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!
 

AS FERC ANNOUNCES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTS ON PIPELINES, RESISTANCE SWELLS

On Friday, June 23rd, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its final environmental review for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The highly-flawed Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) paints a false and misleading picture of this massive, dangerous fracked-gas pipeline.
The FEIS does not spell good news for pipeline opposition, but it is far from final approval. There are many stages left in the process at the federal, state, and legal levels — and there is a growing movement committed to stopping this pipeline, along with Dominion’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), a pipeline of similar size and route. This growing resistance, alongside the shift in political narrative around these pipelines, show that the FEIS will only further the conviction and resolve of the growing anti-pipeline movement.
The Pipeline Pledge of Resistance is just one example of this conviction. The hundreds of people who have signed have pledged to engage in any tactic necessary to stop the ACP and MVP — including nonviolent civil disobedience and even risking arrest. To date, nearly 400 people have pledged to risk arrest to stop these pipelines. Plus, nearly 1,000 have pledged to engage in some form of support for those willing to participate in dignified civil disobedience to stop these radical infrastructure projects.
Those familiar with FERC’s history are not surprised by its shoddy environmental review. Since 1986, FERC has approved every proposal for a fracked-gas infrastructure projects that it has come across, with the exception of the Pacific Connector Pipeline and accompanying liquefied natural gas export terminal in 2016.1 Many of these projects have resulted in spills and even explosions. Furthermore, the agency has very strong ties to the very industry it is tasked with regulating. Since 2000, 12 of 15 former commissioners are “currently employed either directly or indirectly in the fossil fuel industry as executives, directors, partners, lobbyists, and/or consultants.”2
The opposition to the proposed fracked-gas pipelines is not just limited to those who have signed the Pledge. In recent months, the opposition has reached a fever pitch. Numerous groups and organizations have voiced their disapproval of the pipelines. In January, a letter signed on behalf of members of numerous indigenous tribes in the region denouncing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was released to the public.

30710794543_a58360f44f_hPhoto from Flickr user Joe Brusky with a Creative Commons license. 

In April, announcements that both of these pipelines would trigger miles of ridgetop removal shocked public conscience throughout the region, with various Appalachian Trail hiking groups and enthusiasts assembling in Richmond last month to call upon Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to use his authority to reject the projects.   
Finally, in May, a band of Virginia-based military veterans, representing every branch on the military, released an open letter to the Governor, linking the the MVP and the ACP to the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
IMG_6105.
The broadening of the anti-pipeline movement in Virginia is indicative of a larger shift in the Commonwealth’s political culture. The contentious gubernatorial primaries this year in the state were dubbed a “referendum on pipelines”, with anti-pipeline candidates from both major parties winning districts along the proposed routes of these pipelines. Furthermore, over 50 Democratic candidates for Virginia’s House of Delegates have pledged to refuse money from Dominion Energy, the primary shareholder in the ACP and the largest contributor to political campaigns in Virginia.
Regardless of FERC’s announcement, the efforts to stop these pipelines in order to protect our land, water, communities, and climate will ultimately come from the massive grassroots movement. The movement has brought together folks from across Virginia from all walks of life with a common goal — and they are willing to put the their bodies on the line to achieve it.

1http://public-accountability.org/2017/02/oil-gas-industry-dominates-federal-agency-responsible-for-pipeline-approvals
2Ibid.

Even in the age of Trump, Baltimore is moving forward on climate

On June 1st, President Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This reckless decision signaled to the rest of the world that the U.S. is not a reliable leader and keeps us marching on a path toward climate chaos.
Fortunately, young people, advocates, and local elected officials have stepped up around the country to spearhead climate action in the wake of the federal government’s abdication of leadership. Over 1,000 cities, counties, states, universities, and businesses have signed onto a letter declaring their commitment to the agreement. Mayor Catherine Pugh signed Baltimore onto the letter, and the City Council strengthened Baltimore’s commitment to climate action this week.
On June 19th, the Baltimore City Council adopted a resolution upholding the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement. Councilman Zeke Cohen of Baltimore’s 1st District engaged over fifteen partners, including the Maryland Environmental Health Network, Baltimore Beyond Plastic, and CCAN, to collaborate on the resolution. In addition to recognizing the significance of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and opposing the U.S.’s withdrawal from it, the resolution commits Baltimore City to specific actions that will work to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and address environmental injustices in the city.
The best part about this resolution is how intersectional and localized it is. Not only does it call for emissions reductions, the resolution also outlines how food deserts, energy affordability, zero waste strategies, sewage and stormwater infrastructure, community land trusts, equitable public transit, and more are all connected to climate change.
Critically, the resolution centers equity. It pledges to uphold practices that foster “a liveable, economical, equitable, and just energy future for all Baltimoreans regardless of age, race, income, or zip code” and acknowledges that, “climate change impacts are felt first and worst by vulnerable populations which exacerbates inequity.” It goes on to state, “we reject treating people and the planet as resources to be exploited.”
Before the City Council voted on the resolution on Monday night, the youth-led group Baltimore Beyond Plastic led a rally in support of the resolution. These young activists, who have been working tirelessly for a styrofoam ban in Maryland, refused to accept that Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement and worked closely with Councilman Cohen to ensure that the Council passed the strongest repudiation possible.
While this resolution is non-binding, it creates a blueprint for climate action in Baltimore. And since it passed unanimously, we can now hold every councilmember accountable to the actions outlined in the resolution (including limits on crude-by-rail infrastructure!) and work to pass legislation that will codify many of its stated commitments.

Young climate advocates stand with Councilman Cohen before Monday night's vote on the resolution
Climate advocates and resolution collaborators stand with Councilman Cohen before Monday night’s vote.

#BmoreClimateJust
 

Baltimoreans Call for Action on Oil Trains on Derailment Anniversary

On June 13, 2016, a freight train traveling from Philadelphia to Cumberland derailed inside the Howard Street Tunnel next to MICA’s campus. Twelve of the derailed cars were designed to carry liquefied petroleum gas but were thankfully empty at the time. The remaining car that derailed was carrying acetone. The incident took over 24 hours to clear.
At the time of last year’s derailment, I lived just a few blocks away and awoke that morning to numerous alerts about the incident from concerned friends. Knowing that explosive crude oil has traveled this exact route in Baltimore, I was terrified about the potential devastation due to a derailment. Thankfully, there were no injuries or leaks, and most of the cars that derailed were empty. But the incident begs the question, “what if?” What if that train had been carrying explosive crude oil?
Yesterday, residents of Baltimore’s crude oil train blast zone, MICA representatives, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, and labor and environmental advocates rallied to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of this train derailment and to discuss the public health and safety threats posed to Baltimoreans by dangerous crude oil trains.
During the rally, MICA faculty member Valeska Populoh reflected on last year’s derailment: “The incident has raised my concerns about the transport of hazardous materials on these rail lines so close to our campus and the surrounding community, the potential threats to health and safety that these pose, as well as the potential for disruption of traffic and daily life in this central part of Baltimore in the event of another derailment.”

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, representative of Baltimore’s District 14, said: “Crude oil transport through Baltimore is a dangerous venture. At the least, our residents require State and local coordination to secure better notice of such transport, more secure carriers than now employed, and a concerted plan of prevention and response to potential accidents.”
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, representative of Baltimore’s 14th District, said: “Crude oil transport through Baltimore is a dangerous venture. At the least, our residents require State and local coordination to secure better notice of such transport, more secure carriers than now employed, and a concerted plan of prevention and response to potential accidents.”

165,000 Baltimoreans live, work, and go to school in the oil train “blast zone” — the area that could be directly impacted if a crude oil train derailed and exploded. Baltimore has had too many close calls with freight trains. In addition to last year’s derailment next to MICA, there was the infamous 2001 derailment in the Howard Street Tunnel, which caused a fire and water main break that effectively shut down the city for a week. In 2013, a freight train exploded in Rosedale and broke windows, shook nearby buildings, and slowed traffic throughout the region. And in 2014, the retaining wall on 26th St collapsed, sending parked cars, streetlights, and large chunks of sidewalk onto the CSX tracks below.
All of these incidents occurred on the route that crude oil trains have been known to take through Baltimore and are examples of just how close Baltimore has come to a catastrophic incident.
During Tuesday’s rally, David McClure, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1300, said, “Each day our 2,500 MTA workers transport the people of Baltimore to work, school, the doctor, or wherever they need to go. And our riders’ safety is our number one priority. I repeat, it’s our number one priority. And now it’s time for the City Council to put the safety and health of the people first.  It’s time to put a stop these trains from carrying dangerous crude oil and other hazardous cargo travelling through these densely-populated neighborhoods before we have a disaster on our hands.”
Ulysses Archie, an urban farmer and community advocate, spoke on Tuesday as a concerned father. He highlighted the forty Baltimore City Public Schools that are located within the blast zone and noted that tens of thousands of children, including his boys, are endangered by crude oil train traffic in the city.
The rally came a few days after members of the Baltimore City Council and Maryland General Assembly toured South Baltimore neighborhoods that are threatened by crude oil train traffic. On Friday, June 9th, community leaders concerned about the potential for a catastrophic explosion led the elected officials on a tour of Mt Winans, Westport, and Curtis Bay and saw some of the most vulnerable points in Baltimore’s infrastructure for a derailment and explosion.
Ann Robinson, President of the Mt Winans Neighborhood Association, showed tour participants an at-grade crossing in Mt Winans. At-grade crossings have been identified by rail companies as some of the most dangerous points of rail infrastructure.
Ann Robinson, President of the Mt Winans Neighborhood Association, showed tour participants an at-grade crossing in Mt Winans. At-grade crossings have been identified by rail companies as some of the most dangerous points of rail infrastructure.

While it is up to the federal government to ultimately ban the transport of crude-by-rail, local and state officials can take steps to protect Marylanders from this public health and safety threat. In Baltimore, the City Council can prevent the construction of new and the expansion of existing crude oil train terminals in order to limit oil train traffic within the city. Port cities across the country have been taking the lead on fighting fossil fuel infrastructure through zoning authority, and Baltimore can too. At the state level, the General Assembly can pass legislation focused on emergency preparedness, transparency, and proof of insurance for crude-by-rail incidents.
Elected officials and staff members from the Baltimore City Council and Maryland General Assembly gathered outside the southern entrance to the Howard Street Tunnel, 1.5 miles from site of last year’s derailment next to MICA. Delegate Robbyn Lewis, Councilman John Bullock, and staff members for Senator Barbara Robinson, Delegate Nick Mosby, Councilman Zeke Cohen, Delegate Kumar Barve, City Council President Jack Young, and Councilwoman Shannon Sneed participated in the tour.
Elected officials and staff members from the Baltimore City Council and Maryland General Assembly gathered outside the southern entrance to the Howard Street Tunnel, 1.5 miles from site of last year’s derailment next to MICA. Delegate Robbyn Lewis, Councilman John Bullock, and staff members for Senator Barbara Robinson, Delegate Nick Mosby, Councilman Zeke Cohen, Delegate Kumar Barve, City Council President Jack Young, and Councilwoman Shannon Sneed participated in the tour.

CCAN is working hard with our partners in the Baltimore City Council and in the Maryland General Assembly to protect Marylanders from crude-by-rail traffic. Sign the petition to the Baltimore City Council urging action and get involved with our local campaign!

VIDEO: Why these D.C. residents are working to put a price on carbon

Our hot new campaign video has officially kicked off summer in the District! We spoke to four D.C. residents to explain why they want the city to put a price on carbon pollution.


 
It’s been over a week since Donald Trump’s reckless withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Thankfully, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser responded by affirming the city’s commitment to climate action. She pledged to reduce D.C.’s carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. Awesome!
Unfortunately, D.C. isn’t on track yet to meet its climate goals. With a comprehensive climate policy like the carbon fee and rebate, D.C. would be well on its way — and it would set an example for the entire nation.
If there there is one thing we’ve learned this week, it’s that we need real action. It’s more important than ever that states move forward on carbon reductions in a progressive and effective way. A comprehensive policy, like the proposed carbon fee and rebate, is the only way to reduce carbon emissions quickly and efficiently. And it’s what D.C. residents want: a full 74 percent of residents want to reduce carbon pollution in the District.

So what can you do? WATCH the new video, SHARE it with all your friends and family, and JOIN our campaign for a greener, cleaner, more equitable D.C.

—

McAuliffe officials reverse promise on pipelines. Time to act.

Seven weeks ago, we applauded the McAuliffe Administration’s announcement that it would conduct thorough, site-specific reviews of the impacts that the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines would have on water quality. After years of public pressure, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was finally planning to give these massive pipelines the thorough environmental review they deserve.
On Wednesday, DEQ abandoned that promise. 
The agency says it made a mistake. It was never planning to look at the pipelines’ impacts to Virginia streams, DEQ now says. Instead, the agency wants to abdicate that responsibility to President Trump’s Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected to issue a blanket one-size-fits-all permit that does not look at each individual stream crossing, and therefore does not fully protect these water bodies.
This is Gov. McAuliffe’s responsibility! DEQ works for him. Tell McAuliffe the state MUST do more to protect VA’s waterways.
Back in April, the DEQ was unequivocal. We will look “at each wetland, stream crossing … separately, to determine specific requirements that would be necessary” to protect Virginia waterways, a DEQ spokesperson told the Roanoke Times.
This was hopeful news. If the DEQ carries out thorough, site-specific reviews, we believe it will have had no choice but to reject these disastrous pipelines. There’s no doubt that building the pipelines across steep, well-watered, forested mountain landscapes will harm water resources, including heavy sedimentation of streams, alteration of runoff patterns and stream channels, disturbance of groundwater flow, and damage to springs and water supplies.

The Army Corps process does not involve site-specific analyses. We have no confidence that the Corps’ permit will be sufficient for such a complex project across the state’s steepest mountains. The DEQ is evading its responsibility to conduct thorough reviews of all threats to water quality posed by these pipeline projects.
The state must do more to protect Virginia’s waterways from pipelines. Call McAuliffe today.