Letter from the Director: How Trump is helping the climate movement

No one would have guessed it in November, but 2017 has turned out to be the best year on record for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. After 15 years of hard work – partnering with local activists like you in Maryland, Virginia, and DC – our efforts are paying off with stunning wins this year.
And Donald Trump is actually helping. For years, many people thought it would take a huge natural disaster of epic proportion to wake Americans up to the dangers of climate change. It turns out that the massive political disaster of Donald Trump is having a similar effect. As writer Bill McKibben recently observed, no president in US history has unified more Americans to fight FOR clean energy and AGAINST climate change than President Trump. Withdrawing from the Paris climate accord was tragic. Dismantling much of the EPA’s work is horrifying. But when it comes to Maryland, Virginia and DC – and many other enlightened states nationwide – the climate movement is now accelerating at warp speed. Seriously.
Want proof?
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
We’ve seen staggering advances at the local level in DC over the past 12 months. Last July, before Trump’s election, the DC Council passed a 50% clean electricity standard for the city, making DC a national leader in clean power. Since then, CCAN has been leading a snowballing campaign to pass a “carbon fee-and-rebate” bill for the city. The initiative, now supported by dozens of faith, business, justice, and environmental groups, would force polluting companies in DC to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit and then rebate the lion’s share of the revenue back to all DC residents in a way the INCREASES the net income of low- and moderate-income residents.The policy would also expand the city’s economy, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions by 23%. Again, in the first year of the Trump Administration, momentum behind this “Climate and Community Reinvestment Act” for the District has mushroomed. What better way to “resist” in DC, after all, than to send carbon-priced electricity and gas to the White House whether they want it or not? Stay tuned.
The bill will have a hearing in the fall and we hope to see it pass by the end of the year. Councilmember Mary Cheh of Ward 3 and Phil Mendelson (at-large) are key votes. Tell them you support the bill.
VIRGINIA:
Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe – a foot-dragger on climate issues for three years – announced in May that he will finally impose a hard cap on carbon emissions from power plants by the end of this year. It’s a huge victory, and CCAN led the fight for three years demanding that McAuliffe impose such a carbon cap per his legal authority. But then Donald Trump came along and, according to McAuliffe himself, it sealed the Governor’s decision to finally do the right thing. We set the table, darkness gathered at the national level, then a southern coal state moved toward an historic solution.
Thank you Governor McAuliffe…and P.S., you’ve got to stop supporting oil drilling and fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia too!
MARYLAND:
Republican Governor Larry Hogan stunned the entire nation in March by supporting an outright legislative ban on fracking in the state. For seven years, activists pushed for a bill to prevent violent fracking for gas. We rallied. We marched. We went to jail. Then a fracking ban finally became law in 2017 with bipartisan support. Why? The hard work and vision of citizens like you set the table. Plus, Hogan’s own polling showed that Marylanders’ support for a fracking ban INCREASED with every day that Republican Donald Trump talked about drilling everywhere and burning everything. We were ready. Trump provided a spark that was dangerous to the planet AND Governor Hogan’s political future, and the tides of change moved faster than anyone expected. Everything came together.
And not just on a fracking ban. Maryland legislators in 2017 significantly expanded support for wind and solar power, and adopted a nation-leading energy efficiency law for electricity. Then, in a coup de gras, the state’s Public Service Commission in May approved development of two major offshore wind farms off the Maryland coast. What a year! Since January, we’ve had more energy victories in Maryland than during the previous five years combined!
MOVING FORWARD:
Revolutionary change is underway all across our region on clean energy. Six months ago, stunned by Trump’s election, none of us at CCAN could have predicted the progress we’ve seen in Maryland, Virginia and DC. At the national and international levels, what’s happening on climate is truly depressing. But in America, achievements at the state level are, in the long run, more resilient victories. No single president or Congress can come along in the future and undo clean energy laws in all 50 states. Trump is forcing us to build a deeper, more resilient, and more grassroots movement – and to do it with lightning quickness.
But we cannot rest on our recent laurels. We now have to push even harder to fulfill our responsibilities to the world, to make up for the losses on climate at the national level, and to provide leadership – right here in Virginia, Maryland, and DC – to the world. In 2018, we need to DOUBLE the mandate for wind and solar power in Maryland. This year, we need to block Gov. McAuliffe’s massive fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia. And right now, we need to show the world that America’s capital city can tax carbon pollution, reduce income inequality, and create jobs all at the same time.
Sound good? Are you fired up? Then stay involved and stay busy. The planet needs you more than ever.
On we go,
Mike Tidwell

Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.
 

Letter from the Director: A paradigm is shaking

Let’s be honest. It’s easy to get discouraged if you’re fighting global warming in America. I’ve been a full-time climate activist since 2001 and I can’t remember ever fighting so many defensive campaigns all at once. We’re fighting Keystone XL and coal exports. We’re fighting fracking everywhere and the Cove Point export plant in Maryland and the Atlantic Coast pipeline in Virginia. And now, as if that weren’t enough, we’re fighting a proposed anti-environmental merger between electric utilities Pepco and Exelon in Maryland and DC.
So it’s easy to get discouraged. Unless, of course, you realize that all of this defensive action might mean we’re actually gaining ground! I’m serious. I believe the reason climate activists have never been busier is because the entire 20th century energy system is spinning out of control before our eyes. The old energy paradigm is shaking and shuddering on its way to the grave.
Think about it. All the easy oil and gas has run out, so the industry is moving toward the extreme extraction and transport of fracked oil and gas. That’s sparked a backlash. Meanwhile, our society has turned increasingly against coal, prompting companies to try to export it overseas to stay in business. More backlash. And wind and solar prices have simultaneously fallen so dramatically that – in concert with unconventional gas – they are putting nuclear energy on the ropes. Which is why Exelon – owner of the biggest nuclear fleet in America – wants to merge with Pepco in the DC area and increase the number of ratepayers who can prop up its aging nuclear plants. More backlash.
But again all of this is proof that the old energy system is on the way out – much quicker than we thought – while a new energy system is rushing in.
You can see all of this in the extraordinary array of campaigns CCAN is engaged in right now. We’re working with Virginia farmers and landowners and students to fight back against Dominion’s ridiculous proposal to build a 550-mile fracked-gas pipeline in Virginia (a.k.a the Atlantic Coast pipeline). And we’re fighting for an outright moratorium on fracking in Maryland while we also work to stop plans to ship North Dakota crude oil out of Baltimore.
But, because the energy paradigm is changing rapidly, we’re also making dramatic new progress on OFFENSE in both Virginia and Maryland. Our Virginia Coastal Protection Act – with bipartisan support – fell just one vote short of getting out of a Senate committee. The bill would implement a statewide cap on carbon pollution from power plants and use hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds to protect coastal Virginians from the increasing flooding from sea level rise. We’ll be back next year to pass this bill.
In Maryland, we’re making great progress with a bill that would double the state’s commitment to wind and solar power. Specifically, the bill would require that a whopping 40% of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources. We’re building an incredible coalition to pass this legislation through both houses, and then we’ll demand that the governor sign it.
So here we are in February 2015, fighting defensive battles left and right but making more progress on big carbon-reduction bills in our state capitols than we thought possible just a year ago.
The paradigm is shaking. The times are changing. We’re building up the good as we push out the bad. Stay involved and help us go even further.
Onward!
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell

Letter from the Director: Why I'm an optimist

Dear CCAN supporters,
They say you have to be an optimist to be an activist. So I guess I’m an optimist. Despite the admittedly dark days and setbacks that come with fulltime campaigning on global warming, I know that a totally clean-energy world is within our grasp in our lifetimes. I believe this with every fiber in my body. So yeah, I’m an optimist. And you should be too! Read through to the end of my column to see why.
But first, let’s not sugarcoat things. After a long career in journalism, I founded CCAN in 2002 because I had come to realize that nothing else – nothing – was as important as fighting global warming. We could cure cancer tomorrow but we won’t have good health if malaria spreads and heat waves and droughts leave us malnourished. We could end all wars forever, and we won’t have peace if warming-induced Frankenstorms like Sandy and Katrina batter our coastal cities. A wise scientist once said, “Climate is destiny. Change your climate and you change everything.”
Each time I read or hear of some new natural-world weirdness I look for the fingerprints of climate change and they are almost always there. The massive algae bloom in Lake Erie that recently contaminated the drinking water of more than 400,000 people in the Toledo, Ohio region? It wasn’t the heat this time. It was, according to a state official, the incredible increase in “extreme rain events” that have recently plagued Ohio. Scientists confirm that measurable and growing extreme precipitation events are being triggered by global warming in much of the country. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. But what goes up eventually must come down. And we’re learning that it tends to come down in bursts. Those bursting rain events this summer have swept record amounts of livestock waste and agricultural fertilizer into Lake Erie during concentrated periods of time that have in turn triggered unprecedented algae blooms that knocked out the drinking water to nearly half a million Ohioans.
Of course, similar disruptive events related to climate change are happening worldwide. A draft report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, just released this week, states that climate change is now “severe” and “pervasive” and some characteristics of it are “irreversible.” The report is the scientific community’s starkest and most strongly worded warning yet of the dangers that lie ahead unless we act.
And so we must act. CCAN has never been busier in the fight to reduce carbon pollution in our region. We continue to battle the ridiculous and destructive proposal to build a fracked gas export facility at Cove Point in Maryland. We’re fighting drilling and new gas pipelines across the region. And we push just as hard for clean-energy solutions like offshore wind in Virginia and a mandatory doubling of clean electricity in Maryland.
But here’s the main reason — in addition to the historic People’s Climate March — that you should be an optimist despite the UN report and water contamination in Ohio and all the rest. On July 30th, prominent U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) introduced The Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2014. I’ve never seen a more just and affective piece of legislation aimed at “de-carbonizing” the American economy. The Van Hollen bill puts a strong and transparent cap on carbon emissions, forces polluters to pay for any harm they do to the atmosphere, and rebates the collected money on a quarterly basis to every single American with a social security number. This idea could WORK. The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun agree. Now it’s our job to build a climate movement that persuades Congress and our President to embrace this policy before it’s too late.
Learn more about the Van Hollen bill at www.climateandprosperity.org. And stay tuned for exciting action alerts from CCAN throughout the autumn.
Your optimist,
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell

June 2014 Virginia

Dear Virginians,
As we fight back against big polluters and a government that too often caters to them, it’s always exciting when we can report some good news. Earlier this spring, CCANers helped bring about a major clean energy victory that has national implications. After receiving thousands of emails from people across the country, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley vetoed a bill that would have killed the largest utility-scale wind power farm currently under development in Maryland, all because of totally resolvable military radar testing concerns. The veto clears the path for development of a $1 billion wind power industry across Maryland’s Eastern Shore region.
While we celebrate this move towards clean energy, we continue to resist a massive dirty energy threat: Dominion Resources’ proposed fracked gas export facility at Cove Point. Just two weeks ago, a federal study showed that U.S. gas exports to Asia would likely be worse than burning coal for the atmosphere over the next 20 years. Worse! But the White House and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) still aren’t getting the message.
As decisions near this summer, we’re gearing up to send a strong message to Washington. Here are two actions you can take:

  • On Thursday, June 26 at 8 pm, dial in to the National Call to Stop Fracked Gas Exports to learn more about the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Rev. Lennox Yearwood, scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, and more will join this conference call at 559-726-1200 and code 776632.

Our movement is bigger than ever just as our action now is more critical than ever. In response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s flawed Environmental Assessment for Cove Point, Americans submitted more than 150,000 comments to FERC saying no to Cove Point. That record number of comments for a fracked gas export project let FERC know that the public wants clean energy — not dirty, dangerous gas exports.
The major bright spot in recent weeks came when President Obama’s administration released the nation’s first mandatory limits on carbon pollution from power plants. While the rules aren’t as strong as the science shows is needed, they are a welcome shift toward meaningful climate action out of Washington. CCAN will be working to ensure they are implemented in a way that speeds the transition to clean energy — not more fracked gas — in our region.
Here are even more ways you can take action with CCAN this summer…
VIRGINIA: Join the Virginia Summer Activist Call with CCANers from around the state on Monday, June 30th at 7pm. We’ll recap our spring successes and talk about how we’ll push even further for climate solutions in Virginia this summer. From collecting thousands of petitions to the State Corporation Commission, to creatively exposing Dominion’s greenwashing at Earth Day festivals, to earning unprecedented investor support for climate resolutions at Dominion’s annual shareholder meeting, we’ve hit Dominion where the company is most vulnerable — its public image and it’s bottom line — thanks to activists like you. RSVP here for our first statewide call of the summer!
DC/NATIONAL: Join the Climate Ride! This year, from September 20th – 24th, 2014, CCAN board members and staffers will take part in a five-day bike ride from New York City to the Capitol steps in DC. Learn more about the ride and sign up here to join us!
MARYLAND: Join the conference call June 26 at 8 PM eastern time to hear from leaders in the movement to stop gas exports and learn the latest on the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Join in at the time of the call by dialing 559-726-1200 and using code 776632. Speakers will include scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, Hip Hop Caucus president Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Food & Water Watch leader Emily Wurth, and myself. You’ll be able to ask questions and learn more about the exciting role you can play in attending the rally in Washington.
These last few months have made it clear; we have a lot to do. That’s why, on July 13th, thousands of Americans will converge in Washington DC to send a strong message to FERC: Stop Gas Exports and Stop Cove Point. Learn more about the biggest event to date in the fight to stop Cove Point and sign up to be a part of it here.
Onward,
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell

June 2014 D.C. and National

Dear CCANers,
As we fight back against big polluters and a government that too often caters to them, it’s always exciting when we can report some good news. Earlier this spring, CCANers helped bring about a major clean energy victory that has national implications. After receiving thousands of emails from people across the country, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley vetoed a bill that would have killed the largest utility-scale wind power farm currently under development in Maryland, all because of totally resolvable military radar testing concerns. The veto clears the path for development of a $1 billion wind power industry across Maryland’s Eastern Shore region.
While we celebrate this move towards clean energy, we continue to resist a massive dirty energy threat: Dominion Resources’ proposed fracked gas export facility at Cove Point. Just two weeks ago, a federal study showed that U.S. gas exports to Asia would likely be worse than burning coal for the atmosphere over the next 20 years. Worse! But the White House and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission still aren’t getting the message.
As decisions near this summer, we’re gearing up to send a strong message to Washington. Here are two actions you can take:

  • On Thursday, June 26 at 8 pm, dial in to the National Call to Stop Fracked Gas Exports to learn more about the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Rev. Lennox Yearwood, scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, and more will join this conference call at 559-726-1200 and code 776632.

Our movement is bigger than ever just as our action now is more critical than ever. In response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s flawed Environmental Assessment for Cove Point, Americans submitted more than 150,000 comments to FERC saying no to Cove Point. That record number of comments for a fracked gas export project let FERC know that the public wants clean energy — not dirty, dangerous gas exports.
The major bright spot in recent weeks came when President Obama’s administration released the nation’s first mandatory limits on carbon pollution from power plants. While the rules aren’t as strong as the science shows is needed, they are a welcome shift toward meaningful climate action out of Washington. CCAN will be working to ensure they are implemented in a way that speeds the transition to clean energy — not more fracked gas — in our region.
Here are even more ways you can take action with CCAN this summer…
DC/NATIONAL: Join the Climate Ride! This year, from September 20th – 24th, 2014, CCAN board members, staff and friends will take part in a five-day bike ride from New York City to the Capitol steps in DC. Learn more about the ride and sign up here to join us!
MARYLAND: Join the conference call June 26 at 8 PM eastern time to hear from leaders in the movement to stop gas exports and learn the latest on the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Join in at the time of the call by dialing 559-726-1200 and using code 776632. Speakers will include scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, Hip Hop Caucus president Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Food & Water Watch leader Emily Wurth, and myself. You’ll be able to ask questions and learn more about the exciting role you can play in attending the rally in Washington.
VIRGINIA: Join the Virginia Summer Activist Call with CCANers from around the state on Monday, June 30th at 7pm. We’ll recap our spring successes and talk about how we’ll push even further for climate solutions in Virginia this summer. From collecting thousands of petitions to the State Corporation Commission, to creatively exposing Dominion’s greenwashing at Earth Day festivals, to earning unprecedented investor support for climate resolutions at Dominion’s annual shareholder meeting, we’ve hit Dominion where the company is most vulnerable — its public image and it’s bottom line — thanks to activists like you. RSVP here for our first statewide call of the summer!
These last few months have made it clear; we have a lot to do. That’s why, on July 13th, thousands of Americans will converge in Washington DC to send a strong message to FERC: Stop Gas Exports and Stop Cove Point. Learn more about the biggest event to date in the fight to stop Cove Point and sign up to be a part of it here.
Onward,
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell

June 2014 Maryland

Dear Marylanders,
As we fight back against big polluters and a government that too often caters to them, it’s always exciting when we can report some good news. Earlier this spring, CCANers helped bring about a major clean energy victory that has national implications. After receiving thousands of emails from people across the country, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley vetoed a bill that would have killed the largest utility-scale wind power farm currently under development in Maryland, all because of totally resolvable military radar testing concerns. The veto clears the path for development of a $1 billion wind power industry across Maryland’s Eastern Shore region.
While we celebrate this move towards clean energy, we continue to resist a massive dirty energy threat: Dominion Resources’ proposed fracked gas export facility at Cove Point. Just two weeks ago, a federal study showed that U.S. gas exports to Asia would likely be worse than burning coal for the atmosphere over the next 20 years. Worse! But the White House and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) still aren’t getting the message.
As decisions near this summer, we’re gearing up to send a strong message to Washington. Here are two actions you can take:

  • On Thursday, June 26 at 8 pm, dial in to the National Call to Stop Fracked Gas Exports to learn more about the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Rev. Lennox Yearwood, scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, and more will join this conference call at 559-726-1200 and code 776632.

Our movement is bigger than ever just as our action now is more critical than ever. In response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s flawed Environmental Assessment for Cove Point, Americans submitted more than 150,000 comments to FERC saying no to Cove Point. That record number of comments for a fracked gas export project let FERC know that the public wants clean energy — not dirty, dangerous gas exports.
The major bright spot in recent weeks came when President Obama’s administration released the nation’s first mandatory limits on carbon pollution from power plants. While the rules aren’t as strong as the science shows is needed, they are a welcome shift toward meaningful climate action out of Washington. CCAN will be working to ensure they are implemented in a way that speeds the transition to clean energy — not more fracked gas — in our region.
Here are even more ways you can take action with CCAN this summer…
MARYLAND: Join the conference call June 26 at 8 PM eastern time to hear from leaders in the movement to stop gas exports and learn the latest on the July 13th mass rally in Washington. Join in at the time of the call by dialing 559-726-1200 and using code 776632. Speakers will include scientist Tony Ingraffea, Pennsylvania no-fracking leader Karen Feridun, Hip Hop Caucus president Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Food & Water Watch leader Emily Wurth, and myself. You’ll be able to ask questions and learn more about the exciting role you can play in attending the rally in Washington.
DC/NATIONAL: Join the Climate Ride! This year, from September 20th – 24th, 2014, CCAN board members, staff and friends will take part in a five-day bike ride from New York City to the Capitol steps in DC. Learn more about the ride and sign up here to join us!
VIRGINIA: Join the Virginia Summer Activist Call with CCANers from around the state on Monday, June 30th at 7pm. We’ll recap our spring successes and talk about how we’ll push even further for climate solutions in Virginia this summer. From collecting thousands of petitions to the State Corporation Commission, to creatively exposing Dominion’s greenwashing at Earth Day festivals, to earning unprecedented investor support for climate resolutions at Dominion’s annual shareholder meeting, we’ve hit Dominion where the company is most vulnerable — its public image and it’s bottom line — thanks to activists like you. RSVP here for our first statewide call of the summer!
These last few months have made it clear; we have a lot to do. That’s why, on July 13th, thousands of Americans will converge in Washington DC to send a strong message to FERC: Stop Gas Exports and Stop Cove Point. Learn more about the biggest event to date in the fight to stop Cove Point and sign up to be a part of it here.
Onward,
mike-tidwell
Mike Tidwell