This past Saturday, over 75 climate change activists in Northern Virginia came together for the Northern Virginia Climate Action Network’s Tools for Change III: Energy Efficiency, Bringing the Message Home and Skills Training. Attendees came from across NoVa, from Loudoun to Bristow, with the common goal of learning more and getting involved in the fight for federal climate change legislation.
Speakers presented on a range of topics focused on some of the federal legislation in the Senate right now, as well as more local successes and projects in the works. Elenor Hodges, Executive Director of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, talked about the Green Living Challenge.
Yet, amidst typos and lawsuits, today’s press conference a the state capitol in Richmond was a breath of fresh air. It is refreshing to see 19 members of General Assembly standing up for their constituents and allowing the science to speak for itself. The Science that tells us that Virginia is vulnerable to sea level rise, that the Hampton Roads area is ranked #2 in terms of vulnerability. Number one is New Orleans. These threats are real and Virginia is ready to address them head on.
I applaud Senators McEachin and Northam as well as Delegate McLellan for initiating today’s press conference and the other 16 state legislators that joined them to show their support for the science. Addressing climate change and diversifying our economy here in the Commonwealth is no easy task. It’s going to take forward thinking and leadership from Richmond to embrace our potential. It’s also going to take reasonable investments. 
We had a great workshop in Richmond on Saturday! JR Tolbert with Environment VA kicked off the event with an update on federal climate legislation.
Followed by an interactive workshop with yours truly where everyone signed postcards, made calls to Senator Webb’s office and wrote handwritten letters urging him to vote in support of clean energy legislation and against the Dirty Air Act.
After that, the attendees learned the step-by-step process to writing a letter to their editor with Sierra Club staffer, Antigone Ambrose.
I had the pleasure of providing testimony on a citizens conference call to the White House Office of Management 
Town Hall meetings have, in the past, used an index card system to ask questions; instead of raising your hand and directly asking an administrator about building hours, for example, you filled out your question on an index card and the moderator (the SVA president) sorted through the index cards and read as many as time allowed. SF/SC members wrote out 5 important questions about sustainability on a huge stack of index cards, and students were asked to sign the card with the question they felt most passionately about. 
Last Thursday, I joined hundreds of Virginians in support of SB 564, the Stream Saver Bill. The bill was introduced by state Senator Patsy Ticer and would ban dumping waste from surface mining into streams. 1,900 miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried or degraded by this practice, impacting clean water supplies for residents of southwest Virginia. 
A planned rally was cut short in order to allow supporters to get in line for the special hearing held by the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources committee. Due to turnout, I sat in an overflow room. Hundreds had come to speak for and against the measure. Matt Wasson with Appalachian Voices presented on the environmental and economic destruction that mountain top removal leaves in its wake. During the 45 minutes each side had for public comments, residents of southwest Virginia spoke passionately about their concern for their family and friends’ health and for the mountains.