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Four ways to kill a climate bill
7/26/2010 If President Obama and Congress had announced that no financial reform legislation would pass unless Goldman Sachs agreed to the bill, we would conclude our leaders had been standing in the Washington sun too long. Yet when it came to addressing climate change, that is precisely the course the president and Congress took. MORE > |
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Reid to advance limited oil spill and energy bill, delaying climate action
7/22/2010 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will bring a limited package of oil spill response and energy measures to the floor next week, delaying action until at least this fall on a broader proposal that would impose greenhouse gas limits on power plants, senior Senate Democratic aides said. MORE > |
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A good case for offshore wind farms
7/21/2010 A testing field for offshore wind turbines may be in the future for Virginia. MORE > |
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Our beaker is starting to boil
7/16/2010 We Americans have been galvanized by the oil spill on our gulf coast, because we see tar balls and dead sea birds as visceral reminders of our hubris in deep sea drilling. The melting glaciers should be a similar warning of our hubris — and of the consequences that the earth will face for centuries unless we address carbon emissions today. MORE > |
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Reid bringing energy bill to Senate Floor
7/16/2010 Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) intends to bring an energy bill to the Senate floor the week of July 26. MORE > |
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Gulf spill a warning to Virginia, speakers say
7/16/2010 The BP oil spill is ruining lives and businesses along the Gulf of Mexico, and the disaster holds meaning for Virginia, too. MORE > |
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The Power of Wind
7/16/2010 When we look beyond the shoreline for new sources of energy, maybe we should look above the water's surface as well as below it. MORE > |
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World sizzles to record for the year
7/16/2010 March, April, May and June set records, making 2010 the warmest year worldwide since record-keeping began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says. MORE > |
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Pollution fight cools climate talks
7/14/2010 Closed-door meetings between a group of environmentalists and electric utility executives may determine the fate of climate change legislation in the Senate. MORE > |
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Panel in Britain clears scientists of misconduct allegations in 'Climate-gate'
7/8/2010 An independent commission in Britain cleared climate-change researchers of charges of academic misconduct Wednesday, completing an inquiry begun after hundreds of e-mails from the scientists were released to the public. MORE > |
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Leading Climate Activist Spared Jail Time
7/6/2010 In a victory for both the climate and basic decency, a federal judge today refused to put a global warming organizer in jail for simply hanging activist banners in a U.S. Senate office building. MORE > |
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The case for being careful with the climate
7/6/2010 There's a range of likely outcomes from a tax on carbon, and we can handle most of them. There's also a range of outcomes from radical changes in the planet's climate, and we've really no idea which we can handle, and which we can't. We don't even really know what that range looks like. MORE > |
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Protester spared jail time
7/6/2010 Though Ted Glick won't be going to jail this time around, the judge vowed to make sure he did if the environmentalist broke another law on the Capitol grounds. MORE > |
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Environmental Activist Ted Glick Receives No Jail Time at Sentencing
7/6/2010 Environmental activist Ted Glick knew he was risking arrest when he helped unfurl a couple of large banners last September in the inside lobby of the huge Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. MORE > |
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Michael Mann cleared of science fraud charges made by climate sceptics
7/2/2010 The climate scientist Michael Mann, who has been under relentless attack from sceptics since the exposure of emails at East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, was cleared of research misconduct by a university investigation yesterday. MORE > |
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Congressman Jim Moran Receives CCAN's “Climate Leadership Award”
7/1/2010 State Senator Patsy Ticer, Loudoun County Supervisor Andrea McGimsey, a leading foundation and a community activist also honored in first annual Va. ceremony MORE > |
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Brandywine landfill operator argues for dismissal of polluting charges
7/1/2010 The operator of a Brandywine landfill that stores coal combustion waste byproducts has filed a motion to dismiss charges brought by the Maryland Department of the Environment that accuse the company of polluting local waterways. MORE > |
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A burning debate in south Baltimore
6/29/2010 Supporters and opponents of a refuse-burning power plant in south Baltimore squared off Monday night, with residents of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay saying they need the jobs the nearly $1 billion project would bring, while environmentalists warned it would emit health-threatening air pollution. MORE > |
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'Cap-And Dividend' Bill Will Get A Push At White House
6/29/2010 Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., plan to tout their "cap-and-dividend" climate bill when they and several other senators meet today with President Obama. It's the only official bipartisan energy and climate legislation in the Senate, yet experts on and off the Hill and on both sides of the aisle dismiss it as not being a serious contender. MORE > |
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Collins Open to Continuing Climate Change Chat
6/28/2010 Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says she hopes to finish a conversation she had with President Obama three months ago about what she hopes is their shared interest in capping carbon emissions and distributing to consumers the revenue from the sale of emissions allowances. MORE > |
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1,000 protest offshore drilling in Virginia Beach
6/27/2010 To protest of offshore drilling and to promote clean energy, about 1,000 people held hands along the Oceanfront on Saturday. MORE > |
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Democrats buoyed to move 'comprehensive' US energy, climate bill
6/24/2010 US Senate leaders on energy and climate change policy Thursday appeared buoyed to move a bill this year that will set "reasonable" timelines and targets to transition the country toward low-emission energy resources, reduce fossil fuel dependence and make polluters pay. MORE > |
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Energy issues reverberate across Virginia's political landscape
6/23/2010 From Fairfax County to Martinsville, Virginia's most competitive congressional races are increasingly focused on the same issue -- energy. But that's where the similarities end. MORE > |
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White House Postpones Meeting as Prospects Dim for Broader Energy Bill
6/22/2010 As prospects for comprehensive Senate climate change legislation fade, hopes that President Obama can broker a narrower bipartisan energy package suffered a new setback with the postponement of a White House meeting with lawmakers scheduled for Wednesday. MORE > |
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Utility-only proposal fails to move the needle on Capitol Hill
6/22/2010 With the clock winding down on efforts to pass a climate bill this year, Senate Democrats are still adding pages to their policy playbook. A number of liberal Democrats -- who so far have been unable to attract enough moderate lawmakers to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass a climate bill -- are now begrudgingly considering a scaled-down cap on greenhouse gas emissions that would be imposed only on the utility sector as a long-shot effort to cobble together the needed support. MORE > |
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Fewer pols get top green grades in Annapolis
6/22/2010 Fewer Maryland lawmakers earned perfect grades from environmental activists for their votes in Annapolis this year - an erosion of support that green group leaders attributed to the poor economy and budget crisis. MORE > |
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Praise for CLEAR
6/18/2010 The most recent list of quotes praising the CLEAR Act. Compiled and distributed by the Office of Senator Maria Cantwell. MORE > |
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An energy bill that pays dividends
6/18/2010 Our bill would sell carbon shares through auctions, with 75 percent of the revenue returned to Americans. MORE > |
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Senate Dems leave energy meeting without road map
6/17/2010 Senate Democrats emerged from an hourlong meeting on energy and climate legislation without a consensus on a way forward, although they still hope to begin a floor debate on a bill next month. MORE > |
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White House Climate Meeting Comes At Crucial Time
6/17/2010 President Obama's second meeting on Wednesday with a bipartisan group of senators on energy and climate legislation will come at a critical time as Senate Democrats face a deadline for determining the scope of their effort this summer. MORE > |
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Senate Should Consider Comprehensive Energy & Climate Legislation with Simple Carbon Cap that Protects Consumers
6/15/2010 A letter from the Friends Committee on National Legislation urges senators to consider comprehensive energy and climate legislation. MORE > |
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CLIMATE: Dems look for optimism on energy after vote to preserve EPA climate regs
6/11/2010 Proponents of comprehensive Senate climate and energy legislation found reasons for optimism yesterday after squashing a Republican-led bid to put the breaks on U.S. EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases. But the numbers may not be in their favor. MORE > |
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Senator Collins' Statement on Murkowski Resolution of Disapproval
6/10/2010 U.S. Senator Susan Collins today released this statement on the Murkowski "Resolution of Disapproval" of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relating to the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. MORE > |
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CLIMATE: Key moments ahead this week as Reid maps a floor strategy
6/7/2010 This week promises to provide several early but pivotal moments in determining whether comprehensive climate and energy legislation is ready for a summer date on the Senate floor. MORE > |
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Cap-and-Dividend Model for Climate Bill Re-Emerges
6/7/2010 With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill reviving prospects for an energy debate in the Senate this summer, leading lawmakers are dusting off a bipartisan climate change proposal that could upstage the comprehensive bill recently unveiled by John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn. MORE > |
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Give us back the Gulf and our lives
6/3/2010 With the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history slogging unabated into its second month, the headlines have been as incredible as they are infuriating: MORE > |
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Clergy tell Webb, Warner climate law must protect poor
6/2/2010 More than 100 faith leaders from across Virginia today wrote to Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner, both Virginia Democrats, making "a moral case for comprehensive climate legislation" that includes strong emission reductions, international adaptation assistance, and protections for low-income families. MORE > |
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CCAN director reports from oil disaster site in Louisiana
5/30/2010 It’s Sunday morning and I’m writing from Grand Isle, Louisiana on the front line of the BP oil disaster. President Obama was here Friday walking the beach, viewing the small tar balls that continue to wash up here. I’ve now seen this battered coast from the air in a small sea plane. I’ve seen the oil in the marshes from the boat of an out-of-work crab fisherman. And I’ve walked the beaches myself, smelling that smell in the air that people here say is a mix of oil and “agent orange,” their name for the toxic chemical dispersant BP is spraying on the oil to make it sink out of site. MORE > |
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Malia for President
5/28/2010 It took almost the entire press conference at the White House on Thursday for President Obama to find his voice in responding to the oil disaster in the gulf — and it is probably no accident that it seemed like the only unrehearsed moment. The president was trying to convey why he takes this problem so seriously, when he noted: MORE > |
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Environmentalists cheer Obama's offshore drilling decision
5/27/2010 Minutes after President Obama's news conference began, environmentalists began filling our inboxes praising his decision to cancel plans to drill for oil and gas off Virginia's coast. MORE > |
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CCAN Applauds Va. Lease Sale Cancellation, Urges Offshore Wind Development
5/27/2010 "The Chesapeake Climate Action Network applauds President Obama for taking the much-needed and prudent step of canceling Lease Sale 220, proposed for 50 miles off Virginia’s coast. Canceling the lease sale is an important first step towards what Virginia ultimately needs: a permanent ban on offshore oil drilling along Virginia’s coasts and a sharpened focus on promoting offshore wind and other forms of clean, safe energy." MORE > |
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Appeals court upholds hybrid energy center’s air permit
5/26/2010 The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the legal challenge of a state air emissions permit issued for the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center. MORE > |
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Spill imperils a distinctive culture: 'There's a sense of doom'
5/25/2010 Talk to Jack Fillinich and you'll hear it. It's Sunday morning and he's sitting in front of the single-story house in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, that he's lived in his whole life. He's 69. He's wearing slippers, jeans and no shirt, repairing a shrimp net. And he's repairing a shrimp net on a Sunday morning with no shirt on because that's what he's always done: fix nets, build boats, go fish. MORE > |
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Green Activist Ted Glick Facing Jail
5/25/2010 WASHINGTON - It's a crime all captured on video tape. But it's probably not what you'd expect. No violence. Nobody got hurt. No property was damaged. MORE > |
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Power station fuels power struggle in broke Va. town
5/23/2010 If all goes as planned, the plant's twin 650-foot emission stacks - nearly 100 feet taller than the Washington Monument - will rise just behind the backyards of Main Street. Where tranquil woods now stand, bulldozers will muscle mounds of fly ash that will rival Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. Each week, more than 500 boxcars of coal will clatter in around the clock. MORE > |
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Gulf's lesson for Virginia
5/20/2010 The appropriate - and calm - reaction to the environmental and economic nightmare in the Gulf is this: Stop. Expansion. Now. MORE > |
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Solar boost to become law
5/19/2010 Maryland's utilities will have to step up the amount of solar power in the mix of energy they sell to customers, under a bill to be signed into law Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley. MORE > |
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Montgomery County Council Passes Carbon Tax
5/19/2010 In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council has become the first county in the nation to pass a carbon tax. The council voted 8 to 1 to pass the measure. MORE > |
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Senate emissions bill in search of a few good leaders
5/19/2010 The Senate climate and energy bill unveiled last week now resides in a no man's land without any clear consensus on who is responsible for collecting 60 votes. MORE > |
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Mirant carbon tax gets initial approval
5/19/2010 A proposed carbon tax, which would affect only the Mirant power plant in Dickerson, received preliminary approval from a joint County Council committee Tuesday, but not before a showdown with people who believe global warming is a myth. MORE > |
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DC-Area County Passes Carbon Tax on Coal Plant in Absence of Federal Carbon Cap
5/19/2010 A Maryland county bordering Washington, D.C., today passed a $15 million “carbon tax” designed to show that other counties and cities can – and should – move forward against coal in the wake of federal gridlock on global warming. MORE > |
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Pentagon: Drilling offshore in Va. is a concern
5/18/2010 The government's plan to explore for oil off the coast of Virginia has hit another major stumbling block. MORE > |
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Kerry-Lieberman Bill Continues Dangerous Direction for U.S.
5/17/2010 The Climate Reality Check coalition (CRC) - consisting of faith, social justice, environmental, and other public interest organizations - announced today that the American Power Act introduced by Sens. John Kerry (MA) and Joe Lieberman (CT) is the wrong direction for U.S. climate and energy policy. MORE > |
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McDonnell should switch support to offshore wind power, not oil
5/16/2010 If Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell does it right, no one will need to fear his plan for big, offshore energy facilities along the state's fragile coastline. If he does it right, we'll never see a single oil spill, guaranteed. Even a major hurricane blowing through the region will result in zero pollution. MORE > |
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University of Virginia should fight the Va. attorney general's inquiry
5/13/2010 VIRGINIA ATTORNEY General Ken Cuccinelli II has decided to misuse state funds in his personal war against climate science. But that doesn't mean anyone else should cooperate. MORE > |
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Obama renews call to pass Senate bill
5/12/2010 President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered tepid greetings today upon the long-awaited release of the Senate climate and energy bill. MORE > |
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Kerry, Lieberman press climate bill without Graham
5/7/2010 The leading sponsors of a long-delayed energy and climate change bill said Friday they will press ahead despite losing the support of a crucial Republican partner. MORE > |
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Drilling opponents stage mock oil spill in Virginia Beach
5/7/2010 Opponents of offshore drilling staged a mock oil spill Friday morning in Virginia Beach. MORE > |
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CCAN Applauds Va. Oil Lease Suspension, Urges Permanent Moratorium
5/6/2010 The U.S. Department of the Interior today suspended ‘indefinitely’ hearings on a proposed oil and gas lease sale off the Virginia coastline. MORE > |
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Interior canceling East Coast offshore hearings
5/6/2010 The U.S. Interior Department said Thursday it is indefinitely suspending the remaining public hearings on the proposed sale of oil and gas leases of Virginia while it focuses on the Gulf oil spill. MORE > |
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Clarence Page: Make BP Pay
5/5/2010 How about that for luck? President Barack Obama makes a big concession to the "Drill, baby, drill" crowd by opening up more offshore lands to drilling and it blows up in his face. Or, at least, one offshore rig did. MORE > |
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Environmentalists call on McDonnell to drop offshore drilling plan
5/5/2010 A coalition of four environmental groups is urging Gov. Bob McDonnell to drop his strong support of offshore oil and natural gas drilling off Virginia's coast. MORE > |
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EPA Unsure if ‘Description’ of Bill Is Sufficient for Analysis
4/29/2010 Despite a feud over immigration that threatens to scuttle their efforts, authors of a Senate climate change bill have sent language to the EPA for economic analysis in an attempt to keep their legislation alive. MORE > |
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Montgomery County Mulls Carbon Tax
4/27/2010 In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council is considering a tax on carbon emissions that would, in effect, only apply to the county's major coal-fired power plant owned by Mirant Corporation. Councilman Roger Berliner says it would raise $15 million dollars for transit and emission-reducing county programs. MORE > |
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The upside of the Senate climate bill’s troubles
4/27/2010 There is a silver lining to the turmoil over the Senate climate bill. Over the weekend we got the news that three grim-faced men weren't going to be able to help on global warming. The only Republican supporter of the not-yet-unveiled-but-widely-described Senate climate bill, Lindsey Graham, had a new demand. MORE > |
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Coal Plant Foes Discuss Impact
4/22/2010 By and large, opponents of a coal-fired power plant proposed in Surry County have focused their attention south of the James River. That is, after all, where the bulk of the plant's toxic emissions would come to rest. MORE > |
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Mont. Co. "Carbon Tax" on Big Polluters is a Key Step Toward Protecting Kids and Our Climate
4/22/2010 "On Earth Day 2010, I salute Councilmember Roger Berliner for proposing one of America’s first county-based carbon taxes on major polluters." MORE > |
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Montgomery official proposes carbon tax on major emitters
4/22/2010 Just in time for Earth Day, Montgomery County Council member and longtime energy lawyer Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) is proposing an excise tax on major carbon emitters in the county. He said his goal is to spur faster action to address global warming. And if he can raise millions of dollars a year with the carbon tax, he said, that will be another welcome byproduct. MORE > |
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Bag tax: Local action, global import
4/22/2010 On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, what environmental legislation should we celebrate most? What bill has really stood tall for our fragile planet? The Endangered Species Act of 1973? The Clean Air Act of 1990? Or … the District of Columbia's plastic bag tax of 2010? MORE > |
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McCormick Adds More Solar Power from Constellation Energy
4/22/2010 Constellation Energy and McCormick & Company, Inc. today announced an agreement to develop a new 1.8-megawatt (DC) solar photovoltaic power system at the McCormick distribution center in Belcamp, Md. This will be the largest single rooftop solar installation in Maryland, and is the second solar installation developed for McCormick by Constellation Energy. MORE > |
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Montgomery County to propose carbon tax
4/21/2010 MORE > |
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Richmond green program has rewards
4/21/2010 Richmonders soon could find that it pays twice to reduce their energy consumption. MORE > |
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Spring comes 10 days earlier in changed US climate
4/20/2010 Spring comes about 10 days earlier in the United States than it did two decades ago, a consequence of climate change that favors invasive species over indigenous ones, scientists said on Tuesday. MORE > |
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CCAN Director Honored to Receive '40 Environmentalists in 40 Years' Tribute
4/20/2010 To mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day 1970, the Montgomery County Council today named CCAN director Mike Tidwell as one of the County's top 40 environmental leaders over the past 40 years. MORE > |
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O'Malley considering executive order on energy
4/19/2010 Gov. Martin O'Malley could issue an executive order later this month calling for a plan to chart the state's energy future, an administration official said Thursday. MORE > |
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Tax incentives could cut costs of solar power requirements
4/19/2010 New tax incentives for businesses that use renewable energy sources such as solar panels could help offset the costs of a recently-passed state program to accelerate solar energy mandates. MORE > |
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EPA orders Md. regulators to review incinerator permit
4/19/2010 Maryland regulators must revise the permit for a Baltimore incinerator after U.S. EPA determined that the state failed to address concerns that the permit weakened pollution limits and failed to include adequate monitoring requirements. MORE > |
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Maine's Republican senators, critical to climate bill, approach the debate coolly
4/19/2010 A small group of lawmakers could help scrap or spare Congress' pending effort to impose a price on carbon emissions, but only two of them, the senators from Maine, appear to hold the "balance of power." MORE > |
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And the heat goes on: warmest March on record
4/15/2010 And the heat goes on. Last month was the warmest March on record worldwide, based on records back to 1880, scientists reported Thursday. MORE > |
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Allergies Worse Than Ever? Blame Global Warming
4/14/2010 Allergy sufferers like to claim — in between sniffles — that each spring's allergy season is worse than the last. But this year, they might actually be right. MORE > |
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Hundreds of comments submitted on fly-ash landfill
4/10/2010 BALTIMORE - Opponents of a proposed fly ash landfill in Curtis Bay have flooded the Maryland Department of the Environment with hundreds of cards, letters and e-mails urging them to block the plan. MORE > |
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Maryland's First Wind Farm May Be First Of Many
4/9/2010 Constellation Energy says that by the end of the year, 28 wind turbines will be up and running in Garrett County, in the Eastern Panhandle section of Maryland. The power generated by the wind farm will be enough to power 23,000 homes. MORE > |
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Report: Maryland's water pollution enforcement is lagging
4/7/2010 Maryland is failing to ride herd on water pollution in the state because of serious funding shortfalls and its own flawed enforcement practices, according to a Washington-based think tank. MORE > |
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Demand, Cost Local Although Coal Plant Wouldn't Be
4/7/2010 A local forum about the proposed coal-fired plant in Surry County drew around 80 to the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre Tuesday morning. Although the plant would be situated across the James River, electricity demands well beyond Surry are fueling it and the region would shoulder environmental and health effects that come as part of the price of those demands. MORE > |
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Quinn Gillespie's Hoppe, Von Bargen preview Senate plans for climate, energy
4/7/2010 With a new bill expected to be released as early as next week in the Senate, what are the prospects for climate legislation this year? During today's OnPoint, Dave Hoppe, president of Quinn Gillespie & Associates and a former chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), and Patrick Von Bargen, a director at QG&A and the former chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), give their take on challenges to U.S. EPA's regulation of emissions. They also discuss expectations for climate legislation in the Senate and explain how a bill could affect state-level emissions reduction efforts. MORE > |
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How Congress can get a smart climate-change bill passed
4/5/2010 Congress could rebate most of the revenue from allowance auctions directly to Americans, making the vast majority of them whole -- or better. Cutting a check to every one of your constituents: Now there's something lawmakers straddling the fence on climate-change legislation should be able to cheer. MORE > |
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Forget cap-and trade. This is a climate bill you can love.
4/5/2010 This is a tale of two bills—a tale that illuminates how policy-making may unfold under the most progressive administration, and most Democratic Congress, in a generation. And it’s not a tale with an especially happy ending. MORE > |
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Md. sues Mirant over pollution from Prince George's landfill
4/3/2010 The Maryland Department of the Environment filed suit Friday against an Atlanta-based power company, alleging that its coal-ash landfill in Prince George's County is polluting groundwater and a nearby creek. MORE > |
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Motion in the court of public opinion
4/3/2010 Respectfully submitted this 3rd day of April 2010, come now the plaintiffs, the taxpayers of Virginia, and move this Honorable Court for an order restraining and enjoining the defendant, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, from intentionally and negligently turning his office into a public nuisance. MORE > |
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Environmental regulations to curtail mountaintop mining
4/2/2010 The Obama administration on Thursday imposed strict new environmental guidelines that are expected to sharply curtail "mountaintop" coal mining, a controversial practice that has enriched Appalachia's economy while rearranging its topography. MORE > |
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Dominion Sticking with Wind Farm Plan for SW. VA.
4/2/2010 Dominion says it's not giving up on a plan to build a wind farm on East River Mountain in southwest Virginia. MORE > |
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Pepco is apparent target of Greenwash Guerrillas' hoax
4/1/2010 Fake letters that appeared to show Pepco swearing off coal from "mountaintop removal" mines were left last night at about 3,000 homes in the District and Maryland, apparently part of a hoax from an environmental group. MORE > |
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CCAN Statement on Offshore Drilling Plan
3/31/2010 "President Obama announced today a proposal to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, including Virginia, to oil and natural gas drilling - a move that will do next to nothing to increase Virginia's oil supplies but will further American dependence on dirty energy sources while putting the surrounding coasts, fisheries and tourism industry in danger. MORE > |
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D.C. bag tax collects $150,000 in January for river cleanup
3/30/2010 The District's 5-cent bag tax generated about $150,000 during January to help clean up the Anacostia River, even though residents have dramatically scaled back their use of disposable bags, according to a report city officials issued Monday. MORE > |
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Sen. Collins suggests pairing 'cap and dividend' bill with energy-only measure
3/29/2010 Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said last week that a climate bill she co-sponsored with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) could be paired with energy-only legislation on the Senate floor. MORE > |
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NASA proposes wind turbines for Va. launch facility
3/28/2010 NASA wants to install wind turbines on Wallops Island to generate electricity for its flight facility. A public meeting on the proposal is scheduled April 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Wallops Island Flight Facility's Visitor Center. April 5 is the deadline to submit comments. MORE > |
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Md. legislature scrutinizing law clinic over chicken farm suit
3/28/2010 In Maryland, messing with Big Chicken can bring big trouble. The latest case study is playing out in Annapolis, where the state Senate wants to impose greater scrutiny on the University of Maryland's environmental law clinic. The reason? Apparently, it's the law clinic's pro bono work for an environmental group that is suing an Eastern Shore chicken farmer and the poultry giant Perdue Farms. MORE > |
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Graham bids to ease tensions over competing Senate bills
3/25/2010 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tried to defuse simmering tensions today over competing climate change bills that threaten to upend the global warming debate before it can even reach the floor. MORE > |
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Some Maryland buildings to get solar power
3/25/2010 Rooftop solar energy systems will be installed on state buildings in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Howard and Cecil counties, under an agreement announced Wednesday between the Maryland Department of General Services and solar energy company SunEdison LLC, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. MORE > |
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Millions in Energy Rebates Now Available to Virginians
3/25/2010 Ten-million-dollars in rebates will be available to help home owners and small businesses reduce their energy costs and harness energy from the wind and the sun. MORE > |
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Cantwell, Collins continue push for cap and dividend
3/24/2010 Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) insisted today that they want to be the lead authors on climate change legislation rather than have some of their ideas get pulled into a more high-profile proposal. MORE > |
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Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea
3/24/2010 Rising sea levels in the bay have plunged New Moore Island in the Sunderbans completely underwater, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said. MORE > |
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EPA's green buildings list ranks D.C. area No. 2 in nation
3/23/2010 Perhaps Washington is an efficient place after all. The D.C. area took the No. 2 spot in a nationwide survey of metropolitan regions with energy-efficient buildings, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which plans to publish the results Tuesday. MORE > |
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Residents beg MDE to reject landfill
3/20/2010 One by one, they took turns at the microphone, telling state officials why they should say no to a planned fly ash landfill in Curtis Bay. The substances dumped there will pollute the air and water, they said. The Maryland Department of the Environment doesn't have enough controls in place to monitor it. Residents of the neighborhoods along the Anne Arundel County-Baltimore City line already live in the shadow of heavy industry. MORE > |
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Op-Ed: No cause to fear turbines
3/18/2010 Wind turbines produce clean energy, offsetting dirty coal power, and they will allow AEP to offer green energy options on power bills and create area jobs. Presently, AEP imports wind power from West Virginia (Thomas-Davis, Mount Storm and now Green-Briar, the new Beech Ridge project). These jobs go to West Virginia instead of here, where the power is needed, and result in more transmission lines and cutting of more trees than if it were produced locally. MORE > |
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Auto alliance opposes Murkowski on EPA greenhouse gas regs
3/17/2010 The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is officially opposed to Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) effort to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gases through a congressional resolution of disapproval. MORE > |
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Coal's Toxic Sludge
3/17/2010 Big coal has spent millions of dollars over the past year touting the virtues of what the industry calls "clean coal," but it's no secret that coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. When you burn it, coal releases monstrous quantities of deadly compounds and gases - and it all has to go somewhere. The worst of the waste - heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium and mercury, all of which are highly toxic - are concentrated in the ash that's left over after coal is burned or in the dirty sludge that's scrubbed from smokestacks. MORE > |
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New Energy Efficient Data Center in Prince William Co.
3/16/2010 The new Power Loft LLC data center in northern Virginia was designed for both high efficiency and high density. The $330 million project has earned a Silver certification under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) benchmark for energy efficiency in commercial building. MORE > |
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SemaConnect trying to fill a niche in the electric-car era
3/15/2010 Annapolis-based entrepreneur Mahi Reddy is hoping to take advantage of what he perceives will be a big missing piece in the approaching era of the electric car. MORE > |
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Fenty to announce plans to hire jobless residents
3/15/2010 More than a thousand District residents are expected to pack a church Monday night to hear Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and ministers from the Washington Interfaith Network announce that they plan to train jobless residents and put them to work weatherizing homes. MORE > |
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Sen. Webb: Dedicated Policy is Simple and Fair
3/11/2010 Most people who know Sen. Jim Webb agree he's a man of strong principles. He believes strongly, for example, that a "fairness test" should be applied whenever politicians consider legislation. This means voters are treated with justice as a core political priority. He also believes strongly in promoting national security for all Americans through a more sane energy policy. MORE > |
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In Lead-Up to Earth Day, Virginians Ask Sen. Webb to Help Author Climate Bill
3/11/2010 WASHINGTON, DC-Top environmental leaders gathered on the U.S. Capitol steps today to launch "40 days of action" before next month's 40th-anniversary Earth Day celebration. Virginia activists, meanwhile, held up an oversized pen and asked Senator Jim Webb - an accomplished author - to help write legislation to solve global warming and enhance America's national security. MORE > |
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Enviro, jobs and vets groups call for Senate to act on climate change
3/11/2010 Calling themselves "Clean Energy Patriots," dozens of environmental leaders today asked the U.S. Senate to quit serving the interests of "Big Oil" and take action on behalf of Americans who want clean energy and climate solutions. MORE > |
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Learning To Be Green
3/11/2010 "Getting green" on St. Patrick's Day won't just be for the Irish this year: Arlington residents will have an opportunity to give "green" a new meaning by learning about energy efficiency and renewable energy. The program sponsored by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network will be held at Potomac Overlook Park on March 17. Kent Baake, owner and founder of Continuum Energy Solutions, will be conducting the seminar. MORE > |
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Va. county fears coal plant could hurt development
3/11/2010 SURRY, Va. (AP) Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed $6 billion coal-fired power plant might be an economic boon for Surry County, but Isle of Wight County officials fear it could stifle economic development and tourism throughout the region. MORE > |
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LTE: Global Warming
3/10/2010 While Mr. Wells' letter (The Capital, Feb. 27) is looking for absolute certainty before he believes global warming occurs, the majority of climate scientists are satisfied with 95 percent certainty. If we waited for 100 percent certainty, it would be too late to act. MORE > |
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Group backs energy blueprint for long-term needs
3/8/2010 SALISBURY -- A grassroots organization is backing proposed legislation that would require the state to develop a comprehensive plan for meeting long-term energy needs and take environmental factors into consideration. MORE > |
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Group urges localities to plan for rising sea levels
3/8/2010 As a regional planner, John Carlock knows getting each Hampton Roads community to agree is rarely, if ever, simple. His next task could be even harder: Convince 16 cities and counties to work together to combat rising sea levels. Funding difficulties aside, the issue unavoidably involves talk of climate change, a topic that ignites its share of debate. MORE > |
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Company pursues wind farm in Roanoke County
3/3/2010 ROANOKE, Va. - A Chicago-based company is pursuing a wind farm of 15 turbines atop Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. MORE > |
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Maryland Needs a Clean Energy Blueprint
3/3/2010 The momentum for renewable energy in Maryland has never been stronger. Governor Martin O'Malley recently announced his support of a bill that would double the amount of solar electricity used by utilities by 2012. And earlier this month, a study found that Maryland could satisfy two-thirds of its total electricity needs just from off-shore wind farms. MORE > |
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SCC gives go-ahead for wind farm project in Highland County
3/2/2010 A mountain ridge in Highland County has been cleared for the state's first commercial wind farm. The state agency dismissed a complaint regarding its "negative impact" on a viewshed. MORE > |
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Obama to outline rebates for energy efficiency
3/2/2010 WASHINGTON -- Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently under a new rebate program to be announced by President Barack Obama. MORE > |
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Record Snow Storms Prompt Maryland Bill to Prepare for Emergencies Fueled by Climate Change
3/2/2010 ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 2, 2010)-A Maryland State Senator today unveiled a bill that would quantify the economic harm inflicted on Maryland by this winter's weird weather and prepare the state for future storms related to climate change. The bill is considered the first legislative proposal of its kind from a state hit hard by the "snowmaggedon" storms this year along the east coast. MORE > |
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Coal ash problems spread as EPA dithers, groups say
2/25/2010 Environmental groups are complaining about delays in federal action on coal ash, saying improper disposal of waste from power plants continues to contaminate streams and ground water, threatening the health of people and wildlife. MORE > |
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2 Va. firms seek to establish offshore wind farms
2/25/2010 Federal regulators have received leasing proposals from two Virginia companies seeking to develop offshore wind farms capable of supplying clean energy to hundreds of thousands of homes. MORE > |
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The O.J. tactic
2/24/2010 The doubters of climate science have launched an enormously clever -- and effective -- campaign, and it's worth trying to understand how they've done it. The best analogy is perhaps the O.J. Simpson trial. MORE > |
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EPA lays out timetable for regulating greenhouse gas emissions
2/23/2010 Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson laid out the timetable for regulating greenhouse gas emissions Monday, writing in a letter to lawmakers that she plans to start targeting large facilities such as power plants next year but won't target small emitters before 2016. MORE > |
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Study says stronger hurricanes likely
2/22/2010 WASHINGTON - Top researchers now agree that the world is likely to get stronger but fewer hurricanes because of global warming, seeming to settle a scientific debate on the subject. MORE > |
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State's top lawman takes aim at science
2/19/2010 Virginians knew it wouldn't take long for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to focus his attention and office on furthering his political agenda and ambitions. The surprise, perhaps, is that it took him a whole month to put Virginia embarrassingly ahead of Texas as an opponent of science and the source of states-rights nonsense. MORE > |
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Battling for Clean Air
2/18/2010 This week we had a public hearing for my bill SB 564, known as The Stream Saver Bill. The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the issuing of a permit for coal surface mining operations unless the applicant affirmatively demonstrates, and the Director finds in writing that "no spoil, refuse, silt, slurry tailing, or other waste materials from coal surface mining and reclamation operations will be disposed of in any intermittent, perennial, or ephemeral stream." Many streams have been obliterated and the natural ecology destroyed. MORE > |
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Virginia challenges U.S. greenhouse gas curbs
2/17/2010 Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) on Tuesday filed paperwork attacking the legal underpinnings of an Obama administration effort to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, joining a crowd of political conservatives and business groups with similar objections. MORE > |
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STORMS: Computer model predicts Va. seaport will be hard hit in next century
2/17/2010 Storms will hit southern Virginia's seaports harder and with more severe consequences within the next century, according to a new hydrodynamic model of the area. MORE > |
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Global Weirding Is Here
2/17/2010 Of the festivals of nonsense that periodically overtake American politics, surely the silliest is the argument that because Washington is having a particularly snowy winter it proves that climate change is a hoax and, therefore, we need not bother with all this girly-man stuff like renewable energy, solar panels and carbon taxes. Just drill, baby, drill. MORE > |
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O'Malley pushes for solar
2/16/2010 The governor is backing a bill that would increase the amount of solar energy electricity suppliers must use. MORE > |
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Experts: Surry coal plant could bring health, environmental woes to Hampton Roads
2/16/2010 ISLE OF WIGHT - Pollutants emitted by a 1,500-megawatt coal-fueled power plant proposed for Surry County could have far-reaching, long-lasting health and environmental fallouts for Hampton Roads, according to a spokesman with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. MORE > |
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A warming world increases atmospheric moisture, which leads to massive snowstorms
2/14/2010 You can't even find your car on the street, the kids have been out of school for days, and "blizzard conditions" is now standard weatherman talk in the D.C.-Baltimore region. So if global warming is happening, why in the world are we literally buried in snow? MORE > |
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Bill would prohibit dumping waste into streams
2/11/2010 RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Opponents of mountaintop removal coal mining gathered in Virginia and Kentucky on Thursday in support of bills that would ban coal companies from dumping the rock and rubble they blast off the tops of mountains into nearby streams. MORE > |
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Virginia Senate kills bill on offshore-drilling profits
2/10/2010 The Democratic majority in Virginia's Senate this afternoon killed for the year legislation from Virginia Beach Republican Sen. Frank Wagner to dedicate future offshore drilling royalties to the state general fund, a coastal energy research consortium and to localities for transportation fixes. MORE > |
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Senate offers some hope for legislation to combat climate change
2/10/2010 Is there no alternative between simple do-nothingism and House complexity [to solve global warming]? In fact, there is. An alternative proposal increasingly capturing interest on Capitol Hill is the CLEAR Act, sponsored by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). MORE > |
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Isle of Wight to hold forum on coal plant's health risks
2/10/2010 ISLE OF WIGHT - - A panel of speakers will discuss the potential health and environmental impact of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed coal-fueled power plant in neighboring Surry County during a community forum next week. MORE > |
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Virginia lawmakers to consider ‘Stream Saver' fill ban
2/10/2010 ABINGDON, Va. - A piece of coal-related legislation proposed in Virginia this year has the potential to strangle the state's mining industry, or protect mountain streams, depending on whose talking. MORE > |
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Study boosts notion of offshore wind production
2/9/2010 Offshore wind energy can furnish Marylanders with as much as two-thirds of the electricity they currently use, and if aggressively developed, could turn the state into a net exporter of power, a new report by the Abell Foundation says. MORE > |
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Climate change will make world more 'fragrant'
2/9/2010 As CO2 levels increase and the world warms, land use, precipitation and the availability of water will also change. In response to all these disruptions, plants will emit greater levels of fragrant chemicals called biogenic volatile organic compounds. MORE > |
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Senate Committee Votes Against 10,000 New Jobs for Virginia
2/8/2010 RICHMOND, VA (2/8/10)-The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee today rejected Senate Bill 71, the "Virginia Jobs and Efficiency Act" patroned by Senator Donald McEachin. The legislation would have held utilities accountable for cutting energy waste through set efficiency standards, creating jobs in Virginia, saving families and businesses money and cutting pollution linked to global warming. MORE > |
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A refreshing dose of honesty
2/4/2010 NOT long after the flood, when Noah was safely back on dry land, God promised: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man...And never again will I destroy all living creatures." The implication is clear. "Man will not destroy this earth," says John Shimkus, a Bible-reading Republican congressman from Illinois. So there is no need to worry about global warming. MORE > |
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Residents, activists call for more testing at landfill
2/3/2010 Brandywine area residents and environmental advocacy groups are calling for more testing of local groundwater following a Jan. 27 community meeting about alleged contamination from a local landfill. MORE > |
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Coal Plant Foes Undeterred by Dendron Town Vote Approving ODEC Plans
2/2/2010 Dendron, VA--Following a series of close votes by the Dendron Town Council last night approving zoning changes for Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed coal-fired power plant, the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition vowed to continue fighting plans for what would be the largest coal-fired power plant in Virginia, and one of the top polluters in the state. MORE > |
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Tiny Virginia Town Approves Giant Coal-Fired Power Plant
2/2/2010 DENDRON, Virginia, February 2, 2010 (ENS) - The Dendron Town Council last night approved rezoning for Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed coal-fired power plant, which has sparked fierce and determined opposition from environmental groups and some local residents. MORE > |
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New Economic Report Shows Few Jobs From Proposed coal Plant in Surry County Would Go To Local Residents
2/1/2010 Dendron, VA--At a public hearing tonight, the Dendron Town Council will receive the first publicly available analysis of the economic impacts that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed coal-fired power plant would have on Dendron and Surry County. Among other things, the report estimates that, during the peak construction year, only three jobs would go to current Dendron residents and Surry County residents would get only 14% of the construction jobs. MORE > |
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District bill would create fund for green upgrades
1/29/2010 The District is the latest municipality to explore a new mode of energy efficiency financing: a revolving fund that makes upfront loans to homeowners or businesses for energy retrofits to their buildings. Those borrowers repay the loan fund through an increase in their property taxes, which ensures that the payers of the loan and beneficiaries of the energy savings remain one and the same regardless of how many times the building changes hands. MORE > |
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Harsh winter a sign of disruptive climate change, report says
1/28/2010 This winter's extreme weather -- with heavy snowfall in some places and unusually low temperatures -- is in fact a sign of how climate change disrupts long-standing patterns, according to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation. MORE > |
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EPA crackdown on mountaintop coal mining criticized as contradictory
1/28/2010 CHARLESTON, W.VA. -- Here in coal country, President Obama's ambitious Environmental Protection Agency has met its first big mess. MORE > |
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Isle of Wight County wants independent plant study
1/27/2010 The Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors wants Surry and Dendron officials to order ODEC to pay for an independent study on the health effects of the proposed coal-fired power plant. MORE > |
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Repairing Virginia's Economy
1/25/2010 Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has been yelling it from the rooftops for months: The best way to repair Virginia's ailing economy is to improve the state's flawed energy policies. He's absolutely right, of course, and now he faces a test. With inauguration festivities over, a landmark energy bill awaits McDonnell in the General Assembly. It would create lots of new jobs and, potentially, build badly needed bipartisanship in Richmond. MORE > |
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MD Environmentalists Getting Ready To Present Legislation
1/24/2010 An environmental coalition in Maryland is getting ready to present a single piece of legislation next week that would influence all of the state's energy and power decisions. MORE > |
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Climate Activists Brave Icy Waters Of Chesapeake Bay
1/23/2010 More than 100 climate activists braved the icy waters of the Chesapeake Bay to bring public attention to global warming. MORE > |
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Hundreds of Local Climate Activists Brave Icy Water in Fifth Annual "Polar Bear Plunge"
1/23/2010 ANNAPOLIS, January 23, 2010-Hundreds of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. residents plunged into an icy Chesapeake Bay today to express their alarm over the rapid advance of global warming, and to highlight their demand for action at the state and federal levels. MORE > |
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Murkowski mayhem highlights uncertainties with climate bill
1/22/2010 Climate chaos reigned on Capitol Hill yesterday as senators battled over the possibility of U.S. EPA regulations on greenhouse gases and the prospects for global warming legislation this year. Republicans and Democrats alike expressed interest in a "Plan B" approach from Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) for capping emissions. The plan would return the majority of the revenue raised from a climate program to consumers through a dividend. MORE > |
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Over 80 U.S. Companies Call on President Obama & Congress To Enact Comprehensive Climate and Energy Legislation
1/21/2010 More than 80 leading CEOs from U.S. businesses, including Exelon, Virgin America, NRG Energy, eBay and PG&E, sent a letter to President Obama and members of Congress today calling on them to move quickly to enact comprehensive climate and energy legislation that will create jobs and enhance U.S. competitiveness. MORE > |
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Alaskan senator seeks to block EPA's power to regulate greenhouse gases
1/21/2010 In a speech to Congress, a Republican senator from Alaska announced she would use an obscure and rarely used measure to try to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its powers to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a dangerous pollutant. MORE > |
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$6 million grant to put 1,600 people in 'green' jobs
1/20/2010 West Virginia is receiving $6 million in federal stimulus funds to promote clean energy jobs. U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced today that the money would go to the state's Workforce West Virginia office to train about 1,850 people. MORE > |
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Consultants say coal on decline, urge Appalachian legislators to focus on renewable energy
1/19/2010 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Coal production in Central Appalachia is likely to continue its 12-year decline, and an environmental consulting firm said Tuesday it's time policy makers and legislators in four states work to diversify the region's economy. MORE > |
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Environmental Groups Applaud State for Taking Enforcement Action Against Coal Ash Landfill
1/15/2010 WASHINGTON, D.C.///January 15, 2010///Environmental groups announced their support today for the Maryland Department of the Environment's decision to take enforcement action against Mirant MD Ash Management, LLC and Mirant Mid-Atlantic, LLC for violations of the federal Clean Water Act and state law at the Brandywine coal ash landfill. The groups include the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Patuxent Riverkeeper. MORE > |
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Scientists say mountaintop mining should be stopped
1/8/2010 Mountaintop coal mining -- in which Appalachian peaks are blasted off and stream valleys buried under tons of rubble -- is so destructive that the government should stop giving out new permits to do it, a group of scientists said in a paper released Thursday. MORE > |
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Environmental Community Applauds Senator McEachin's Jobs Plan
1/6/2010 RICHMOND, VA (1/6/10)-Leading members of Virginia's environmental community today applauded Senator Donald McEachin's energy efficiency legislation as a winning plan for Virginia. By creating energy efficiency standards for utilities, the legislation will create jobs and save families money on their energy bills while also reducing the demand for mountaintop removal coal mining and cutting pollution linked to global warming. MORE > |
