This morning, CCAN staff, volunteers and concerned Americans nationwide staged series of beach-themed rallies in around fifty cities across the country. Held in partnership with 1Sky, the festive gathering sought to urge our Senators to enact climate legislation that ensures a real cap on CO2, dictated by the EPA, as well as creating strong provisions for domestic renewable and clean energy development here at home.

We arrived in force at Senator Jim Webb’s office (VA) at around noon, sporting swim trunks, floral leis, and signs reading, “Don’t send clean energy out with the tide!” and “Clean energy jobs NOW!” as Richmonders downtown looked on during the lunchtime break. While volunteers passed the time, playing a makeshift game of beach volleyball, spirits were high and good times were certainly had. Glen, the inflatable dolphin, also made an appearance.

This is not to say, however, that today’s participants were ignorant of the severe implications of a world climate crisis. Despite the relaxed attire and positive attitudes, all involved exuded deep concern and real frustration at the marginal progress that Congress has made so far in taking a strong approach to fixing the potentially fatal issue of global climate change.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA), in its current form, sucks. We have charged the United States Senate with rectifying the mistakes of its counterpart, the House of Representatives, in transforming this confusing and weak legislation into something that us as climate activists may be proud of. A weak renewable energy standard, coupled with an abysmal form of cap-and-trade that allows for the largest polluters to incur the smallest costs, has shown that politics as usual continues to dilute the debate over how we must transition as a nation into a cleaner, more efficient economy.

Virginia, as always, finds itself in an election year, spearheaded by two candidates whose environmental stances still leave a lot to be desired. Without significant action by our representatives in Washington, the Commonwealth will see little incentive to transform the way that we currently generate and consume our energy in Virginia. If the Senate falters on this legislation, our hopes for rapid progress will become quickly diminished.

We have not yet a reason, however, to lose hope. Senator Webb has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state of ACESA, and as its Senatorial counterpart, ACELA, progresses through its infancy in committee, we can hope that he and Senator Warner will encourage significant improvements, including restoring the full oversight of the EPA in regulating carbon emissions, increasing requirements for the renewable portfolio standard, and placing a real cap on dirty fossil fuel and coal industries, who hold too great a sway in national and Virginia politics.

Webb, a veteran and military buff, understands the real dangers to national security posed by climate change, with sea-level rise playing a major role in Virginia’s potential future. With the world’s largest naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, the threat of rising tides will play a major role in Mr. Webb’s future decisions regarding climate change and its impacts.

So, the beach theme found itself to be eerily appropriate. There may be, after all, a day when any average Richmond citizen will need only to walk a few short blocks before breaking out the surfboard. Let’s hope not.

Mordor, where Coal is King.

cross-posted from the CCAN Blog

Virginians are no stranger to coal. A state that currently generates 42% of its electricity from the old-school fossil fuel, we are used to living in a political culture that accepts – and endorses – the adherence to a fuel as old as the dinosaurs, and equally archaic. Major players in Richmond, including Dominion Resources, Massey Energy and others, have tirelessly worked to secure a future for the stuff in the face of massive grassroots resistance, emergent federal climate legislation (mutilated by coal-friendly Congressman Boucher), and a nationwide call to restore our floundering economy by establishing the Commonwealth and the US as a leader in green technology. Fighting an uphill battle, the Carbon Legion has been forced to fight increasingly hard against the renewable technology industry, moves toward higher levels of efficiency, and a people who want America to shake its dependence on dirty energy.

It makes sense, then, that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) has found itself compelled to resort to a new set of tactics in securing a future for coal within Virginia.

Prior to Congress’ vote on H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, Congressman Tom Perriello of Charlottesville, a democrat, received separate letters from the local NAACP and Creciendo Juntos, a Hispanic community group. Both letters urged Mr. Perriello to vote “no” on the upcoming bill, giving the impression that a large portion of his district’s minority population were against the legislation. Against the alleged will of his own constituency, Perriello went ahead and voted for the bill, which passed by a razor-thin margin in the House. In spite of the wishes of his own electorate, the congressman cast his vote for a cleaner energy future.

This past week has come to tell a strikingly different story, one of forgery, lies and deception, all orchestrated by the ACCCE and its cohorts. Lobbying group Bonner & Associates, who are currently under contract with the ACCCE, fabricated the two letters, each representative of the topmost minority groups in the Untied States. In short, the coal industry has chosen to misrepresent the American people by constructing deliberate and bold-faced lies that work to take advantage of an underrepresented population, our elected officials, and the very democracy on which this nation is built. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has initiated a formal investigation into the matter, one that carries severe implications for the lobbying firm and its stranglehold on progressing America’s energy future.

The nerve of some people…

Like Lucifer, King coal is constantly at work in the world. Our most recent example comes from Dendron Virginia, where the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative has proposed what would be the largest coal-fired power plant in the entire Commonwealth. In early July, Dendron’s town council voted to retain its own planning commission in order to better guard control over its future as a town. This week, that same council voted to reconsider its decision, certainly not without the influence of heavy-handed ODEC and the backing of a massive fossil fuel regime.

In October, the Dendron town council will once again bring the issue to a vote. As in film, sequels are rarely as good as the first edition. Things could take a turn for the worse. We sleep better knowing that Surryers and Dendronites don’t take lightly to outside control. No reason to give up, yet.

With every step forward, it seems, we must endure a few setbacks. I have said it before; playing fair often involves working against those who do not. Those who cheat, subvert, and deceive are given an unjust upper hand. This is as true in the halls of Congress as in the town of Dendron. The ACCCE chose forgery as its weapon of choice. ODEC has opted for intimidation, profiling, and fear mongering to better its position in Southeast Virginia. Despite the occasional hold-up, the case against the industry has continued to swell in Virginia and across the country. Acts such as these, while a potential benefit in the short term, do little to secure coal’s future in a larger scope.

To the ACCCE, you’re embarrassing yourself, and you undermine the very people that you claim to serve. Go legit or go home.

Coal is in the blood of the people of Wise County, Virginia. With a population of around 41,000, the coal industry has provided steady income for an otherwise remote part of Appalachia. Situated in the southwest corner of the Commonwealth, the county boasts several small, tight-knit communities, a functional public school system, two colleges, and a thriving sense of mountainous spirit that hallmarks Appalachian living.

It is not far fetched to argue that the socioeconomic landscape of Wise County would be drastically different without the coal industry’s presence there. The bituminous rock has served as the stovepipe economic model of Southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia since the industrial revolution, and has brought intense development and employment to the region. Nowhere else on earth has coal played such a crucial role in the evolution of a region, and nowhere else do people’s very blood ooze the stuff. It is a cultural icon.

But coal is destroying Southwest Virginia, the Appalachian Mountains, and threatening the planet itself. At the epicenter of this environmental catastrophe lies Wise, a county that is crumbling under the heavy hand of King Coal. While Dominion works to construct a brand-new power plant in the region, fueled by dirty, antiquated coal, mining corporations have worked to systemically level the region through the practice of mountaintop removal mining.

The result is not a pretty one. Several mountains have already been leveled in Virginia, some of which are in Wise, while millions of tons of rock, dirt, and toxic material are shoved into neighboring valleys, preventing streams from flowing and contaminating valuable, fresh water. Sludge ponds, a result of the extremely water-intense washing process, contain billions of gallons of useless, dangerous slurry, filled with heavy metals such as nickel, cadmium, lead, and arsenic. The fragile walls that hold back these industrial cesspools are typically made of fill material, and are prone to failure (as they have several times in recent decades). Mountaintop removal represents a triple threat to Appalachia, as mountains are destroyed, streams are interred beneath tons of rock and filth, and toxic contamination threatens the health of every community in the region.
Wise County has become a battlefield for the fight against mountaintop removal, and even as federal regulators crack down on the practice, the coal industry continues to push for continued, and expanded MTR operations in Wise.

Ison Rock Ridge extends into the town of Appalachia and is dotted with several communities on either side of the elongated mountain. Most recently, big coal has tapped Ison Rock as the next notch on its long line of broken mountains that now significantly mar the landscape of Southwest Virginia. Nearby communities have been hesitant, at best, to embrace the new project, as the mountain looms over several towns and villages, and threatens to create a shower of rock and dust, a byproduct of the blasting process used to get at the coal, that is unwelcome by any standard. Already, large stones and increased logging activity have spurred a public outcry, so much that the developer has been forced to revise the permit several times and the coal-friendly government has worked to suppress any public concern over the project.

“This permit application is currently in its 9th revision- and this round the permit has changed dramatically. Federal and State law require that public comment be accepted for all permits, but the state agency in charge has denied our request to have a public hearing on this latest revision that creates an essentially new mine plan.” – Samsva.org

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) has expended significant energy in trying to ensure that Ison Rock’s permitting process is forbidden from proceeding in this unethical fashion. The organization has asked individuals to call Governor Kaine and implore him to put a stop to the destructive practice of strip mining our mountains. Folks who have lived on the slopes of Ison Rock for years are now threatened by the dangers of massive blasting nearby, unseating thousands of tons of rock, a practice that no one should live near.

Mountaintop removal mining threatens a way of life that, while formed around coal, has stretched far beyond the industry’s exploitation of a most finite of resources. Appalachia represents a way of thinking – slow, deliberate, and respectful – an existence that does not mesh with the continued obliteration of the region.

If this permit is allowed to move forward, more deaths will come at the hands of the coal industry and MTR.

The terrible truth, it seems, is that those in charge do not care.

courtesy of Google.com; www.ilovemountains.org

Mark Warner’s VA Summit on Energy Opportunities was held on Friday, July 10 at Hampton University. HU’s president, Dr. William Harvey, started off the summit by talking about how green and sustainable HU is becoming. In fact, one of the first things I noticed once we stepped onto the campus was that the police there drive Toyota Priuses. Maybe one reason I found this so intriguing is that the police on my college campus drive Ford Explorers. My favorite part, however, was how he completely avoided the word “coal”. He would say how they were replacing their existing steam plant system with geothermal because the steam was loaded with tons of greenhouse pollutants, yet never related coal to causing the pollutants. Of course, with all of this talk about becoming green, I found it ironic that there were no recycling bins, considering it’s a pretty simple step to take to become more sustainable. They had plastic plates and utensils, but nothing but a trashcan to put them in. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why HU scored a D+ on their environmental report card last year. Though that’s not to say that I don’t applaud their efforts; it always makes me happy when someone is trying to become more sustainable.

The first out of 3 panels was about weatherization. The panelists included people from the Department of Energy, the VA Department of Housing, the SE Tidewater Opportunity Project, and Rebuilding Together. The main source of discussion was the $37 million, out of $94 million, that was just given to Virginia’s Weatherization Assistance Program through the Recovery Act. Money given to the program will increase twofold, which allows for a 54% increase in the number of houses that can apply for weatherization. All panelists mentioned how their department or organization will be able to assist those who qualify and how this will help not only the people but also the environment.

We missed the second panel on stimulus funds for state and local governments because we were presenting our Put a Cap on It Poster to Senator Mark Warner. The three of us from the Richmond CCAN team, along with around 20 others from Sierra Club, VA League of Conservation Voters, and other environmental organizations met with him. The main topic was the Climate Bill that will soon be voted on in the senate. Warner seemed interested in what we had to say; he even offered us a few suggestions that could help us get his and Senator Webb’s approval on strengthening and passing the Climate Bill. Warner claimed that environmental issues were of a priority to him and something that needs to be taken care of. He seemed impressed with our Put a Cap on It poster, which included over a thousand pictures of VA residents who want a science-based cap on carbon emissions (he seemed even more pleased when he learned it was his to keep). Overall, he spent a good 10 minutes speaking with us, and it felt like he really cared about what we had to say.

The final panel was on the smart grid. This diverse group of panelist included people from the Department of Energy, Old Dominion Electric Cooperatives, Dominion’s Alternative Energy Solutions, Aker Wade, and the Navy Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic. The Recovery Act allotted $4.5 billion for the smart grid, and each panelist talked about how their organization is planning on spending the portion of the money that was granted to them. There were good ideas being shared, such as making industrial fast charging batteries for electric cars and storing and transporting energy created from renewables. I was surprised and impressed that even the lady from Dominion had good plans on how to use the money. She talked about the smart grid in Charlottesville, and Dominion’s plan on making it state-wide in the next 4 years; however, the man from ODEC did not share any ideas. He spent his time complaining how ODEC did not have the time to fill out the application for the stimulus money, so they hardly have any money at all and are unable to really do anything. I found this interesting since they want to build another coal-fired power plant. I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure you need money for that.

On the whole, the summit was a great way to learn about what sustainable ideas and practices are going on at the federal, state, and local levels across the state. It also gave us the chance to tell Warner face-to-face what we thought of the Climate Bill and what more needs to be done.

Dendron, Virginia, has more than its share of challenges. The community of around 300, located in the southern corner of Surry County, struggles with an outdated municipal water system, crumbling sidewalks and no major businesses within the town.

Prior to the Great Depression, Dendron had been a company town of more than 3,000, fueled by the lumber industry’s presence there. Private business thrived in a town that revolved around the processing and export of timber across the country. Despite its character as an industrial one-trick-pony, the town of Dendron had something to stand for, and an industry to be proud of.

Today’s Dendron little resembles that historic vision of the 1900’s boomtown. Largely forgotten by the industry that once supported a thriving community, and facing serious municipal and community problems, such as an unexpected $10,000 water bill, you’d think the small town would take anything at this point to give it an economic boost.

The Old Dominion Electric Cooperative assumed this to be true when executives within the cooperative approached Dendronites with a plan for a new 1,500-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the second largest of its kind in Virginia. ODEC presented the Cypress Creek project with the promise of new jobs, tax revenue, and the idea that one major industry would bring others to the cash-strapped community. Despite local environmental effects and immediate hazards to human health, ODEC worked to assure Dendron residents that they stood to benefit from such a plant’s construction. ODEC also assumed that they’d buy into it without any major hiccups.

The cooperative, which has endlessly dispelled misinformation concerning the proposed plant (see Hope for Surry Shines through smog, 3 June), encountered a major hiccup Monday evening. As the Dendron Town Council met for its second meeting to deliberate the adoption of an ordinance that would allow the coal-friendly county board of supervisors to assume the community’s zoning rights, tensions – and temperatures – began to rise in the small side room of the Dendron Volunteer Fire Department, the only building large enough to host the crowd of more than 100. Fans reading, “NO COAL PLANT,” undulated throughout, filling the room as it quickly approached capacity, and Mayor Yvonne Pierce called the meeting to order.

The last time that Dendron came to vote on the ordinance to retain its zoning rights, the atmosphere was quite different from last night’s. ODEC employees filled the June 2 meeting, creating an unbalance that went far from unnoticed. Taking up a large portion of Recreational Center’s front-row seats, ODEC’s presence was pronounced – and unwelcome.

This time, the Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, Wise Energy for Virginia, and students from the nearby College of William and Mary turned out, in force, to ensure that Dendron’s residents were given priority in the meeting hall by “saving spots” outside while locals arrived. Due to the efforts of Surry and Dendron’s concerned and active citizenry, last night’s demographic within the meeting was strikingly different from the month before. With upwards of 25 Dendron residents, supported by more than 50 folks from surrounding Surry County, gone were the suits and ties of ODEC’s Glen Allen headquarters, near Richmond. Gone also, was the attitude that a new coal plant would bring the economic boon of the 1920’s back to the struggling town. As the meeting progressed, the council made two key moves to ensure its independence as a town in determining its future.

In a somewhat surprise move, Councilwoman Misti Furr began by introducing a resolution to establish a planning commission within Dendron, to be charged with evaluating zoning permits for land within the town proper. The vote was a necessity, as the council would be expected to vote on the zoning ordinance later that evening, which would greatly diminish the town’s control over its permitting process by delegating a large portion of it to Surry County. Furr’s resolution passed, giving Dendron its own planning commission, who will have to handle ODEC’s zoning permit, provided that control over permitting stay with the town. That decision remained uncertain, further down the evening’s agenda.

Before the decision over that ordinance came to vote, residents and concerned individuals were permitted to speak before the council and audience, and as the queue began to move along, a fascinating trend began to emerge.

Unlike last month’s meeting, where ODEC garnered support from its own employees and purposefully misled low-income and struggling families, Monday’s atmosphere was one much more aware of the terrible implications for environmental, economic, and human health that a dirty coal plant would bring to their small community. At least, it seemed, some of the untruths, dispelled by ODEC over the past few months, had finally been discredited, much to the benefit of those citizens in opposition to the plant.

This attitude was reflected in the council’s final vote, as the body decided to reject any imposition by the county on the capacity of Dendron to decide its own future. With a wire-thin 3-2 margin, a great sigh of relief gripped the meeting hall as ODEC and its cadre of supporters left the hall, flustered and frustrated. Now, ODEC will be required to submit its zoning permit to the town, where it will decide whether or not the plant will move forward, free from interference by the coal-friendly county, and totally in its own hands.

What will happen now is, for the moment, uncertain. The coal industry has deep pockets, while most folks in Dendron do not. The struggle against this plant is a long way from over, and the rejection of county control over the zoning process marks but a small step in a very, very, large fight.

When it comes down to it, this small community of immense personality wants nothing more than to retain control over its own destiny. It is far too often that the smallest among us are subject to the will of the larger, and this town has set out to prove that it will not be taken underfoot by an energy giant and its allies. Dendron today carries the same character, willpower, and deliberate sense of wholeness that its ancestor once had. There is no longer a lumber mill, and a much-diminished population, but the uprightness, the sense of pride, the ultimate concern for future of this town has not changed, and likely will not.

Last night, the town of Dendron stood up and made its will known. Coal is friend to no one, it lines the pockets of wealthy men and it brings poverty and sickness into every dusty breath of those who suffer it. If the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to continue to live in a past that is outdated and unhealthy – if ODEC really wants a new coal-fired plant – they will have to fight for it, and from the looks of it, much harder than they expected.

cross-posted from the CCAN Blog

Glenn Nye is experiencing an identity crisis.

As the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) prepared to go to vote two weeks ago, Virginians remained in doubt as to how the Congressman from the Eastern Shore would vote. A Blue Dog Democrat at a sprightly 34 years of age, Nye represents a largely conservative constituency on the shore, and his voting record has so far reflected that demographic.

Nye opted to vote against ACES, citing worries for the impact on his constituency, particularly concerning potential rate increases for utilities. The bill, according to Nye, would impose “another tax on American families.”

I drew that quotation from a recent blog post by David Campbell, entitled “Nye: Two Faces on ACES.” Campbell, who had written the Congressman earlier this summer, asking for his support on the bill, received two separate responses from Nye’s office after its passage. One appears to be strongly in favor (and as the author notes, does not once mention that Nye voted, “no”), while the other laments a new tax on Americans, one that would be inefficient and wrong in today’s struggling economy. One bill, two letters… polar opposites. Something is awry in Glenn Nye’s office.

Either the Congressman’s staff is sorely overworked and disorganized, or the freshman, Mr. Nye, has schizophrenia. I’m willing to opt toward the latter. Now that fellow democrats have chosen to go ahead and pass ACES, Nye has slipped quietly into damage control mode, ensuring that he can still please naysayers while simultaneously lauding the accomplishments of his colleagues.

This game of doubletalk, not uncommon to the denizens of Capitol Hill, would make any politician proud.

The first letter:

“The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 is a comprehensive approach that charts a new course toward a clean energy economy. It will create jobs, helps end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and combats global warming.”

The second:

“You will be pleased to know I voted against H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, because we do not need another tax on American families during this time of economic hardship.”

Nye's District, Virginia's 2nd

When it comes down to it, the ACES bill in its current state is not likely to destroy the American family’s typical income. The Congressional Budget Office has placed the average cost to consumers around the $0.40 mark per day, about the cost of those ubiquitous “postage stamps” that Democrats won’t stop talking about. While those numbers do add up over the course of a year, reports show that the bill’s financial impacts are less likely to affect low-income families, who are the most endangered by said increase. Funds intended for weatherization and efficiency upgrades are geared toward poorer families: the same families who are most threatened by global warming.

At the end of the day, however, we aren’t talking about global warming, cap and trade, or taxes; this problem finds its roots in a political culture that rewards Mr. Nye’s behavior. Pandering is dishonest business. I’d like to thank Mr. Campbell for calling out Congressman Nye on his lack of conviction. As a representative of one of Virginia’s most vulnerable coastal areas, his constituency is particularly vulnerable to the threat of sea-level increase. By voting against the Waxman/Markey bill, Nye has remained complacent as his own district becomes lethally threatened by global climate change. How can he be expected to respond to the needs of his constituency when the very land on which they live is likely to vanish in the next 50 years? At a youthful 34, I pray that he’s not still in charge when that happens.

Then again, it’s probably an election killer, anyway.

G-8 Nations Fail to Agree on Climate Change Plan – NYTimes.com.

The reason behind this concern is, of course, fairly easy to identify. Coal slurry ponds, which may hold several billion gallons of the toxic sludge, are typically held in place by earthen dams made of rock and other fill material. While typically sturdy, history has shown us that these dams are definitely prone to failure, especially when not regulated properly. In fact, the dangers surrounding slurry dams have been well known and well documented for decades. West Virginia’s Buffalo Creek Flood of 1972 destroyed over 500 homes with a 30-foot high, 132 million gallon wave of the toxic stuff. When blasting occurs near these ponds (as it does near Marsh Fork Elmentary in Sunrise, WV), the risk becomes intensified as nearby shockwaves may threaten the structural integrity of the dam.

Fly ash, though dry and therefore less at risk to flooding, presents just as serious a hazard to the local ecosystem, including surrounding communities, wildlife, and groundwater reserves. Fly ash is stored in landfills, most of which are lined, but all of which are failure-prone. Particles in the air, blown from these ash impoundments, can cause serious health problems such as asthma and other respiratory diseases. Like wet slurry, fly ash contains a cocktail of harmful heavy metals and other contaminants that present a serious threat to the local and regional ecosystem… and to human health.

“CCRs [coal combustion residues] contain a broad range of metals, for example, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, lead, and mercury, but the concentrations of these are generally low. However, if not properly managed, (for example, in lined units), CCRs may cause a risk to human health and the environment and, in fact, EPA has documented cases of environmental damage“ (courtesy EPA.gov).

The collection and storage of coal ash is but one piece in a larger fossil fuel regime that thrives on the continued exploitation of the United States’ natural, non-renewable resources, known to cause significant air pollution and contribute to global climate change. The coal extraction, combustion, and disposal process is among the most destructive practices in human history, and with the continued popularity of mountaintop removal mining, the coal industry goes so far as to threaten the geography of Appalachia itself.

The EPA has made positive steps in naming these so-called high-risk sites, but seems to be avoiding tackling the bigger picture; coal is an unsustainable resource that is dirty, harmful, and dangerous. While 44 of these impoundment sites may be deemed more at-risk than others, the fact remains that anywhere coal is extracted, burned, or stored, safety is a non-issue, because coal is not, and never will be, “safe.”

President Obama, who has so far struggled with fulfilling his promise of increased transparency and accountability within government, has made significant forward progress by allowing the release of these 44 sites. However, the larger issue of formulating an American energy future – one without coal – rests untackled. As long as coal is allowed to thrive in Appalachia, the Midwest, and elsewhere, American citizens will remain at risk. The fossil fuel industry represents an old and outdated way of thinking: the idea that our actions now will bear no consequence on the future. We have now stepped healthily into the 21st century, largely thankful to the energy that fossil fuels of yore have given us, and as we continue to evolve as a species and a society, we are charged with abandoning a tradition that will serve no other end but to continue to harm Americans.

President Obama, Congress, and the EPA, if we are to bring the United States into a clean energy future, one that emphasizes the importance of renewable technologies, green jobs, and energy that is free of filthy, harmful substances, then we must see a real effort to focus on goals that do not give coal a future in the grid. The EPA seems to think that the term, “high risk,” should be reserved for a mere 44 out of the hundreds of slurry ponds and fly ash fills that sprinkle the American landscape. A more appropriate move would be to extend the “high risk” moniker to its proper breadth, across the entire industry.

This passion and power burned so brightly during the past six months as your work on a variety of issues and campaigns intersected and grew even more. As I am saying goodbyes I am constantly reminded that though my time with CCAN is coming to an end, the successes we have built keep adding up, and the work young people are doing to usher in a clean energy future is far from over. There are still victories to be won on campuses, the International Day of Climate Action on October 24, a gubernatorial race in November, a vote in the senate on the ACES Act, another General Assembly session in January (where MTR will be a main topic of discussion!), and of course, the UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen…and that is all on the horizon in the coming semester!! I am leaving CCAN with the knowledge that the student networks on campus and across campuses in Virginia are enthusiastic, equipped, and will continue to lead the way!

In the coming months I will be taking a journey across the county and settling in Utah to work as an environmental educator with the Student Conservation Association. I am happy to stay in touch, because though I am brimming with excitement about this new adventure, I know I will deeply miss you all and my roots (grassroots?) here in sweet Virginia. Please feel free to drop me a line (and know you’ll all have a place to stay if you find yourself in the Wasatch Mountains). My personal email address is hilarycoleen@gmail.com.

I want to also leave you all with some contact information for CCAN/Energy Action Coalition for campus resources and youth movement engagement in the coming months.

This coming VA General Assembly Session there are plans to introduce a “Stream Savers Bill,” which is a state level bill similar to the Clean Water Protection Act. This summer folks will be working on talking to representatives about the issue, and if you are interested in learning more and/or being involved, you should contact Lauren Glickman.

Lauren is the CCAN Northern Virginia Coordinator, and for the time being she will also be working on VA Campus stuff! She is fabulous, as those of you at George Mason and JMU already know! She is the contact person on the Stream Savers Bill, and is also the VA youth climate person to contact in my place.

Lauren Glickman lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org 804- 335- 0915

To connect with folks at the Energy Action Coalition (Powershift), you should contact Whit Jones. Whit is a fantastic guy, as many of you know- you may have met him when he brought windmills to VA Powershift/Powervote this fall! He can help you out with resources and other great things regarding Powershift and other national/international youth climate things.

Whit Jones whit@energyaction.net 202- 328 – 1733

With fondest memories, deepest appreciation, and a thousand wishes of good fortune,

Hilary Coleen Lufkin