Important info for Saturday's Polar Bear Plunge

Hello Polar Bear Plungers!

We’re very excited about how things are looking for this Saturday’s 7th annual Polar Bear Plunge at National Harbor on the Potomac River. Thanks for all you’re doing to solicit sponsors of your plunge and for participating in this important action!

This blog post is filled with IMPORTANT logistical information, so please read the whole thing:

Volunteering: We are a little short of volunteers to help make the event run smoothly. If you and/or someone coming to support you can get there by 10 am to do this, please contact Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org or 240-396-2155.

Arrival time: You should plan to arrive at 10:30 am so you can park, get registered and be able to listen to our short program  beginning at 11am, featuring Mike Tidwell, James Hansen, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and a few other special guests – we promise to keep it brief! We’ll move over to the changing tents by 11:30.

 

Waiver forms: Please print out the waiver forms, sign them and bring them with you on Saturday, even if you checked off the box about this when you signed up at the website. We need you to personally sign these two forms. It will help a lot to expedite the registration process and move things along if you’ve done so in advance. You will receive these via email tonight (Tuesday) or tomorrow, but you can also email Ted and ask for them if you missed that – ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. 

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Offshore Wind activists an unmatched force at Maryland General Assembly opener

If measured by the turnout at the rally at the Annapolis state house yesterday, of all the issues confronting the Maryland General Assembly as it reconvenes this week, offshore wind power enjoys the most energetic public support.

Maintaining the grassroots momentum from a statewide series of packed “Wind Works” town hall forums, over 100 citizen clean energy advocates from across Maryland descended on Lawyers’ Mall on Wednesday morning to greet returning state lawmakers with an unequivocal message: “Get it done in 2012! Wind works for Marylanders’ health, jobs, climate and energy costs!”

Decked out in blue campaign t-shirts, wind advocates were the most visible activist presence on the opening morning of the 2012 legislative session. The impressive show of support for a cold weekday morning jibed with recent statewide poll results which showed that nearly two-thirds of Marylanders support developing the state’s robust offshore wind energy resources, even if it means a small initial bump in energy costs.

Speaking to the rally crowd, state Senate Majority Leader, Rob Garagiola scoffed at charges from critics that Marylanders can’t afford to invest in offshore wind: “The price of coal goes up; the price of gas goes up. Does the price of wind ever go up?

The crowd responded with a resounding, “No!”

“That’s right,” Garagiola continued, “It doesn’t go up. This is going to save ratepayers money.”

Other speakers included the state House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, climate justice and health advocate Vernice Miller Travis, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Director Mike Tidwell, MD Delegate Tom Hucker, Johns Hopkins student Tippy Patrinos, business innovator Joe Gaskins, and state Senator Paul Pinsky.

After the rally, the sea of blue shirts shifted from the mall to the inside of the state house and the legislative office buildings where activists took the wind works message to legislators and other dignitaries.

On his way to address the opening session, Governor Martin O’Malley stopped to greet wind activists distributing fliers on the mall, and reiterated his support for pushing the bill through the Assembly this year. The Governor’s new offshore-wind energy bill is expected to drop in the next few weeks along with the rest of his ambitious legislative package. With other big ticket issues like same-sex marriage, a proposed sales or gas tax increase on the agenda clean energy advocates certainly have their work cut out for them in keeping wind at the top of the priority list. But if advocates keep bringing the same grassroots energy they brought to Annapolis on Wednesday, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Learn more about the “Wind Works for Maryland” campaign and get involved at www.marylandoffshorewind.org.

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Marylanders: Rally for State's Clean Energy Future!

 

In less than one week on Wednesday, January 11th, the Maryland General Assembly will begin its 2012 session.  If reducing childhood asthma attacks, bringing back Maryland manufacturing, and solving our climate crisis are important to you, there will be one issue you’ll be watching above all others: offshore wind power. 

And if offshore wind power is important to you, please join Marylanders from across the state at 10:30am next Wednesday to rally in front of the State House as legislators enter for the first time this year.  Let’s show our leaders that we are expecting leadership on Maryland’s clean energy future.  They’ve passed laws to develop renewable energy and reduce global warming pollution.  Now it’s time to fulfill the promise of those laws and we’ll need offshore wind power to do it.

 

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Dr. James Hansen & 10-year-old Rebekah Rowe Join Forces for the Climate

Dr. James Hansen, the nation’s leading climate scientist, is most recognizable as the scientist who sounded the alarm about climate change at a Senate hearing in 1988. Following Dr. Hansen’s testimony, global warming first gained international awareness. In recent years, Dr. Hansen has become an activist for action to mitigate the effects of climate change, which on a few occasions has led to his arrest. He often touts the concept of intergenerational justice — the idea that we must preserve the earth’s climate for the benefit of future generations.

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Social Media Day of Action 11-22: Give thanks to Obama (& push for more)

After an amazing grassroots uprising of protesters against the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama recently chose to delay his decision on the tar sands pipeline until 2013.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, help us thank Obama for delaying his decision; but also let him know that we’ll keep organizing until the pipeline is rejected. 

Please participate in our social media day of action on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. 

Facebook Instructions:

1. Go to the White House FB page: http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse
2. LIKE it. 
3. Post this LINK: http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/file-uploads/ccan-admin/Obama_KXL_Thank_You_Photo.png
4. Add this comment: “Thanks, President Obama, for the Keystone XL pipeline delay! We’ll keep working till Keystone XL is rejected. We’d love for you to join us!”
5. Share the link to this page with your friends!

Sample Tweets:

(Please make sure to tag your local Obama For America campaign office for maximum impact)

Virginians Plz RT: Thanks @BarackObama & @OFA_VA for the KXL pipeline delay! Now fully reject it. #NoKXL http://bit.ly/sniInY

Marylanders Plz RT: Thanks @BarackObama & @OFA_MD for the KXL pipeline delay! Now fully reject it. #NoKXL http://bit.ly/sniInY

DC people Plz RT: Thanks @BarackObama & @OFA_DC for the KXL pipeline delay! Now fully reject it. #NoKXL http://bit.ly/sniInY

History was made in the announcement of the 12+ month delay of the Keystone XL pipeline, and in the undeniable proof that people power still works. The tireless hours you put into fighting this pipeline, and all dirty energy, made all the difference. You made Obama, the president himself, think twice.

The delay of the pipeline is a monumental win, but not a full victory. To be clear, this fight is not over until we see Transcanda, and all dirty energy, pack their bags.

While we will continue to hold President Obama accountable to his campaign promises for clean energy, we must acknowledge when we win. We must own it.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s your opportunity to tell the Obama Administration that you’re thankful for the Keystone XL delay, and thankful for all the future decisions they’re going to continue to make in the right direction.

This is a perfect opportunity to harness the momentum that came from organizing and continue good work that will lead to even more wins.

Hundreds Gather for "Wind Works" Town Halls

Few if any issues are as important to the future health, economic sustainability and quality of life of communities around the world than climate change and clean energy. And as we’ve seen at two separate town hall events in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County these past two weeks, Marylanders know it.

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