Important Information for the 2015 Polar Bear Plunge

The 10th annual Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge is this Saturday, January 24th! Hundreds of CCAN supporters, along with their friends, families, Congresswoman Donna Edwards and more, will brave the waters of the Potomac River to get the word out about climate change while we raise money to keep fighting for swift action at the local, state and federal levels. For those of you planning to join us, here’s some important information.
Waivers: The plunge is a fun, family friendly event, but it’s not completely risk-free. If you completed your registration on FirstGiving, you signed a waiver form. Any plungers under 18 years of age will need to have the waiver form signed by a parent or guardian. If you’re bringing a plunger who is under 18 and who hasn’t registered online, click here to print a waiver for his or her parent or guardian to sign. We will have copies of the waiver available at registration on Saturday.
Arrival time: You and any friends or family members coming along to support you should plan to get to National Harbor no later than 10:15 a.m. All plungers must register at the registration tents (which open at 10 a.m.), so make sure you get there on time!
Attire advice: You should plan to wear old sneakers or sandals that won’t fall off when you go into the water. You will also be less cold if, in addition to a towel, you bring a robe or a blanket to wear immediately before and after you go in the water. We’ll have foot warmers to put in your shoes that you’ll appreciate especially after you’ve come out of the water.
Directions: You can find out how to get to National Harbor, including via public transportation (which is possible, but slow), by going here: http://www.nationalharbor.com/directions. Follow the signs for the plunge once you’re off the interstate highway. You can also enter the address for the after-party into navigation devices for driving directions, as it is adjacent to the parking lot: McLoone’s Pier House, 141 National Plaza, National Harbor, Maryland.
Parking: There are enough spots for all in the lot by McCloone’s. The first 100 cars will be given a free parking pass. (Otherwise it costs about $5.)
Weather: As this is written, the forecast is for a crisp day with a high in the low 40s — be sure to dress warmly for before and after your plunge!
Plunge-time: We’ll have group tents for you to use to take off layers or change clothes before we take our dip, so you can dress for warmth for our opening program. Our plan is to have a short program at 11 am, head over to the changing tents by 11:20 a.m. and to be in and out of the water by 11:30 a.m.
Food and hot drinks: Zeke’s Coffee and Kate Bakes Bars are providing their delicious coffee, hot chocolate, and delectable pastries. Vegan pastry options will be available.
After-Party: But’s that’s not all! Afterwards, plan to stay around for an after-party at McLoone’s, a restaurant right next to where we’ll be doing the plunge. We’ll announce the winners of The Green Commuter bike contest and the dinner with Rev. Yearwood and Mike Tidwell contest, as well as pick raffle winners for the nine raffle prizes! Plus, this is always a fun and great way to meet some wonderful people: all of you! McCloone’s is generously offering use of their restrooms before the Plunge, as well as a 15% discount on their food and drinks for everyone who is wearing an “I Took the Plunge” sticker (available at the registration table).
Volunteers: Do you want to volunteer at the plunge? We’d love to have you! Contact Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org to sign up to volunteer.
We don’t encourage bringing your dog, but if you feel you have to, you must have your dog on a leash at all times.
Questions? Contact Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org or 240-396-2155.
See you Saturday!

Top 10 reasons to take the Polar Bear Plunge!

On Saturday, January 24th — for the 10th year in a row — CCAN supporters will run into freezing waters to raise funds for the most important cause of all: a stable climate.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of CCAN’s “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge, we’ve compiled a list of the “top 10” reasons to join us:
#10. It literally takes no will power: It’s easy to run into freezing water — when you’re surrounded by hundreds of fellow climate activists. Just watchthis video of last year’s plunge and tell me if you see anyone hesitate.
#9. You’ll secure top bragging rights: It’s easy to recruit sponsors when you tell your friends and family you’re running into the Potomac River in January. Last year, we used sledge hammers to break apart the ice beforehand — and it was our most fun and biggest fundraising year ever.
#8. It’s team-building: Are you part of a church group or environmental club? Lead a scout troop? You can raise money for our good cause while bonding through this icy feat!
#7. While the cause is serious, the day is seriously fun: On top of the exhilaration of running into icy water, we’ll have great music, speakers, food, and a toasty after party.
#6. You’ll have a chance to win great prizes: This year’s prize offerings already include a bike, dinner with Rev. Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus, and me, Patagonia gear, and a rafting trip for two!
#5. You’ll help get the word out about climate change and CCAN: This event is just crazy enough to attract media attention and raise the profile of our movement — and you could even wind up on your local TV news!
#4. You’ll meet wonderful people and inspiring leaders: Who wouldn’t want to rub elbows with VIP plungers like Congresswoman Donna Edwards and meet rock-star community activists from across our region?
#3. You’ll help us make history: For our 10th anniversary plunge, we’ve set our biggest goals ever — to recruit 300 plungers and raise $100,000 to support our work.
#2. You’ll guarantee that CCAN can keep mobilizing more and more people to take action: Raising $100,000 would fund the equivalent of two full-time organizers fighting to move our region off of dirty fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions.
#1. The climate has never needed you more: The world’s top scientists are warning of “irreversible” damage from climate change unless we rapidly switch to clean energy. CCAN is leading the way in our region, and we need your help to do even more.
Won’t you join us on Saturday, January 24th as we celebrate our 10th annual CCAN Polar Bear Plunge at National Harbor? Click here to sign up today.
Joining the plunge takes only three simple steps:

1. Create your personal fundraising page at www.keepwintercold.org. (Step-by-step instructions are below.)
2. Invite your friends, family and colleagues to sponsor your plunge.
3. Come to the event and take part in the exhilarating plunge!

Come make a difference. Have fun. And build our movement for climate solutions. Sign up for CCAN’s 2015 “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge!

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE DETAILS

WHAT: 10th Annual “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge
WHEN: Saturday, January 24th, 10:30am
WHERE: The Beach at National Harbor, MD.
HOW:

1. Go to www.keepwintercold.org and register as a plunger. Click on the green “Register” button at the top-right and a pop-up box will ask how many plungers you are registering — most people will choose “1.” After that, follow the easy prompts to create your personalized fundraising page. As part of the registration process, you can sign up as an individual, join an existing team or create a team of friends, family members or colleagues. You’ll also set a personal fundraising goal and we hope you’ll choose $350 or higher.
2. Send out emails to your personal networks asking them to sponsor your plunge (just like a charity walk or bike ride). You can ask friends old and new, work colleagues, family members…your dentist! You’d be surprised who will donate to your crazy winter dip. You can sign back into your personal fundraising page at www.keepwintercold.org with your FirstGiving username and password and click the “Your Fundraising” tab to easily send emails to your friends right through the website.
3. Come out on Saturday, January 24th at 10:30am to the beach at National Harbor, MD and take the plunge with hundreds of other climate activists.

Bomb Trains: Baltimore’s Next Big Fight

I was taking the short drive in Baltimore from Locust Point to Fort McHenry after meeting with a CCAN activist at a local coffee shop. “It’s worth taking 5 minutes to breath in the history of this part of the city,” she said. “It’s where the Star Spangled Banner was written, it’s where American troops fought off the British to protect the city of Baltimore in the War of 1812.” Crossing the bridge onto Fort McHenry, it’s also where I saw first hand the size and scope of Baltimore’s next big fight: hundreds of DOT-111 (Department of Transportation) trains, or “soda cans on wheels” in the rail yard on Locust Point, potentially carrying explosive North Dakota crude oil or toxic Alberta tar sands.
Transport of Bakken crude oil has been poorly regulated and, subsequently has had  an abysmal track record when it comes to safety and environmental destruction. Most crude oil is transported on outdated DOT-111 trains from the fracking fields of North Dakota or the tar sands in Alberta, Canada — crossing cities, rural towns, state parks, watersheds, aquifers, and mountains; all travelling thousands of miles to finally get to refineries. Sometimes, a wheel slips off the track, and that can cause a derailment, which usually punctures the tank. This inevitably causes an oil spill, and easily ignitable Bakken crude oil explodes. When that happens, the resulting explosions look like what nightmares are made of.

A crude oil train derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec last year. Source: Quebecor Media Inc.
A crude oil train derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec last year. Source: Quebecor Media Inc.

Tragically, it was only after a massive explosion in Canada, that killed 47 people and leveled a town, that federal regulators decided to take action to propose rules to make crude oil transport safer. Yet, even after massive amounts of environmental destruction, dangerous DOT-111 trains still carry crude oil throughout our country. “Most of the explosive crude oil on U.S. rails is moving in tanker cars that are almost guaranteed to fail in an accident,” says Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman, who is currently litigating against the Department of Transportation after failing to ban DOT-111 trains from current use.
Now, oil companies are trying to use Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay as a throughway to ship Bakken crude and Alberta tar sands to refineries along the East Coast. A Texas based company called Targa Resources is proposing to retrofit an industrial shipping terminal in Curtis Bay to ship over 9 million barrels of oil per year, which equates to over a million gallons of crude oil every day. That means hundreds of DOT-111 “bomb trains” traveling through Baltimore City neighborhoods every year.
Is it worth having these travel through Baltimore? No way. The risks drastically outweigh the meager, if any, benefits, especially with so many unknowns. Currently, there has been no study on safety impacts, environmental health impacts, economic impacts, or train traffic impacts that Targa’s proposed shipping terminal would have on city of Baltimore. Rail companies are even refusing to disclose the routes that crude oil would travel through the city, going so far as suing state regulators to keep this information secret.
But, there is a solution — we can put pressure on the Baltimore city council to halt local permits on Targa’s facility, effectively passing a moratorium on increased crude oil trains through Baltimore, until environmental, safety, economic, and traffic impacts are studied and this information becomes available to the public. The public has a right to know what is traveling through their neighborhoods.
Over 75 community members arrived and learned about the potential for crude oil trains to travel throughout their community.
Over 75 community members arrived and learned about the potential for crude oil trains to travel throughout their community.

We need to act fast to keep our city safe — and already, we’re gaining real momentum. Since launching our campaign in October, we’ve held two town hall meetings, packed a public hearing, collected hundreds of public comments to the Maryland Department of the Environment, met with City Councilmembers, and petitioned all throughout Baltimore neighborhoods to raise awareness of this dirty and dangerous plan. We’ve even been featured on the front page of the Baltimore Sun!
We don’t need to wait until a tragedy happens in the city of Baltimore for the city council to take action. They can and should take action right now to protect their constituents.
 

First, sign this petition to your City Councilmember and Mayor Rawlings-Blake here. Then, sign this public comment to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Finally, fill out this volunteer sign up page, and we’ll get in contact. Together, we will be ready to take on Baltimore’s next big fight. No Explosive Oil Trains!

Coastal Residents Learn About Real Time Climate Solutions at Town Hall Meeting

The impacts of climate change are already apparent in Hampton Roads.  The state’s vulnerable coastline continually floods communities, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the region. Coastal residents are eager to learn and act on solutions to protect the communities they love from the rising tides. On Tuesday, December 2, nearly sixty people came out to CCAN’s “Save Our Coast” town hall and book event to do just this.
Folks who attended the event first heard from Stephen Nash, author of Virginia Climate Fever. Nash spoke about the impacts of climate change on Virginia’s communities and the drastic need for clean energy solutions throughout the state. He warned that the average temperature in the state is on the rise, and Virginia could see double the amount of about 90ºF days by 2065. The first ten months of 2014 have been the hottest on record, since temperature monitoring began around 130 years ago.DSC_0275
Hampton Roads has it much worse though. The region stands as the most vulnerable climate impact zone in Virginia and could see triple the amount of 90ºF days by 2065 – a threat to their beloved ecosystems and public health alike. Even more frightening is the fact that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating along the state’s coast, and it’s already at the doorsteps of thousands of residents. Much of the development in Hampton Roads rests on subsiding land, putting the region at risk for higher rates of sea level rise than will be seen elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast.
This scale of climate disruption does not have to become a reality though, as Virginians can still take action to curtail its greenhouse gas emissions. Nash explained that Virginia can still make the switch to renewable energy at a fast pace to lessen the impacts of climate change on the state. If Virginia acts now to curtail its greenhouse gas emissions, the rate and extent of relative sea level rise will be significantly less than it will be if the state continues to ground its energy consumption on fossil fuels.
One person in the audience asked Nash what the most important thing to be done is. He proceeded to say that taking part in the public conversation is the most important thing for people to do if change is to occur. Mike Tidwell, CCAN’s Executive Director, also answered this question. His response, to which Nash conceded, was for the state to pass the Virginia Coastal Protection Act that would commit the state to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
Dawone Robinson, CCAN’S Virginia Policy Director, went on to explain the Virginia Coastal Protection Act and RGGI to coastal residents, activists and students alike who gathered for the town hall.  RGGI is a cooperative effort between nine states that caps carbon pollution from power plants while requiring them to purchase allowances for every ton of carbon pollution they emit in a given year. By committing to RGGI, the state of Virginia could see over $200 million in revenue by 2020. This revenue would then be appropriated as follows: (1) 50% to Hampton Roads for coastal adaptation efforts; (2) 35% to statewide energy efficiency and clean energy programs; (3) 10% to southwest Virginia for economic development assistance; and (4) 5% to RGGI for programmatic expenses.
Nash and Tidwell both touched on the difficulty of passing bills that support clean energy in Virginia’s legislature. Dominion, the state’s largest energy provider, is highly engrained in the state’s politics, often leaving the statehouse polarized on issues. However, the circumstances for reducing fossil fuel emissions in Virginia have changed radically with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Rules that will be finalized next summer. The Clean Power Plan is calling on Virginia to reduce its carbon emissions by 38% by 2030, and RGGI stands as the best mechanism for the state to meet its emissions reduction goals while providing funding for essential climate adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development measures across specified regions of the state.
DSC_0271So what is the most important thing that needs to be accomplished to lessen the impacts of global climate change on Virginians? How can people on the ground help to push for climate solutions that will alleviate the sea level rise impacts that coastal Virginians are facing now, while protecting the future livelihoods of citizens across the state? Each of the featured panelists had a similar position on this question, which was asked by a dedicated activist who attended the town hall and book event. The answer? Get out there and join the public conversation. Talk to your friends, family members, acquaintances, and anyone else you can about bringing climate solutions to the state.
Teresa Stanley of Virginia Organizing, the first panelist that the group heard from on Tuesday night, spoke about the importance of collective action to make climate solutions a reality for the state. Communities need to be informed of the risks that Virginia faces under climate change, and communities need to be further mobilized to ensure that the state’s precious neighborhoods, culture and landscapes are protected from the projected devastating impacts.
Quan Williams of Virginia New Majority, the event’s second panelist, said that for her, the most important thing is to get the Virginia Coastal Protection Act passed. Climate change is an issue that know no races, borders, or classes. It will affect us all. And for many of us, climate change is a phenomenon that is capable of presenting itself in life or death situations. We must start acting now, together, to take charge of state initiatives that will turn the tide in the people’s favor.
The last panelist, Dr. Michelle Covi of Old Dominion University, spoke of planning and infrastructure initiatives that need to be updated to best prepare for sea level rise and climate change impacts along the state’s coast, home to the largest naval station in the world. Dramatic storm events are no longer the only driver on flooding in Hampton Roads; heavy downpours and high tides are now of high concern for flooding as well. Municipalities in Hampton Roads need to start working now to improve the resiliency of their highly prized social fabric. Evacuation routes need to be readjusted to include transportation to low-income neighborhoods and houses need to be raised to fight recurrent flooding.
But all of this will come at a cost. Improving infrastructure in Hampton Roads to combat the extensive occurrence of flooding that the region already experiences will need funding to occur, and fast. This is a problem that each and every single municipality in coastal Virginia is facing, and their solution may come sooner than expected. That is if the Virginia Coastal Protection Act passes. In a regular year, CCAN would not dream of getting this bill passed in such a short amount of time. But the fact is that the playing field has changed in Virginia.
The EPA’s Clean Power Plan will be finalized in the summer of 2015, and the state will need to cut 38% of its emissions by 2030. No matter what, the state will need to curb its carbon pollution, and the best option for Virginia is to get ahead of the game and start generating revenue by capping emissions. CCAN has already collected hundreds of petitions to support the Coastal Protection Act and is working to organize communities in support of the bill.
So what’s next? For one, sign the petition to urge your legislators to act if you haven’t already. Also be on the lookout for CCAN’s next actions, which will include a press conference on the bill with the support of coastal elected officials and a coastal lobby day at the state house to push the bill forward. State legislators must understand the immediacy of the threat in Hampton Roads. Together, we can make this happen.

O'Malley's fracking decision: 3 Things You Need to Know

You may have heard the news that Governor Martin O’Malley last week gave approval for the potential start of controversial fracking drilling for gas in Western Maryland. The governor released a report — three years in the making — which said that IF a wide range of protective regulations are fully implemented and monitored, then such drilling, in the governor’s view, is acceptable. 

We disagree with the governor on this. Period. While Gov. O’Malley’s proposed regulations are by far the toughest ever proposed in the country — and could serve as a model for states that already frack dangerously — they won’t eliminate the significant potential harm to Maryland’s environment and economy, and there’s no guarantee they’d be enforced. We at CCAN and our partners intend to continue to fight against this harmful practice of drilling — and we’ll need you fighting with us.
Here are our key take aways from the governor’s report — and where we’re headed next. Here are the three things you need to know:
1) The safest strategy for drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale is to NOT drill for that gas at all. We do not believe the state report proves the case that fracking can be done with acceptable public health and environmental safety in Maryland. Further, climate scientists say 80 percent of the world’s known reserves of fossil fuels must stay in the ground if we are to have any hope of stabilizing the world’s atmosphere. Simply put, the gas must stay in the ground.
2) YOUR watchdog pressure has kept fracking at bay so far in Maryland — and it made an impact in shaping Gov. O’Malley’s final report. Your insistent pressure has resulted in recommendations that, if enacted, could make gas companies think twice about whether or not they would want to drill here — according to the American Petroleum Institute’s own lobbyist in Maryland. For example, Governor O’Malley proposed a first-ever rule requiring gas companies to completely eliminate net “leakage” of methane, a powerful heat-trapping gas, from the fracking process. Gas companies would also have to do two years of preliminary water quality testing before they could start drilling. Again, none of this is a victory. But, if it weren’t for your action, fracking might very well already be a reality in Maryland. As it stands, we are still in a position to keep working to make sure it never is.
3) Come January, the ball will be in the court of Governor-elect Larry Hogan — and your representatives in the General Assembly. This is where we’re headed next. While Gov. O’Malley has said his agencies will propose final regulations for fracking before he leaves office, the final decision on what to do with them will rest with incoming Gov. Hogan and our legislators in Annapolis. CCAN is committed to working to pass legislation to prevent a reckless rush to drill in our state.
So, between now and the start of the General Assembly session in mid-January, we’ll keep you posted on the game plan. For now, there are two ways you can take action immediately to help spread the word about the dangers of fracking in Maryland and build the movement to stop it:
Write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper: We need to make sure decision-makers are hearing from concerned Marylanders like you, and that we keep educating our neighbors across the state about the risks of fracking. Contact Shilpa Joshi, at shilpa@chesapeakeclimate.org if you can write a letter to the editor of your local paper, and we’ll follow up with tips and talking points.
Click here to share this graphic on Facebook: In the past week, two prominent state newspapers — the Baltimore Sun and the Frederick News-Post — have published editorials responding to Gov. O’Malley’s report, warning of the risks fracking poses to our health, environment and economy. Keep the “no fracking” buzz going by sharing the news.
We have a lot of work to do in the months ahead. But know this: Passionate Marylanders like you have stood shoulder to shoulder across the state for years to successfully fight harmful gas drilling. You are the reason our state is frack-free today. So let’s keep fighting together to keep it that way.
Thanks for everything you do — and stay tuned for the next steps!
The Marcellus Shale Drilling Advisory Commission is holding a brief public comment session on its final report next Monday evening, December 8, in two locations. Email me at shilpa@chesapeakeclimate.org for more information on how to attend.
 
 

EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Whose side is Virginia on?

By now you may have heard that the Environmental Protection Agency has released a new set of rules designed to cut carbon pollution that leads to climate change. As the rules stand today, Virginia must reduce its carbon footprint by 37% by the year 2030 (the guidelines of the rule will be finalized in June of next year).
As predicted, big coal and its defenders have drawn their swords in a clash they’re billing as the ultimate War on Coal showdown between hard-working families and job killers in Virginia.
Of course, the rules aren’t too onerous for the coal industry, but they’re much needed to start curbing the effects on climate change which will get significantly worse over the course of the century unless we take action, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently warned.
EPA is accepting comments from states through December 1st on its new rules. Which begs the question: what side should Virginia be on? And how do these rules affect citizens in the Commonwealth? More importantly, how can Virginia use these rules as an opportunity to grow its clean energy workforce while reducing harmful pollutants in our environment?
Virginia’s State Corporation Commission staff, the administrative body charged with ratemaking within the “public interest” of the citizens, has clearly staked a position on the side against the EPA and its efforts. In an unusually blunt and bombastic set of comments delivered to the EPA, the SCC staff scolded the agency for issuing rules they deemed unlawful, unachievable, and certain to lead to drastic increases in rates for Virginians.
Interestingly, within the SCC staff’s 50-plus pages of comments bashing the Clean Power Plan, is this line: “To be clear, these comments take no position on the broad policy issues regarding how reliability risks and compliance costs caused by the Proposed Regulation compare to the environmental benefits asserted by the EPA.” 
Excuse me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t one of the main purposes of the Clean Power Plan, part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, to avoid the enormous mounting costs of climate change and, therefore, see the enormous benefits — to our health, economy, and well-being as a society — of reducing CO2 pollution?
A colleague of mine made this analogy. In the late 1990’s the federal government passed a law mandating airbags for most passenger cars, trucks, and vans on the roads. SCC staff’s comments criticizing the Clean Power Plan without considering climate benefits would be akin to some regulatory agency in the 1990’s bashing the airbag law because it increases the price on vehicles while giving the disclaimer that “we take no position on the life saving benefits of vehicle airbags in relation to incremental price increases on vehicles”.
SCC staff’s analysis is shortsighted. However, they are an important group of officials who have become influential in Virginia’s ability to craft policies to meet the new EPA rules, which are due by June of 2016.
On Wednesday, November 19th, SCC staff will brief members of the Senate and House Commerce and Labor committee on their interpretation of the effect these rules have on Virginia. Representatives from the utility industry, Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Environmental Quality, the environmental community, and others, will also have a chance to weigh in. On Wednesday, we will get the opportunity to see where numerous agencies, businesses, and community members stand on the first landmark set of rules designed to help win the climate battle.
We all know the benefits clean energy and less fossil fuel pollution provide citizens. Virginia has the opportunity to leverage these rules to provide a spark to clean energy development and reap millions of dollars in new revenue from 21st century technologies.
It’s time to ask your representatives, state officials, business leaders, and community members: whose side are you really on?

Letter from the Director: We Voted With Our Feet

Dear CCAN supporters,
In case certain elections have you down, take heart. The most impressive vote this fall was not on November 4th. It was on September 21st. That’s when 400,000 Americans elected to march in New York City for the People’s Climate March. If you want to know what direction our nation is really headed in, the Climate March holds the clues. Black, white. Young, old. Gay, straight. Our country was represented at the march and our voice was loud: We want climate solutions now!
I’m reminded of the urgency of our movement and the progress we’re making wherever I travel in the Maryland/Virginia/DC region. Last month, I was in the Virginia coastal city of Portsmouth where sea-level rise linked to climate change is already wreaking havoc on a near-weekly basis. As I met with State Senator L. Louise Lucas, she explained that flooding was so bad in Portsmouth this September after a heavy rain at high tide that she had trouble reaching the apartment building she owns and operates for mentally handicapped adults to begin an evacuation.
In Annapolis, Maryland the flooding is getting so bad that a recent study from the Union of Concerned Scientists says there will be near daily “nuisance flooding” of streets and homes in the not-too-distant future. In other words, entire parts of the city are headed toward permanent disappearance.
But I’m also reminded of the progress we’re making in fighting the core source of the problem: greenhouse gas pollution. The city council in Washington, DC is on the verge of dramatically increasing wind power consumption in the city while encouraging community-based solar installations. Meanwhile, Maryland activists continue to succeed in keeping gas fracking out of the state. And in Virginia, thanks to President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the state has the chance in the next few years to finally cap carbon pollution from its power plants.
Read more about these campaigns and learn how you can plug in on multiple important issues wherever you live. We voted with our feet in New York City in September. Now we must vote with our actions every day.
Onward!
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell

Resisting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: latest updates

Over 100 concerned Virginians weathered the cold and rallied in Waynesboro on November 1st to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Most Virginians know by now that Dominion Resources has proposed a disastrous 550-mile long mega-pipeline to carve through Virginia, carrying fracked gas for West Virginia to North Carolina. The announcement was hard to miss, especially when Governor McAuliffe stood shoulder to shoulder with Dominion CEO, Tom Farrell, to announce his support of this devastating project.
Join the thousands of Virginians who have already called on Governor McAuliffe to withdraw his support of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
After two months of public hearings, Dominion officially pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on October 31st, beginning the environmental review of the project.
But just as Dominion forges ahead on building the pipeline, thousands of concerned Virginians are forging ahead to build the statewide pipeline resistance.
Just one day after Dominion pre-filed with FERC, over 100 pipeline activists gathered in Waynesboro to rally against the pipeline. We heard from numerous landowners and affected families on the ground, made connections with the dozens of local groups organizing throughout the region, and talked about next steps. Check out more  photos from the rally on the Friends of Augusta Facebook Page and Event Album here!

Erin, a VCU student against about the ACP, shares her concerns via photo petition with dozens of other activists at the Waynesboro rally.
Erin, a VCU student against about the ACP, shares her concerns via photo petition with dozens of other activists at the Waynesboro rally. Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia, and made plans for next steps.

The rally was an exciting end to months of public mobilizing, including filling Dominion Open Houses with pipeline activists, publishing dozens of Letters to the Editor, and collecting thousands of petitions.
But since the rally, we’ve only continued to escalate and build our strength. Last week, a delegation of organizers from Augusta County traveled to Washington, DC to meet with FERC’s Chairmen Cheryl A. LaFleur to discuss their concerns over the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The delegation also met with Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to illustrate the significant statewide opposition to the pipeline.
While we are hard at work making sure Virginia politicians know our power, Dominion is hard at work threatening local landowners to seize their property. Just this week, Dominion sent final notices and threat to sue to the 189 Virginia landowners along the path of the pipeline who have not issued permission for Dominion to survey their land.  If you have received a letter from Dominion and need more information, please contact: info@augustacountyalliance.org.
What can you do?
First, sign the petition to Governor McAuliffe calling on him to withdraw his support of the pipeline. CCAN is working with the Augusta Alliance, the Shenandoah Valley Network, and other local organizers to collect 10,000 petitions to deliver to the Governor. Help us reach that goal by signing and sharing with your networks.
Then, stay updated to submit your public comment to FERC on the pipeline. The next few months will have a lot of opportunities to raise your voice, join the fight, and support local residents on the path of the pipeline.
 
For now, check out the latest News Roundup:

 

Virginia will flood. Or not.

What if Virginia’s great coastal communities basically disappeared? No naval base in Norfolk. No tourism in Virginia Beach. No shipyards in Portsmouth and Newport News.
Why imagine this? Because scientists say it could happen. Six feet of sea-level rise from climate change could inundate the Virginia coastal region in coming decades, triggering a full-blown economic and human safety crisis that will affect the entire state, from Southside to Richmond to Northern Virginia.
But here’s the good news: We can fight back. This fall, CCAN is launching a brand-new campaign to pass a game-changing piece of legislation—called the Virginia Coastal Protection Act. This bill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Virginia while generating billions of dollars in funds to protect coastal Virginia and invest in clean energy.
Now we need you to tell your legislators in Richmond to support this common-sense, vitally important legislation.
Sign the petition: Call on your legislators to support the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, a bill that will cap statewide greenhouse gas pollution while funding vital coastal flooding solutions.
Did you know the Navy is trying to rapidly elevate its major piers in Norfolk due to rising water? Meanwhile, churches in downtown Norfolk are trying to relocate—rather than wade into Sundayservices—and engineers say the city needs $1 billion for floodgates and other measures to hold back the water.
Where will the money come from for Norfolk and other the other coastal cities and counties of Hampton Roads? Congress is in gridlock and the Virginia state budget is being squeezed.
That’s where the Virginia Coastal Protection Act comes in. The bill would direct Virginia to join a nine-state system for capping carbon pollution from power plants, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which is already in place from Maine to Maryland. By auctioning carbon pollution permits to power companies, RGGI would generate over $200 million per year for Virginia—while cutting planet-heating pollution.
No less than 50 percent of the revenues raised under the bill would fund coastal flood protection measures. The other half would be invested in other climate solutions—like solar power development statewide, as well as investments in energy efficiency and the retraining of displaced workers in areas like Southwest Virginia.
Sign the petition: Call on your state legislators to support the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, a bill that will cap statewide greenhouse gas pollution while funding coastal flooding solutions.
This bill is good for the entire state of Virginia. By reducing pollution from dirty power plants statewide, it will dramatically clean up our air. Plus, many observers believe that joining RGGI is the most cost-effective way for Virginia to comply with the new federal carbon rules issued last June, which mandate cuts in carbon emissions from power plants in all 50 states.
This is a win, win, win for Virginia. And now it’s time to make it reality.
Please help us pass the Virginia Coastal Protection Act. We’ll keep you posted as the bill advances, and we’ll let you know how you can stay involved.

Victory for Beyond Extreme Energy at FERC

“The people gonna rise like the waters,
Gonna calm this crisis down.
I hear the voice of my great granddaughter
Saying shut FERC down right now.”
Who would have thought it? On Friday morning, November 7th, for 2 ½ hours, the determined and courageous nonviolent activists of Beyond Extreme Energy shut down the DC headquarters of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC.
All three entrances to the building were successfully blockaded, and virtually no one was getting in.
By 9 am there were about 150 FERC employees massed on the sidewalks in front of FERC, waiting for the police to clear away five fracking fighters who had successfully locked down at 7 am with lock boxes across the driveway into the FERC parking garage. The driveway had been the route used by police to funnel FERC employees into the building for the four days previous when BXE activists had successfully blockaded the two pedestrian entrances.
For short periods of time during those four days, no more than for maybe 20 minutes at a time, we had been able to prevent pedestrian use of that driveway (we prevented car use for the entire week). We did so by forming a long enough line of people to prevent anyone getting through, until the cops moved in and made arrests after their required three warnings. About 70 people were arrested over the course of the week.
But Friday morning was different. And because of the successful lock box action and total blockade, it was different in a way none of the BXE organizers had even thought about.
Friday was the day for additional fracktivists and extractivists from the severely fracked-up state of Pennsylvania to join BXE. So as those 150 FERC employees waited to get into the building, we organized a teach-in on the front sidewalk, right in the midst of the employees. For fifteen or twenty minutes people like Maggie Henry and Veronica Coptis spoke from the heart, shedding tears but fighting through them, to let the silent and listening FERC employees know the human toll that their support of the gas rush has caused. There were no catcalls, no boos, no one publicly questioning the truth of what was being said.
It was a very special moment.
We had been talking with and distributing material to FERC employees and others passing by all week. The leaflet we distributed to FERC employees said, in part:
“We apologize for any disruption to your work day, but that’s what we’re here for—to disrupt the workings of FERC, which continues to approve gas infrastructure projects that threaten the health and quality of life for millions of Americans and the whole planet through increased greenhouse gas emissions.
“Many of you work at FERC because you think it does a good job of balancing the needs of industry and economic development with the health and environmental challenges of impacted communities. But the Obama Administration’s ‘all of the above’ strategy is condemning us to runaway climate chaos while condemning families in fracking’s path to a hellish existence. FERC should be prioritizing the emergence of renewable energy as a growing sources of our electrical power.”
We found surprisingly little hostility from the close to 2,000 people we distributed our flyers to. We even found, to our surprise, indications of support from some of the Federal Protective Services and DC Metro police who were doing their best to keep FERC open despite our blockading. Going into the week, our lawyer had said to us that he expected that they would get more aggressive as the week went by, but that turned out, with a few exceptions, not to be the case.
(Exceptions included a couple of people tasered on Friday after we heard talk of it earlier in the week, several people falsely charged with “assault” for standing their nonviolent ground as part of a blockade and some police assistance to a small number of aggressive FERC employees who tried to push through us.)
Central to the success of this action were the sisters and brothers from the Great March for Climate Action who were there for all, or most, of the week. The decision to do this action during election week had a lot to do with the plan of the Great March to arrive in DC on November 1, ending on that day their eight month walk across the United States. Many of us not part of that march were impressed by the depth of commitment and soulful strength and organizing smarts they collectively brought to the November 1-7 week.
We received more than a little bit of criticism about our decision to do this week during election week, and we understood why. We were not doing this to make a statement about how messed up our electoral system is and that people should forget voting—not at all. In our call to action we said, right up at the top, “vote we must, but we must also do more.” If the Great March had not been arriving on November 1, we probably would have moved things back a week or two.
But as it turns out, it was very timely that Beyond Extreme Energy did happen during election week, during a week when the Republicans took back the Senate and Democrats generally did pretty badly—in large part because of the willingness of far too many, once again, to be Republicans-lite.
It is time, in 2015 and 2016, for many, many more of us to “vote” with our whole lives through massive, serious, strategic nonviolent direct action campaigns that are as coordinated as we can make them. Investors in the fossil fuel industry, Democrats and others who want our votes, members of the mass media and the American people generally need to get it that the climate justice movement, increasingly aligned with other movements for progressive social change, refuses to accept “all of the above” and “business as usual.” We know what time it is—there is little time left—and we are the leaders we have been waiting for. Now must be, has to be, our time to rise up in large numbers and with a spirit of love, a nonviolent discipline and a willingness to sacrifice that cannot be ignored.