A Bipartisan Win for Wind Energy in Virginia

Virginia's insane General Assembly schedule just produced an absurdly heart-warming outcome: Two smart Republicans blocked a bill that would've put up an unnecessary new hurdle for wind energy.

When it comes to clean wind power, Virginia remains a black hole. Republican State Sen. Tom Garrett thinks the problem is that it's not being regulated heavily enough:

A proposal by Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Louisa, to protect birds and bats from wind turbines passed a committee vote Thursday and was referred to the full Senate.

Garrett said some advocates for wind-generated electricity had criticized the bill.

“I want to make this abundantly clear — and I’ll speak really slowly — this bill is in no way, shape or form designed to be an anti-wind bill,” he said. “We will, I hope, generate a greater and greater percentage of our power in the coming years via renewable energy resources whether it be solar, etc. That doesn’t mean we should do so irresponsibly.”

Wind energy is already heavily regulated by a range of officials and agencies charged with making sure its siting is as friendly to communities and wildlife as possible. Is it more likely Sen. Garrett was standing up for wildlife, or using anti-wind talking points pushed by polluter front groups to try to kill wind before it even gets off the ground?

Also, I have three reallys:

• Really, Virginia is now solely concerned with how energy impacts wildlife? Virginia has already lost 156,000 acres on 67 mountains to mountaintop removal coal mining, but now that people want to build wind turbines to compete with coal energy, suddenly protecting birds and bats is the top priority? Really?
• Really, Sen. Garrett's commitment to advancing our energy future? Really? The same Sen. Garrett who last year sponsored a bill to put onerous new regulations on energy-saving smart meters? Really?
• Really, Sen. Garrett is completely dedicated to the health & well being of Virginia's wildlife? Really? His only other wildlife-related bill is to allow the hunting of coyotes on Sunday.

And last year the General Assembly passed and Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Federal Court) signed a bill that Sen. Garrett introduced to spend taxpayer dollars promoting nuclear power. Remember this when Republicans try to tell you they're pro-business or anti-regulation. In reality, they're pro-their preferred industries.

The bill actually passed out of committee with the support of some of the most progressive Democrats in the Virginia Senate. I'm hoping they didn't fully understand it - that they just saw a bill that claimed to be good for wildlife and voted yes. Virginia's horribly dysfunctional General Assembly session is just 6 weeks long, requiring legislators to file, consider and vote on bills in less than a month. Again: Insane.

But fortunately it was saved on the Senate floor by two Republicans who know wind power means jobs in their district:

Sens. Frank Wagner and Tom Cosgrove, both Republicans from Virginia Beach, opposed the bill on the Senate floor.

Wagner said a wind-turbine park off the Virginia coast is awaiting a decision by federal agencies, bird-flight patterns already were considered, and adding new regulations would harm the project.

Here's hoping yesterday's vote is one of many that bring together clean energy jobs-loving Republicans with climate change-fighting Democrats.

Key Smokefree Advocate Making Political Comeback?

I hadn't heard smokefree advocate Brandon Bell's name since he was primaried out of office as part of a Republican purge of moderates in 2007. But today, Ben Tribbett reports he could be mounting a political comeback, considering a run for Virginia State Senate an independent.

Given the popularity of Virginia's smoking ban in bars & restaurants (59% of Americans now want smoking banned in all public places), the support for clean air & public health that made him so unpopular in today's extremist Republican Party could make him a rock-solid centrist choice.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters Releases 2011 General Assembly Scorecard

Some quick thoughts on the just-released preliminary 2011 Virginia League of Conservation Voters General Assembly Scorecard:

• Great to see the House delegations from Arlington, Falls Church & Fairfax scoring so well - Brink, Bulova, Ebbin, Englin, Filler-Corn, Hope, Keam, Kory, Scott, Surovell all got 100%
• Two GOP House members in Northern Virginia swing districts scored very low - Dave Albo at 45%, Barbara Comstock at 36%. Will be interesting to see how Albo challenger Jack Dobbyn and Comstock challenger Pam Danner use those scores.
• On the Senate side, retiring Arlington state senators Patsy Ticer & Mary Margaret Whipple both fell short of 100%. Among others, Northern Virginia's Janet Howell and Dave Marsden, progressive champ Donald McEachin and even Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw all scored 100%.
• I'm looking forward to seeing exactly which votes they used here - no one scoring lower than 33% raises The Green Eyebrow

Here's a link to the full 2011 VA LCV GA scorecard (PDF).

Virginia Senate Votes to Render "Renewable Energy" Meaningless

Addendum to this morning's rant.

The Virginia Senate has voted unanimously that coal-bed methane - created by the decomposition of organisms over the course of more than 300 million years - is now to be considered "renewable" energy.

Up next - a unanimous vote to consider bloodlettings as valid health care?

A Brief Rant On This Year's Virginia General Assembly Session

The thing that's bugged me about this year's Virginia General Assembly session isn't so much that, aside from a few notable bright spots, progressives are getting their asses kicked. I know Republicans control the House & governor's mansion and that Democrats hold only a slim margin in the Senate.

It's that Democrats are getting their asses kicked and they don't even seem to know it.

First an anti-livability bill passed the House with the support of five Democrats. Then the Senate unanimously passed a bill to continue shoveling millions in subsidies to coal companies that don't need them.

And today, we learn the House passed - again, unanimously - a bill to insulate factory farms from charges of animal abuse.

Doesn't the Democratic Party of Virginia have paid staffers and an allegedly full-time chair? It looks like they haven't put out a press release in two weeks. And if you click DPVA news, you get basically a blank page, which seems appropriate. What the hell are they doing with their days?

Oh, right. Important party business.

/rant

Big Govt. in Richmond Keeping Arlington Dirtier Than It Should Be

Anyone who's taken part in a stream or park cleanup with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment knows what a pervasive problem plastic bags are. They get tangled up in the branches of bushes & trees or among the rocks & sticks in a stream bed and can stay there for months or years until someone comes to remove them, one by one. If the bag washes out to the Potomac River, it ends up in the open ocean, degrading into smaller & smaller pieces of plastic that work their way into the food chain.

A small incentive to use reusable bags could go a long way towards keeping Arlington cleaner AND bring in some much-needed revenue. So what's the holdup? Under Virginia's antiquated Dillon Rule system, Arlington has to ask Virginia's General Assembly for permission first:

County Board members will again next year ask the General Assembly for permission to either ban single-use plastic bags at retail outlets, like supermarkets and convenience stores, or to be given the authority to tax them.

You'd think Democrats & Republicans would be able to come together on giving communities a greater degree of home rule -- what does a Republican from Botetourt County care if Arlington wants to get rid of plastic bags?

But this is less an issue of politics than it is of power. General Assembly members like being able to tell communities what they can & can't do. After all, why would they want to give up their ability to pass along unfunded mandates to communities? They can take credit for making something happen without having to take the blame of raising taxes to pay for it. Sounds like a win-win! For 140 politicians in Richmond, anyway.

More Denial from Virginia's Coal Country

Coal will be king forever! Mining jobs aren't vanishing! Global warming isn't happening!

In the face of economic, energy & climate crises, that's what passes for "leadership" from Virginia's coal country. From Glen Besa on ArticleXI:

On the same day that the Washington Post reported that a NASA study found this past decade was the warmest on record and that 2009 was the second warmest year, Virginia freshman Delegate James Morefield introduced legislation that would prohibit the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing any federal law restricting the emissions of carbon dioxide. Despite a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the authority of the U.S. EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act the bill goes on to say "carbon dioxide shall not be considered air pollution." [...]

The Virginia General Assembly that prides itself as the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere has in more recent times gained national notoriety for considering "droopy drawers" legislation requiring young men to pull up their pants. One of the sharper wits in the Assembly once quipped that they ought to have a standing committee just for the unconstitutional bills the legislators serve up for their constituents.

Imagine how many new jobs could be created if Virginia charted a new energy course? Imagine how much cleaner Virginia's air & water could be? Imagine how much more secure we'd be if we weren't paying unstable countries billions for their oil?

But instead of envisioning a new, clean energy future, Virginia politicians like James Morefield think they can cling to our dirty energy past. He'd have the same luck raising a hand to the sunset and yelling stop.

Monday: Conservation Lobby Day in Richmond

I've attended this Virginia Conservation Network event before and it's a lot of fun. Legislators & their staff are so often lobbied on divisive issues like taxes, guns & abortion, they're usually thrilled to get a chance to talk about conservation issues:

Make Conservation Count

When: January 18, 2010 (9 am - 2 pm)
Where: Centenary Methodist Church, Richmond VA (411 E. Grace Street)
Onsite registration is avaiable: $15.00 Registration
$15 adults, $10 students; includes lunch and materials.

MLK Day is your day to tell legislators what you expect from them this General Assembly session. Join Virginia Conservation Network, the Garden Club of Virginia, and countless volunteers as we take our conservation priorities to the Capitol on January 18, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

Whether you discuss energy efficiency, green building, natural resource protection, or other important conservation issues your legislators need to hear from you. Every year General Assembly members learn important information about how to do the right thing for the environment from citizens like you. Not to mention that by taking the time to discuss your position on specific legislation you hold them accountable for their vote.

If you go, please make sure to strongly emphasize clean energy & climate issues. Our legislators can't hear enough that Virginia is at risk of falling behind the push towards a clean energy future.

Miles Grant for Delegate in 90 Seconds

Via Lowell at Blue Virginia, here's my opening statement from last night's candidate forum in race for the Democratic nomination for House of Delegates here in Arlington's 47th district:

Have You Called Your Delegate on Smoking Ban Compromise?

The House of Delegates is scheduled to vote on the smoking ban compromise today. Call your delegate right now to urge them to support the bill!

Virginia Republicans Wage War on Words

The Bush administration conducted a war on science. Now Republicans in Virginia's House of Delegates are declaring open season on the English language.

How else can we interpret this post from the VA GOP Caucus blog, titled Is Moran trying to skirt alternative energy?

Former Delegate and current Gubernatorial candidate, Brian Moran is against coal energy. Why, you ask? Moran believes that a proposed coal plant in Surry County will cause global warming and harm the Chesapeake Bay. Now, it doesn't take a genius to realize that coal is a natural resource that has not been linked to any environmental harm. In fact, it is a clean burning alternative fuel source.

According to The Washington Post, Moran is using this to woo the environmentalists into his camp. However, this might cause Moran to lose a few votes in Southwest Virginia, where the coal industry is the major employer.

Coal is good, Brian, and it does not cause global warming like your good friend, Al Gore presumes.

Coal, which is barely above wood on the list of traditional, basic energy sources, is "alternative fuel"?

Carbon dioxide emissions that warms our planet, sulfur dioxide pollution that leads to acid rain, and emitted mercury that ends up in the blood of pregnant women are "no environmental harm"?

Coal mining, which employs only about six percent of workers in southwest Virginia, is "the major employer"?

Virginia's House Republicans have transcended Orwellian euphemisms. They've now simply started using words not for what they actually mean, but for what they want them to mean for political purposes.

Maybe we can all use this to improve our own lives. Don't like being fat? Just call yourself skinny. Don't like being poor? Call yourself rich!

Unfortunately, Republicans have been deluding themselves about so much for so long -- all is well in Iraq! free markets solve everything! heckuva job, Brownie! -- that it's not a long leap from ignoring truth to abusing the very meaning of words. And we're all poorer for it.

Or wait, are we rich? I can't keep it straight anymore.

Today: Maryland Dining Industry to Collapse Into Quivering Pile of Goo

Maryland bars and restaurants might as well not bother opening their doors this weekend. No one's coming out anyway.

A statewide smoking ban is taking effect today.

We've all seen how the smoking ban has turned DC into a ghost town on nights and weekends. Young professionals head straight to Metro after work, ride home in listless silence, and sit at home reading the collected works of Henry David Thoreau.

OK, so that's all a big lie. Like every other community in the country, DC's smoking ban has had absolutely no noticeable impact on the city's economy. The same can be said of Maryland's counties that had already banned smoking:

In Howard County - smoke-free for eight months - officials have not received any complaints of lost revenue, said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the county's health officer. Since the Howard ban took effect, the county's smoking hot line has received about three dozen calls, but no fines have been issued, Beilenson said.

"The biggest news is that there is no news," Beilenson said. "It came in with a bang and went out with a whimper."

While Gov. Tim Kaine is pushing a Virginia smoking ban hard this year and the Virginia Senate is likely to approve it, the House vote will once again be close. Considering a full 70% of Northern Virginians support a ban, the eleven Northern Virginian delegates who voted against the ban last year are especially in focus. The nine Republicans and two Democrats are:

• Dave Albo (R-Springfield)
• Chuck Caputo (D-Chantilly)
• Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg)
• Jeff Frederick (R-Woodbridge)
• William J. Howell (R-Fredericksburg)
• Tim Hugo (R-Centreville)
• Bob Hull (D-Falls Church)
• Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge)
• Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas)
• Joe T. May (R-Leesburg)
• Jackson Miller (R-Manassas)

You can contact your delegate directly, or if you don't know who your delegate is, use the General Assembly's search feature.

In the meantime, one clean air activist isn't counting on the General Assembly to do the right thing. He's going to court:

[James] Bogden is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against four local restaurants in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The suit seeks to require the restaurants to become smoke-free, arguing that they must accommodate Bogden's disability, coronary artery disease, and eliminate secondhand smoke so he can eat at them. Each of the restaurants allows smoking in designated areas.

While all the legal and legislative shenanigans are sorted out, Arlington residents have a great resource in the Arlington Civic Federation's list of smoke-free bars and restaurants (recently updated).

Why Lobby Day Reminded Me of the Maitre-D' in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

As much fun as I had at Monday's Lobby Day in Richmond and as impressed as I was to see so many people come out to ask their legislators to protect our environment for our children's future ... the event left me with some nagging concerns.

What bothered me was ... well, don't take my word for it. Let's play a little game and see if you come to the same conclusions I do.

Take a look at this picture:

Now answer these questions (yes, you can look back at the picture, I'm not keeping score):

1. How many non-white people do you see?
2. How many people under the age of 30 do you see?
3. Doesn't my giant head (back left) stick out like a mylar balloon?

I counted two non-white people and about a dozen people under 30. (Most depressing moment of the day - realizing I'm no longer part of that demographic.)

To quote the maitre-d' in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "I weep for the future."

Why so little diversity? Because minorities have seen the environmentalism as a movement of rich white suburbanites, and frankly, they've been right. If you're a poor city-dweller, you've probably never seen an eagle or a bear that wasn't in a zoo. What do you care about saving wildlife?

There are people and groups, like Van Jones, Dick Gregory, and the African American Environmentalist Association, trying to make the green movement more accessible to people of all backgrounds. But they can't do it alone. Traditional environmental organizations also need to diversify their issues, outreach, and publicity to bring more people into the movement.

There's one issue that's shifting the traditional paradigm over who has the most to lose -- climate change. The wealthy can afford to move away from rising seas. People in New Orleans didn't have a choice. The wealthy can afford to buy solar panels when carbon pricing like the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act makes fossil fuels more expensive. Renters who don't own a roof to put it on, never mind the money to buy a solar panel, won't have a choice (though the Climate Security Act does include $350 billion in transition assistance for low-income families).

It's also possible to draw in the other missing demographic - teenagers and young adults - through the same issue. Global warming has galvanized millions of young people, as the Step It Up rallies have shown.

Many traditional conservation organizations, especially local ones, still haven't caught on. At lobby day, the day's program didn't contain the words "global warming" or "climate." Instead, the top priority was "energy efficiency." While that was carefully coded to avoid scaring off climate change deniers, it also failed to capture the urgency of the issue and the passion of climate activists. Other priorities included preserving citizen environmental commissions and improving land use - important issues, yes, but also considered snoozers for the younger crowd.

Would modernizing the message turn off the well-respected lobbying groups who turn out now like the Virginia Garden Club? It doesn't have to. There's plenty of room between avoiding climate talk and destroying Hummers. Our challenge is to find that moderate ground.

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!