Today CCAN Director Mike Tidwell was a guest blogger for Climate Progress. Here is his post:
After a decade as a full-time climate activist, I’ve come to depend on two potent forces to keep me going. One is the blogging of Joe Romm. It keeps me informed
Last Thursday residents of Curtis Bay and the greater Baltimore City area gathered at the Curtis Bay Recreation Center for a community forum hosted by CCAN, Clean Water Action and the Environmental Integrity Project.
The panel provided information on two proposed dirty energy projects: a new coal ash landfill proposed by Constellation Energy and an Energy Answers “waste to energy” power plant. We had a great discussion on the potential implications of the projects and what pollution standards must be upheld. Many attendees expressed anger that this community has been the target of polluters for decades, and frustration that these companies seemingly get special exemptions from state and federal environmental laws.
One of the most appalling possibilities is that the incinerator could be just a mile and a half from the elementary school! Pollution knows no boundaries: that distance simply isn’t far enough away to prevent major health impacts.
CCAN is committed to addressing community concerns with these two energy projects and helping in any way we can. Click here to sign a postcard urging Maryland Department of the Environment to do a thorough environmental health study before approving any project that could add pollution to this already overburdened community. Stay tuned for future actions!
Today at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and Jim Gordon, CEO of Cape Wind signed the first permit for an offshore wind farm in US waters, marking the end of a nine-year regulatory hurdle. “Responsibly developing this clean, renewable, domestic resource will stimulate investment in cutting-edge technology, create good, solid jobs for American workers, and promote our nation’s competitiveness, security, and prosperity,” Salazar said in a statement. He also reaffirmed his commitment to streamlining the permitting process for future offshore wind projects. This is something CCAN has been working very hard on. It shouldn’t take longer to permit an offshore wind farm that generates clean, renewable energy than an offshore drilling rig that can cause enough damage to shut down our entire coast, harming important industries to our coastal towns.
The Cape Wind announcement comes just days after Secretary Salazar approved the first large-scale solar-power projects on U.S. public lands in California and a announcement from President Obama about his plans to put solar panels back on the White House roof after a 30 year absence. Hopefully we will see a continued commitment to the environment from this administration.
As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, this victory is personal for me since I spent almost 4 years working to make Cape Wind a reality. With today’s announcement, I can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s finally becoming real.
This is a cross post from RealClimate.
In keeping with our role as a site that tries to deal with the science of climate change rather than the politics, we have specifically refrained from commenting on various politically-motivated legal shenanigans relating to climate science. Some of them have involved us directly, but we didn’t (don’t) want to have RC become just a blog about us. However, the latest move by Ken Cuccinelli, the Attorney General of Virginia, against Mike Mann and UVa is so ridiculous it needs to be highlighted to the widest audience possible.
For background, Rosalind Helderman at the Washington Post has covered most of the story. The last installment was that Cuccinelli’s attempt to subpoena 10 years of emails between 39 scientists and Mike Mann and
It’s official: Tropical Storm Nicole has waged war against the Chesapeake Climate Action Network office. As the remnants of Nicole continue to work their way up the East Coast, the D.C. area has been hit with flash flood warnings and, in some areas, tornado warnings! Although the CCAN office stands victorious in battling the high winds and heavy rain, a leaky ceiling proves it has not gone unscathed.
And then, destiny came knocking on our front door. We caught wind that a local Baltimore-based roofing company is giving away a green roof!
Dubbed the “Green Roof Giveaway,” Cole Roofing, the region’s leading provider of green roofs, will be donating a green roof valued at $30,000 to one enterprising non-profit!
Wait a minute…is CCAN eligible?
Nonprofit: Yup!
Enterprising: You betcha’!
Problem solved, right? I wish it were that easy!
To determine the recipient of the green roof, Cole has launched www.greenroofgiveaway.com, where non-profits can submit their entry by uploading a video or submitting an essay, explaining how a green roof will help them achieve their mission.
Non-profits have until November 15 to submit their entry to be considered for the donation. Afterward, they can rally their supporters to vote for their video or essay on the web site.
In the climate movement, we often find ourselves butting heads with utilities, fighting their resistance to investments in energy efficiency and renewables and constantly working to match their financial influence on policy with people power. Usually, customers are powerless to the energy decisions of their utility and don’t have much of a say in whether their electricity comes directly from a dirty coal-fired power plant or clean alternatives such as wind and solar.
However, that story is changing in Virginia and across the country as electric cooperative members, where ratepayers are also part owners of their utility, are building power and making changes in their coop. In electric cooperatives Continue reading
This is written by Jeff Biggers and crossposted from The Huffington Post.
In one of the most bizarre Big Coal public relations ads yet, online readers of the Washington Post today were forced to view a fatuous “clean coal” ad prior to viewing an extraordinary photo galley on “Death at American coal mines.”
In an excellent and in-depth look into regulatory failure, Post reporters David A. Fahrenthold and Kimberly Kindy examine nine deaths in various mines since the Upper Big Branch disaster in April. The Post reporters conclude: “For safety experts and miners’ families, these recent disasters tell a familiar story: Enforcement efforts have been hampered by a backlogged appeals system and the lack of penalty for repeat offenders. The new federal crackdown still couldn’t ensure safe conditions underground.”
Even more notable: An estimated 450-500 coal miners have died from black lung disease in the last six months, according to figures from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In one of the most scandalous crises in workplace safety in the United States, over 10,000 coal miners have died needlessly from black lung disease (from the inhalation of coal dust) in the last decade.
Black lung disease was first diagnosed in 1831. Coal mining communities wait todayfor new rules and stricter enforcement procedures.
Why are coal miners still dying today?
Media reports of the massive and important One Nation Working Together demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday reported on its diversity, the mix of cultures and issues represented. Indeed, when compared to the Tea Party/Glenn Beck, virtually-all-white event on August 28th, the contrast is striking.
This isn’t surprising, of course, given that the Tea Party is essentially re-packaged, big money-supported, ultra-right-wingism: hostile to affirmative action, immigrants, an African American President, low-income people, the idea of health care for all, equality, justice and much more.
Regarding diversity at yesterday’s rally, the Washington Post commented in its news story that “members of the mine workers union rallied with environmental activists.”
It was intriguing to read this just a few days after helping to organize and participating in the very successful “Appalachia Rising” (www.appalachiarising.org) conference and demonstration September 25-27 in Washington, D.C. The major emphasis of this mobilization was to demand an end to the devastating practices of mountaintop removal and strip mining. On a rainy Monday morning, the 27th, hundreds of Appalachia residents joined with hundreds from outside of Appalachia, 2,000 or more strong, for a rally at Freedom Plaza in downtown D.C. and a march to the White House.
At the White House, in the biggest climate-related civil disobedience action ever in the United States that led to arrests, 118 people were arrested as they conducted a sit-in in front of the White House. Four others were arrested down the street at a sit-in inside PNC Bank, one of the major financers of mountaintop removal coal mining.
The importance of this action for the climate movement and for the broader progressive movement cannot be overstated. As Gary Houser put it in an article about Appalachia Rising on the Common Dreams website, “Those who traveled to Washington DC to take part in Continue reading
Wind power. It lauded as this futuristic form of en
ergy. A possible solution at some point in the future but not commercial ready now.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Wind has been around well forever. It’s the source of all our electricity, if not for the ability to harness the power of wind with a kite, Ben Franklin may have never discovered electricity in the first place!
But obviously it takes more than lightning and a kite to power a society. But Wind power is not a myth, just this week the New York Times ran a story on an ancient italian town generating a surplus of energy off of wind and making a profit!
It might seem like a stretch to link an ancient town in Italy to a thriving modern metropolis like Virginia but this dream is more of a reality than you think! Oceana released a report just this week that stated:
Offshore wind power could exceed Virginia’s current electricity demand and create up to 26,660 in-state jobs, according to a report issued Tuesday.
Written by Oceana, an ocean-oriented environmental group, the report examines the East Coast. It found that wind farms could supply nearly half the region’s current electricity generation and provide up to 212,000 jobs.
The report looked at water that averages at least 12.5 mph winds, is three to 24 miles off the coast, and is no deeper than 100 feet. It excluded 67 percent of these areas due to potential military, environmental and shipping conflicts
Wind has blowing since the time of the dinosaurs and it’s not stopping any time soon. It’s time we start tapping into this infinite resource.
As green living becomes more popular, more U.S. communities are organizing tours of eco-friendly homes. For the 20th year, Washington, DC-area homes will be open for the public this weekend.
The 20th Annual Washington DC Solar Homes Tour is October 2-3, 2010. Explore more than 100 green homes in the area, including some that are currently on the market. The tour will showcase a remarkable variety of solar design, technology, and sustainable living concepts.
Each touring day has a variety of unique educational opportunities to put a true environmental “spin” on your experience. All the solar tour homes will be listed in your tour guide. Your tour guide will be both your map and “passport” to gain entry to the sites on the tour. The guide will have descriptions, features and directions to each home as well as helpful information on installing a system in your home.
Pick up tour guides throughout the area at these locations, or download a copy online here.
For more information, visit the solar tour website at http://www.solartour.org.