Big Wins in Alexandria City Council for Smart Growth, Sierra Club

Smart growth was a big issue in Tuesday's Alexandria City Council race - and candidates who supported transit-oriented development won big:

Democrats in the city had split into factions in recent weeks leading up to the primary, with some opponents of the waterfront redevelopment plan and other development proposals throwing support behind a swath of new blood for the city council. But those forces of opposition weren't enough to carry the day.

"I had a positive message about how to deal with development pressures, and I think people appreciated that," [Tim] Lovain said.

"This anti-development attitude, I don't think was really that loud and strong," said Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille after the votes were tallied. "But yet, I think people are pleased with direction of the city simply because our quality of life, and we are doing all the right things and will continue to do all the right things."

Mount Vernon Sierra Club-endorsed Tim Lovain, Del Pepper, Paul Smedberg and Justin Wilson all won (and a fifth candidate, Sean Holihan, fell just short as he dealt with an unrelated problem).

Regulating Dirty Coal Will Kill Human-Killing Jobs

There's been a wave of closures recently at the oldest, dirtiest, most-polluting coal-fired power plants, including GenOn's Potomac River Generating Station in Alexandria and Dominion's Chesapeake Energy Center and Yorktown Power Plant.

At Grist.org, David Roberts says we should be celebrating the death of these power plants that we've been subsidizing at the cost of asthma attacks and heart failure:

The key thing to remember is that these are some of the most heavily subsidized jobs in the U.S. economy. They are subsidized at a level that makes anything Obama did with the stimulus bill look like pocket change.

Why is that so? Well, it's widely known by now, at least in economist circles, that the coal power industry grossly underpays for the damages it does. That's the unanimous conclusion of a flurry of new research that's been done on the question: see, e.g., the National Research Council (NRC), Harvard Medical School's Paul Epstein, or last week's bombshell from Yale's William Nordhaus and colleagues, which found that coal-fired power plants do 21 cents of unpaid damages for every single kilowatt hour of power they produce. Economists call these costs "externalities," but really they amount to subsidies -- the public is paying these costs on the coal companies' behalf. [...]

And these subsidies are not investments that pay back over time, like loans to innovative renewable energy firms. These subsidies come in the form of babies with birth defects, asthmatic kids, and adults with respiratory and heart ailments. These subsidies pay negative returns. They subtract value. All in the name of propping up a dying industry.

The Alexandria plant alone is estimated to kill 37 people & sicken hundreds of others every single year.

But the coal industry keeps looking for someone to blame, and it's not just on the human costs of its pollution. As Coal Tattoo's Ken Ward Jr. reports, coal companies are desperately trying to pin falling Appalachian production on regulations & conservationists. That's instead of accepting the simple fact that the low-hanging fruit of Appalachian coal has long since been picked and what little is left is getting more & more expensive to blast out. For today's coal industry, reality is hard to face.

Historic News: Alexandria Coal-Fired Power Plant to Close

This just in from Alexandria:

The City of Alexandria and GenOn Energy have reached an agreement to permanently close the company’s Potomac River Generating Station, which began operating in 1949. To facilitate the retirement of the plant, the City of Alexandria will release approximately $32 million currently held in escrow, which was set aside to pay for the additional environmental controls at the station as a result of a 2008 agreement between the City and GenOn.

“Today announcement is a path forward for both Alexandria and the power company that works for everybody, and truly reflects the interest of both parties,” said Alexandria’s Mayor William D. Euille. “Both the Alexandria City Council and community have worked extremely hard toward this goal, and we are very proud of the final result. This news strengthens Alexandria’s future and opens the door to an enhanced quality of life for our residents.”

Under the terms of the agreement, GenOn has agreed to retire the generating station by October 1, 2012, or, if the plant is needed beyond that date for reliability purposes, as soon as it is no longer needed.

The news comes in the wake of a report that the polluting plant isn't necessary to meet the area's energy needs.

Considering how long Alexandria public health and environmental advocates have been fighting to close this dirty coal-fired power plant, this is a historic victory. Congratulations to Rep. Jim Moran, Mayor Euille, the Alexandria City Council, and all the activists who've stuck with this fight!

UPDATE: From Rep. Moran's statement reacting to the closing: "Today's action maintains our commitment to a better, cleaner environment for our region's next generation. The extinction of this dinosaur of a facility is heartily welcomed."

UPDATE #2: Just found the numbers from a 2010 study by Abt Associates estimating the annual toll of the Potomac River Generating Station's pollution:

Deaths: 37
Heart attacks: 60
Asthma attacks: 610
Hospital admissions: 28
Chronic bronchitis: 23
Asthma ER visits: 30

Shocking News: I Agree With Richmond Times-Dispatch On BRAC

Huge traffic changes are coming to Alexandria thanks to the Defense Department's Base Realignment & Closure Commission (BRAC), but little has been done to figure out how 6,400 federal employees will get to & from Alexandria’s Mark Center.

The conservative Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial board rightly heaps a share of the BRAC blame on the slouched shoulders of Gov. Bob McDonnnell (R-VA) and his fellow Republicans who control a majority of Virginia's state government:

Virginia has known for years that base consolidation would bring more workers here. But it has failed to get ready, because state leaders — almost exclusively Republicans — have failed to take the necessary step: raising the gasoline tax, whose value has been greatly eroded by inflation.

To be sure: Contrary to the impression given by certain Democrats, raising the gasoline tax is not the only step the state should take to address road woes. Land-use planning needs an overhaul (Gov. Tim Kaine started work on that). Zoning rules need relaxing, and telecommuting, flextime and similar measures need encouraging.

Metro is adding a bus line, but that project is being supported by the Defense Department & City of Alexandria, not the state. And considering Gov. McDonnell waffled as his Congressional Republican friends like Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) tried to slash Metro's budget, McDonnell may actually be doing less than nothing.

Falls Church Tops in Virginia Recycling Rates

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued its annual recycling report (PDF). Virginia had a 38.6% recycling rate statewide in calendar year 2009, just barely higher than the year before. But as the Roanoke Times points out, it marked a milestone as every jurisdiction in Virginia met its minimum "required" goal of 15% (considering the DEQ has never fined a locality for failing to meet the minimum, it's not much of a requirement).

Elsewhere locally, Fairfax City also ranked highly with a 49.9% recycling rate. Arlington came in at 40%, barely topping the state average. The Virginia General Assembly, aligning itself with waste haulers, has repeatedly blocked Arlington's efforts to toughen its recycling programs. Fairfax County was just behind with 39.4%, while Alexandria badly trails the state average at just 28.6%.

And if all that wasn't enough to get you excited about recycling, check out this Environmental Protection Agency video:

Tonight: Town Hall Meeting on Coal and Clean Energy

Just as Dominion starts some new shenanigans trying to keep Virginia hooked on coal, climate activists will gather in Alexandria tonight to talk about moving Virginia forward:

Join Congressman Jim Moran and Alexandria Vice Mayor Del Pepper on Tuesday, February 5th for a town hall meeting to discuss the antiquated use of coal in Virginia and our clean energy future. The event will focus on the connection between two coal-fired power plants in Virginia — the Mirant Plant in Alexandria and the proposed Dominion power plant in Wise County — and our connection to mountaintop removal coal mining.

There is a better way to provide Virginians with energy that doesn’t pollute our air and water, that doesn’t destroy our mountains, and that doesn’t contribute to global warming. Come to the town hall meeting to hear about the consequences of Virginia’s reliance on coal, our clean energy future, and how you can be part of the solution.

Hear experts, politicians and activists talk about Virginia coal and clean energy. The talk is to be directly followed by a question and answer session to let you speak your mind about coal, global warming, and renewable energy.

DATE: Tues., Feb. 5th, 7pm-9pm (tabling & schmoozing from 6:30pm-7pm)

LOCATION: Lyles Crouch Elementary School, 530 South Saint Asaph Street, Alexandria, VA

COST: Free!

Speakers Include:
* Alexandria Vice Mayor Del Pepper
* Rep. Jim Moran, 8th District of Virginia
* Kathy Selvage, Vice President, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
* Ana Prados, Sierra Club Mt. Vernon Group, Air Quality Issues Chair
* Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, Pastor, Parish Life Rock Spring

Event Sponsors:
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, The Sierra Club, NOTICe, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, GWIPL, VIPL, PDA, Green Sanctuary Task Force of Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Environmental Impact Club

I have to get to the CRM Monthly Meetup in Shirlington tonight, but I'll be at this Town Hall Meeting for the schmoozing early on. Look for me in this t-shirt. Hope to see you there!

Saturday in Alexandria: Stop Global Warming & Protect Our Threatened Coastline

I'll be speaking at this event on Saturday in Alexandria organized by the National Environmental Trust:

Stop Global Warming & Protect Our Threatened Coastline
Location: Waterfront Park, 1A Prince Street, Alexandria, VA
When: Saturday November 17, 2007
Time: 11AM

In response to the newest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, join area youth, and environmentalists on Alexandria's threatened coastline to voice concern that sea level rise, due to global warming, will greatly effect the Chesapeake Bay region's surrounding communities. Attendees will be addressed by community leaders including Alexandria's Vice Mayor Redella S. "Del" Pepper and Adam Ebbin, Virginia State Delegate 49th District.

The Chesapeake Bay region (including the Potomac) has one of the most vulnerable coastlines to sea level rise. According to the National Wildlife Federation, due to land subsidence relative sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay region could reach 17 to 28 inches above 1990 levels by 2095. An increase significantly greater than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change average projected sea-level rise.

On Saturday we will gather at this beautiful, threatened coastal park to thank our elected officials who have taken action and to ask all our elected officials to ensure their actions are as strong as the science says is necessary to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Speakers:
Redella S. "Del" Pepper, Vice Mayor of Alexandria
Adam Ebbin, Virginia State Delegate 49th District
Miles Grant, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment
Evan Glazer, Principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Paul Burman, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Hope to see you there!

Alexandria Bans Smoking, Will Arlington Follow Suit?

From the Washington Post:

After a heated and raucous public meeting, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to use its zoning powers to ban smoking in restaurants, an unusual tactic opponents said would lead to costly lawsuits.

Many states and cities, including Maryland and the District, have banned smoking in public places, but the Virginia legislature severely limits local authority in such issues. Alexandria has opted to use the power it does have -- in this case, control over land-use regulation -- to force restaurant owners to go smoke-free or lose their operating permits. It is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to take such action.

Should the Arlington County Board take a similar approach to ban smoking here in Arlington? After all, President Bush's own surgeon general has declared, "The debate is over. [Secondhand smoke] causes disease and kills people."

While many Arlington restaurants have gone smoke-free -- the Arlington Civic Federation maintains a great list -- few popular bars are smoke-free. Arlington's most popular happy hour spots -- Rock Bottom, Carpool, Whitlow's, Front Page, Dr. Dremo's, Mister Days -- all allow smoking.

Should Arlington use its zoning powers to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, even at the risk of a lawsuit?