About Me

Rockville, MD, United States
Clean Currents is a clean energy broker/aggregator licensed by the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, and the District of Columbia Public Service Commission. We operate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, DC, Chicago, Texas, and other areas where there is a competitive electricity market. We are committed to promoting solutions to today’s biggest environmental challenges – global warming and air pollution.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Victory on Carbon in Montgomery County

Victory in Montgomery County

Just as I was starting to sour on the elected leadership of Montgomery County, Maryland, they once again show that when it comes to progressive environmental laws, there's no place like it in the nation. Under the leadership of Roger Berliner, the County Council adopted the first (I believe) carbon tax in the U.S. The tax effects the one large carbon polluter in the county, the Dickerson coal fired power plant owned by Mirant. It is a modest tax, only expected to raise $7.5 to $15 million a year from Mirant. However, in this age of deficits and government spending cuts, this is a welcome piece of new revenue for the county to use to support clean energy and energy efficiency programs.

Though this is progressive Montgomery County, the vote on this bill was not easy. I was proud to come out in support of the bill and to lobby for it, but unfortunately, on the day of the hearings, Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by one of the biggest oil barons in the nation, as well as Exxon and others, showed up. And let me put this simply - they were not in a mood to discuss the pros and cons of the bill. They came to disrupt, to shout, and to scare our elected leaders into submission. I had come to politely give my support for the Carbon Tax bill and was shocked to find myself in the midst of a tea party mob of 100 people or so. The good guys only numbered a handful, among them Keith and the CCAN crew, Amanda from Clean Currents, and Fred Teal, super star Green Neighborhood leader for Clean Currents.

I almost lost my temper when they started cat-calling and disrupting the testimony of my good friend and climate hero, Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Luckily, Mike kept his cool as he explained how Mirant has repeatedly violated environmental rules, fights new environmental legislation, and is contributing significantly to climate change. I was never more proud.

Then, Council Members George Leventhal and Roger Berliner spoke, and they demonstrated the exact right way to handle these flat-earther tea party types. They didn't back down, apologize, or go quietly behind closed doors to express their views. Instead, they took the Mirant company official who testified out to the proverbial woodshed. They got Mirant to admit that climate change is real, is caused by man, and must be addressed (unlike the Mirant supporters and various morons in the audience who were shouting that climate change is a hoax). They got Mirant to admit that the energy that the coal plant produces doesn't even serve Montgomery County (we just get the pollution). Finally, Roger Berliner asked how Mirant could afford to pump $500 million into upgrades at the plant (forced to do so against their will, by the passage of the Healthy Air Act), but would shut down over a $7.5 to $15 million tax. The Mirant guy said that if the tax were added to the costs of the plant's operations, the plant would not be profitable (are you listening Wall Street?). Either he is stretching the truth or this is the most unprofitable coal plant in the history of the world. Most coal plants like this are gold mines for their owners.

If this Carbon Tax stands, it will serve as a model for other towns, cities, counties and places to fight climate change, promote clean energy, and bring in new revenue. Of course, a Federal effort would be better, but if we can't get a bill done with 59 or 60 Democrats in control of the Senate, we'll never get one. We need to do this from the ground up.

My hope is that the County will now fund its award winning Clean Energy Rewards program again, plus other worthy clean energy/energy efficiency programs. Way to go MoCo!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

It's About the Spill, Stupid

Today's blog is about as simple as it gets.

No more oil drilling off our coasts - the consequences of an accident, even just one, are too monumental.