Holding signs that said
OXON HILL, Md. – Holding signs that said “Keep Winter Cold” and “Save the Polar Bears,” hundreds of DC-area residents plunged into the freezing Potomac River Saturday urging the new U.S. Congress to take real action on global warming. With extreme weather intensifying worldwide, including unusually intense recent snowfall in the U.S. consistent with climate change, participants urged elected officials to embrace electric cars and offshore wind power instead of dirty oil and coal.
The 6th Annual Polar Bear Plunge, sponsored by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, included prominent elected officials like Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“Participating in the Polar Bear Plunge was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve had in my many years as an activist and more recently as a Member of Congress,” said Rep. Edwards. “Last year was the warmest on record, though you wouldn’t know it by the temperature of the Potomac River here today. I remain committed to an urgently needed, comprehensive climate change bill.”
Gathering on a beach at National Harbor, just a few miles south of the Capitol dome on the Potomac, participants enjoyed live music and speeches from leaders as varied as a priest in Franciscan robe to local biking enthusiasts. But everyone shared the same message.
“We’re running out of time,” said CCAN director Mike Tidwell. “In the past 12 months in this region we’ve seen record snow, record thunderstorms, and record summer heat. It’s time to heed the call of climate scientists and reduce carbon pollution dramatically.”
Tidwell praised Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley for his recent strong support of offshore wind power, and he called on the Maryland General Assembly to follow suit. Virginia, meanwhile, should adopt a permanent moratorium on offshore oil drilling and incentivize offshore wind power instead, Tidwell said. Finally, Congress should pass a strong and equitable cap on carbon pollution (the “cap and dividend” approach championed by Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen) while protecting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions.
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