Dear Virginian,
I’ve been fighting climate change full-time for more than ten years, and I’ve gotten used to people asking me how I keep up hope in the face of discouraging odds. I’ll tell you my secret: I get energized by our growing victories. And this has been a victorious month, indeed. In a show of our undeniable strength, the climate movement essentially stopped the Keystone XL oil pipeline dead in its tracks. Most energy insiders believed that oil giant TransCanada would certainly receive the presidential permit needed to begin construction before the end of the year.
That is, until TransCanada hit a glitch. An unforeseeable, insurmountable, we-will-never-stop, we-will-never-be-silenced type of glitch: the climate movement.
After 1,253 arrests in front of the White House in August and 12,000 activists surrounding the White House on November 6th, we were heard. Last week, President Obama sent the tar sands pipeline proposal back to the State Department for an independent review, citing concerns about the pipeline’s environmental impacts, including climate change. If you haven't already, please send President Obama an email today, thanking him for this momentous decision and asking him to reject the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all!
So here at CCAN, we’re feeling very hopeful and very motivated. Earlier this year, for example, were thrilled that more than 800 of you submitted comment to the U.S. Forest Service in support of a fracking ban in the George Washington National Forest -- thank you. As natural gas fracking becomes a more important energy issue throughout the country, we'll be vigilant about fracking's role in Virginia.
We've also been vigilant about following Governor Bob McDonnell's other plans for Virginia's energy future. October was "Energy Month" in Virginia, and Governor McDonnell spent the month touting his "all-of-the-above" approach to energy. But CCAN was there every step of the way, standing up for clean energy solutions. During the annual Governor's Energy Conference in Richmond, we submerged replicas of iconic Virginia structures -- the State Capital, the Neptune statue, and the Tangier Island Water Tower -- in the James River to raise awareness of the potential impacts of sea-level rise from global warming.
Meanwhile, to combat McDonnell's dirty energy vision, our Virginia team is ramping up to prepare for the 2012 General Assembly session. We're holding legislative preview workshops throughout the commonwealth in Williamsburg, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. During the 2012 legislative session, we plan to focus on policies that will strengthen Virginia's voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard in order to grow renewable electricity development within the commonwealth. And since last week's elections brought a few new dissenting voices into the clean-energy debate in the General Assembly, we're going to need your help fighting back more than ever. Please sign up today to join our 2012 Rapid Responder support team and lend your support.
And finally, as we near the end of the year and embrace autumn, CCAN is gearing up for our favorite winter pastime: plunging into the Potomac River in January! That’s right – it’s Polar Bear Plunge time! This year we’re rolling out a brand new, easy-to-use fundraising format and will be joined by a very special guest: leading U.S. climate scientist Dr. James Hansen. This will be our biggest Plunge yet, and we hope you’ll join us on Saturday, January 21st. Sign up here.
Thank you for all that you do for CCAN and for our planet. If there’s anything I can leave you with this month, it’s this: revel in your victories, both large and small. You deserve to celebrate!
Onward,
Mike Tidwell