hundreds Brave Icy Chesapeake Bay to Take “Polar Bear Plunge,” Largest Global Warming Event in Maryland History

Md. Event Among More than 30 Plunges Across the Country, Activists Demand Action on Global Warming as U.S. Congress Considers Energy Bill

Takoma Park, MD Continue reading

We're jumping in the Bay tomorrow!

blogad_find.pngAnd it’s gonna be cold. And wet probably. But definitely worth it. This’ll be my third year in a row taking the plunge. I get nervous the night before each plunge. So far, though, I’ve managed to come out okay. Having other people plunging in with you really makes a difference. And this year, with over 200 people jumping and twice that much expected, I’ll have lots of company.

PJ Park from Mt. Rainer is going to be there. He and two others will be arriving by bike – 32 miles there and 32 miles back.

If you’re not up for riding your bike to Annapolis, but would like to cut down on your carbon footprint, why not consider carpooling. Check out our carpool message board here.

And finally, here are the details one more time:

WHO: Chesapeake Climate Action Network

WHAT: Third Annual Polar Bear Plunge

WHEN:December 8, 2007, 11 am

WHERE: Chesapeake Bay Foundation Merrill Center, 6 Herndon Rd., Annapolis, MD. Map.

LEARN MORE: www.keepwintercold.org

SPEAKERS:

Will Baker – President, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Delegate Bill Bronrott – House of Delegates, Montgomery County

Mike Tidwell- Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and more

Md. Takes the Lead in Global Warming Solutions

WhatWhat’s missing from this map?

MARYLAND!

Thanks to strong grassroots efforts across the state, the MD state government is recommending real global warming solutions! The draft report of the MD Commission on Climate Change was released on Tuesday, and thanks to grassroots efforts to make this a major issue

Join the National Campus Energy Challenge!

(co-written by Claire Schuch)

Thirty people from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota attended Power Shift. 1,770 Mac students did not. Not to mention faculty and staff. Thirty people from the Mac community came back energized, inspired, and well-connected. But what about everyone else? I bet it was the same story for your campus Continue reading