The Peoples Climate March is Red, White, and Blue

Guest post by Rick Shingles, member of Preserve Giles County
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On April 29, I plan to travel more than 500 miles to Washington D.C. for the Peoples’ Climate Mobilization. For me, marching is about more than politics, more than ideology.
For me, the issue is deeply personal.
The fossil fuel industry threatens my community in southwest Virginia. The proposed fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is routed to bisect Newport which sits in the middle of the active Giles County seismic zone in the midst of the Appalachian fold belt. This 42-inch diameter pipeline would carve through steep ridges and karst valleys in some of the most pristine natural habitat and biodiversity in the world.
Our natural heritage, endangered species, aquifers (the primary source of our farm and residential water), safety from catastrophe like the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion, peace of mind, property values and property rights are all at risk.
Our town is just one casualty of a vast fracked-gas pipelines infrastructure either built or planned. There are 9,000 miles of new oil and gas pipelines proposed in the U.S. with 19 (including the MVP and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline) in Appalachia alone. And tens of thousands of homes and businesses are being sacrificed to supply the product these pipelines transport: fracked methane, an even more lethal greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Multiple perils accompany every stage of hydraulic fracturing: the toxic mix of chemicals used to induce it, the dispersal and storage of waste water which can poison drinkable water and soils, seismic activity, methane leaks at every stage of production and distribution, and the destruction of green economies.
A Roanoke Times editorial presents my county as a model for developing outdoor recreational economies. Yet our economy is imperiled by the MVP. The pipeline would cross tributaries of the New River (some multiple times). It would block access to Mountain Lake and the Cascades during the construction. And the Jefferson National Forest could become split by a 500-foot wide utility corridor.
All of this could upend fifteen years of collaboration by local businesses and county government to build a tourism economy that currently provides $26 million in annual business revenue, 16% of our sales tax, $90,000 in transient occupancy taxes and two percent of total tax revenue. That is a lot for a sparsely settled, rural county. We don’t want it trashed by an interstate pipeline ally.
Why should so many American communities be sacrifice zones to supply this fuel to other nations, a good number of which ban fracking?
That’s why I’m going to march in Washington.
I will support Americans in all communities that are being sacrificed to supply fracked gas.
And for what? For continued reliance on antiquated twentieth century energy sources that are increasingly unnecessary, less plentiful and more expensive than wind, solar, hydraulic, and tidal power?
I am going to fight for greater regulation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that appears controlled by the very gas and oil industry it is supposed to regulate, approves any and all interstate pipeline applications, grants private companies eminent domain to take our land, and runs roughshod over state and local governments.
I am going for my children and grandchildren – to preserve a natural heritage threatened by our addiction to fossil fuels, to help stave off rising seas and coastal flooding and the fundamental alteration of inland climates that underlie many traditional industries (See Stephen Nash’s Virginia Climate Fever: How Global Warming will Transform Out Cities, Shorelines, and Forests). Climate disruption could well lead to unprecedented mass migrations and economic, social and political instability that could destabilize governments and exacerbate international conflicts.
The dire threats posed by climate disruption should not be partisan issues, red-states versus blue-states, or framed by ideologues of the left or the right.
I will journey to Washington understanding that each of us must look to ourselves first to protect our communities, preserve our natural heritage and safeguard our progeny. If we fail, I will not solely blame any particular individual or political party or politicians in general. Each citizen has the responsibility to reduce his or her own environmental footprint and to fulfill the obligation of democratic citizenship. We must act to hold our leaders accountable. We must take direct action.
I accept this responsibility.
One day, I hope to tell my grandchildren that I – with millions of others – met this singular challenge and became this nation’s greatest generation.

Rick Shingles is associate professor emeritus at Virginia Tech and coordinator of Preserve Giles County.

Offshore Wind Is A Fair Development Opportunity In Baltimore

For far too long, Baltimore has been forced to bear the burden of failed development that pollutes the city, causes disproportionate health impacts, and forces residents out of their communities. But now, offshore wind presents the city with an opportunity to become a manufacturing hub for clean energy.
South Baltimore is host to a slew of polluting and dangerous developments, including a 200-acre coal pier, medical waste incinerator, and numerous chemical and pesticide plants. It is also home to a crude oil shipping terminal. “Bomb trains” carrying explosive crude oil from North Dakota travel through the city, and many stop at the NuStar Energy Storage Terminal in Fairfield to transfer oil from rail to barge in order to ship it to refineries in the Northeast.
From 2013 to 2014, over 100 million gallons of crude oil were transported into Baltimore by rail to be offloaded and shipped to refineries. Transporting crude by rail puts 165,000 people in the “blast zone” in Baltimore – the area that could be directly impacted if a train were to derail and explode. Bakken crude oil is highly volatile and transporting it by rail has had devastating consequences, most notably the 2013 derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec that killed 47 people and leveled the town.
There have been close calls in Baltimore in recent years. Last June, a train carrying acetone derailed in the Howard Street Tunnel right next to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) — my alma mater. A school parking lot was filled with emergency vehicles for over a week while the derailment was contained. Last month, eight cars on a CSX freight train derailed on a sharp curve in Frederick County. While nothing spilled, the train was carrying hazardous materials and was traveling the same route that crude oil trains have been known to take to reach Baltimore.
And two weeks ago, a fire broke out in a scrap yard in Fairfield just across the street from the oil train shipping terminal there. The fire was contained, but once again, Baltimoreans were faced with a terrifying “what if” scenario had the fire reached the terminal.
These close calls, along with the string of derailments, fires, and explosions caused by oil trains across the country, demonstrate that transporting crude by rail is an unacceptable gamble that endangers people who live, work, and go to school near the tracks.
Meanwhile, it is clear that Marylanders are ready for clean energy.
Last month, the state held two public hearings in Berlin and Annapolis where residents showed up in droves to voice their support for offshore wind farm proposals.
Throughout the three-hour hearing in Berlin, person after person got up in front of the packed auditorium to speak about how offshore wind will help clean Maryland’s air, provide a reliable source of renewable energy, and create thousands of jobs across the state. Union members were a strong presence at the hearing, from piledrivers to carpenters, all of whom stand to benefit from the potential manufacturing and construction jobs across the state. And as a Baltimorean, talk of repurposing Sparrows Point into a wind turbine manufacturing hub was particularly exciting.
Instead of continuing to invest in failed development that brings polluting and dangerous materials like explosive crude oil into the heart of the city, Baltimore has an opportunity to become a central hub for clean energy jobs and fair development. Offshore wind offers one exciting pathway for a just transition in Baltimore where the city can move away from the polluting, dangerous fossil fuel industries of the past and become a clean energy powerhouse.
Tell the Public Service Commission to approve offshore wind in Maryland to help make this fair development future a reality in Baltimore.

 
 
Image at top from Sandia National Laboratories.

Maryland just passed a fracking ban. I'm weeping.

This is it: We have officially made history.

Last night, the Senate voted 35 to 10 to ban fracking statewide in Maryland. The bill will be sent to Governor Hogan’s desk to be signed in a matter of days. We are now the third state to ban fracking and the first state with gas reserves to pass a legislative ban. This is the most environmentally significant bill that Maryland has ever passed. Period.
As I write this, I can barely see the computer screen as my eyes keep welling up with tears. This has been the most personal, grueling, and gratifying campaign that I have ever worked on.
As a Western Marylander, the stakes on this campaign were enormous. If we failed, we would have opened up my family’s land and community to the dangers of fracking — contaminating our water, risking birth defects in our children, and scarring the natural beauty of Western Maryland.
Today, we proved that grassroots power can overcome partisan politics and Big Oil and Gas if we organize and work together for a common purpose.
Today, we proved that together, we can overcome anything.
When I first began this campaign, I learned about my grandfather’s activism in Western Maryland. He led sit-ins to bring racial integration to local restaurants and community pools in Frostburg. He did this to protect his seven sons and one daughter so that they could live a life that was just and free of harm. When I began organizing in Frostburg, I carried his spirit with me.
And today, I can proudly say I carried on his legacy of protecting his family. But we could not have done it without each of you. You gave your time, your efforts, and your passion to secure a better future for my family and for all of Maryland. From the start, each of you worked to build a movement that secured this victory.
Thank you to the residents of Frostburg, where over 800 of you signed petitions and hundreds of you rallied and urged your city council to ban fracking.
Thank you to the citizens of Bel Air, who rallied in the freezing cold and told your city council all you wanted for the holidays was for them to ban fracking.
Thank you to Frederick County activists, who met with your local officials and did not relent until they supported a statewide ban.
Thanks to each of you in Friendsville and across Western Maryland, who were met with harsh criticisms and shouted down by your legislators for standing strong to keep your communities safe from fracking.
Thank you to the countless local officials who stood up against fracking in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Charles County, College Park, Friendsville, Frederick County, Frostburg, Greenbelt, Mountain Lake Park, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County.
Thanks to each of you who called, wrote your legislators, lobbied in Annapolis and were part of the rally where over a thousand people took to the streets in Annapolis to demand an unfractured future for generations to come.
Thank you to the “Annapolis 13” who were peacefully arrested and helped carry the message to our state Senate that we would not compromise on a ban.
And thanks to each of you who had unwavering faith that sometimes David can beat Goliath. You pushed forward the notion that grassroots organizing can truly change the world.
Because it has.

 
Please take a moment to thank each and every one of our legislators who cast a “yes” vote after YOU made your voices heard.
Thank them for representing our voices in Annapolis and making sure we have a frack-free future.

The Climate Can’t Wait. March with Us 4/29

Just a few weeks ago, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said carbon emissions don’t cause climate change — contradicting NASA and 97 percent of the world’s scientists. This is not normal.
The Trump administration has made it clear that it will do whatever it takes to dismantle climate protections and bury our voices.
But they do not realize this: We are seeds of the most dedicated and strongest kind. Since day one of Trump’s presidency, the most beautiful and resilient shows of resistance have continued to sprout up and grow across America. Mark my words: our resistance has just begun.
Join CCAN and our allies at the March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice (People’s Climate March) in Washington, D.C. on April 29th. On the hundredth day of Trump’s presidency, we’ll continue to spread our roots of resistance as we come together across issues to march on our nation’s capital. 
In 2014, nearly half a million of us took to the streets of New York City in the most powerful climate march of our time.1 We helped propel the Paris Climate Accord forward and organized for many other local climate victories across the country.
Every victory we’ve worked for is under attack with this new administration — even victories that make clear economic sense, like energy efficiency programs and the rule to capture excess methane from drilling on public lands. It’s now up to all of us to show that we’re not going away.
When we take to the streets on April 29th, we’ll send the White House and Congress the clear message that we’re not backing down. We’ll continue to fight for our climate, our communities, and our shared future.
We’ll march not just to resist — but to rise above and defeat the threats that Trump continues to unravel. The sound of our feet clicking together will echo our powerful show of unity, and then we’ll bring our unmatched fervor and dedication back to our local communities.

We’ll march to show the Trump administration: We will never stop fighting.

The People’s Climate March will not end in the streets. We’ll carry the drumbeat forward, as we march into our representative’s offices to demand action on climate. As we march into meetings before our local board of supervisors to insist on protection from fossil fuel companies. As we march into our communities to inspire others and ignite the passion that will continue to drive our movement forward.
The threat of Trump’s administration is too big for any of us to take on alone.
That’s why you should join us on April 29 at the March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice.  Sign up HERE to wear down your marching shoes a bit further and stand with us.
I hope to see you there.
 

  1. “Climate Change March to Descend on Washington in April.” January 2017. Inside Climate News.

The Battle at Standing Rock, and Lessons for Virginia

Guest post by Gray Michael Parsons
I have been an environmentalist all my life…..it is “in my blood.”  
But growing up in the 50s & 60s in Coastal North Carolina, the more popular term was “conservationist”.  It was a much safer label than proclaiming one’s traditional obligation to protect Mother Earth as an American “Indian.”  
As a child and adolescent, my grasp of concepts such as conservation and ecosystem were deferred in favor of more simple ones such as baseball, football, the Beatles and Temptations.  But my maternal grands (who raised me) taught me to revere all life forms and the elements necessary to support life…..Sun, land, water, air, etc.  All I had to do was watch.  Their walk was their talk.  
So it was that same Traditional Indigenous value system that compelled me to travel to the Standing Rock tribal reservation in ND in the late summer and mid Fall of  2016 as a volunteer water protector.
The contemporary significance of Standing Rock (SR) was initially how the Dakota Access Pipeline threatened access to the only clean water source available to the tribe. As Natives, we saw unprecedented tribal unity happening, with the reemergence of treaty rights as a viable pathway to stop or at least divert the pathway of Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).  SR then became more than a place and a people; it grew into a model of courage, sustainable civil disobedience, and resistance to corporate power at its apex. The movement was prayerful, peaceful and powerful.  
And although an unarmed demonstration, it was met with dramatic overkill in terms of numbers and armament with respect to law enforcement. They used multiple helicopters, military Humvees, water cannons, diverse and powerful disabling sprays such as mace and pepper, rubber bullets, tear gas grenades, disabling sound and even displayed a missile launcher! Police violence and brutality in this region brings to mind that in the deep South during the peak Civil Rights movement era.  
And yet, the resolve of the people was unmovable. Why? For many reasons, but perhaps paramount among them was the fact that their backs were against the wall. It was and remains a matter of sustaining life and habitability on a sacred land.  And as the movement grew, the water protectors became more diverse with respect to all aspects of humanity: age, gender, sexuality, race, religion, culture, country of citizenship, and more.

They were us!  Indigen-US!  Not just “Indigenous”

Fast forward: The Black Snake known as DAPL is only one of an entire network of pipelines intended to transport fossil fuels extracted via fracking. These pipelines have spread like a for-profit cancer across our land, in everyone’s backyard, including your own. They contain poisonous chemicals that are patented and unavailable to be identified in  hospital ERs. The contents are going directly to the seas or major river ports for sale outside our country.  It’s about profit, not domestic security.
In West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, a similar pipeline, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, threatens to desecrate documented historically sacred Native lands……and the water source for many of you in the event of a spill.  
Our backs are against the wall. It’s time to act now!
Here’s how: Organize locally and connect statewide and regionally.  Call and write your government reps, start and support petitions.  Run for local office.  Divest from banks that are invested in the Dakota Access Pipeline and other fossil fuel projects.  Attend info meetings and refute the distortions and lies of many in the extractive industries.  The media is rarely our ally in this battle, so be your own media by writing LTEs, blog posts, and op-eds. Engage everyone you know!
In the Renape dialect of Algonquin and of some of my Coastal NC Ancestors, “Pasa Qwer Wuhn”, We Stand, We Fight. ” Ke-Ke Yu Nupi”, Water Is Life!  Join groups such as the Coalition of Woodland Nations or Indigen-US on Facebook.  Ke-Na, Nya:weh, Miigweech, thank you.  
 

Gray Michael Parsons

Author’s Bio:  Gray Michael Parsons is of Machapunga Tuscarora and Hatterask Native American ancestry and was born and raised in “Little” Washington, NC in 1949.  He is the author of “Hope On Hatterask” and drums and dances at native powwows and festivals in the East.  He was a Water Protector in opposition to the DAPL near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation in early September and late October 2016.  He is a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Parks, Outdoor Recreation, and Conservation and attended graduate studies at Johns Hopkins, Morgan State and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  He resides in the Baltimore metro area and works in the Organic & Natural Foods industry.
 
Image at top from Victoria Pickering with a Creative Commons license
 

Arrests in Annapolis

Today, 13 faith leaders and western Maryland residents were arrested.
They were arrested because there is a threat looming over all our communities, as the moratorium on fracking in Maryland is set to expire this October.
They were arrested because we are at a crucial moment in Maryland history, as the Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill to ban fracking and the Maryland Senate looks to do the same.
They were arrested because this is the moment we need to stand up and send a clear message: Maryland needs a statewide fracking ban NOW.
It was immeasurably inspiring. Our activists were handcuffed, loaded into police vans, and sent to jail, where they spent hours and hours before being released. (At the time of this writing, more than 7 hours after the arrests, they haven’t been released yet).
Right now, we need to carry on the work of our friends by sending our message to the Maryland Senate. Here’s most important thing you can do right now: Call Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. Tell him to support a fracking ban.
Here’s what to say: “My name is ____ and I live in ____. I support those arrested this morning protesting fracking. Please support only a total ban on fracking in Maryland, and bring the fracking ban bill up for a vote in the Senate.”
miller-image-fracking
 
Now, here are some highlights from today’s events.
The morning started with inspiring speeches from our faith leaders. Including this one, from Unitarian Universalist Reverend Terence Ellen, who connected fracking to global warming and extolled the virtue of fighting for a fracking ban:
 

 
Then, activists moved across the street to stand on the steps of the State House, all the while chanting songs and cheers about standing strong in the fight against fracking:
 

 
Finally, as Maryland legislators began filing into the State House, it was time for the arrests. The people willing to get arrested moved to the right of the steps, to block the entrance of the statehouse. Dozens of others who joined for the action stood across the street in solidarity and support.
Food & Water Watch documented the arrests:
 
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Thirteen were arrested in total. After the arrestees were taken away, the rest of the activists continued to rally and cheer for a fracking ban.
Here’s the winner for best costume (come on, you didn’t realize there was a costume contest? There’s always a costume contest).

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All of this was to send a clear message. We will not back down. We will not give up. We will keep up the fight until the Maryland General Assembly places a statewide fracking BAN and protects our public health, our water and our climate.
Now, time to keep on fighting.

The Tale of the Loud Neighbor: An Argument for a Tax on Carbon

The following is a blog post written by CCAN volunteer Andrew Crane-Droesch. In this satirical piece, he illustrates the benefits of a tax on carbon by telling the story of loud, obnoxious neighbor that needs to turn the volume way down. Take a look!
This is a blog post about carbon taxes. But before I go there, let me tell you a story about a guy named Ernie.
Ernie lives in a small condo in a big city. He has many neighbors, and the walls of his unit are thin. Ernie can hear the muffled voices of his neighbors in the hallway when he comes home from work.
When Ernie is home, his likes to listen to music. His favorite bands include Gorgoroth and Vanilla Ice. Ernie has a powerful stereo. He likes to listen to his favorite songs with the volume turned all the way up. He doesn’t like headphones because they aren’t comfortable.  And they make it difficult to copy Armi ja Danny’s sweet moves.
Ernie’s neighbors don’t like this. They have politely asked Ernie to turn down his music. Ernie resists, saying that his music makes him happy. He argues that sometimes his neighbors are loud too, and he doesn’t like their music either. He argues that this is a free country, dammit, and he can do what he wants.
So the neighbors start playing their own music louder to counteract the NKOTB marathon coming out of Ernie’s apartment. Nobody can sleep. People are starting to lose their hearing. The cats have all run away. What can be done?
 
Externalities
Ernie’s loud music is an example of an externality. An externality is the cost born by others of anything done for oneself. Ernie experiences pleasure listening to Color Me Badd really loudly on his stereo. But his fun comes at a cost to everyone around him. His neighbors don’t get any pleasure from his music, but they’re the ones losing sleep. And they can’t get the Electric Slide out of their heads.
Does this sound familiar? Externalities are an annoying part of everyday life. One person’s cool motorcycle is someone else’s interrupted conversation. Someone’s relaxing cigarette break is another person’s asthma attack. That sinking feeling that you get when you realize that you’ve stepped in dog doo? An externality.
How can we deal with externalities? It is usually a good idea to start simple. Ernie’s neighbors can try harder to talk to him. Regulations governing motorcycle mufflers, designated smoking areas, and dog waste can be adopted.
 
Pigovian Taxes
But some situations call for a Pigovian tax. Named after the British economist Arthur Pigou, a Pigovian tax increases the price of a public nuisance until the costs (to society) equal the benefits (to individuals). When a nuisance is more costly, less of it is produced.
Back to Ernie. The neighbors could decide to get together and implement a Pigovian tax in the form of a volume fee. Everyone in the building gets a sound monitor just inside of their front door. Any time the music goes above some volume, a surcharge is levied on the person making the noise. So if Ernie wants to really get down to the Archies, he’ll have to pay a little extra.
Pigovian taxes have a bunch of nice features.
First: they change behavior. Ernie will probably turn his music down if the price is high enough.
Second: they spur technological innovation. Ernie might decide that it is finally worthwhile to invest in soundproofing insulation, or get some Bluetooth headphones.
Third: they are flexible. Ernie can decide whether he wants to lower the volume, invest in insulation/headphones, or just pay the fee sometimes.
Finally: they raise revenue. The neighbors can spend the money on soundproofing, fix the leaky roof, or just divide up the money and put it into their pockets.*
 
Carbon fees
What does carbon pollution have in common with Ernie’s Tom Jones marathon? The benefits go to the few and the costs are charged to the many.
Unless we do something, here in DC we’ll get worse heat waves, stronger storm surges, and, in a few centuries, sea-level rise that will turn Capitol Hill into an island and the national mall into a swamp. Globally, food production will plummet, species will go extinct, storms will get worse, some countries will cease to exist, and others will be sources of climate refugees. If we let these things happen, it won’t be because anyone wants them. It will because people want to burn fossil fuels, and aren’t bothered by the fact that others – including their children – will bear the consequences.
Scientists and economists on the left and right agree that a tax is probably our best policy option for fighting climate change. The idea is simple: if it costs money to burn carbon, (1) you’ll burn less of it, and (2) you’ll figure out other ways to accomplish your goal without burning carbon.
So, businesses in DC might decide to stop air conditioning the sidewalk during summer if their electricity bills go up. Builders and homeowners can demand better insulation and more efficient appliances. Individuals and businesses can switch to renewable electricity providers, and those providers will get more customers because their energy will be cheaper in relative terms.**
What do we do with all of the carbon tax money we collect? Different people have different ideas. CCAN is pushing for a rebate system, in which the money would go directly to DC residents. This would help fight inequality here in the district – rich people usually pollute more (and thus will pay more), but everyone will get the same check. This proposal is actually very similar to the approach advocated by Bernie Sanders in his recent presidential bid.  And it is nearly identical to a recent proposal by a group of republican elder statesmen.
Ultimately, the choice of how we respond to a carbon fee is up to each of us. Nobody is going to tell you how to live your life or run your business.  But we’re going to be asked to pay the cost of the messes we make. And if we all have to do this, hopefully, there will be a smaller mess.
 
Andrew Crane-Droesch has a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, and works as an economist for the federal government.  He has written this blog post in his capacity as a private citizen.  His views expressed here are his own, and do not reflect those of the federal government (obviously).  He actually *likes* Gorgoroth.
 
*If the money just goes back to the residents — including Ernie — why would Ernie’s behavior be affected?  Because he is taxed according to his own noise, but he is paid according to the average noise of everyone in the building.  So if he makes more noise than average, he’ll lose money.  Likewise, good neighbors would stand to benefit.
 
**This is because the price of dirty electricity will go up while the price of carbon-free electricity stays the same.  However, if enough people sign up for renewable energy through the energy choice program, the cost of carbon-free electricity may actually go up in the short term.  This is basic supply and demand.  But the market will adjust over the longer term.  Seeing all of the demand, more renewable energy producers will enter the market, and the competition will drive prices down.  And as there is more renewable energy production, economies of scale will begin to emerge.  For example, there will be more companies around that specialize in servicing wind turbines.  That will lower the cost of wind turbine service, lower the cost of generation, and ultimately lower the absolute cost of renewable energy compared to what it was at the start.
 

Activists who laugh together, stay together. Join us Thursday for climate comedy in DC!

Clear skies, blooming trees, warm breezes; spring has sprung in Washington DC — 22 days too early. If you’re like me, this warm weather is making you freak out about global warming.
Which is why LAUGHTER has never been more important. Seriously, hear me out. With Donald Trump’s presidency, we environmentally minded citizens have never needed to stick together more. So why not enjoy some laughs, and help advance climate action along the way?
That’s why our friends at Grassroots Comedy DC are hosting a stand-up comedy benefit for climate action this Thursday!
Come join us at the Super Spectacular Comedy Showcase For The Climate, 7:30pm on Thursday, March 2nd, at The Bier Baron Tavern (1523 22nd St NW, D.C.). Invite everyone you know!
The evening’s headliner is award-winning stand-up comedian Robert Mac. He’s been a finalist on Billy Crystal’s Mr. Saturday Night Contest, the San Francisco International Comedy Competition and the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon Talent Search. He’s also appeared on Montreal’s Just For Laughs, Gilda’s LaughFest and took the grand prize at Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots. There will be plenty of other hilarious comics as well; and, you will get a chance to connect with like-minded climate allies from our region.
By coming out for laughs, you will also be helping the climate movement here in DC. All proceeds will go to CCAN’s campaign  to put a price on carbon in DC, with the country’s first progressive and equitable carbon fee and rebate policy.
We know that putting a price on carbon is one of the most straightforward and cost-effective ways to fight climate change. By making fossil fuel polluters pay for the real and damaging costs of their emissions, we can unleash the clean energy solutions we need, and make DC families better off in the process.
The coalition to put a price on carbon in DC is starting to take off. Our diverse, multi-sector, city-wide coalition is now more than 20 organizations strong, and we have begun positive conversations with City Council members and key agency leads. Read more about that here.
So help CCAN work to give clean energy a chance to compete and keep the dirty stuff where it belongs: underground.
Join the climate movement in DC, and come to the Super Spectacular Comedy Showcase For The Climate, 7:30pm on Thursday, March 2nd, at The Bier Baron Tavern (1523 22nd St NW, D.C.). RSVP on Facebook, or buy tickets directly here.
Hope to see you there!

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Why I'm Marching To Ban Fracking In Maryland

Guest post from Elisabeth Hoffman of HoCo Climate Change
When I march Thursday for a fracking ban, I’ll be calling on Maryland to heed the warning of the canary that is Pennsylvania. And West Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma and the others.
No state has gotten fracking right, because fracking can’t be made safe or even safe enough.
Everywhere this industry goes, residents rise up to defend their homes and farms, their children and pets, and their forests and towns from the noise and lighting, the truck traffic and ruined roads, the polluted air and water, and even earthquakes. No regulations are sufficient to corral the fracking industry.
Other states let industry experiment on their communities. From studies in fracked areas, we know that fracking is linked to increases in asthma attacks; preterm births and high-risk pregnancies; anxiety, fatigue, migraines and sinus ailments; and hospitalizations for heart and neurological problems. New research finds a link between fracking and a form of childhood leukemia. Thanks to documents from a freedom of information request, we are also learning that Pennsylvania officials suppressed thousands of residents’ complaints about water contamination and other problems. We know too that much damage remains hidden in legal settlements: Industry pays up only after residents take a vow of silence about what happened.  
Along with the fracking come the pipelines and compressor stations and export factories that bring yet more destruction to towns, fields and forests; spikes of toxic pollution, and threats from explosions. Communities must fight not only industry but the rubber-stamping Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has cozy ties to industry and refuses to take into account the cumulative damage from these fracked-gas projects. In Pennsylvania, for example, residents are rebelling against the 350-mile Mariner East pipeline that will take fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale to export for Scotland to make plastics, of all things; the 124-mile Constitution pipeline that slashed through a sugar maple forest, before it was denied key approvals; and the nearly 200-mile-long Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, slated to cut through preserved farmland and communities in Lancaster and four other counties. Lancaster-area opponents have built The Stand, a wooden watchtower in the path of construction that will be the base for peaceful resistance should Williams Corp. show up.
My county, Howard, is one of only four in Maryland with no shale gas underground. Yet even here, fracking is elbowing its way in. Williams plans to expand and modernize a half-century-old compressor station to connect with that contentious Atlantic Sunrise project. And so we are joined quite literally to our friends fighting this pipeline. Maryland, too, must make a stand. We can’t let the fracking industry invade our state.
Of course, along with the fracking and the infrastructure comes the climate-disrupting methane, which is on the rise in fracked Pennsylvania. Fracked gas is no bridge fuel for our climate emergency.
Fracking and building pipelines is like installing more phone landlines – but with the added dangers. We need to be done with these antiquated fossil fuels, not doubling down on them.
What’s clear is that cheap fracked gas (and oil) is an oxymoron from industry’s playbook of alternate facts. Industry won’t pay for the lifetime of medical bills. Or clean up the air, soil and water. Or compensate for carved-up forests or climate chaos. Or monitor the toxic water it leaves underground.  Or cover the losses to the tourism industry and property values. These costs and much more remain off the industry’s books, instead showing up in our community and household balance sheets.
Even the prospect of fracking is discouraging investment in Western Maryland’s tourism businesses. Industry is fighting this ban too hard – with ads and in the state legislature – for us to be persuaded (as some have claimed) that it has little interest in Maryland. Perhaps industry just doesn’t want to be told what to do.
Yet that’s exactly what we must do. Maryland is where we say no to the whole fracking package. Instead, we’ll invest in renewables and efficiency. As a friend in fracked Pennsylvania says: “Good neighbors don’t ask you to put yourself in harm’s way so they can turn a profit. Good neighbors don’t engage in practices that may have long-term consequences for the health and welfare of the community. Good neighbors are neighborly. They don’t knowingly pollute the air, soil and water. They don’t ruin roads and disturb tranquility. Good neighbors are invested in the community, less interested in extracting wealth than building lasting bonds. Good neighbors leave a place better for having been there.”
Join me this Thursday in marching to ban fracking in Maryland.
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