Momentum is Growing in the Fight against Atlantic Coast & Mountain Valley Pipelines

Note: If you have not already, please read the Summer 2017 Pipeline Fighter installment as part of an ongoing series tracking Virginia’s pipeline resistance movement exclusively on the CCAN Blog Page. 
On September 13 and 14, Virginians from across the Commonwealth made environmental movement history in the state. For two consecutive days of action, the ever-growing coalition in opposition to the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines gathered at the same time at each of the Commonwealth’s seven Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) offices, spanning every corner of Virginia.
The participants, spanning across the entirety of the Commonwealth, included faith leaders from diverse traditions, landowners, military veterans, Appalachian trail enthusiasts, climate refugees, students, and environmentalists. These groups came together in a never-before seen level of statewide coordination with one unified message: Governor McAuliffe’s DEQ must keep its original promise to the public and conduct site-specific permitting for each of the waterways crossed by these two massive fracked-gas pipelines. 
This would follow the precedent set by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s use of section 401 of the Clean Water Act to to stop the dangerous Constitution pipeline in 2014, a decision upheld by a Federal Appeals Court in August.
At noon on Wednesday, September 13, hundreds of faith and spiritual elders gathered at every single DEQ office in Virginia: Richmond, Abingdon, Woodbridge, Glen Allen, Roanoke, Virginia Beach, and Harrisonburg, where they gathered in an interfaith prayer service. In Roanoke, congregants joined in song, in Richmond participants witnessed a traditional African water libation, to highlight the central role of water, and in Virginia Beach climate refugees fleeing Hurricane Irma in Florida were honored quests in the prayer ceremony. Each ceremony included a moment of silence for those devastated by both Hurricane Harvey and Irma, both of which made landfall in the USA in the weeks and days leading up to the protest.
On September 14 at noon, participants once again gathered at all seven DEQ offices — this time with a different tone. Each location featured a press conference and a rally, where community leaders, landowners, scientists, and doctors called upon the Governor and the DEQ to do their jobs and protect Virginia’s waterways and most vulnerable communities from the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. 
Representatives from each location then delivered a letter to a DEQ agency representative, detailing the specific regional concerns they had with fracked-gas infrastructure projects.
At the DEQ Central Headquarters in Richmond, nineteen people linked hands in front of the main entrance of the door, supported by the cheers and chants of dozens of supporters, as they refused to leave until the pipelines were stopped. The “sit-in” caused the headquarters to functionally be on lockdown for over an hour and half until the activists were all arrested and issued court summons’ on the spot.  
It’s clear that our protests made a real difference. In the days that followed these actions, both North Carolina and West Virginia announced significant setbacks in the permitting process of these pipelines.
Yet inexplicably, the Virginia DEQ has since doubled-down on its proposed timeline — with permits potentially being issued as early as November. 
Now, more than ever, we need to show the Governor and the DEQ that all Virginians of conscience stand as an unwavering united front against these pipelines that would wreak havoc on our water, climate, and most vulnerable communities.
Let your voice be heard TODAY, and call Governor McAuliffe’s office and tell him No ACP, NO MVP, NO PIPELINES.
 

Reflecting on a Summer of Organizing for a Carbon Price in DC

What happens when you put four young college students and recent graduates together for a summer of organizing? You get a dynamic and versatile team of advocates with a strong pool of talents and interests, ranging from English to Environmental Policy, Economics, and Social Justice Organizing. I got to experience this phenomenon firsthand with Andrew, Maria, and Olivia, during my summer as one of the four interns working on the D.C. Put A Price On It campaign.
On a personal note, I moved to D.C. after spending a year in Vermont at graduate school and had very little experience in the city. Working on this campaign exposed me to a completely new level of D.C., outside of the traditional tourist attractions and historical monuments. I got to experience the authentic flavor of the District’s booming neighborhoods, many of which I had never heard of, nor visited before. It feels nearly impossible to dive into the details of what we all accomplished this summer, but I think it’s worth covering some of the most prominent highlights!
Our summer working on Put A Price On It D.C. was kickstarted with a visit to the John Wilson Building to do a lit drop of a Washington Post article that came out in support of carbon pricing as a climate solution.  It provided a wonderful opportunity for us to meet some of the staffers and councilmembers face to face while pitching the campaign!
From that point, myself and the three other interns, Andrew, Maria, and Olivia took to the streets to educate residents about the policy by canvassing across the District. We talked to residents from across the city, including everyone from native Washingtonians to students attending university in D.C.  Canvassing can be hard work at times, but I have to admit that some of the most memorable moments from the summer were from the time I spent talking to D.C. residents. I engaged in some of the most authentic and candid conversations with residents about climate change, justice, and the quirks of the city.
The tedious work of petitioning in the above average heat this summer was made more than worth it by the supportive words and thank yous we received from residents. By the end of the summer, we collected over 800 petitions from D.C. residents by visiting neighborhoods, metro stops, and attending events across the city.
Later in the summer, we gained practical advocacy experience by attending a public hearing with Council Member Cheh. I had the great pleasure of preparing and offering testimony at the hearing in support of the campaign, a first for me. It allowed me to apply my past education in communications and advocacy in a practical real world environment.
Overall, I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish over the past few months as interns on the D.C. campaign. Further, I’m excited to see where our futures take us. Something tells me that the four of us will cross paths in the future. It’s just the nature of this work! Successful advocates know that building lasting relationships is the key to powerful campaigns and coalitions. I hope that we’ll all be able to contribute to each other’s work in the future in one capacity or another. At the very least, we will all be able to look back on our summer as interns for the Price It D.C. campaign and reflect on the key advocacy and organizing skills we developed… And cheer with gusto when The Climate and Community Reinvestment Act is passed by the D.C. Council!
 

The Pursuit of Climate and Social Justice Through Carbon Pricing

What is environmental justice? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
Unfortunately, the pursuit of environmental and social justice has been an uphill battle. Harmful environmental practices have taken place disproportionately in low-income communities of color for years — even decades — putting these communities on the front lines of pollution and climate change.
A prime example of this is gentrification of cities, which tailors to the tastes of the upper middle class and pushes low-income residents to the curb. Income inequality between the rich and poor looms as another related and potent issue. In the landmark report “Toxic Waste and Race in the United States,” it was found that race was the predicting factor for waste siting more frequently than income. To add another layer of complication, climate change threatens to exacerbate these issues of injustice.
This particularly concerning in the District of Columbia, one of the most clearly segregated cities in the United States, as highlighted by the Washington Post in 2015. Further, according to a report released by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, income inequality in the District ranks fourth among the fifty largest cities in the United States. To break it down further, the richest 5 percent of Washingtonians make roughly fifty nine times what the poorest 20 percent make. Perhaps more relevant to this discussion, the study also found that D.C.’s lowest-income residents are primarily people of color.
It may come as no surprise that environmental and economic policies have the potential to become regressive, impacting lower income communities disproportionately. Developing policies that take justice issues into consideration is more important than ever. With this in mind, it is critical that the environmental policies that we pursue within the District serve all residents, regardless of race and socioeconomic status.
Luckily, the Healthy Community and Climate Reinvestment Act of D.C. plans to do just that by placing a fee on carbon emissions and rebating 75 percent of the collected revenue back to residents. At its core, this legislation is an effort to curb carbon emissions that contribute to global climate change. However, the fee and rebate model being employed has the potential to correct some other critical injustices occurring in the District as well. In particular, low income residents would see a rebate of about four dollars to every one dollar that they pay through the carbon fee, taking a step toward leveling the playing field between the highest and lowest income residents in D.C.
At the end of the day, climate change is the single issue that unites us all. Put A Price On It D.C.’s progressive approach to address climate change has a unique social justice flavor that is critical in today’s fight for a healthy climate and community.
 

Digging Deeper: How FERC Fails the Public on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

On July 21, Federal regulators issued a deeply-flawed final environmental review for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). We know that the pipeline would threaten hundreds of bodies of water, putting the drinking water for thousands of communities at risk. We also know that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would fuel climate disaster while blocking the transition we urgently need to clean energy and efficiency solutions. It is not surprising that this review from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is completely inadequate, given what we have seen in the past.
But it’s worth breaking down just how FERC gets it wrong on climate change — and what else it completely ignores.

Climate Change

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) continues to ignore the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It entirely fails to consider emissions from fracking that this massive pipeline would trigger, and seriously discounts the emissions from burning the natural gas.
FERC concludes that the ACP would emit approximately 30 million tons per year of CO2 equivalent. This number is less than half of the emissions the ACP would actually trigger. A proper analysis by our friends at Oil Change International found that the ACP would cause 68 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution per year, which is the equivalent of 20 U.S. coal plants or over 14 million vehicles on the road.
FERC insists, as it has in past analyses, that “the upstream production and downstream combustion of gas is not causally connected [to the ACP] because the production and end-use would occur with or without the projects.”
This claim would be laughable if the consequences of climate change weren’t so severe.
FERC is ignoring its own role in approving all interstate gas pipelines, which are essential for the expanding gas production in the Appalachian basin. Even if you accept FERC’s premise that fracking for gas would occur without the ACP, which we don’t, you can’t ignore the fact that new pipelines generally trigger new fracking. And it’s FERC that approves all new interstate pipelines. A study by Oil Change International found that the Appalachian basin is the region with the greatest potential for growth in dangerous fracking, and developers are eager for pipelines to make high levels of fracking economical. There are currently 19 pipelines proposed in this region being considered by FERC. These pipelines would be a global warming bomb.
For the first time, FERC included a discussion of the Clean Power Plan in its review — but it provided no context or analysis for how the pipeline would impact a state’s goal under the plan. The purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act is to meaningfully inform the public about the consequences of a major federal action before it takes places. Referencing the Clean Power Plan for the first time with no context does not provide meaningful information the public needs to evaluate the ACP and falls short of NEPA.   
The draft analysis included a discussion of why the Council on Environmental Quality’s climate guidance, issued under the Obama Administration, didn’t apply to the ACP. FERC removed that discussion in this final draft. Instead it inserted a footnote discussing Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to not consider indirect climate impacts in their environmental reviews, such as the increased fracking that would come with the ACP.
These pipelines are meant to last 50 years or more, according to NPR. They are presented as climate-friendly alternatives to coal, but they serve only to lock us into a new form of dangerous fossil fuel instead. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The ACP would lock us into decades of reliance on fossil fuels when we know we need to move to clean sources of energy, like wind and solar.

Ridgetop Removal

The FEIS does not require Dominion to make any changes to minimize ridgetop removal, period.
Experts studied the draft EIS to find that the construction of this pipeline would result in 38 miles of mountain ridgetop removal.  For perspective, the height equivalent of a five-story building would be erased in places from fully forested and ancient mountains, much of it near the treasured Appalachian Trail.
Despite the outcry and unimaginable impacts from removing miles of ridgetops, not much changed in FERC’s final review. FERC still expects construction of the pipeline to require 125 feet of clearing width in mountainous regions. The agency directly states that “clearing and grading . . . would level the right-of-way surface.”
Furthermore, Dominion has yet to reveal how it intends to dispose of at least 247,000 dump-truck-loads of excess rock and soil—known as “overburden”—that would accumulate from the construction along just these 38 miles of ridgetops. The FEIS, for the first time,  tells us definitively that “excess rock and spoil would be hauled off to an approved disposal location or used a beneficial reuse.” Yet Dominion and FERC still have provided no plan for dealing with this overburden and ensuring that it doesn’t poison our waterways.

Renewable Energy 

The bottom-line is this: In its determination of “need,” FERC fully fails to even consider renewable energy as an alternative to this project.
If Dominion wants to bring more energy to Virginians, it should be focusing on clean energy, like expanding its pilot offshore wind program and opening the door to widespread community solar. The last thing Virginia needs is more natural gas infrastructure.
As Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Greg Buppert stated, “It’s FERC’s responsibility to determine if this pipeline is a public necessity before it allows developers to take private property, clear forests, and carve up mountainsides. Mounting evidence shows that it is not.”
For our climate and our future, we must stop this pipeline.

Click HERE to see actions you can take right now.

 
Photo at the top from Flickr user cool revolution with a Creative Commons license. 

Three Summer Actions to Stop the Atlantic Coast & Mountain Valley Pipelines

As the companies behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) continue to secure the permits necessary to start construction, the vast social movement that has been built to halt these radical fracked-gas infrastructure projects is rapidly reaching its climax.
Over the past two years, activists, landowners, military veterans, students, Appalachian Trail hikers, indigenous tribes, and others have hammered away at Governor McAuliffe to come out against these pipelines and to direct his Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to conduct rigorous site-specific permitting for each stream crossing. This growing coalition is confident that adopting these measures is the best way to show what experts already know: these pipelines are incompatible with the integrity of Virginia’s waterways and environments, and there is absolutely no way they can be constructed in a way that “protects and enhances Virginia’s environment, and promotes the health and well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth.”
This follows the precedent set out by Governor Cuomo in New York, who used his authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to stop the dangerous Constitution Pipeline in 2014.
The DEQ is now rubber-stamping permits for the ACP and MVP by mostly deferring to a blanket permit issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers, going back on their original promise in April to conduct site-specific reviews.
Things could never be more urgent, as the authority of the Governor to meaningfully protect Virginians from these pipelines reaches a dead end after water permits are granted by the DEQ. Every day the DEQ’s intentions are becoming clearer, with the agency already releasing draft permits for both the ACP and the MVP. For activists, the summer of 2017 represents the peak of our efforts, and we’re ready to do everything we can to get Governor McAuliffe’s DEQ to take action and protect our water. If the DEQ continues down its current course and issues water permits for these projects, the future of these two pipelines will then reside under the authority of President Trump.
We can’t let that happen. The ACP and MVP would strip the rights of property owners, bisect indigenous lands, traverse water basins that provide water for millions of people, and cumulatively create the equivalent annual greenhouse gas emissions of 46 full-time coal-power plants. Now, more than ever, is the time to let Governor McAuliffe and his DEQ hear the sound of Virginians united against fossil fuel infrastructure and for a clean energy future.

Here are THREE ways you can pressure the DEQ this summer to stop the ACP & MVP:

1. Submit a Public Comment to the DEQ

By submitting a public comment to the DEQ (and encouraging all of your social networks to do the same), you are adding to the resounding chorus of Virginians who emphatically demand that Governor McAuliffe and his DEQ do everything in their authority to protect Virginians from the environmental destruction that these pipelines would trigger.

2. Pack the DEQ Public Hearings with your Neighbors

The DEQ has announced five separate public hearings for these pipelines (two for the MVP and three for the ACP), spanning from August 7th to the 14th. Spread the word about these meetings and organize carpools in your community to show the DEQ and Virginians are united on this issue. Be sure to wear a blue shirt and bring a bottle of water collected from your property to participate in water ceremonies at each one of the hearings. If you need help organizing a ride for these hearings, please email Jamshid Bakhtiari (jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org) for assistance ASAP.
Here’s the list of upcoming hearings — click through to RSVP:

3. Call Your State Representatives

We need our legislators to stand up for Virginia waterways and communities and tell the DEQ to do the same! We have teamed up with our partners, Appalachian Voices, Bold Alliance and Oil Change International to flood Virginia’s legislators with a series of call-in days. We need you to call your legislator and encourage them to push the DEQ to protect Virginia’s water today!
Those are three things you can do right now. Stay tuned for more from CCAN as we ramp up the pressure. 
 

In Virginia, People Power is Finally Eroding Dominion’s Power

I don’t know about you, but for me, November 8th 2016 feels like decades ago. So much has changed since the election of Donald Trump in such a short amount of time — good and bad. Around the country, we are seeing record numbers of new activists, reinvigorated old volunteers coming back to the climate movement, and local climate leaders stepping up like never before. Here in Virginia that new energy is eroding the influence of our resident energy monopoly, Dominion Energy, which once seemed impossible to overcome. Our movement started before Trump, but it is has only become more formidable with this new challenge of having a climate denier in the Oval Office.
You would think Dominion Energy had their own office at the Capitol considering how much influence they have on our state leaders. They also have no problem brushing off  ethics for the benefit of their bottom line. Dominion spends more than any other company on political campaign donations to both sides of the aisle. And their influence on Virginia’s politics has become clear. Everything from weak coal ash regulations to an easy permitting process for dangerous fracked-gas pipelines are in play when the energy giant put its finger on the scale.
Meanwhile, the size and strength of Virginia’s climate movement — and opposition to Dominion’s dirty tactics — has become unlike anything we have ever seen.
This year, the spring season brought new life to our movement. In April, after months of organizing and recruiting, over 6,000 Virginians joined together with concerned climate activists (on an unseasonably hot Saturday) for The People’s Climate March. While the march was focused on the Trump administration, the Virginia Contingent had brought a special message to our local leaders who were too cozy with Dominion: people over polluters!

Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.
Photo from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.

The People’s Climate March was inspiring, it was rejuvenating, it was historic. A lot of that success was because of activists in the Commonwealth who sacrificed countless hours to recruit their neighbors and friends to defend their climate. This show of might led to huge acts of resistance from mayors and governors across the country, who bucked the Trump administration by pledging to continue working towards our commitments to the Paris Climate Accord.
pastor-dominionThis wave of action continued at the Dominion Energy shareholders meeting. Just days after the People’s Climate March, over 100 people descended on Richmond to show the utility that their lives are worth more than the trajectory of Dominion’s stock prices. The actions outside scared them enough for Dominion executives to hide their view with curtains. I think Pastor Paul surmised our feelings perfectly when he proclaimed outside the venue that “Dominion had gotten too big for their britches!”
Our activism spread beyond the streets too: many climate conscious shareholders used their voice in the room to push clean energy resolutions. This year witnessed a resolution that called for the company to report on how it would work to address global warming. The resolution received unprecedented support, with 48% voting in favor. Virginians are putting Dominion executives on notice. 
Finally, candidates in Virginia’s state elections for 2017 have joined the wave of resistance against Dominion. Earlier this year, gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello kicked off his campaign for governor with a pledge to not take any money from Dominion and to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline. We’ve also seen a wave of new and incumbent candidates for state delegate seats across the commonwealth who have pledged to refuse campaign donations from Dominion.
Our work now is more important than ever. With the help of activists like you, along with new recruits to the climate fight, we will lead Virginia into a clean energy future.

Letter from the Director: How Trump is helping the climate movement

No one would have guessed it in November, but 2017 has turned out to be the best year on record for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. After 15 years of hard work – partnering with local activists like you in Maryland, Virginia, and DC – our efforts are paying off with stunning wins this year.
And Donald Trump is actually helping. For years, many people thought it would take a huge natural disaster of epic proportion to wake Americans up to the dangers of climate change. It turns out that the massive political disaster of Donald Trump is having a similar effect. As writer Bill McKibben recently observed, no president in US history has unified more Americans to fight FOR clean energy and AGAINST climate change than President Trump. Withdrawing from the Paris climate accord was tragic. Dismantling much of the EPA’s work is horrifying. But when it comes to Maryland, Virginia and DC – and many other enlightened states nationwide – the climate movement is now accelerating at warp speed. Seriously.
Want proof?
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
We’ve seen staggering advances at the local level in DC over the past 12 months. Last July, before Trump’s election, the DC Council passed a 50% clean electricity standard for the city, making DC a national leader in clean power. Since then, CCAN has been leading a snowballing campaign to pass a “carbon fee-and-rebate” bill for the city. The initiative, now supported by dozens of faith, business, justice, and environmental groups, would force polluting companies in DC to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit and then rebate the lion’s share of the revenue back to all DC residents in a way the INCREASES the net income of low- and moderate-income residents.The policy would also expand the city’s economy, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions by 23%. Again, in the first year of the Trump Administration, momentum behind this “Climate and Community Reinvestment Act” for the District has mushroomed. What better way to “resist” in DC, after all, than to send carbon-priced electricity and gas to the White House whether they want it or not? Stay tuned.
The bill will have a hearing in the fall and we hope to see it pass by the end of the year. Councilmember Mary Cheh of Ward 3 and Phil Mendelson (at-large) are key votes. Tell them you support the bill.
VIRGINIA:
Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe – a foot-dragger on climate issues for three years – announced in May that he will finally impose a hard cap on carbon emissions from power plants by the end of this year. It’s a huge victory, and CCAN led the fight for three years demanding that McAuliffe impose such a carbon cap per his legal authority. But then Donald Trump came along and, according to McAuliffe himself, it sealed the Governor’s decision to finally do the right thing. We set the table, darkness gathered at the national level, then a southern coal state moved toward an historic solution.
Thank you Governor McAuliffe…and P.S., you’ve got to stop supporting oil drilling and fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia too!
MARYLAND:
Republican Governor Larry Hogan stunned the entire nation in March by supporting an outright legislative ban on fracking in the state. For seven years, activists pushed for a bill to prevent violent fracking for gas. We rallied. We marched. We went to jail. Then a fracking ban finally became law in 2017 with bipartisan support. Why? The hard work and vision of citizens like you set the table. Plus, Hogan’s own polling showed that Marylanders’ support for a fracking ban INCREASED with every day that Republican Donald Trump talked about drilling everywhere and burning everything. We were ready. Trump provided a spark that was dangerous to the planet AND Governor Hogan’s political future, and the tides of change moved faster than anyone expected. Everything came together.
And not just on a fracking ban. Maryland legislators in 2017 significantly expanded support for wind and solar power, and adopted a nation-leading energy efficiency law for electricity. Then, in a coup de gras, the state’s Public Service Commission in May approved development of two major offshore wind farms off the Maryland coast. What a year! Since January, we’ve had more energy victories in Maryland than during the previous five years combined!
MOVING FORWARD:
Revolutionary change is underway all across our region on clean energy. Six months ago, stunned by Trump’s election, none of us at CCAN could have predicted the progress we’ve seen in Maryland, Virginia and DC. At the national and international levels, what’s happening on climate is truly depressing. But in America, achievements at the state level are, in the long run, more resilient victories. No single president or Congress can come along in the future and undo clean energy laws in all 50 states. Trump is forcing us to build a deeper, more resilient, and more grassroots movement – and to do it with lightning quickness.
But we cannot rest on our recent laurels. We now have to push even harder to fulfill our responsibilities to the world, to make up for the losses on climate at the national level, and to provide leadership – right here in Virginia, Maryland, and DC – to the world. In 2018, we need to DOUBLE the mandate for wind and solar power in Maryland. This year, we need to block Gov. McAuliffe’s massive fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia. And right now, we need to show the world that America’s capital city can tax carbon pollution, reduce income inequality, and create jobs all at the same time.
Sound good? Are you fired up? Then stay involved and stay busy. The planet needs you more than ever.
On we go,
Mike Tidwell

Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.
 

From Standing Rock to Hancock: Camp Out To Oppose The Potomac Pipeline!

From Standing Rock to Hancock, Maryland, citizens are rising up to resist fracked-gas pipelines in their communities. That’s right: Western Maryland is now under threat from a Dakota-esque pipeline. It’s being proposed by the infamous energy giant TransCanada of Keystone XL fame.
TransCanada — the same company that recently spilled over 16 thousand gallons of crude oil on South Dakota farmland — now wants to build a pipeline that would transport fracked gas between Pennsylvania and West Virginia.They want to do this with the shortest, cheapest, and most dangerous route possible. The Eastern Panhandle Pipeline expansion project would cut through Hancock, Maryland and underneath the Potomac River that serves as the source of drinking water for millions of residents in our state and the DC suburbs.
We are not going to allow this to happen.
This summer, we are forming a resistance to stop the Pipeline under the Potomac. We will do this by staging camp outs along the C&O Canal throughout the summer to draw attention to the many groups, concerned citizens, and elected officials who are opposed to endangering the drinking water of millions for a pipeline that wouldn’t even benefit Maryland citizens. We’ll be calling on Governor Hogan to deny the permit that would allow TransCanada to drill under the Potomac in Maryland.
We were able to ban fracking in Maryland because each one of you dedicated your time, your energy, and your activism to protect Maryland from fracking. Now it’s time once again to roll up our sleeves and call on Governor Hogan to complete the fracking ban — which means stopping this pipeline!
Sign up to camp out today for a frack-free future tomorrow.
Here are the details:
Weekend 1
Date: Friday/Saturday, June 30-July 1
Location: McCoy’s Ferry Campground
Start Time: 12:00 pm
Sponsoring Organization: Potomac Riverkeepers
Organizational Contact: Brent Walls, Brent@potomacriverkeeper.org
Weekend 2
Date: Saturday, July 8th
Location: McCoy’s Ferry Campground
Start Time: 1:00 p.m.
Sponsoring Organization: Food and Water Watch
Organizational Contact: Rianna Eckel, reckel@fwwatch.org
Weekend 3
Date: Friday, July 14th
Location: Paw Paw Campground
Start Time: 2:00 pm
Details: Join for a splashing good time in the Potomac River at the Paw Paw Campground along the C&O canal. Bring your family and friends to a great swimming hole on the Potomac and enjoy some hot dogs and hamburgers. Stay the night at the campgrounds and hear more about our fight against the pipeline under the Potomac. The following morning there will be a guided talk of the Paw Paw Tunnel by the National Park Service. The goal is to have enough people at this event to stretch across the Potomac River from Maryland to West Virginia to show that we stand as a united front.
Sponsoring Organization: Potomac Riverkeepers
Organizational Contact: Brent Walls, Brent@potomacriverkeeper.org
Weekend 4
Date: Friday, July 21st
Location: C&O Canal Boat Launch (just past the 120 mile marker)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Sponsoring Organization: Eastern Panhandle Protectors
Organizational Contact: Laura Steepleton, lnsteep@gmail.com
Weekend 5
Date: Friday, July 28th
Location: Antietam Creek Campsite
Start Time: 12:00 p.m.
Sponsoring Organization: Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Organizational Contact: Brooke Harper, brooke@chesapeakeclimate.org
Weekend 6
Date: Saturday, August 5th
Location: McCoys Ferry Campground
Start Time: 1:00 p.m.
Details: Activities will include our outings program: hiking, bike tours, etc. – Highlighting our Climate Parents program. 
Sponsoring Organization: The Sierra Club Maryland Chapter
Organizational Contact: Zack Gerdes, Zack.Gerdes@mdsierra.org
Click here to sign up for a campout weekend — or email the organizers (listed above) directly!

Independence Day — A fossil-free future is an American future

Every year on Independence Day, Americans all over the country celebrate the values that this country was founded on. While the usual 4th of July festivities, like barbecuing, watching fireworks, and being with family, are all timeless traditions they aren’t the only way to celebrate American values. One important way is to get involved and take action to bring our communities to a fossil-free future.
Equal rights for all American citizens is a key tenet of our country’s values. This includes the right to own land, as well as the right to clean water and a healthy environment.
Unfortunately, oil and gas companies are threatening these rights of citizens all over the country with unwanted and unneeded fossil fuel infrastructure. In Virginia and West Virginia, two massive fracked-gas pipelines — the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipeline — are threatening the water, safety, and property rights of communities in their path. In Maryland, TransCanada wants to build a fracked-gas pipeline right underneath the Potomac River and C&O canal, threatening the drinking water source for millions.
Every day, American lives and values are threatened by large gas and oil companies who propose the building of these new pipelines. They are threatening the safety, freedom and security of the American people.
What does independence from fossil fuels really look like? It looks like a world run on renewable sources of energy like wind, solar, and geothermal. It looks like strong, progressive climate action. It looks like a country with healthy communities and thriving economies in a clean energy future.
Working for climate action is an inherently patriotic act. It shows a dedication to protecting your fellow citizens. It is for these reasons that hundreds of veterans descended on Standing Rock in North Dakota to protect indigenous tribes from the Dakota Access pipeline. And it is why 13 Virginia veterans recently released a letter opposing the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley fracked-gas pipelines. All across the country, Americans are coming together to protect our citizens from the greed of fossil fuel corporations.
So this year, I’ll be building on the courage of those Virginia veterans to stand for Americans and their independence from dangerous fossil fuels.
Here’s how you can help:

It’s time to celebrate our independence and freedom by saying NO to pipelines and YES to a fossil-free future.
Happy Fourth!
——
Photo at the top from Flickr user m01229 with a Creative Commons license. 
 
 
 

Spread the Word about "Put A Price On It D.C."

Can you remember the moment you decided to really fight for climate action? It probably wasn’t a Facebook post or a cynical tweet. More likely you had startling conversation, formed a new relationship, or discovered a new community and a way to get involved.
Real social change requires face-to-face interactions. That’s why we need you to help us reach out to our communities this summer and build a powerful base to support our campaign to put a price on carbon pollution once and for all.
In her new book, “Twitter and Tear Gas,” writer and social scientist Zeynep Tufekci reminds us of life before social media. Mobilizations like the March on Washington once grew out of years of painstaking recruiting, training, and coordination. Paradoxically, it was the very difficulty of face-to-face organizing that forged leaders and decision-making structures strong enough to weather storms of the opposition.  
Today we are faced with the intense challenge of transitioning to a clean and efficient energy economy before we fry ourselves alive. The speed of online communication suits the urgency of climate change. However, the strength of the fossil fuel empire demands an unprecedented depth of commitment and relationships among us. That means smiles, high-fives, and conversations with – gasp! – eye contact. (Which is what we all really want, right?)
To win a solution so powerfully scalable as a carbon fee and rebate in Washington, D.C., our movement must be made of a living web of trusting relationships that can flex, focus, and keep growing through the ups and downs of this ambitious campaign. That’s why the 30+ organizations in our coalition have spent the past two years getting to know one another. Now we want to know every neighborhood in our city.
Mark your calendars for a community outreach event in YOUR neighborhood. Read on for the schedule and details!

Find the community outreach event in your neighborhood:

 

 
Why be part of the action? Allow me to testify: there’s nothing quite so fulfilling to offer other concerned people a chance to really DO something about the climate crisis. It’s weighing on all of our hearts and minds, and by getting out there to recruit new people to the campaign, you’re doing them a favor of empowerment.
So let’s hit the streets this summer!

 
PS: Sierra Club will be hosting a volunteer training on Monday, July 10. You’ll get all your questions answered, and receive top-notch training on how to win the support of DC council members, ANCs, Civic and Citizen Associations, businesses, and your neighbors at the farmers market. We want to be sure you’re fully trained and ready for these opportunities to build an unstoppable power base for climate action in DC. Click HERE to RSVP!