Meet Meredith Prescott: CCAN’s New Invasive Vines Organizer
September 9, 2024
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Maryland
Maryland is uniquely situated as a state that is particularly vulnerable to climate change and well-positioned to take action. The state has been a leader in clean energy solutions, thanks in large part to CCAN and our allies. However, the state still gets a majority of its electricity from burning dirty fossil fuels including coal, oil, and gas.
CCAN Campaigns
The movement to create cleaner, healthier, all-electric new homes and buildings is lighting up the country. CCAN has a bold vision that Maryland will become a leader in this movement. Building electrification would benefit community members by giving them access to cleaner air, healthier homes, good jobs, affordable clean energy, and energy efficiency to reduce monthly energy bills. Learn More>>
CCAN is partnering with Casey Trees to mobilize volunteers to remove invasive vines from thousands of trees in PG County, DC, and Montgomery County. Learn More>>
Legislative campaigns are a project of our advocacy arm, CCAN Action Fund.
For more on legislation and to help us pass historic climate policies on every level, click here.
For decades, fossil fuel companies have been ramping up emissions in the name of ever-higher profits. And now, with unprecedented heat records, thousand-year storms, and hellish wildfires, we are the ones paying the price. Taxpayers are getting stuck with skyrocketing bills for climate disasters. We need YOUR help telling Maryland lawmakers to take groundbreaking action. Read more here –>
On the way to 100% Clean Energy, there are essential legislative changes required to ensure this transition provides maximum benefit to Marylanders. Maryland is in a very precarious energy situation. Our grid is managed by an organization called PJM. PJM’s policies, which are driven in a large part by fossil fuel interests, have been a hindrance to Maryland’s clean energy goals. This has delayed our ability to reach our climate goals and will increase utility bills, especially in the Baltimore Gas and Electric Region. Further, our current structure for incentivizing the clean energy transition is broken. Very few new clean energy projects are being constructed in the state other than distributed (rooftop) solar projects. The current structure uses Renewable Energy Credits and seeks to protect rate-payers by setting a cap (in the form of Alternative Compliance Payments) on what REC price would be paid. However, because of the high prices in REC markets, utilities have ended up paying Alternative Compliance Payments instead of buying RECs. The result is that rate-payer funds have not effectively been invested in the development of new clean energy. Read more here –>
Proposed legislation (SB0937/HB1035) could cost up to $3 billion, will trigger more fracking, will spawn methane leakage, and will harm the climate and public health.
There are many ways to address rising electricity usage and ratepayer bills in Maryland. These include investing in more solar power and utility-scale battery storage and improved efficiency. We also need to manage data center growth and reform the flawed management practices of the regional grid operator PJM. Meanwhile, a HARMFUL step legislators can take – harmful to ratepayers’ pocketbooks and the rapidly warming planet — is to pass SB937/HB1035. This bill will fast track construction of up to 3.1 gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants in the state. The cost of construction: Over $3 billion. Social cost of carbon: $425 million annually. And that’s not all. Read more here –>
We all deserve affordable energy bills and to be safe and comfortable at home, school, and work. The Better Buildings Act ensures that the communities we build today are prepared to withstand the challenges of tomorrow. It does so by requiring new homes and buildings to incorporate the most energy-efficient equipment on the market, and to be solar-ready when possible. By building smart from the start, we can provide lasting cost savings, health benefits, and climate resilience for generations of residents. Read more here –>
Interested in getting more involved with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network? Looking for some help on how to get started?
Please fill out the form to request a one-on-one phone conversation with a CCAN organizer! We’ll follow up soon after!
What is an Organizer? CCAN organizers educate, agitate, and organize people in their regions to take action on climate justice issues. This enables us to think big, build sustained power, and win on transformative climate policy. The first step to organizing is building relationships. Please reach out to an organizer, they would love to learn more about you, your interests, and talk to you about you can get plugged into our impactful work.
“Organizers challenge people to act on behalf of shared values and interests. They develop the relationships, understanding, and action that enable people to gain new understanding of their interests, new resources, and new capacity to use these resources on behalf of their interests.”
–Marshall Ganz, co-founder of the United Farmworkers of America
Read More Maryland Stories
Past Campaigns
Maryland could become the East Coast manufacturing hub for this growing industry, putting us at the forefront of clean energy development and reducing our reliance on harmful fossil fuels. Wind farms proposed for Ocean City, Maryland could generate enough energy to power over 500,000 homes and steel fabrication sites throughout the state will service wind turbine projects up and down the east coast. Learn more >>
Landfills are not just smelly. They’re also Maryland’s largest source of methane pollution — an extremely powerful greenhouse gas. That’s why we took action to address this issue by fighting for strong landfill methane regulations while working to reduce landfill waste statewide. Learn More>>
We are in a “code red” climate emergency according to the world’s top scientists, and the only way to fix it is by reducing carbon pollution 60 percent by 2030. This means bold decarbonization in the top-emitting sectors: transportation, electricity, and buildings. In 2019, we tackled the electricity sector by passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Now, the Climate Solutions Act takes on buildings and the transportation sector while committing to bolder emissions reduction goals and climate action on the state level. Learn more >>
TransCanada—the same company behind the Keystone XL pipeline—is threatening Maryland communities and the drinking water of hundreds of thousands with a proposed pipeline. And the Potomac Pipeline, which would transport fracked-gas under the Potomac River and the C&O Canal, is just the beginning: Governor Hogan intends to “kick-start” an expansion of fracked-gas pipelines in Maryland. Learn more >>
In 2019, we worked with a power movement supported by more than 650 community, labor, faith, business, climate, and environmental groups from across Maryland to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. This bill requires 50% of Maryland’s electricity to comes from renewable sources by 2030, and sets the stage for a future powered by 100% clean, renewable electricity. Learn more >>
Crude oil terminals pose significant safety risks to South Baltimore and the city as a whole, particularly when trains carrying crude oil traverse the city’s outdated rail lines. A crude oil train explosion could threaten thousands of Baltimore residents, local property, and the environment. That’s why we worked with our allies to pass the Crude Oil Terminal Prohibition to zone out new crude oil terminals in Baltimore City. And this bill passed in March 2018! Learn more >>
With the help of a powerful grassroots movement, we passed a permanent statewide ban on fracking in Maryland in 2017. Now, our communities will be forever protected from the dangerous form of gas drilling. A great victory! Learn more >>
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