Letter from the Director
It’s True: Clean Energy is Inevitable!
As part of the amazing “Sun Day” celebrations for solar power nationwide this past September, we at CCAN demonstrated to Congress the amazing durability of clean energy. Right near the Capitol steps, we took a 46-year-old solar hot water panel – one that once rested on the roof of the Carter White House – and pointed it at the sun. Then we poured cold water into the top of the panel. Within minutes, out came scalding hot water from a pipe at the bottom.
This is 46-year-old technology. We had no home computers or cell phones in 1979. Cars were wildly inefficient gas guzzlers. But today we have amazing electric cars and offshore wind technology. Just imagine what clean energy will look like 46 years FROM now.
President Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists in Washington cannot stop the clean energy revolution. I know it looks dark many days, but consider electric cars alone. Yes, the $7,500 federal tax refund for EVs has ended. But Consumer Reports magazine just reported that an EV owner still saves about $10,000 just on maintenance over the lifetime of the car. There are almost no moving parts. And today, going 100 miles on an electrical charge at home costs about $5 compared to $12 to go 100 miles from fuel at a gas station.
These are the reasons we will ALL be driving electric cars 20 years from now – and wind and solar energy will power our lives – NO MATTER WHAT TRUMP DOES TODAY.
As you’ll see in this winter newsletter, both CCAN and CCAN Action Fund continue to lay the groundwork for that future world. You’ll read about our fight for better rural EV charging stations in Virginia and our legal responses to Trump’s attack on offshore wind in Maryland. You’ll see we’re fighting Washington Gas’ plan to keep D.C. addicted to methane while, as an alternative, we push for “balcony solar” installations across the region.
In short, we’ve never been busier at CCAN and CCAN Action Fund. And we’ve never needed you more. Please join us in 2026, and consider donating at this link or sending a check to P.O. Box 11138, Takoma Park, MD 20913.
Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network & CCAN Action Fund
Explore CCAN Updates
Federal
FEMA Saves Lives. We’re Working to Save FEMA.
This fall, Congress experienced the longest government shutdown in U.S. history but a slow shutdown started well before October 1. Agencies across the federal government have experienced reduction in force (RIFs) terminations, organizational restructuring, cancelled grants, and budget rescissions, hindering their ability to carry out their life-saving missions on behalf of the American people. Despite the need to coordinate disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations across government, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not exempt from attack.
Here’s the hopeful news. CCAN has a plan to fight back. And volunteers like you will be the reason we win.
On June 25, CCAN and 19 other Virginia organizations delivered a letter to Governor Glenn Youngkin urging him to use his influence as a member of the FEMA Review Council to recommend changes to strengthen and improve FEMA, not eliminate it. Since then, CCAN has collected and submitted nearly a thousand petition signatures, co-hosted a rally at FEMA headquarters in D.C., and organized a press conference in Richmond – all urging the Council to keep FEMA fully funded and staffed.
While we do not know the specifics of the Council’s report, recent stories in the New York Times and Washington Post suggest that some of our policy recommendations were included, e.g. making FEMA a cabinet-level agency. Those news stories, however, also say that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem disagrees with many of the report’s recommendations and may be altering the report before she officially submits to President Trump for a final decision. The fight continues! Donate to support this life-saving work >>
PJM and Rising Electricity Costs
If you read CCAN’s summer newsletter, you may remember we mentioned the little-known grid operator called PJM Interconnection. Or, if you live within the PJM grid territory, you may have recently noticed a significant increase in your electric bill. That’s because this regional transmission organization has long delayed connecting cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy sources to the grid. Most ratepayers are unaware of the impacts PJM has on their electric bills, and the 13 governors that span the PJM territory don’t often exercise their influence to hold PJM accountable. Volunteers are helping us change that. On October 9, CCAN hosted an educational PJM webinar with experts from national and state energy organizations. Watch the webinar video >>
Washington, DC
Defending Democracy to Protect the Climate!
The District of Columbia is facing unprecedented interference from the federal government. At CCAN, we know that defending our democracy is critical to protecting our people and our planet. We fundamentally believe it should be up to us – the more 700,000 people who call the District home – to govern ourselves. And we believe protecting D.C. home rule is a climate issue, because when we’re in charge, we commit our city to some of the most ambitious climate actions in the country. That’s why we rallied at the Stand Up for D.C. protest in September, and why CCAN Action Fund partnered with Free DC to host lobby days at Congress to push against proposed legislation that infringes on D.C. home rule, including our right to sue Big Oil for misleading consumers about fossil fuel use leading to climate change. Donate to support or work protecting D.C. >>
Make Polluters Pay in D.C.
D.C. is joining the national movement! In October we launched our campaign to make polluters pay for the climate chaos their fossil fuels are creating in the District. From expensive flooding to dangerous extreme heat, the District needs to prepare for and recover from extreme weather. And with local revenues expected to drop in the coming years, we need big oil and gas companies, who are among the top polluters, to foot the bill more than ever before. We’ve already collected over 500 signatures on our petition to make polluters pay in D.C. Sign the petition>>
Green Alert for D.C. Sports Fans
Capital One Arena is to be renovated and a new football stadium is on the way at the RFK site. These developments are opportunities for us to green our city, kicking gas out of Capital One and building an all-electric RFK stadium. We’ve been busy following renovation negotiations between Monumental Sports and the Green Building Advisory Commission (GBAC), pushing GBAC to require the developers to comply with D.C.’s climate laws. And CCAN Action Fund joined with allies across the city to push the D.C. Council into a better deal with the Commanders, securing a commitment to LEED Platinum development.
Maryland
Broadening Coalitions, Connecting Communities
During the summer and early fall this year, the Maryland team was highly focused on connecting with new volunteers and climate activists across the state. We tabled at the Voxel in Baltimore City, supported a play about climate impacts, and connected with new CCANers at Silver Spring Pride. We even coordinated an event to take a group of students from Baltimore to visit Holabird Academy — one of Maryland’s newest net-zero schools. By early October, we gained over 1,500 new Maryland CCAN members and grew outstanding new partnerships! Stay tuned as we continue building our movement in 2026 and donate to support this work!
NOT in an Energy Crisis But Energy Bills are Sky High
The utility companies in Maryland, specifically the Exelon-owned utilities, have been trying to convince the public that Maryland is facing an acute and dramatic energy crisis and that rolling blackouts are on the horizon. This is a false narrative.
Maryland broke up our utility companies’ monopoly over power generation in 1999. Now, as we face an energy bill crisis due to data center forecasts, data center buildout in Virginia, PJM mismanagement, and rising distribution rates, Maryland’s Exelon-owned utilities are making a power grab with the ultimate goal of building expensive, new gas plants! We are preparing to fight them on this issue next legislative session.
With that in mind, there are many energy reforms moving forward in the state that will help alleviate high energy bills. Last legislative session, we designated the Next Generation Energy Act as the “Most Improved” Bill of the session. We are continuing to follow implementation of the bill to ensure that new battery storage projects are built in the state, utilities are better regulated, data centers cover their own costs, and no new gas is built in the state. Additional reforms are needed. This upcoming session we will support legislation sponsored by Del. Lorig Charkoudian (District 20) to reform Maryland’s Solar Renewable Energy Credit Program and to allow balcony solar in the state. Join us on Lawyer’s Mall in Annapolis for our first day of legislative session action on Wednesday, January 14 at 10:00 AM. RSVP today >>
Making Polluters Pay for Climate Impacts in Maryland
Over the summer and fall, CCAN Action Fund worked diligently to show our legislators we need them to overturn the veto on the Responding to Emergency Needs and Extreme Weather (RENEW) climate cost study bill. And this past week, all this hard work came to fruition when the state General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to move forward with a study to quantify the rising financial cost of climate change in the state! This is a major win for Maryland climate policy! This summer we saw the most heat deaths in a decade, the most flash flooding since 2020, and nonsensical denials of FEMA aid from the federal government in the face of damaging impacts in Alleghany County from early summer flooding. Overriding the veto of the RENEW climate costs study was just the first step. We will continue to work on our ‘Make Polluters Pay’ campaign to ensure that Maryland legislators also commit to assessing the fee on polluters in 2027.
To get involved, email mustafa@chesapeakeclimate.org!
Virginia
A New Dawn in Virginia
The news from Richmond is good. Very good. Not only did Abigail Spanberger win the Governor’s race by a massive margin, candidates who have prioritized action on climate issues won 64 seats in the House of Delegates – one away from a supermajority. This represents a historic opportunity for the climate movement in Virginia.
For four years, we’ve been pushing back against Governor Youngkin as he tried to dismantle policies that shield our communities and turn off the carbon tap. With the support of members like you, we continued making progress, inch by inch, but with new leadership in Richmond, we can finally let loose.
Let loose what, exactly? Everything we’ve worked for these last four years. Capping pollution from dirty power plants by getting back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Stopping the data center industry from steamrolling our climate commitments with new gas infrastructure. Ushering in common-sense solar siting reform to pave the way for clean, affordable energy. Breaking down monopoly utility barriers to rooftop solar, solar on schools, solar on balconies — solar everywhere!
Here at CCAN, we’re ready and, with your support, we will move ahead rapidly now! Donate today >>
Spotlight: Chesapeake Compressor Station
CCAN is never afraid to take on big fights. So, when Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) said it wanted to dramatically increase the flow of gas north of their Hampton Roads system, we said NO way. VNG was proposing a big new compressor station in a majority Black, overly burdened Chesapeake community. The utility openly admitted that a major corporate polluter, the paper company Smurfit Westrock, had requested the upgrades — but households all across Hampton Roads would get stuck with the bill and the pollution.
We fought back, helping impacted community members show up at City Council meetings and make their voices heard with state permitting agencies. And while we’re waiting on a final decision from state regulators, we know our work had an impact. The City Council voted to reject the project, before VNG dragged it back up for a second vote. And the State Corporation Commission said environmental injustice, and the many comments opposing the project from community members, would be reasonable justification to reject it.
We’re not done fighting this and, unfortunately, we know there’ll be more projects like this proposed in the future. But with your help, we will win. Sign the petition to the Virginia DEQ to say NO NEW GAS PLANTS!
ACTION MEMBERSHIP
Baltimore’s Inaugural Event is a Huge Success
Throughout the Baltimore region, local CCAN Action Team members have traveled to many of the neighborhoods hardest hit by climate change to hear residents’ stories and share energy assistance and community resources.
From Greenmount and Hampden in North Baltimore, to neighborhoods battling historic flooding and industrial pollution like Irvington and Cherry Hill, CCAN volunteers knocked on hundreds of doors over the summer to grow our movement and gain over 1000 signatures for our Make Polluters Pay petition.
Building on that momentum, our Baltimore Action Team tabled at dozens of cultural events and resource fairs throughout the region to represent CCAN and build new partnerships with community organizations, including the music video for Mr. Trash Wheel in the Baltimore Harbor!
Wherever our volunteers are in the Baltimore region, our members know that the best way to build climate resiliency is by building community with fellow Baltimoreans who have gone unheard for far too long. From high school and college students, to union members and parents concerned for their families’ future, our volunteers have come together to embody that resilient Baltimore spirit and chant: “Who can? We can! Baltimore CCAN!”
To join this CCAN Action Team, contact dustin@chesapeakeclimate.org.
Saving Trees from Invasive Vines
Our Tree Rescue Teams are Growing Across the DMV
The scorching summer heat did not slow down our Tree Rescue Team volunteers in their efforts to rescue trees in disadvantaged communities in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. To date, we have saved over 2,500 mature canopy trees from invasive vines. Our volunteers find removing vines to be a satisfying and cathartic way to take action against climate change while simultaneously enjoying spending time with others outside. In a story published in the 51st, volunteer Brian Gugerty states “I worry about climate change. But when I cut vines and save one tree, I worry less.”
In September, we launched our Hyattsville Tree Stewards program, an expansion of a project from 2023 where volunteers surveyed over 4,000 trees infested with vines on private properties. In partnership with the City of Hyattsville, we began mobilizing volunteers to rescue these trees. Our first two events drew over 50 volunteers from the community, who organized to rescue over 100 trees in the surrounding neighborhoods.
In D.C., we have continued to prioritize large private forest patches with vine-infested trees. With partners at D.C. agencies, DPR, Ward 8 Woods, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Friends of Oxon Run, and Woodlawn Cemetery, we have teamed up to ensure that our urban forests in every part of the city are cared for.
This winter, we will keep the momentum going with a goal to survey and rescue another 3,000 trees in 2026. Bonus – it’s much easier to remove vines in the winter when you can see them clearly
Reflecting Sunlight Away From Earth: A Plan B for Climate Change?
CCAN Supports Careful Research Into Geoengineering
Despite extensive policy successes at the state, federal, and international levels in recent decades, the problem of climate change continues to worsen. The transition to a clean energy economy is well underway worldwide, to be sure, and no U.S. President or Congress can stop it. But past and ongoing delays created by the fossil fuel industry mean that full decarbonization is still decades away.
This delay has allowed climate change to approach runaway status. The vital Gulf Stream is slowing down in the Atlantic while heat waves, hurricanes, and lethal flooding are becoming the norm in the US and worldwide
Which is why America’s most famous climate scientist Dr. James Hansen and others from across the world — including the Global South — are now calling for rapid research into the best potential ways to temporarily reflect 1-2% of incoming sunlight away from Earth for the next several decades — while we complete the clean-energy transition. Also known as geoengineering or “solar reflective methods,” this idea of studying ways to artificially cool the Earth has in the past been quite controversial but has now drawn support from entities as diverse as The Washington Post and the National Academies of Sciences. The Biden Administration in 2023 produced guidelines for conducting such research and testing.
After much internal deliberation and conversations with allies and relevant scientists, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network has decided to support careful and transparent research in this emerging realm of science. Our statement of principles, written with input from all our staff members, carefully guides our advocacy.
Our top priority will continue to be a just and rapid transition to a carbon-free world with adaptation investments for the most vulnerable communities. But, in our view, the accelerated warming worldwide now requires research into ways to reflect sunlight away from the planet without any presumed commitment to actual deployment of SRM technology. Our advocacy will proceed in partnership with environmental-justice groups like the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering, who prioritize equity and inclusion in every phase of research and international deliberation.
We know there are questions that come to mind and that’s understandable. That’s why we have provided resources that we used to inform our decision. To learn more click here >>
It's Polar Bear Plunge Season!
Join us on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at National Harbor near D.C. – or BRRR-tually from anywhere in the world – for CCAN’s annual Polar Bear Plunge to “Keep Winter Cold.”
Sign up today: www.keepwintercold.org
In this new climate era, we need to build a people-powered climate movement. Your tax-deductible donation to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) promotes policies that keep fossil fuels in the ground and that advance clean energy in Maryland, Virginia, DC, and nationwide. Give today! DONATE TODAY!
