*** Download photos of this demonstration at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chesapeakeclimate/sets/72157627799224273/with/6257475461/ ***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Beth Kemler, beth@chesapeakeclimate.org, 202-641-0955

Jamie Nolan, jamie@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-396-2022

RICHMOND — While fossil fuel executives gathered at the Governor’s Conference on Energy today, environmental activists gathered a few blocks away on the banks of the James River to depict the future that coastal Virginians face under Governor McDonnell’s energy policy- one where homes, businesses and beloved landmarks will be flooded due to sea level rise.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) submerged giant replicas of Virginia Beach’s Neptune statue, Tangier Island’s water tower and the Virginia State House to send the message to Governor McDonnell that his “all-of-the-above” energy policy threatens to increase the severity of climate change impacts on the lives of Virginians.

“We want Governor McDonnell to know that energy policy that encourages more burning of fossil fuels may help him flood his election coffers with cash from big energy company executives, but it’s also flooding coastal Virginia communities because of sea level rise caused by climate change,” said Beth Kemler, Virginia State Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network.  “Scientists the world over agree that rapidly rising sea levels are due to global warming, which is caused by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.”

CCAN held the sea-level rise demonstration in response to the Governor’s Conference on Energy. During the two-day event, only three out of 22 sessions focus on renewable energy, despite the fact that the clean energy sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States. Renewable energy has grown at a rate of 8.3 percent over the past five years – more than double the rate of growth of the overall economy during the same time period. Investing in clean energy creates three times as many jobs and more opportunities in every pay grade than traditional energy jobs. In fact, analysts believe that the further development of wind and solar technologies could support 20 million jobs globally by 2030 and trillions of dollars in revenue.

But McDonnell’s continued support for fossil fuels pays off for him, according to the latest campaign finance data analyzed and released by the Virginia Public Access Project yesterday. The energy industry has been the single highest contributing industry to the governor’s Opportunity Virginia PAC in 2011- $641,260- and companies that make the majority of their money mining or burning fossil fuels make up the grand majority of that- $581,010. In addition, the largest single donor to Opportunity Virginia PAC as of the September 30 reporting deadline is Consol Energy, a coal-mining company based in Pittsburgh that has made $102,010 in contributions.

At the same time, ordinary Virginians face a huge price tag for dealing with sea level rise and other impacts of climate change.  For instance:

The residents of coastal streets are directly threatened by flooding. Norfolk has seen a 14.5-inch rise in sea level over the past 80 years.  In one waterfront neighborhood, over $2 million in taxpayer money is being spent to deal with sea level rise: the city is spending $1.25 million to raise the street by 18 inches, among other changes, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent $144,000 each to raise six houses.

Beachfront tourism is threatened by sea level rise without public spending to compensate.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an increase in sea level of another 20 inches would mean that Virginia Beach will have to spend between $200 million and $1.2 billion on sand replenishment.

Changes to the natural ecology of the area mean risks for agriculture and fishing industries. Warmer water temperatures could encourage the spread of diseases among oysters in the Chesapeake Bay.  Changing temperatures could also threaten the burgeoning Virginia wine industry.

“While Bob McDonnell espouses an ’all-of-the-above‘ approach to energy and has declared that he wants to make Virginia the ‘Energy Capital of the East Coast,’ he has done little to grow the renewable energy industry in the commonwealth,” explained Kemler. “Virginia boasts a particularly impressive renewable energy resource – offshore wind energy. Harnessing this untapped natural resource could provide enough energy to power 700,000 homes by the end of this decade, and even more in the future. Instead of providing an estimated $44 million in subsidies to the Virginia coal industry, the governor should provide incentives to help kick-start development in clean, renewable energy.”

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. With more than 80,000 members throughout the region, CCAN works to build and mobilize a powerful grassroots movement in the region surrounding the nation’s capital to call for state, national, and international policies that will put us on a path to climate stability. Learn more at http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

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