The Baltimore Sun
By Mike Tidwell
Not long after President Barack Obama promised to fight climate change in his inaugural address, temperatures soared to 70 last week in Baltimore — in late January. Our weather continues to be unrecognizable. Last summer was the hottest ever recorded at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. And across the 48 contiguous states, 2012 was the warmest on record by a huge margin. Globally, the heating trend — fueled mostly by the combustion of fossil fuels — proceeds apace. The years 2000-2009 were the warmest decade in 120,000 years.
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Baltimore City Council backs statewide fracking moratorium in unanimous vote
Yesterday evening, the Baltimore City Council unanimously endorsed our legislation before the state General Assembly that would place a moratorium on fracking in Maryland, adding its voice to the mounting calls for tougher scrutiny of the risks of the controversial gas drilling method.
The resolution, introduced by Councilman Bill Henry and co-sponsored by 10 council members, including Council President Bernard Young, supports passage of the “Maryland Hydraulic Fracturing Moratorium and Right to Know Act of 2013,” which is being introduced in Annapolis by State Senator Rob Zirkin and State Delegate Heather Mizeur.
“The City Council is taking up this issue because it’s clear that fracking can seriously impact not only the physical environment, but the health of entire communities,” said Councilman Bill Henry. “We want to make sure that when the General Assembly makes their ultimate decision about fracking’s future in Maryland, it won’t be because they’ve been rushed, but because they have been fully informed about all of the potential risks.”
My First Plunge
An account of the Polar Bear Plunge written by first time plunger and current CCAN intern Rachel O’Keeffe
On January 26th, I became a part of a now 8-year-long tradition: the Polar Bear Plunge! As the crowd around me counted down from 10, the excitement spread like an electric current. My adrenaline was pumping as I ran into the icy Potomac. I kept jumping in the water, for fear that if I stopped, the icy water would further penetrate my skin.
Hybrid car owners protest at the Virginia Capitol
By Kathy Adams
With signs, cardboard wind turbines and a parade of Priuses, hybrid car owners on Thursday afternoon sent a message to legislators meeting inside the Capitol: No hybrid tax.
The demonstration by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network was in protest of legislation that would tax hybrid car owners and repeal renewable-energy incentives for electricity companies.
Protests Against Va. Hybrid Car Fee Proposal
By Julie Carey
Environmentally-conscious drivers and their supporters took to the streets to protest part of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation funding plan. News4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey has more on the hybrid vehicle fee proposal.
Hybrid car owners protest Governor's transportation plan
By Joe Dashiell
Owners of hybrid cars drove around Capitol Square honking their horns Thursday afternoon. Other supporters carried signs and chanted, “No hybrid tax.” They were protesting proposed legislation, including an element of the Governor’s transportation plan that would impose a $100 fee on hybrid and electric cars.
Prius parade protests Gov. McDonnell’s proposed hybrid tax
By Errin Haines
A Prius parade descended on the Virginia Capitol on Thursday in protest of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s proposal to impose a $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles as part of his legislative package on transportation funding.
Cars honked as they rolled past the Capitol as protesters holding signs shouted, “No hybrid tax!”
Hybrid owners protest Va. transportation plan
by Joe St. George
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — Hybrid engines do not roar, but thanks to megaphones their message to legislators was loud and clear: do not vote in favor of a $100 user fee for drivers of alternative fuels.
Over a dozen hybrid vehicles paraded around Capitol Square Thursday, objecting to a part of Governor Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan that calls for drivers of hybrids and alternative fuel cars to pay a $100 annual fee.
Hybrid car owners protest McDonnell's proposed fee
RICHMOND, Va. – Hybrid and electric car owners circled the Virginia Capitol to protest a $100 yearly fee that would be placed on their vehicles if Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan passes.
#ForwardOnClimate!
This post was written by CCAN Communications Fellow Annie Mackin.
Superstorm Sandy. Drought. Raging wildfires. It’s time to act on climate change, and President Obama knows it. During his second inaugural speech, he admitted that “failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”