For Cove Point, political parties don’t dictate sides

Two weeks ago, a group of environmental organizations, waterman, nurses, and concerned citizens stood outside of the Public Service Commission in Baltimore to launch our No to Cove Point LNG Exports Campaign. It was a great press conference – lots of media and onlookers. I stood there and watched a host of people speak, everyone from a representative of a national non-profit to a member of a local Cove Point Homeowners Association.  I got to meet activists from all over Maryland. I was on day 3 of my new job, and I was impressed.
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Climate Ride: Day 3 through Amish Country

From September 21-25, 200 bicyclists will pedal 300 miles from New York City to Washington, DC for the 5th annual Climate Ride. CCAN national campaigns coordinator Ted Glick is on the road with them, raising awareness of climate change and raising funds for CCAN’s critical advocacy work.


Everybody doing this very challenging and strenuous ride believes that the climate crisis is real and action needs to be taken to solve it. Some are young people, students just getting into this movement. Some are definitely older and active in the field of conservation. Others are full-time climate activists like me.
All of us feel strongly about being part of the solution. We wouldn’t be climbing these steep and long hills on bicycles and doing the hard work of reaching out to friends, family and people we know to raise money if we weren’t.
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O'Malley urged to fight gas export terminal on Bay

The Baltimore Sun

By Tim Wheeler

A broad coalition of environmental and other groups urged Gov. Martin O’Malley Tuesday to oppose development of a natural gas export terminal on the Chesapeake Bay, calling it an unacceptable environmental and safety threat.

Members of the coalition, which includes more than 120 local, statewide and national groups, gathered outside the Maryland Public Service Commission offices just before noon to outline their concerns over the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at Cove Point in Calvert County. They contended it would pollute the air and bay, undermine state efforts to combat climate change and expose nearby residents to the risks of a catastrophic explosion, either by accident or from a terrorist attack.

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Dominion Virginia Power won’t build offshore wind farm on tract it leased unless cost drops

The Washington Post

By Robert McCartney

Dominion Virginia Power drew a lot of favorable publicity this month by leasing a patch of the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia Beach to construct an offshore wind farm hailed as a clean-energy milestone for the state.

Too bad there’s good reason to believe Dominion will never build it.

Even as Dominion executives publicly stressed wind power’s potential, their statements and company documents showed they have no intention of building anything larger than a small, two-turbine offshore test project unless the costs come down.

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Campus activism spreads to Newport News

As the Virginia Campus Organizer with CCAN, I get to work across Virginia with students who are eager to get involved with climate activism (how lucky am I, right??). For those of you who have been to Virginia- or outside of NOVA at least- you know just how big the state is. With well over two dozen colleges and universities spread across the state, it’s not easy to cover all the ground I’d like to over the course of a year. And although we’re active on fifteen campuses right now, I’m always looking to engage more VA students in our campaigns and support the awesome work they’re doing on their own campuses.
 

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Marking Katrina's 8th Anniversary: Don't let Hampton Roads be the next New Orleans


Eight years ago today, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, flooding the city and leaving a wake of irreversible damage in its path. The stage had been set for a storm of this magnitude, as coastal Louisiana residents watched the seas rise and their land sink in prior years.

Homes destroyed by Katrina

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Wind, solar and energy efficiency for Virginia

That sounds all too familiar when we look at the coastal conditions of Hampton Roads. This week, CCAN climate activists took to the Virginia Beach oceanfront to call attention to the parallels between pre-Katrina New Orleans and present day Hampton Roads. Without strong action on climate change, a child born today could live to see a future of their coastal community devastated by climate-induced rising seas and more extreme storms.
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Climate Documentary Inspires Local Activists

When it comes to fighting climate change, people power is our greatest weapon. This is the message I took with me from CCAN’s screening of the documentary Chasing Ice in Richmond. Last Thursday night at the Camel, I was able to see what comes of weeks of planning, stress, and seemingly endless phone calls and emails. The result was a room full of people who were motivated and ready to take action against climate change.
 
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Climate change town hall encourages individual action

Gazette.Net

By Marlena Chertock

About 500 residents, politicians and activists showed support for climate-change policies at an Organizing For Action town hall last week at the Silver Spring Civic Center.

“Cleaner air leads to healthier families,” said Neeta Datt, the county director of OFA.

The nearly four-hour meeting was the first in a month of action for OFA, a nonprofit that supports President Barack Obama’s agenda.

Speakers focused on the president’s plan, but also encouraged action on an individual level.

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