Retire coal in Alexandria

When thinking about coal in Virginia, one’s mind often goes to destructive mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia, Dominion’s coal plant under construction in Wise County, or the Hampton Roads coal plant proposed by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative. In short, it is easiest to think of dirty energy projects in rural and southern parts of the state. Yet coal is in Northern Virginians’ backyards as well.

Monday night, over 60 local activists, community leaders and organizers came together to fight dirty coal in Alexandria. The coal-fired power plant on the bank of the Potomac is making local communities sick and contributing to climate change as one of the top sources of planet-warming carbon emissions in the DC area. The former “Mirant coal plant” is now owned by GenOn, a Houston-based corporate polluter keeping the 514 MW plant burning on standby for the sake of their own profits. Continue reading

New Era of U.S. Climate Leadership Starts Saturday

Years from now when historians look back for a turning point in America’s efforts to address the global climate crisis, they could very well point to 2011 as the year when it happened. This might seem counterintuitive after an election which saw a wave of climate-change deniers sweep into Congress, but that’s only if you’re looking for the leadership to come from Washington. If you consider the plans that are afoot right here in Maryland, it’s a different story altogether.

Without a doubt, a climate-denier controlled Congress likely closes the door on a federal climate bill for the next two years, but it certainly does not close the door on state legislation that could spur national-level action. A lack of federal leadership on climate change is hardly something new Continue reading

350 eARTh takes art to a new height

This week, 350.org takes on its latest endeavor — the first-ever art installation viewable from space! This project is also the world’s first global climate art project. At more than a dozen sites across the globe, citizens and artists will join forces to to create massive public art displays to show how climate change is already impacting our world as well as offer visions of how we can solve the crisis. Each art installation will be large enough to be seen from space and documented by satellites generously provided by DigitalGlobe.

350 EARTH will be the first-ever global scale group show on the front line of climate change

Wind's moving forward – Let's keep pushing!

It’s been a great week for wind power, with the signing of the first permit for offshore wind in the U.S. and, more locally, Northrop Grumman’s announcement that they will be building offshore wind turbines in Hampton Roads. Unfortunately, the only down side is that these developments are such big news in the U.S. While exciting developments, they also go to show how far behind we are in the global clean energy economy. Last year, China doubled its wind power capacity, accounting for a third of all new capacity around the world. Their market grew over 100%, while the U.S. market grew by less than half that.

That’s why Virginia is welcoming Northop Grumman’s announcement and the jobs it will bring to the Hampton Roads area. Even Gov. McDonnell praised the project as a source of new jobs for Virginians. The best part? It is just the start of what offshore wind can offer the state.

According to the Virginia Coastal Energy Resources Consortium, developing offshore wind in Virginia would create over 10,000 jobs. There’s enough wind potential off Virginia’s coasts to replace half a dozen of your average, dirty coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, when over 100 coal plant proposals have been taken off the table since 2001, developers are actively pursuing investing in offshore wind in Virginia.

From individual climate activists to big-time businesses like Northop Grumman, support is growing for offshore wind. We’re getting to where we need to be, but not nearly fast enough. That’s why this Sunday, supporters from Alexandria to Virginia Beach will be erecting mock wind turbines with a united message: It’s time to get to work promoting offshore wind and a clean energy economy! At this crucial time for wind power, will you join us?