Category: Blog

Resolving to address Hampton Roads sea level rise

Tidal flooding in Norfolk. ( Eric Levy, NewsChannel 3 )

Hopefully the resolution will pass in a strong form, but sea level rise is not the only negative effect of Virginia relying on fossil fuels. Coal-burning power plants not only put out greenhouse gases, they emit heavy metals that contaminate water and make fish from local rivers unsafe to eat. They cause asthma and disproportionately affect lower income and minority Virginians with the health effects of living in polluted communities downwind of these toxic facilities.

Returning to the conclusions that the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change made, we need to think hard about what our energy system is doing to our coastal areas and what we need to do differently. Then we’ll address a big cause of sea level rise, and a host of other problems, and not just treat a symptom.

CCAN delivers over 19,000 Keystone XL petitions to Warner and Webb

A dozen Richmond volunteers delivered thousands of Virginia petitions against the Keystone XL pipeline to Senator Warner

Starting at noon on February 13th, over 800,000 people across the U.S. signed a petition urging Congress to stop the Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline – 800,000! Equally impressive, Virginians made up over 19,000 of those signatures. All in just 24 hours. And today a dozen volunteers delivered that message loud and clear to Senators Warner and Webb.

The 24-hour action was set in motion after organizers gained intel that members of Congress in the pocket of the fossil fuel lobby were trying to force through approval of the pipeline through amendments to unrelated bills. Late last Thursday, we learned even more sudden news that a vote could be imminent – as soon as this Tuesday or Wednesday – on an amendment to a federal transportation bill.

Federal Keystone XL pipeline oil tar sands Virginia

Governor O’Malley Joins Students from 12 Maryland Campuses Rally in Support of Offshore Wind Power

For months, students from Maryland universities and high schools have gathered petition signatures, written letters to the editor in their local and school papers, met with their college administrators, and educated their fellow students on offshore wind legislation. And yesterday, all their hard work culminated in a Student Rally and Lobby Day for Offshore Wind.

Students from Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and the Eastern Shore arrived in Annapolis yesterday morning to sit down with their legislators and talk to them about passing the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012.

At noon, students from the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC), representing 12 campuses and 4 high schools, converged onto Lawyer’s Mall to send a message to the Maryland General Assembly that students and universities support offshore wind legislation and want it passed this session. This rally was one of the largest student demonstrations in recent history in Annapolis.

Maryland offshore wind students

2012 Maryland General Assembly: Is Fracking in Maryland's Future?

This blog post was written by Megan Spindler a student at Frostburg St. University. Megan is interning with CCAN this semester.

While the popularity of hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”) grows, so does the list of reasons why it should be done with extreme caution or not at all. In addition to poisoned drinking water, streams and rivers, new research from Cornell University shows that the carbon footprint of fracked natural gas is greater than that of coal due to the extraordinary planet-warming power of the methane, which is released in large amounts during every stage of the fracking process.

24 hours to stop Keystone XL

It’s like one of those horror movie zombies, the thing that just won’t die. Yes, once again the Republican Party, joined by some Democrats, all doing the work of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the American Petroleum Institute and all the others, are trying to force through approval of the Keystone XL pipeline in Congress.

Federal keystone xl Maryland tar sands Virginia

Federal officials green light offshore wind energy leasing in Maryland

Wind energy development off of Maryland’s Eastern Shore inched closer to reality after federal officials in Baltimore announced that developing wind energy there would not harm the coastal environment.

In a statement released last week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar – along with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy Beaudreau – released findings from a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment indicating there would be “no significant environmental impacts from issuing wind energy leases in areas off the mid-Atlantic Coast.”

Maryland Marylanders for offshore wind offshore wind energy

My first Polar Bear Plunge

When I came on staff with CCAN in October, I knew that I was going to be working my tail off to pass the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act in the 2012 legislative session. I expected the late night strategy sessions and the phone banking and the petitioning. I did not, however, expect that I would also be jumping (all the way) into the icy Potomac in January. That definitely was not in the job description. And yet, on January 21st, myself and around 100 others charged into the frigid waters wearing (in most cases) little more than a bathing suit. Watch this video to get the full effect. Continue reading

Polar Bear Plunge

CCANers bring the fight for real renewables to Richmond!

Today, CCANers from all over Virginia visited the Capitol to express frustration, disappointment, and even outrage at all the ways our renewable portfolio standard has been weakened during this legislative session.

Update from the Virginia General Assembly

Bills are flying through the General Assembly this session! All of the bills we have been working on have already gone through committee meetings and I’m happy to announce that one of our RPS reform bills, Del. McClellan’s HB 1166, has unanimously passed the house and its companion, Sen. McEachin’s SB 382, will most likely sail through the Senate by the end of the week!

Virginia Virginia General Assembly

My highlights from the Polar Bear Plunge

On January 21st over 100 people ran into the cold Potomac River as part of CCAN’s 7th Annual Polar Bear Plunge. We braved the ice and snow (about an inch worth) that came down the night before, and leftover light rain, to do the first of these seven plunges with precipitation on the ground.

Federal James Hansen Polar Bear Plunge Virginia