UMD for Clean Energy Makes Waves on City Council

UMD for Clean Energy, student group I’m Campaign Director of, has another article out about us in The Diamondback about our efforts during the College Park City Council elections, which culminated in a march to the polls, and got some pretty positive reaction. This new article also chronicles our presentation at a city council work session, where we put forth a proposal about tax breaks for green businesses.

UMD for Clean Energy makes waves on city council

By Brady Holt

Many of College Park’s longtime residents paint the university’s student body as a group that doesn’t care about the city.

But those residents may be surprised at where their city council is getting some innovative environmental policy ideas: the UMD for Clean Energy student group. Continue reading

Picture(s) of the Week

This week, two pictures made it into most inspiring picture of the week category, although I can only show you one on this blog. The first is from Avaaz Climate Action Factory, which pulls together some of the most creative and timely actions in my opinion.

Tuesday evening, while President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, dozens of activists with Avaaz.org released a hundred Chinese flying lanterns and a floating balloon banner just south of the White House.

According to Morgan at Avaaz’s Climate Action Factory in DC:

Chinese flying lanterns are a symbol of hope traditionally released to celebrate the new year. The Avaaz action highlighted China’s proactive domestic climate commitments as a source of inspiration for the UN climate summit in Copenhagen this December.

The other picture I can’t find online unfortunately. But if you check out B2 of today’s Washington Post, you’ll see a picture of Matt Means and Ed Bush busy installing what will be the largest solar-energy system in the Washington area at Catholic University. More than 1,000 panels will be installed on four buildings this fall.

Save Ice Hockey. Enough with the Nukes, eh!

Last week I had a blast at a Washington Capitol’s ice hockey game in DC. I was just enjoying a nice break from a busy week of climate activism when I see something on the wall behind the goalie-box that almost ruined my night. A billboard advertisement for nuclear energy that read: “Nuclear: The Clean Air Energy” solution. Come on! You would think a sport like ice hockey that will literally not exist if we allow global warming to accelerate wouldn’t be so quick to take money from a false solution like the nuclear industry. *Sigh*

Then on Monday Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Webb (D-VA) released a new bill that would be a huge give-away of $20 billion taxpayer dollars to the nuclear industry. It’s no surprise that this money will come from the government because Wall Street won’t touch nuclear power with a ten foot pole. Plain and simple: it’s a BAD INVESTMENT. Conservatives are irked about the expansion of federal government spending and yet their brilliant solution to the energy crisis? Sink billions into the expensive, unsafe nuclear power. (Read more at CCAN member, Matt Dernoga’s excellent Letter to Editor).

Every new nuclear power plant built would be a step backwards when it comes to solving global warming. Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency is a safer, faster and less expensive alternative to nuclear energy. Tapping into Maryland’s abundant renewable energy sources would create far more jobs for far less money than investing in unsafe nuclear energy. That’s why yesterday I was pleased to join our friends at Environment Maryland to release a new report: “Generating Failure: How Building Nuclear Power Plants Would Set America Back in the Race Against Global Warming”. You can read the full report here.

Here an excerpt about the press conference that was printed in the Annapolis Capitol:

“Maryland has charted a course to put us on the stage of national leadership” when it comes to combating climate change, said Ethan Nuss, Maryland campaign coordinator with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. And with good reason. Maryland is incredibly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Nuss said. Sea level rise would affect the state’s natural resources and fishing and tourism economy. “We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act in the most decisive manner to solve the climate crisis,” said Nuss. “Nuclear power is not that solution.”

At the end of the day there is a litany of reasons to oppose nuclear power. But the thing that I can’t get over is the wasteful complexity of the entire nuclear fuel cycle. From when uranium is mined on Native American lands, then refined-processesed, put through a complicated atom-splitting reactor, to heat water, to generate steam, which turns a turbine

Nuclear energy: Don't believe the sticker price

I have an op-ed column out today that attacks the threat of a nuclear power plant in Maryland by looking at recent fruitless attempts to build plants, and the cost born by ratepayers.

Nuclear energy: Don’t believe the sticker price

By Matt Dernoga

A common perception of nuclear power is that it’s an affordable, carbon-free energy source that could meet a lot of America’s demand for electricity, if only those darn environmentalists would get out of the way. Unfortunately for nuclear power advocates and Maryland ratepayers, this statement crumbles upon contact with reality. Continue reading

Virginia Students: Join the "No Coal Day," Nov. 18th

Of the many amazing things I get to do as CCAN’s Virginia campus organizer, one extra bit of inspiration is how often I find myself driving along a beautiful back road and am struck by the incredible views all around me. To think that in areas of Virginia those mountains and the communities surrounding them are directly threatened only makes me more anxious to reach my destination because I know that the work we’re doing around this state is going to help make the switch and create a clean energy economy here in Virginia and beyond.

I just got back from Wise County where I joined the Rrnew Collective and others from around the Southeast for “Weekend in Wise” a weekend of discussion, brainstorming and planning (plus a little dancing) about creating sustainable economic development in Appalachia. While it was the first time I saw mountaintop removal and ‘reclamation,’ the sense of determination from everyone there left me energized. Together, we’re going to create a better future for all of us.

That’s why young people from around the state have set November 18th was set as a statewide No Coal Day. It’s a Day of Action for a clean energy future because young people know it’s time for Virginia to make the switch. Join in! Email me at katherine[at]chesapeakeclimate.org

How clean are your local waterways?

In a recent report released by Environment America, The Commonwealth of Virginia comes in second in the country for the most polluted waterways. Not a designation any Virginian should be proud of to say the least. The data used in this report comes from the EPA’s very own Toxics Release Inventory.

The report also found that nearly half of our country’s waterways are too polluted for fishing, swimming or other recreational activities because polluters are continuing to use them as major dumping grounds. As I blogged about previously, coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest threats to our waterways yet there are no federal regulations on the proper disposal of toxins from these plants into nearby rivers and streams.

It’s time polluters cleaned up their act and federal and state governments started cracking down. One way our state government can begin working toward removing our beautiful Commonwealth from this list is by refusing to allow new coal plants such as the one proposed for Surry County in the Hampton Roads region. This coal plant would be the largest in the state, if built, and would only be a mere 35 miles from our precious Chesapeake Bay.

Want to join the fight? You can sign our petition or attend the public hearing on November 23 in Surry County. Tell your friends and family to get involved too. We can do better for our waterways and ourselves.

Video – PowerShift 09 and friends of CCAN featured!

A previously overlooked video focusing on the importance of youth in the climate movement just hit Green.tv (which is kind of a big deal, congrats!). It features PowerShift 09 and lots of personal friends of CCAN. For 3:33 it’s definitely worth checking out.

C is for

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On November 4th 2008, students participated in record numbers in the elections and demanded that Congress pass bold climate legislation in 2009. One year later, with legislation still under debate, students are still taking action!

Walter Johnson High School Students gathered during lunch for: “Cookies and Cupcakes for Calls to Cardin on Climate Change.” During the short break around 20 students made calls to Senator Cardin’s office to voice their opinions on climate legislation and enjoyed tasty cupcakes and cookies.

Make a call to thank Senator Cardin! He was instrumental in getting the bill out of committee and keeping some of the stronger provisions intact. Thank him and ask him to keep working to strengthen the bill. Then reward yourself with a cookie or cupcake. Taking action tastes so good!

UPDATE: EPW Passes Boxer-Kerry

Sen. Baucus was the only Dem to vote against it. Republicans were not present.

According to Reuters:

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday approved a Democratic climate change bill that would require industry to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.

With Republicans boycotting the committee’s work saying more analysis of the legislation was needed, 10 Democrats voted to approve the legislation and one Democrat, Senator Max Baucus, voted against it.

The bill will now become one of several initiatives aimed at attacking global warming. Senator John Kerry is leading an effort with some Republicans and the White House to craft a compromise bill, which likely would not be voted on by the full Senate until next year at the earliest. Read the full article