What brings a Reverend from Montgomery County, a business owner from Baltimore, a doctor from Johns Hopkins, and a junior from the University of Maryland, College Park to Annapolis on a snowy day in January? The answer: global warming. Continue reading
Flooding Annapolis
Things are heating up in Maryland- quite literally, with temperatures here in Takoma Park hitting the high-60s. Which is why I’m excited about kicking off session with a big celebration and rally for global warming solutions right here in the Old Line State. Because if we don’t act soon, Annapolis may well start to look like this…
Next Thursday, January 17th, hundreds of activists will be gathering on Lawyer’s Mall at 11 am to show support for the Global Warming Solutions Act, cheer on their legislators as they pledge to co-sponsor the bill, and get pumped up about getting this bill passed by April. Want to join us? Register today!
This event is sponsored by the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions. Part of an organization and want Maryland to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act? Join the alliance today!
Where are the Wind Farms in Maryland?
The Baltimore Sun
By Mike Tidwell
With ominous global warming accelerating year after year, why can’t Maryland construct a single clean-energy wind farm within its borders? Al Gore wins a Nobel Peace Prize and Gov. O’Malley’s own blue-ribbon commission says we must get off fossil fuels very, very soon. But our state – one the most vulnerable in America to global warming and one the most politically liberal – can’t achieve even the baby step of a single commercial wind farm? What’s the problem? West Virginia has dozens of modern windmills. Pennsylvania even more.
Md. Student Climate Coalition holds state-wide Day of Action
On December 5th and 6th students across the University System of Maryland took action on climate change. Undaunted by the first snow of the season, students across the state rallied in a series of creative actions for clean energy.
The day of action was organized by the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC). A coalition of student groups from across the University System of Maryland (USM) who have united in a campaign to get the entire university system to adopt a comprehensive carbon neutrality policy. This policy includes using basic energy efficiency technology, clean energy purchasing, improving mass transit, and integrating sustainability into the curriculum. The students are gathering 13,000 signatures across the state to present to the Board of Regents on February 15th and urge them to pass the policy. Their efforts have already made headway with recognition on the USM’s website. The Maryland Student Climate Coalition’s campaign slogan is: “Invest in our Future: Make Carbon Neutrality a Maryland Reality.”
The headline actions occurred at Towson University and the University of Maryland College Park. The campus group, Towson Energy Activists creatively dressed in costumes and staged a mock fight between a smokestack (to represent the dirty fossil fuels of the past) and a wind turbine (symbolizing the clean technology of the future.) The wind turbine won! The event also had a special unveiling of Captain Climate, a new generation super hero sent to our planet to solve the climate crisis. Through their exceptional press work they garnished media coverage from The DC Examiner, the 501, and the Towson Towerlight.
Another highlight event was at the USM flagship institution, University of Maryland College Park. The group UMD for Clean Energy held a big “Green Out!” day in which they got hundreds of students across campus to wear green to show their support for clean energy. They also got dozens of students to volunteer to gather signatures for the USM carbon neutrality petition. They got 700 signatures in a single day! This brings them just 118 signatures shy of their semester goal of 5,005, which they expect to easily reach the final week of school. The culminating event of the “Green Out” was when dozens of students convened on the main campus lawn for a big clean energy rally. Against the backdrop of a field of 6 foot scale homemade wind turbines they cheered, beat drums, and listened to speeches from student leaders and student body president, Andrew Freidson. The event also drew campus and local media attention from the Prince George County Gazette, Prince George’s County Sentinel and the Diamondback newspapers.
Other coordinated actions occurred at Salisbury University, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Baltimore, Frostburg State University, and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The Maryland Student Climate Coalition’s Day of Action was a great success, by capping off an active semester on their campaign for system wide carbon neutrality.
To support the MSCC and their campaign you can sign the petition here or by joining the facebook group “Support the MSCC”.
Md. Takes the Lead in Global Warming Solutions
What’s missing from this map?
MARYLAND!
Thanks to strong grassroots efforts across the state, the MD state government is recommending real global warming solutions! The draft report of the MD Commission on Climate Change was released on Tuesday, and thanks to grassroots efforts to make this a major issue
Local Groups Laud Maryland Climate Proposal
DECEMBER 4—The Alliance for Global Warming Solutions – a coalition of local organizations combating climate change – today expressed support for the first report of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change. The report outlines early action items to decrease the state’s global warming pollution.
Local Groups Laud Maryland Climate Proposal
The Alliance for Global Warming Solutions Continue reading
Activists Kick Off a 'Month of Action'
Even as the state prepares for a Special Session, members from an alliance of environmental, health, and faith-based organization today delivered approximately 4,000 citizen postcards to the Governor Continue reading
The birth of the Maryland Student Climate Coalition!
Last year students in Maryland won significant clean energy victories at their universities as part of the first year of the Campus Climate Challenge. However, with all of their successes on their individual campuses the students were hitting some road blocks with institutional policy for the entire University System of Maryland (USM). So, empowered by their past victories they had a great idea: why not get all of the USM schools to band together in one big grassroots coalition and push for one big comprehensive policy? It just seemed crazy enough to work.
So, on October 5th-7th these students planned the first ever USM Student State Summit to address the climate crisis. Students from across Maryland converged at Towson University for this big event. Over 30 students from 8 of the 11 USM institutions came together to hold activist skills trainings, strategize, and plan their campaign.
All of their labor paid off when on Saturday October 6th at 8:48PM the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC) was born! From the very start the MSCC has some ambitious goals and they are asking the state of Maryland to rise to the challenge. Their inaugural campaign is to make the entire University System of Maryland carbon neutral. Which means they want to neutralize the USM’s impact on climate change by reducing all possible emissions through energy efficiency, LEED certified buildings, and have all remaining energy use provided by clean energy sources. Their catchy campaign slogan: “Invest in our future: Make carbon neutrality a Maryland reality” is already taking off.
To realize this impressive mission they have set ambitious goals to get all 15 institutions in the USM to send endorsement letters to the Board of Regents and collect a total of 13,000 petition signatures!
Their efforts are already gaining notoriety from the USM Chancellor Kirwin who said that he is “dazzled” by the dedication and coordination of the student campaign. On December 14th MSCC will make their big presentation to the Board of Regents to urge them to pass a policy for carbon neutrality. (The USM is the 13th largest university system in the world and if the policy passes it will be the second system in the nation, following California, to have such a comprehensive policy).
Last week, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition hit the ground running and launched their campaign in a joint press conference with the Sierra Club of Maryland. On an unnatural and blisteringly hot October day they gathered in Federal Hill Park in Baltimore and unveiled their newly formed coalition to the press and the public. Read the coverage in the Baltimore Examiner and the Baltimore Sun Blog. Congratulations MSCC!
MD and VA Governors talk "climate crisis" to Congress, but actions speak louder than words!
I attended the Senate committee hearing on Global Warming and the Chesapeake Bay yesterday on Capital Hill. A distinguised set of panelists addressed Chairwoman Boxer, and Senators Warner, Inhofe, Cardin and Mikulski. Both Governors from Maryland and Virgina sat side by side, discussing the impacts of global warming on their respective states.
Governor O’Malley addressed solutions to this crisis affecting our beloved Chesapeake Bay. He was proud to state that in his short time as Governor, he has signed into law the Maryland Clean Cars bill, RGGI implementation and is overseeing the recommendations outlined by his Commission on Climate Change, slated to come out with a report in November. No mention of the Global Warming Solutions Act though, and whether he would support an “California AB 32” style bill this year. It is yet to be seen how aggressive Governor O’Malley intends to be on this issue, but I must say, he is making climate change HIS administration’s environmental issue. Read his testimony here.
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