Standing up to Dominion's Rip-Off, in October and beyond

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What could have prepared Dominion executives for the tremendous showing of customer outrage and dissatisfaction unleashed the week of October 1st! Without our dedicated climate warriors who participated and supported the Week of Action, Dominion would continue to quietly, and legally, get away with setting up a $76 million bonus for themselves while playing keep-away with Virginia’s clean energy future. Since the Week of Action, the clean air advocates and climate protectors of Virginia got control of the ball, and for a change Dominion representatives have had to respond to some hard questions from reporters.

The Stand Up to Dominion Week of Action was so successful because of the participation of clean energy supporters from all around Virginia, and it was especially uplifting to have everyone sharing their reasons for taking action.

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Day 5: The story of #76million and our activism gets out

DeLevay Miner holds her picket sign at Dominion

A sinking feeling usually creeps into my gut on the eve of a big new action or media event. Organizers have put in hours of phone calls, emails and logistics-scrambling to turn out dozens or more activists. Activists are taking time off work and traveling for an hour or more to take part. But have I, as “the communications person” done all I can? Will that critical reporter show up? Will the story of the hour (or week) get told in the end?

By Monday afternoon this week, I was breathing a big sigh of relief. That’s because, in the case of our week-long action to Stand Up to Dominion’s $76 Million Rip-Off and demand Virginia-made solar and wind power, the story is indeed making its way into newspaper front pages and radio airwaves. This week, Dominion has not only faced picketers on its doorstep every day at noon, but also been forced to answer questions from journalists about how it can justify a $76 million bonus in the name of renewable energy while bringing absolutely zero solar or wind power online in Virginia.

Read on for a round-up of some of the best news coverage from the week.

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Day 4: residents of Hampton Roads join action at Dominion!

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What an excellent fourth day of the Week of Action at Dominion! Several Hampton Roads residents came out today, from as far as Chesapeake and Norfolk, Hampton and Newport News, to help shine a spotlight on Dominion’s $76 Million Rip-Off and all the consequences that the company’s continued dependence on eastern Virginia, including driving climate change and sea level rise. Check out the picture below of our mock-submerged Virginia landmarks, the Tangier Island water tower and the Neptune Statue, among the icons of Virginia at risk due to climate change.

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Marylanders: Renewable Home Heating Rebate Program

By Melissa Bollman (Cross-Posted from Alliance for Green Heat)

On September 7, 2012 the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) launched a pilot rebate program for some of the cleanest wood and pellet stoves available, marking the first time that a state has integrated wood and pellet stoves into a renewable energy rebate program.

The pilot program offers a $400 rebate for wood stoves and $600 for pellet stoves. Wood stoves must emit less than half the particulates that are allowed by the EPA to be eligible.

“We are thrilled that Governor O’Malley and Malcolm Wolff, the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration, extended the renewable energy grant program to appliances that low and middle-income families can afford,” said John Ackerly, the President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

 

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Letter to the Editor: Coal an unstable foundation for Southwestern Virginia's economy

-Cross-posted at WeArePowershift.org

-Written by Dakota Thomas, a senior at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, in Wise County, Virginia

Link: http://www.highlandcavalier.com/2012/04/20/letter-to-the-editor-coal-an-unstable-foundation-for-swva-s-economy/

 

One can’t make it ten feet down the street of Wise without seeing a “Friends of Coal” sticker on a bumper or a sign espousing that “We keep the lights on.” And while coal is the driving force behind our economy today, people of the area’s minds are captivated by it as though the coal industry can do no wrong. But the coal industry is above all else a business. They make a profit by developing new, cheaper (read: less human dependent and more robotic) technology, or by securing legislative outcomes that favor them rather than good policy.

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The options of a renewable energy future

 

Yes, there are those who still curiously regard fossil fuels as the only realistic energy sources for our world. It is a dead-end if there ever was one; an idea largely propagated by the fossil fuel biz and their political front men and women. Thankfully, for those who understand the inescapable necessity of renewable clean energy, the options just keep growing.

Meet the solar tower, a solar-based energy source that is an intriguing mix of solar and wind energy. A company named “Enviromission” has its sights on Arizona to build this massive tower. It’s essentially an enormous greenhouse that traps air heated by the sun’s rays. Hot air naturally rises, and as the air does so it is funneled through a central point (the tower), the base of which sports an array of fans that are turned by the current just like a windmill.

A detailed description of the tower can be found here including its numerous advantages. For starters, it is low maintenance, continues to work at night, has zero GHG emissions, makes use of essentially useless desert, and the list still goes on. This earlier, smaller version in Spain recently achieved the huge milestone of generating twenty-four hours of uninterrupted supply, proving solar energy can provide power well into the night!

This is just one of many options that are currently available and make the reality of renewable energy all the more imminent. Add some wind energy, solar thermal and solar PV, some geothermal for good measure, and we’re well on our way to a cleaner, sustainable future.

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Huge environmental presence at Dominion's annual shareholder meeting

This morning, I was one of about a dozen environmental advocates to attend Dominion Resources Inc.’s annual shareholder meeting in Charlottesville, VA, while about 30 others rallied outside. Between shareholder proposals, comments and questions by shareholders and their proxies and the company’s own presentations, reducing the company’s impact on the environment was discussed at least as much as its financial performance. And the meeting left me hopeful that environmental advocates can work with Dominion to increase its investment in renewables, especially offshore wind power.

Just this Tuesday, we publicly launched our joint campaign with the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Green Jobs Alliance and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light asking Dominion to work with us to invest in offshore wind power. So today I spoke at the shareholder meeting in support of a proposal for the company to set and pursue a goal of 20% renewable energy generation by 2024. Specifically, I spoke about the fact that while offshore wind power does require a greater investment up front, it carries fewer long-term financial risks than investing in fossil fuel power plants. The risks of building new fossil fuel generation include:

    –volatile prices for coal and natural gas that are set by an increasingly global market
    –the potential need for pollution control upgrades in order to comply with future environmental laws
    –and the risk of accidental releases, like the catastrophic spill of coal-ash that Tennessee Valley Authority had in 2008, which could cost millions in clean up expenses, not to mention the public relations fall-out.

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Appalachia Keeps Rising

Without question, one of the most rewarding organizing experiences I have ever been a part of was the “Appalachia Rising” mobilization in late September of last year. Appalachia Rising consisted of three very successful days of action in Washington, D.C.: a two-day weekend conference, followed by a Monday morning march of 2,000 people to the White House demanding an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. At the White House 118 people were arrested in front of it.

The next morning there was a huge color picture on the front page of the Washington Post of the nonviolent civil disobedience action, and there was extensive news coverage from other media outlets. This was an action that had an impact, and not just via the mass media. Continue reading