Number of earthquakes worldwide in 1990: 16,590—-number in 2008: 31,777
-U.S. Geological Society National Earthquake Information
I have to say that when I first started hearing about this possible connection a couple of years ago, I was kind of a skeptic. Part of me reacted, “Hey, we’re already contending with head-in-the-sand people Continue reading
The Gazette of Business and Politics
By Mike Tidwell and Jim Strong
Labor unions and environmental groups haven’t always seen eye to eye in Maryland. The state’s “green” leaders often have seemed more interested in trees than workers. And unions traditionally have focused more on short-term wages than long-term threats like global warming.
When thinking about coal in Virginia, one’s mind often goes to destructive mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia, Dominion’s coal plant under construction in Wise County, or the Hampton Roads coal plant proposed by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative. In short, it is easiest to think of dirty energy projects in rural and southern parts of the state. Yet coal is in Northern Virginians’ backyards as well.
Monday night, over 60 local activists, community leaders and organizers came together to fight dirty coal in Alexandria. The coal-fired power plant on the bank of the Potomac is making local communities sick and contributing to climate change as one of the top sources of planet-warming carbon emissions in the DC area. The former “Mirant coal plant” is now owned by GenOn, a Houston-based corporate polluter keeping the 514 MW plant burning on standby for the sake of their own profits. Continue reading
Last night, I filled the tank of my Zipcar with gas that was almost $4.00 per gallon. It was quite a pricey reminder of the volatility of fossil fuel markets. While coal prices have traditionally been less linked to global events, U.S. coal prices are becoming increasingly set by worldwide demand. That’s just one of the reasons that the Union of Concerned Scientists named the building of new coal-fired power plants “an extremely risky long-term investment” in a new report released last week.
“A Risky Proposition: The Financial Hazards of New Investments in Coal Plants” lays out the multitude of reasons that it’s bad for business for electric utilities to make new investments in coal-burning power plants, such as Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed power plant in Surry County, VA.
While CCAN opposes this plant because it would spew out about 15 million tons of global warming pollution
Fear and money, as these past few years of recession have made abundantly clear, are two very powerful political forces especially when combined. And as we’re seeing right now in places like Wisconsin, powerful political and corporate players are hard at work exploiting fears over money to advance their political agendas. It’s the worst form of cynical political ploys Continue reading
The Virginia General Assembly session just wrapped up and your legislators have headed back to their districts. Here’s a run down on what happened in the last 46 days:
The Good
These bills had our full support and passed this session:
HB 2191 and SB 975 Patroned by Delegate Adam Ebbin and Senator Mary Margaret Whipple:
You have heard from us frequently throughout session about this legislation, which establishes a voluntary solar resource development fund. Through this fund, Virginia homeowners can apply for low-interest loans to put solar PV or solar thermal on their rooftops. This fund will help homeowners with the upfront costs associated with these installations while creating jobs in the clean energy sector in the Commonwealth. Anyone can contribute to this fund once the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy creates it later this year.
HB 1686 Patroned by Delegate David Toscano:
This legislation will promote distributed solar generation by setting up a pilot program for utility-owned facilities. It also allows utilities to create a tariff to encourage citizens to own distributed solar generation.
HB 2389 Patroned by Delegate Albert Pollard:
The Virginia Resource Authority (VRA) provides cost-effective financing to Virginia municipalities for various projects. HB 2389 allows the VRA to add more renewable energy projects to its list of projects it can already finance for municipalities. Continue reading
In December, when President Obama announced that he would cancel lease plans for offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean from 2012 – 2017, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. This was a major victory for both ocean protection and our efforts to put an end to offshore oil drilling, was it not?
Not exactly. CCAN remains troubled that the Department of the Interior (DOI) plans to proceed with plans to conduct seismic testing in the mid and south Atlantic, which is unnecessary and can be dangerous for marine life. That’s why last week, several members of our staff attended a public hearing about this proposal, delivering 5,000 comments submitted by supporters like you who DO NOT support any oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean whatsoever. We made it clear that our members don’t support oil drilling, now or in the future. But what does seismic testing have to do with all of this, and why is the DOI taking comments? Find some answers below.
What is seismic testing?
Seismic testing is an exploration technique used by oil and gas companies to explore the ocean for oil and gas sediments. In order to measure these sediments, large ships fire high-intensity air guns deep into the ocean. These “air cannons” produce a high intensity, low frequency noise and are dragged behind boats for thousands of miles in a systematic procedure to map an entire area.
Why should I care?
Air cannons are designed to be extremely loud – reaching up to 270 decibels (for reference, a nuclear explosion can be about 300-310 decibels underwater) and have been recorded by scientists from locations over 1,800 miles away. While there are many natural ocean noises, the excessive noise generated by air cannons masks those natural sounds, which are used by marine animals to hunt, navigate, feed and find mates. Continue reading
Without question, one of the most rewarding organizing experiences I have ever been a part of was the “Appalachia Rising” mobilization in late September of last year. Appalachia Rising consisted of three very successful days of action in Washington, D.C.: a two-day weekend conference, followed by a Monday morning march of 2,000 people to the White House demanding an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. At the White House 118 people were arrested in front of it.
The next morning there was a huge color picture on the front page of the Washington Post of the nonviolent civil disobedience action, and there was extensive news coverage from other media outlets. This was an action that had an impact, and not just via the mass media. Continue reading
by Mike Tidwell
Ten years ago, I put solar panels on my roof and began eating locally grown food. I bought an energy-efficient refrigerator that uses the power equivalent of a single light bulb. I started heating my home with a stove that burns organically fertilized corn kernels. I even restored a gas-free lawn mower for manual yardwork.
In Norfolk last week, the Obama administration announced a plan for rapid development of offshore wind energy, including high priority Wind Energy Areas off the coast of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The Department of the Interior (DOI) said it could begin leasing these areas for wind energy projects as early as the end of this year. Opening these areas to wind energy development will be a great step in our transition to clean, renewable energy and should happen as soon as possible!
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the agency within the DOI that oversees the development of energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, has opened a public comment period on the Wind Energy Areas, which lasts until Friday, March 11. Please show your support for wind energy off the coast of Virginia and Maryland by signing our petition. We’ll deliver it to BOEMRE by the end of the comment period.
Virginia Residents: Take action here
Maryland Residents: Take action here Continue reading