Water makes its way, through fields, hills and mountains
Water makes its way, it has its ups and downs
Water makes its way, it ends up in the oceans
Water makes its way, it really gets around.
I must make my way, no matter what life throws me
I must make my way, must do the best I can
I must make my way, my faith and hope they guide me
I must make my way, together we all must stand
A crowd of Baltimore voters came to Notre Dame College on Thursday, March 8th to learn about major energy bills facing lawmakers in Annapolis this session. Specifically, attendees and panelists discussed ongoing efforts to pass offshore wind power legislation, and ways to regulate the controversial practice of “fracking” for natural gas in Western Maryland.
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A full house of Montgomery County voters came to Rockville Tuesday, March 6, to learn what lawmakers in Annapolis are doing to pass offshore wind power legislation while regulating the controversial practice of “fracking” for natural gas in Western Maryland.
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Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dawone Robinson, and I’m the new Virginia Policy Coordinator for CCAN. As of the moment that I write this blog, I have been in the state of Virginia for a mere 2 days and 22 hours. Having lived in Iowa most of my life, I was amazed by Virginia’s gorgeous scenery as I made my way to my new home. When I arrived, I stepped out of my car, looked around at the trees and beautiful terrain, and spent a few moments to soak it all in. I was beginning to fall in love with my new state of Virginia!
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And then yesterday happened…
Hopefully the resolution will pass in a strong form, but sea level rise is not the only negative effect of Virginia relying on fossil fuels. Coal-burning power plants not only put out greenhouse gases, they emit heavy metals that contaminate water and make fish from local rivers unsafe to eat. They cause asthma and disproportionately affect lower income and minority Virginians with the health effects of living in polluted communities downwind of these toxic facilities.
Returning to the conclusions that the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change made, we need to think hard about what our energy system is doing to our coastal areas and what we need to do differently. Then we’ll address a big cause of sea level rise, and a host of other problems, and not just treat a symptom.
Starting at noon on February 13th, over 800,000 people across the U.S. signed a petition urging Congress to stop the Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline – 800,000! Equally impressive, Virginians made up over 19,000 of those signatures. All in just 24 hours. And today a dozen volunteers delivered that message loud and clear to Senators Warner and Webb.
The 24-hour action was set in motion after organizers gained intel that members of Congress in the pocket of the fossil fuel lobby were trying to force through approval of the pipeline through amendments to unrelated bills. Late last Thursday, we learned even more sudden news that a vote could be imminent – as soon as this Tuesday or Wednesday – on an amendment to a federal transportation bill.
For months, students from Maryland universities and high schools have gathered petition signatures, written letters to the editor in their local and school papers, met with their college administrators, and educated their fellow students on offshore wind legislation. And yesterday, all their hard work culminated in a Student Rally and Lobby Day for Offshore Wind.
Students from Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and the Eastern Shore arrived in Annapolis yesterday morning to sit down with their legislators and talk to them about passing the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012.
At noon, students from the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC), representing 12 campuses and 4 high schools, converged onto Lawyer’s Mall to send a message to the Maryland General Assembly that students and universities support offshore wind legislation and want it passed this session. This rally was one of the largest student demonstrations in recent history in Annapolis.
This blog post was written by Megan Spindler a student at Frostburg St. University. Megan is interning with CCAN this semester.
While the popularity of hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”) grows, so does the list of reasons why it should be done with extreme caution or not at all. In addition to poisoned drinking water, streams and rivers, new research from Cornell University shows that the carbon footprint of fracked natural gas is greater than that of coal due to the extraordinary planet-warming power of the methane, which is released in large amounts during every stage of the fracking process.
It’s like one of those horror movie zombies, the thing that just won’t die. Yes, once again the Republican Party, joined by some Democrats, all doing the work of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the American Petroleum Institute and all the others, are trying to force through approval of the Keystone XL pipeline in Congress.
Wind energy development off of Maryland’s Eastern Shore inched closer to reality after federal officials in Baltimore announced that developing wind energy there would not harm the coastal environment.
In a statement released last week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar – along with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy Beaudreau – released findings from a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment indicating there would be “no significant environmental impacts from issuing wind energy leases in areas off the mid-Atlantic Coast.”