Destroying a clean-energy law

The Virginian-Pilot
By Beth Kemler
Sneak attack, dirty trick, underhanded. Those are some of the terms used to describe Senate Republicans’ move to exploit the absence of one Democrat to pass an off-year redistricting bill – a story that became one of the hottest of this year’s Virginia General Assembly session.
Those terms also apply to one of the least covered stories of the session – a move by climate change-denying Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and electric utilities, including Dominion Power, to effectively repeal one of the state’s core clean energy laws.
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Climate warriors of Virginia fight back against Dom-inelli's RPS Nix

While Dominion Power and Attorney General Cuccinelli rolled out the product of their controversial alliance to harm the environment and the climate, CCANers and members of other allied groups took action today at the General Assembly, stressing the need to Fix Virginia’s RPS, and not let legislators nix our only provisions that reward clean energy.
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Standing up to Dominion's Rip-Off, in October and beyond

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What could have prepared Dominion executives for the tremendous showing of customer outrage and dissatisfaction unleashed the week of October 1st! Without our dedicated climate warriors who participated and supported the Week of Action, Dominion would continue to quietly, and legally, get away with setting up a $76 million bonus for themselves while playing keep-away with Virginia’s clean energy future. Since the Week of Action, the clean air advocates and climate protectors of Virginia got control of the ball, and for a change Dominion representatives have had to respond to some hard questions from reporters.

The Stand Up to Dominion Week of Action was so successful because of the participation of clean energy supporters from all around Virginia, and it was especially uplifting to have everyone sharing their reasons for taking action.

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Day 5: The story of #76million and our activism gets out

DeLevay Miner holds her picket sign at Dominion

A sinking feeling usually creeps into my gut on the eve of a big new action or media event. Organizers have put in hours of phone calls, emails and logistics-scrambling to turn out dozens or more activists. Activists are taking time off work and traveling for an hour or more to take part. But have I, as “the communications person” done all I can? Will that critical reporter show up? Will the story of the hour (or week) get told in the end?

By Monday afternoon this week, I was breathing a big sigh of relief. That’s because, in the case of our week-long action to Stand Up to Dominion’s $76 Million Rip-Off and demand Virginia-made solar and wind power, the story is indeed making its way into newspaper front pages and radio airwaves. This week, Dominion has not only faced picketers on its doorstep every day at noon, but also been forced to answer questions from journalists about how it can justify a $76 million bonus in the name of renewable energy while bringing absolutely zero solar or wind power online in Virginia.

Read on for a round-up of some of the best news coverage from the week.

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Day 4: residents of Hampton Roads join action at Dominion!

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What an excellent fourth day of the Week of Action at Dominion! Several Hampton Roads residents came out today, from as far as Chesapeake and Norfolk, Hampton and Newport News, to help shine a spotlight on Dominion’s $76 Million Rip-Off and all the consequences that the company’s continued dependence on eastern Virginia, including driving climate change and sea level rise. Check out the picture below of our mock-submerged Virginia landmarks, the Tangier Island water tower and the Neptune Statue, among the icons of Virginia at risk due to climate change.

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Talking climate and the state of the Bay at Hampton Bay Days

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At Hampton Bay Days this past weekend, the high-jumping Dock Dogs weren’t the only ones who made a splash! Thanks to all our local volunteers, CCAN had two great days of outreach promoting clean energy and enlisting the help of festival-goers to bring clean energy to Virginia! As the only organization educating the public on the impacts of climate change to the Chesapeake Bay region, it was a perfect opportunity to talk about how to move clean energy away from fossil fuels and toward renewable solar and wind power for the sake of our waterways and our coast.

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In Storm-Battered Virginia, CCAN Interns Work Towards a Greener Future

 

*Cross-posted from We Are Powershift.org*

Virginia students are at it once again! This summer, CCAN’s internship program has expanded to college campuses, and interns are working on the campaign to expose Dominion-Virginia Power all over the state. They are working on a variety of things, including gathering petitions, writing letters to the editor, and building networks of CCAN activities in their communities and on their campuses. The students are excited, because this is the first chance some have had to finally take action on saving the climate. Indeed, this excitement becomes especially relevant when you look at their results. In the last week of June alone, the on-campus team collected over 200 petition signatures asking Dominion to fulfill its clean energy commitments with real, Virginia-made renewable energy.

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Where the water is rising, good folks take action!

Residents of many Tidewater neighborhoods are dealing with higher water than ever before when storms hit and the full moon shines. It’s had recent media attention in the Post and the Pilot. CCAN is actively concentrating on offering these folks on the front lines of climate change some ways to address the rising sea by getting to the root of the problem: greenhouse gas pollution.

 

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Letter to the Editor: Coal an unstable foundation for Southwestern Virginia's economy

-Cross-posted at WeArePowershift.org

-Written by Dakota Thomas, a senior at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, in Wise County, Virginia

Link: http://www.highlandcavalier.com/2012/04/20/letter-to-the-editor-coal-an-unstable-foundation-for-swva-s-economy/

 

One can’t make it ten feet down the street of Wise without seeing a “Friends of Coal” sticker on a bumper or a sign espousing that “We keep the lights on.” And while coal is the driving force behind our economy today, people of the area’s minds are captivated by it as though the coal industry can do no wrong. But the coal industry is above all else a business. They make a profit by developing new, cheaper (read: less human dependent and more robotic) technology, or by securing legislative outcomes that favor them rather than good policy.

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