Truth Squad: Sen. Cardin Advances Clean Energy Bill!

Exciting news! This morning at 9:30, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin helped pass the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill out of his committee (Environment and Public Works). He fought to keep key strengthening provisions intact despite the opposition from the Big Oil and Coal Lobby and his Republican colleagues who boycotted the committee hearings. This is an important step towards demonstrating US climate leadership before the international climate talks in Copenhagen in December. (Get news flashes like this as they happen by following CCAN on Twitter)

Thanks to your emails and letters, Sen. Cardin showed leadership in the face of strident opposition and deserves our praise. Now it’s time to start talking to Senator Barbara Mikulski. Once the bill gets to the Senate floor we will need the combined powers of Senator Cardin and Senator Mikulski to fight for a bold clean energy bill.

Let’s face it, internal Senate proceedings don’t always make headlines. It’s up to us to tell the story and educate our fellow citizens. Can you take a few minutes to submit a letter to the editor to your local paper?

Please, take a moment to respond. Here are some talking points:

1. Thank You Sen. Cardin for Your Leadership: This week Sen. Cardin helped pass the Boxer-Kerry “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act” out of his key Environment and Public Works Committee. His committee’s approval was an important step on the path towards a new clean energy economy that will create millions of jobs nationwide. Recent studies have shown that such a bill would create 35,000 jobs in Maryland alone.

2. Sen. Cardin Defended Key Provisions: Sen. Cardin fought to ensure that the Boxer-Kerry clean energy bill restores the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate global warming pollution from coal plants. (This critical authority was threatened in the House version of the bill). Sen. Cardin also deserves our praise for inserted key provisions to protect Maryland consumers from rising energy costs.

3. Big Opposition on the Senate Floor: Clean energy bills have always faced opposition from the Big Oil and Coal, who managed to significantly weaken the House version of the bill. Unfortunately, many Republicans are also trying to block clean energy legislation — they even boycotted the most recent hearings.

4. Need More Bold Leadership from Our Senators: As the bill moves through the Senate, I am looking forward to Senator Mikulski to join forces with Senator Cardin to defend the Clean Air Act, protect consumers, and prioritize renewable energy and energy efficiency before expensive and unsafe energy sources such as nuclear energy and “clean coal.” I look forward to the Senators’ bold leadership as they work to create 35,000 new jobs for Maryland.

Please, let me know when you submit a letter and again when you get it published: ethan[at]chesapeakeclimate.org

Go forth and spread the Truth!

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LTE contact info for your paper:

The Cecil Whig: whigletters@chespub.com
Prince Georges Co. Gazette: princegeorges@gazette.net
Baltimore Sun: talkback@baltimoresun.com
Washington Post: letters@washpost.com
Annapolis Capital: capletts@capitalgazette.com
Washington Times: letters@washingtontimes.com
Carroll Co. Gazette: carroll@gazette.net
Frederick Co. Gazette: Frederick@gazette.net
Montgomery Co. Gazette: letters@gazette.net
The Star Democrat: eastonedit@chespub.com
The County Times of Southern Maryland: tobiepulliam@countytimes.net
Baltimore Messenger, Jeffersonian, Northeast Booster, Northeast Reporter, Owings Mills Times, Towson Times or North County News: kweiss@patuxent.com
The Avenue (Baltimore): aveeditorial@chespub.com
The Northeast Booster (Baltimore): dsturm@patuxent.com
Maryland Independent: abreck@somdnews.com
The Enterprise: rboyd@somdnews.com
The Recorder: clovejoy@somdnews.com
The Calvert Independent: editorial@calvertindependent.com
City Paper (DC): mail@washingtoncitypaper.com

Md Utility (Nuke) Deal Still Risky

Two months ago I sat in an uncomfortable folding chair in the aging War Memorial Building in Baltimore. The drab walls had yellowed over the years in the dim lighting and dusty old flags hung in remembrance of past sacrifices for Democracy. But that evening this tired old hall was alive with hundreds of people taking part in a hearty democratic discourse. Dozens of activists occupied the first two rows of the hearing room to give testimony to the Public Service Commission and say “No Deal” to the merger between Constellation/EDF.

Many Maryland citizens spoke up at this hearing and across the state to voice their opposition to this merger that would rip off Maryland ratepayers and move us loser to more unsafe nuclear power in the Free State. CCAN was proud to work with out partners in the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition to represent the public interest in this campaign. Last Friday the PSC announced their decision. They didn’t reject the merger outright but did include some conditions that are more favorable to BG&E ratepayers (full press statement below). The campaign continues for a more comprehensive approach to Maryland’s Clean Energy Future. (Here is a clip of me on WAMU 88.5, the DC area NPR affiliate). Let’s keep fighting!

COALITION WARNS OF UTILITY DEAL’S IMPLICATIONS
Public Service Commission Conditions May Mitigate Some Risk

Press statement of Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition Spokesperson, Johanna Neumann, on the Maryland Public Service Commission’s Conditional Approval of the Deal between Constellation Energy Group and Electricite de France.

“While we are disappointed that the Public Service Commission (PSC) didn’t reject the deal between Constellation Energy and EDF outright, conditions placed on the deal may help safeguard BGE ratepayers from risks associated with the transaction if it moves forward.

In its ruling the PSC largely ignored the fact that the sale would continue to expose Marylanders to the risk associated with the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the state, including higher utility rates if the plant comes online.

The reactor likely would result in rates dramatically higher than current market rates. The California Energy Commission recently issued a report projecting nuclear generating costs in 2018, roughly the time Calvert Cliffs III could come online, at a staggering 34.24 cents/kwh, nearly triple current costs in Maryland. In the same study, the commission found that all renewable sources of energy were cheaper than nuclear power in that timeframe.

Moody’s and other credit rating agencies have indicated their intent to downgrade utilities that build new nuclear reactors because of the high risk involved in the project. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 50 percent of proposals for new nuclear reactors default before completion.

While it is disappointing that the PSC has left the door open for construction of an expensive and unnecessary new nuclear reactor in Maryland that diverts resources from faster, cheaper and safer ways to meet our state’s energy needs, the conditions outlined in their brief would take some steps to protect ratepayers from having to assume the project’s risks.”

Vote Tomorrow!

The single most important thing you can do tomorrow is vote. Don’t know where your polling place is? See below for a nifty gadget to help you find your polling location and candidates.

Please, learn about the candidates and take some time to vote tomorrow!

The Power of the People

The 350.org International Day of Climate Action a week ago was unprecedented, historic, stirring and inspiring. Watching the pictures scroll across the computer screen at www.350.org from literally all over the world, seeing the very concrete evidence of a worldwide grassroots movement for climate justice, was truly unforgettable. It was impossible not to feel that, yes, despite the very long odds, we actually may be able to win the race to prevent looming, catastrophic climate change and to enact climate and social justice.

What is the one thing most needed right now if we are to win this race? October 24th showed us: a visible, growing, mass movement in the streets.

There are some who believed, and still do, that the key to the needed clean energy revolution was the election of Barack Obama. Although it is important to have a President who understands that climate change is happening and that action is needed to address it, it has become very clear over the last nine months of his time in office that this is not enough. Continue reading

Trick or Treat!

IMG00124Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. For one day of the year, you get to be someone (or something) else. Today, a few of us dressed up as green jobs workers and delivered a message to our Virginia Senators: We want clean energy jobs NOW! Wearing green hard hats, work boots and tool belts, we delivered our messages in style- by presenting the staff of Senator Webb and Senator Warner with a Frankenstein halloween bucket filled with candy and petitions from folks all across the Commonwealth who want Congress to pass a strong climate bill this year. We think they got the message!
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Cardin speaks for (and meets with) constituents at Senate Climate Hearings

With the Senate climate fight really kicking off this week with a round of hearings in the EPW Committee our Senators need to hear from us more than ever. That’s why I arranged a little meeting between Maryland Senator Cardin (who sits on the committee) and Maryland climate activist MA Sheehan. To remind the Senator what hard core climate activists many of his constituents are, MA gave him copies of some photos from our big October 24th climate march through the driving rain to the White House. She also handed over a few dozen handwritten letters from constituents, to add to the 1000 that we delivered to the Senator over the summer. Cardin photo delivery

The mere fact that the Senator took the time to meet with (and pose for the lovely picture shown here) speaks volumes about the impact all the grassroots love we’ve showered upon him has had. An even better indicator is the statement Cardin made at the start of the EPW hearings on Monday. In it he talked about the plight of his constituents on Smith Island, the economic benefits of clean energy, and his excitement over the increased transportation funding and consumer protections “polluter pays” principles built into the Kerry Boxer bill. All of this

Clean Coal Fail

Meet Anne. Anne is excited about cleaning coal. She has a basin, a washboard, and some soap. Here she goes…

Slideshow by Jay

Thanks to Kathy Selvage and Antigone Ambrose for the inspiration!

Obviously coal isn’t clean and we need your help to spread the word. Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. We need to get this film in the hands of Americans nationwide. Help get the word out and end mountaintop removal coal mining by hosting a Coal Country House Party. Deadline is November 1st.

Virginia youth for 350 parts per million.

cross posted from thinkaboutit.eu

This weekend, in conjunction with 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action, more than 100 students from across the Commonwealth of Virginia converged on the campus of George Mason University in order to plan the next phase in the fight for a clean and responsible future for Virginia the United States, and the globe.

Virginia Power Shift 2009 was marked by a wide array of workshops, panels and speakers, ranging from greening your daily living, political and direct action training (with help from the folks at AVAAZ), and new and diverse ways to spread and grow the youth environmental movement.

The phenomenal lot of keynote speakers included Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Jessy Tolkan, director of the Energy Action Coalition, and Gillian Caldwell from the 1Sky campaign, all key personalities in the struggle to end human-caused climate change. Representatives from Repower America and SustainUS offered valuable insight into the role of youth within America’s nonprofit and NGO culture. Continue reading

Would you want these kinds of benefits?

Late last week, after resolving a lawsuit by environmental and public health organizations, EPA officials announced that they have set a deadline for developing standards to limit mercury and other toxins emitted from coal-fired power plants by Nov. 16, 2011. According to the EPA, coal-fired plants in this country emit nearly 50 tons of mercury each year, or about a third of the nation’s total mercury emissions. Initially when the suit was filed last year, only 28% of coal plants used scrubbers for pollution controls. However, these scrubbers are creating another environmental problem: contaminated drinking water. According to an article in the New York Times, one of the biggest threats to our waterways is coal-fired power plants. Yet there are no federal regulations on the proper disposal of toxins from coal plants into waterways or landfills. The EPA announced earlier this week it will begin looking into the contamination effects of fly-ash, a coal by-product created when coal is burned.

In a report released by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation earlier this month, mercury emissions from the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC) proposed coal-fired power plant for the Hampton Roads region in Surry County would further damage waterways leading into the Chesapeake Bay where state advisories are already posted due to the high levels of mercury contamination.

All of this comes on the heels of a report by the National Academy of Sciences stating that the annual cost of health issues related to emissions from coal-fired power plants was about $60 billion in the United States.

Surry County and the rest of the Chesapeake Bay community don’t need these kinds of “benefits”. Join us in saying NO to this plant.

Dedicated, Enthusiastic Students Rock Maryland Power Shift!

McDaniel students are pumped!
Over a hundred students gathered at the University of Maryland, College Park over the weekend for the first ever Maryland Power Shift. The participants, from over fifteen different Maryland and D.C. schools, gathered on Saturday to participate in the 350.org International Day of Action in D.C. and on Sunday for a conference on grassroots organizing around environmental issues.

On Saturday students stood out in the crowd with green Power Shift t-shirts and led the 350.org march in DC with enthusiastic cheering: keeping everyone’s energy high. Sunday was also a big success. Students had a chance to meet fellow activists from other schools to share ideas, tips, and excitement!

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