Climate Activists Blow the Whistle on "Dominion's Foul Trouble"

350.org's Bill McKibben and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's Mike Tidwell says when it comes to investing in clean & secure energy sources, Virginia fouls out:

The problem is the state's largest utility, Dominion Virginia Power. While states like Minnesota and Iowa get 10 to 20 percent of their electricity from wind power alone, creating thousands of jobs, Dominion generates zero electricity for Virginia ratepayers from wind or solar.

Instead, the utility invests overwhelmingly in dirty fossil fuels. Despite rising global warming concerns and smog-filled summer skies in Shenandoah National Park, Dominion plans to increase the renewable-energy slice of its cumulative energy pie by a microscopic 0.4 percent over the next 15 years. You read that right: 0.4 percent.

There's no sign things will change without some loud and much-deserved booing from the crowd. Which is why ratepayers from across the state have set Saturday as "The March to End Dominion's Power Madness."

The rally will be Saturday (March 24) at noon outside Dominion's Richmond headquarters, sign up at EndPowerMadness.com.

Protesters Arrested Outside Rep. Boucher's Office

Any minute now, the House Energy & Commerce Committee is expected to pass the American American Clean Energy & Security Act (HR 2454), also known as Waxman-Markey.

Earlier today, 15 protesters were arrested outside the office of Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), who's been working to weaken the bill. Grist has more on the protest:

“It’s really a statement about Boucher and the leadership he has assumed in gutting the bill and giving billions of dollars to polluters,” CCAN communications director Anne Havemann told Grist after the protest.

Boucher has been very open throughout the process about his talks with coal companies about the bill. “In the course of conducting other negotiations, I have had continued conversations with coal companies, both locally and nationally, including the chief executive officers of CONSOL ... which operates the largest mine in Southwest Virginia, and Michael Quillen, the chief executive officer of Alpha, which is our region’s largest coal producer,” Boucher said recently. “I have been in discussions with Mike Morris, the chief executive officer of AEP, and Tom Ferrell, who is chief executive officer of Dominion, which is Virginia’s largest electricity supplier.”

But Boucher hasn’t made himself quite so accessible to foes of coal, prompting the sit-in today. “He doesn’t meet with groups like us,” said Havemann. “We’ve tried for months.”

Wouldn't it be nice if Rep. Boucher could join the fight for a clean energy future and green jobs instead of protecting the dirty coal industry and its rapidly dwindling number of mining jobs?

Video: CCAN's 2009 Polar Bear Plunge

Virginia's "Confederate States of America"-Era Energy System

A must-read post over at Gristmill from Chesapeake Climate Action Network Executive Director Mike Tidwell:

[A]s the election approaches, here's the surprising question for every Northern Virginia voter: Why is this high-tech region, so dedicated to a "knowledge-based" economy, utterly dependent on an energy system as old as the Confederate States of America? Northern Virginia gets the lion's share of its electric power not from wind turbines or solar farms, but from coal. A shocking 1,180,400 tons of raw coal each year, nearly half of the area's total load. And it's not "clean coal" or "high-tech" coal. Just black, sooty, rip-it-from-the-ground-and-set-it-on-fire coal.

You'd think it would be different. You'd think Northern Virginia would be a leader in developing clean, sustainable energy at a level equal to its high-tech, high-education status.

You'd think. But two roadblocks stand in the way: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) and mega-utility Dominion Power.

Tidwell concludes with a call for investments in efficiency to cut power bills, saying Virginians "use more electricity every day than 75 percent of the rest of America. Surely we could do much, much better." But Virginia's current system allows Dominion to reap the most profits by selling us the most power.

Of course, while Kaine and Dominion are the biggest roadlocks, General Assembly Republicans have shown no interest in cutting consumers' power bills or easing our dependence on dirty, expensive energy sources. And many General Assembly Democrats are, at best, speed bumps, reluctant to challenge Richmond's status quo.

Cross-posted from RK

Video: Protesting Dominion in Wise County

Here's a video from the Rainforest Action Network on yesterday's protest against Dominion in Wise County, Virginia:



In addition, check out the schedule for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's Wise Energy Tour in Northern Virginia.

How Many Cops Does It Take To Monitor a Clean Energy Rally?

Here's a great video of a clean energy rally in Richmond that The Green Miles attended recently:



Digg users can vote this up here!

CCAN Delivers Mile-Long Petition for Clean Energy. Will Dominion Listen?

The Green Miles was in Richmond this afternoon for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's rally at Kanawha Park! About 200 climate activists gathered in the shadow of Dominion Virginia Power's headquarters to deliver CCAN's Mile-Long Petition for Clean Energy.

It was a great mix of people, from college students to business people to community activists from Wise County, site of Dominion's proposed $1.8 billion coal-fired power plant. As Richmond City Councilman Marty Jewell told the crowd, we can't possibly hope to confront global warming if we're investing billions of our money in a power plant that would spew 5.4 million tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere every single year.

Strangely, there was a strong police presence, about a dozen officers including four mounted patrols. Were they worried we were going to go all Seattle WTO on them?

Not a strong presence - local media. One TV photojournalist came straggling in after the petitions had already been delivered and started videotaping the band. Better late than never, I guess?

Check out more photos from the event!

Delivering CCAN's Mile-Long Petition for Clean Energy

The Green Miles is heading to Richmond today as the Chesapeake Climate Action Network delivers its Mile-Long Petition for Clean Energy to Dominion Virginia Power. I'll be wearing my Dominion: Global Warming Starts Here t-shirt. Hope to see you there!

The People of Virginia vs. Big Coal

Please take action right now to tell Gov. Kaine it's not too late to change the course of Virginia's future from climate destruction to clean energy.

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!

Best-Case Carbon Capture Viability Prediction: "Decades"

Within the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's report on an Air Pollution Control Board hearing in Alexandria comes this juicy little nugget:

The presentation from Dominion to the Board included a large section about CCS, carbon capture and sequestration, and how compatible the Wise County plant may be, if the technology one day becomes available at a cost-effective price, with CCS and how that should mean that Virginians should not worry about this plant’s estimated 5.4 million tons of annual CO2 emissions. When asked when we could expect the plant to start to turn CCS compatibility into CCS reality, the Dominion speaker said, “decades.”

When asked where the sequestered carbon would be stored if it could be captured, the Dominion speaker replied, “there is great potential for storage in abandoned mines in Dickenson County, Virginia.” Board member: “Potential, what does that mean?” Dominion: “we are in the process of doing studies with Virginia Tech that should determine the Dickenson county site suitability — we will know for sure in 2018.”

So, what Dominion is basically saying is: “in 10 years we will know whether we can adequately store sequestered carbon in Virginia, and maybe a few decades after that we will figure out whether we can actually sequester carbon…”

Look, we all want affordable carbon capture and storage technology. Some of the best minds at Virginia Tech are working on it right now. But even Dominion admits it's still "decades" away, while affordable solar, wind, and tidal power technology are available right now. While we wait for affordable CCS, the plant would emit 5.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year, the primary greenhouse gas causing global warming.

And let's not forget what else won't be captured. The plant would be allowed to release more than 12,500 tons of pollution each year, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, the latter a cause of serious breathing problems for people with respiratory illnesses. The facility would also spew more than 70 pounds of mercury a year into Virginia's air at a time when studies estimate that as many as eight percent of American women of childbearing age may have mercury at levels of concern.

Green-collar jobs are springing up all over the country in states with mandatory renewable portfolio standards, including bordering states like Maryland and North Carolina. But here in Virginia? We don't care what other states do, or what carbon-limiting legislation Congress will pass within the next year, or whether even China has a 20% RPS. We built this coal-fired Titanic, and we're going down with the ship!

Cross-posted from Raising Kaine

Live from Lobby Day

UPDATE: Full review of my day posted at Raising Kaine.

The Green Miles is live in Richmond today at the General Assembly building! A friend and I are lobbying in conjunction with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

If I could sum up the day so far in a word, it would be: Whew. Was up at 6am, on the road by 7am, getting briefed on lobbying by 9am, and in Sen. George Barker's office by 11am. We said a quick hello to Sen. Chap Peterson's legislative assistant and now we're waiting outside Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple's office. We're asking members to support Chap's Clean Energy Future Act.

There were about 150 people at this morning's lobby planning session, so we're bumping into lots of fellow conservationists as we wander the halls. The other most noticeable group? People wearing bright orange "GUNS Save Lives" stickers. Yes, "guns" gets the caps lock while "lives" is lower case. Definitely shows the priorities.

Monday: 2008's Best Chance to Help Virginia's Environment

Putting on my movie announcer voice -- if you only do one thing to help Virginia's environment this year ... make it this one:

Clean Energy Lobby Day

On Monday, January 21, 2008 join us for a environmental lobby day of massive proportions.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is teaming up with the Virginia Conservation Network and the Garden Club for one unified action to bring a message of clean energy and sustainability to the Virginia General Assembly. CCAN will be fighting for the "CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE ACT," which has been introduced by Senator Chap Petersen.

Clean Energy Lobby Day is a chance to:

+ Speak to your legislator face-to-face. Tell your legislator in person that clean energy is a priority to you.
+ Network with other activists
+ Learn more about the legislative process and how you can help throughout the legislative session.

Details

+ When: January 21st, Martin Luther King Day. Registration starts at 8:30 (alternative registration at 11:45 if you only have afternoon lobby visits)
+ Where: Centenary United Methodist Church , 411 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219
+ WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT? After your register, you will receive an email with details on how to set up your lobby visits and maximize your impact during session.

Face-to-face contact is far and away the most effective form of lobbying, better than five phone calls or a dozen emails. And lobbying as part of a group can exponentially magnify your power to move legislators. That's why this is will likely be the single most effective thing you can do this year to move the Virginia General Assembly.

The Green Miles will be getting up at the crack of dawn on Monday (still hungover from the Patriots' big win over the Chargers on Sunday) to make the drive down to Richmond. If you live in Arlington/ Alexandria/Falls Church and want to carpool down, email me!

Show Virginia Where Global Warming Starts

I know what you're thinking. "I want to show my concern about global warming, but I don't want to stop dressing like my idol Ashton Kutcher. Why can't I do both?"

Well rest easy. Now you can. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has opened an online store where you can buy a trucker's hat emblazoned with "Dominion: Global Warming Starts Here."

OK, so you might actually prefer the t-shirt printed on 100% organically-grown cotton. Or the bumper sticker, ready-made for slapping on your Prius. Or the mug, which will advertise that you and your coffee are hotter than they should be.

It's a purchase you can feel good about because not only will you get high-quality merchandise, but a portion of all sales will go to benefit CCAN and its fight to cut our region's greenhouse gas emissions.

Can I have a private conversation with The Green Girlfriend for a minute here? Just skip down to the next paragraph. OK? Thanks. Here goes: Yes, I'm buying a trucker's hat. No, I won't wear it around you. Yes, I promise never to be photographed wearing it. Or tell anyone you're my girlfriend while I'm wearing it. Or admit we ever met while I'm wearing it.

Whether you decide to help usher in the new trend of climate fashion or not, please take action now to tell your legislator to support the Virginia Clean Energy Future Act. The legislation, sponsored by State Sen. Chap Peterson, would create incentives for in-state renewable energy and manufacturing, create a Green Jobs training program, and set a statewide standard of 20% renewable energy and 10% improvement in efficiency!

Video: CCAN's "Keep Winter Cold" Polar Bear Plunge

Action Needed: Help Stop the Wise County Coal Power Plant!

The Blacksburg Town Council last night passed a resolution opposing the proposed coal-fired power plant Dominion Virginia Power wants to build in Wise County. Councils in Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Arlington are expected to vote on similar resolutions in the next few days.

But time is running out for you to have your say in the matter. The Virginia State Corporation Commission's (SCC) public comment period expires tomorrow night (Dec. 14) on both the Wise County power plant proposal and Dominion's request to build a huge new transmission line through Virginia. Tell the SCC right now to say no to both!

You can comment on the Wise County plant through the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's website. CCAN provides talking points for you, however you're also welcome to lift from my letter to the SCC:

I'm writing today to comment on case number PUE-2007-00066. I strongly urge you to deny Dominion Virginia Power's request to build a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County on both economic and environmental grounds.

As a Dominion ratepayer, I don't want them investing $1.6 billion in coal at a time when Congress is considering carbon constraint legislation, including one bill sponsored by our very own Sen. John Warner, that would make it much more expensive to burn fossil fuels. If we're locked into coal, my bill is going to go up.

In addition, Virginia is last in the nation in spending on efficiency and conservation. If we were spending wisely, we'd be investing in improving our usage, not expanding our capacity. And when we do need new facilities, we must look to clean, renewable energy.

The environmental impacts of the proposed plant are nothing short of staggering. At a time when scientists say we need to cut global carbon dioxide emissions 80% by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, this plant would annually spew 5.4 million tons of new carbon dioxide emissions into the air. While Dominion is holding out hope for a future technological breakthrough on capturing and storing carbon, even then the cost of doing so may exceed $100 million each year.

The list of environmental impacts goes on and on. The plant would also emit more than 12,500 annually of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, the latter a cause of serious breathing problems for people with respiratory illnesses. The forest manager for North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest says the plant's 3,300 tons per year in sulfur dioxide emissions would violate the clean air act, which gives special protections to the adjacent 12,000-acre Linville Gorge Wilderness.

The proposed Wise County coal-fired power plant would be an economic and environmental disaster for the state of Virginia. I urge you to do everything in your power to block it.

As for the transmission line, you can submit comment quickly and easily through Virginia's Commitment. Please take the time right now to act on these critical issues!

Tell Virginia Regulators: No New Coal!

Just got this from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network:

By now you've heard that Dominion Virginia Power is planning to build a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Va. The Richmond Times Dispatch projects that this plant will be "one of the biggest air polluters in Virginia." It will cost $1.6 billion, and will emit more than 5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually (the equivalent of adding 200 million cars to the road!). And best of all, Virginia ratepayers will foot the entire bill.

It is absolutely critical that the State Corporation Committee (SCC) hears from you. Let them know that Virginians DO NOT WANT NEW COAL PLANTS! Click here to submit written comments to the SCC!

There are plenty of reasons to dislike this power plant plan even if you're not an environmentalist. Virginia is last in the nation in spending on energy efficiency and conservation, so even minimal efforts to save energy will result in big savings. Why wouldn't we invest in conservation before blowing $1.6 billion on a new plant?

There's also the question of the future price of coal power. With legislation increasing the price of carbon emissions coming down the pike, other states are trying to reduce their reliance on coal now to avoid feeling the pinch from high coal power prices down the road. Virginia, on the other hand, is moving us towards more reliance on coal.

In fact, Google is gambling that it can make renewables cheaper than coal even without carbon pricing.

So to recap, building a new coal-fired power plant will cost us a lot now, cost us a lot later, and hurt our environment. Why is this even a close call? Please take a few minutes to contact the SCC right now!

Alexandria Climate Action Rally: Eyeing the Rising Tide

I spent a recent Saturday morning a climate action rally at Alexandria's Waterfront Park. It was great to see a strong showing from Alexandria's elected officials, including (left to right) Councilman Rob Krupicka, Councilman Paul Smedberg, Vice Mayor Del Pepper, and Del. Adam Ebbin. The National Environmental Trust organized the event to take place on the morning the IPCC released its latest report on global warming:

Global warming is destroying species, raising sea levels and threatening millions of poor people, the United Nations' top scientific panel will say today in a report that U.N. officials hope will help mobilize the world into taking tougher actions on climate change.

The report argues that only firm action, including putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions, will avoid more catastrophic events. Those actions will take a small part of the world's economic growth but will be substantially less than the costs of doing nothing, the report will say.

Your humble blogger was asked to open the event. I detailed both the threats to the very waterfront we were standing on and the vast, so far untapped possibilities that could slash our carbon emissions.

Relative sea levels have risen a foot in the Chesapeake Bay over the last century, a combination of higher water and subsidence, the same phenomenon that left Lousiana so vulnerable to Katrina. Already, the Bay has lost 13 islands to the rising tide, and according to the National Wildlife Federation, relative sea levels are expected to rise another 22 inches over the next 93 years, as I'm demonstrating here. Oh, this would also be a good time to mention the NET had us wear life preservers to emphasize the threat of rising water.

But there's reason to believe we can curb the worst effects of global warming by dramatically reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. How? A combination of renewable energy, higher efficiency, and better technology. And a surprise boost has come from Hillary Clinton's strong words on renewable energy on the presidential campaign trail:

"We are now more dependent on foreign oil than we were on 9/11," Clinton said. "We are basically at the mercy of all these oil-producing regimes ... that all too often use that money against us.

"We have all this empty federal land in Nevada. It should be packed with wind turbines and solar panels," she said.

There's no silver bullet to solve the climate change problem, but there is, as we say in the NWF's hunter and angler outreach, silver buckshot - a series of solutions that can add up to get us to cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050, the minimum scientists say is needed to curb the worst effects of global warming. It was fantastic to see the Democratic Party's presidential frontrunner recognize that we've left such obvious low-hanging fruit unpicked.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network's Paul Burman (seen at right in the orange vest) closed the event detailing CCAN's efforts to block Dominion Virginia Power's planned coal-fired power plant in Wise County. If you believe some sort of levy on carbon emissions is coming, as virtually everyone does, then why would you invest $1.6 billion ratepayer dollars in a form of energy that's currently low-cost but is certain to get much more expensive in the future? Regardless of your feelings about the environment, it makes no economic sense.

You can check out a clip of my talk on YouTube and a full photo gallery of the event over on Flickr!

Cross-posted from Raising Kaine

Trees of Charlottesville, Prepare to be Hugged

The Green Miles got up at 5:15 in the stupid morning today to drive all the way to stupid Charlottesville for the stupid 2007 Virginia Climate Action Conference.

OK, so that's the tired talking. Actually, it's really cool to see so many dedicated environmentalists in one place. Who knew that in a state addicted to coal there are 150 people willing to get to the University of Virginia campus at 8:30am on a Saturday to talk about climate action?

I'm live blogging the event over at RaisingKaine.com. Check it out!

Wednesday 6/13: Cooling the Commonwealth

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is organizing a forum on global warming next week. Think there's any chance of Virginia committing to reducing carbon emissions 2% every year?

Cooling the Commonwealth
Making Virginia a Leader in Global Warming Solutions

Date: 6/13/2007
Time: 6:30 PM - 9:00pm
Location: George Mason University Fairfax Campus
Johnson Center Cinema
Fairfax, VA

Join professors, elected officials, business people, leading environmentalists, activists and citizens like you as we discuss the problem of and solutions to global warming in Virginia. The Commonwealth needs to become part of the global warming solution by embracing innovation, conservation and alternatives to fossil fuels. Come enjoy our diverse line-up of speakers and panel discussion with questions from the audience.

Invited speakers include:
Mike Tidwell - Founder and director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Writer/Journalist/Film maker
Dr. Jagadish Shukla - Professor and Chair, GMU Climate Dynamics and IPCC member
Al Weed - Chairman, Public Policy Virginia and Co-Founder Virginia Wineries Association
Gerry Connolly - Chairman, Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County Virginia

Sponsored by:

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN)
The Sierra Club
Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment
Email RSVP to Paul Burman