If it Can Happen in Blacksburg

It's happening in Blacksburg, Virginia. That means it can happen anywhere in the country. Blacksburg is a sleepy town among rolling hills hours away from the nearest city. It's home to Virginia Tech and the folks there are mighty proud of their Hokies. But it is not a town usually associated with progressive, green minded citizens or businesses. Now that's changing. I was there for a conference hosted by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network the other day and I ran into a gentleman named Pat Bixler. Pat is the Executive Director of a group called, "Sustainable Blacksburg." As it says on their web site, "Sustainable Blacksburg is a non-profit community organization which facilitates effective environmental stewardship in the Blacksburg area to enhance the region’s livability and economic vitality by reducing its impact on the local and global environment." But it's really so much more than that. Sustainable Blacksburg represents to me the next step in the greening of the American mind. Sure, Takoma Park, Catonsville, and Arlington have been doing green for years. There is a lot to be proud of in those parts. But to get this country to turn the corner and embrace a sustainable lifestyle, free of the threat of climate change and pollution requires the mainstreaming of all things green. It can't be just for progressives in the "blue" areas. There's hope. It's happening in Blacksburg. And if it's happening in Blacksburg, why not Lexington, or Fredericksburg, or Frederick?

Montgomery County Shines Again

Montgomery County, Maryland is once again offering consumers a "reward" for going green and I for one could not be happier about it. The County's Clean Energy Rewards Program has been renewed with some new improved rules voted on by the County Council. Right now, businesses, non profits, and residents who buy clean energy from certified vendors will get a reward of 1/2 cent for each kilowatt hour of clean energy purchased. This may not sound like much, but I am hard pressed to name a single county, city or state in the entire United States that is taking this kind of innovative approach to fighting climate change through clean energy solutions.

Hats off once again to County Council Members George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, Nancy Floreen and the others who supported this!

I am proud to say that I played a very direct role in changing the rules of the Program.

The initial incarnation of the Program only allowed regional clean energy sources to count, and it capped the non residential award at a mere 100,000 kWh annually. While I strongly supported the bill, I lobbied to change the rules. Now, my plan is being implemented. The new Program now allows national clean energy sources to qualify and raises the cap to 400,000 kWh annually. This means that the clean energy is cheaper and the Reward larger for small businesses. This was a victory for our Clean Currents customers in the County who now qualify for the Reward and will get real savings as a result. It will enable Clean Currents to more broadly market clean energy to the hundreds of small businesses in the County who might otherwise be priced out of the market. From a climate change perspective, of course, the changes have no impact. The environmental benefit (with regards to carbon) will be the same no matter where we get the clean energy from.

Clean Currents may be the only company in the entire state of Maryland that lobbies on behalf of environmental legislation shoulder to shoulder with the leading environmental advocacy groups. We won a victory in Montgomery County, and with your continued support can win victories elsewhere in the state.