CCAN had an integral role in negotiating the nation’s strongest coal ash landfill permit for a site in Baltimore city.
Great day for renewables in Virginia: Onward & upward!
On the heels of Secretary Salazar’s offshore wind energy announcement yesterday in Norfolk, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed the Voluntary Solar Resource Fund Bill (HB 2191 and SB 975), which aims to set up a revolving loan fund for residential solar energy projects. The loan program will promote economic development and the production of clean, renewable energy at no cost to the state.
This bill is a win-win-win for all major parties involved: the citizens of Virginia who will receive the loans, the commonwealth’s solar energy industry, and utilities with an interest in distributed solar power.
“Renewable energy has had two major boosts today: first the announcement that Virginia could begin leasing offshore wind sites by the end of this year, and also from the passing of the Voluntary Solar Resource Fund bill in the Virginia General Assembly,” said Chelsea Harnish, Virginia Policy Coordinator for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Continue reading
Community Forum in Williamsport, MD this Thursday!
This past Monday, I took a road trip to Williamsport, MD where CCAN and our coalition partners are hosting a community forum about the R. Paul Smith coal-fired power plant located just blocks away from the center of town. I checked out the location for the forum, the cozy and welcoming public library, and after meeting with our hosts, I decided to check out the plant itself.
I drove just a few blocks from the main road and immediately saw an ungainly structure looming above the town cemetery. With the sun setting, it was an ominous sight. 
This plant just got a water pollution permit approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment that does little to address the heavy metals in coal waste; even though it sits directly on the canal that residents and tourists enjoy rollerblading, fishing, biking, and walking near. This is why we’re hosting the forum. We want to provide the residents of Williamsport with information about the plant and the potential impacts it has on the surrounding environment.
Whether you live in Williamsport, downwind, upstream, are just plain interested, we hope you can make it out! And never fear; we’ll have light refreshments. RSVP here!
Snowzilla signals warming
In the face of what some meteorologists are calling the worst storm to EVER hit the U.S., some people might be tempted to question the reality of global warming. First in line: our friend Bill Reilly at FOX News.
Here’s what Al Gore had to say about the matter:
Last week on his show Bill O’Reilly asked, “Why has southern New York turned into the tundra?” and then said he had a call into me. I appreciate the question.
As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming:
“In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.”
“A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.”
Sorry to disappoint you, Bill. Check the science. Snowzilla = Climate change.
It's Easy Being Green: Green on the Screen
This is a cross-post from the Center for American Progress.
The 2011 awards season is officially upon us. Environmental films aren’t traditionally thought of as number-one stunners when competing against movies such as “Inception” and “127 Hours,” but since last year’s Oscar for Best Documentary went to “The Cove,” a film exploring the annual slaughtering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, a new trend may have started in which environmental films are more welcome in the spotlight.
Below is a list of four green films to keep your eyes on this season.
“The Last Mountain.” A standout among the too few environmental documentaries premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, documentary filmmaker Bill Haney’s “The Last Mountain” takes a look at coal mining in Coal River Valley, West Virginia, and the “battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal.” The film brings to light questions of Big Coal’s apparent stronghold over the democratic process and what that means for our future.
Massey Energy, the third-largest coal company in the United States and the single-most destructive coal mining company in history, has literally blown the Coal River Valley to pieces with the force of “explosive power the size of a Hiroshima bomb each week.” Haney’s film follows those people fighting “a fight for our future.” He captures their attempt to stop the destruction of the last-standing mountain in the region and their efforts to promote clean energy alternatives for powering the valley. Simply developing a wind farm on the mountain could provide power for the whole region, keep the mountain intact, and create jobs for the surrounding communities
A "Sputnik Moment" for Offshore Wind?
If President Obama is right and the U.S. is facing a new “Sputnik Moment”, we shouldn’t have to look too hard to find examples of foreign countries rocketing past us with the new competitive technologies of the 21st century. Not hard at all. In fact, when it comes to the technology sector at the top of the President’s list
Welcome to The Jungle (Bad VA Bills pt. 1)
Update: HB 1438 will be voted on by the full Virginia House of Delegates TODAY (Wednesday)! Continue reading
Solar bill shines its way to full committee.
Yesterday was a long day for Virginia’s House of Delegates. After close to a three hour session, the House Commerce and Labor Committee had a brief meeting with the full committee before settling into a marathon meeting of the Special Subcommittee on Energy. Continue reading
Offshore Drilling: Virginia's General Assembly still doesn't get it
Yesterday was (supposed) to be a big day for energy bills in the Senate but many of the bills were “passed by” for the day, which means they have been postponed until next week’s committee hearing. However, one of CCAN’s priority bills, SB 814, which would have stopped the potential for offshore drilling in its tracts, died a valiant death. This was no surprise to us; the purpose of the bill this year was to educate our legislators on the threat of offshore drilling. While not immediate, this threat is still very real. Suffice it to say, we accomplished our goal big time. There was a tremendous, healthy debate centered around our bill that lasted more than 20 minutes whereas most of the other bills in committee were quickly discussed and voted upon. I was able to point out to the committee members that drilling can and will most likely begin after 2017 when the federal government revisits opening our coast to offshore drilling. We must continue to keep the pressure on our state and federal legislators about this threat.
Today though, we are reversing gears a little bit by working hard to promote our renewable energy bill that is on today’s committee docket. This bill would establish a voluntary solar fund for Virginia homeowners to apply for. By all early indications, this bill has a good shot today. Stay tuned for details!
255 brave souls… and me
Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who joined us this past Saturday at the 6th Annual “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge. It was truly an inspiring day for all of us here at CCAN. It means so much to us that 256 brave souls (our best participation EVER) signed up to brave 17 degree temperatures to jump into the Potomac River with us to help support our work. We had a great time on Saturday, and we hope you did too.
Please check out the video and photos from the day and share them on your favorite social network. If you have photos from the day, please upload them to Flickr and tag them “pbp11,” or share them on our Facebook wall. Also, check out this article in The Nation about the plunge.
At the Plunge, I was inspired by Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland’s 4th District, who braved the temperatures on a frigid Saturday morning to display her unwavering commitment to fighting climate change. I was coordinating media at the event with Rep. Edwards’ staff, and I would chuckle every time I heard her say to a reporter: “Well, I have to say that this is definitely the COOLEST thing I have ever done for my job!” I was also moved by the presence of a group of Franciscan monks who entered the Potomac in their full robes, and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Navarro Bowman. This was a solid display of solidarity among a diverse coalition of folks committed to the same end: stopping global warming in its tracks.
