(find this page at: www.baltimoreclimate.org - 'LTEs & LINKS')
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LTE (Letters to the Editor) Links:
State & Local Links
General & National Links
Local Governments for Sustainability Links
Green Building / Energy Conservation Links
Green Jobs
Personal Steps
Carbon Offset Links
The Economy & the Environment
LTE (LETTERS TO THE EDITOR) LINKS:
Tips on getting published: Brevity, Include your full contact information, possibly reference a recent article. Please let us know whenever you submit a letter so you can get credit for it. FYI: even unpublished letters have a major influence on what gets covered in a newspaper.
Baltimore Sun: Fax to 410-332-6977; e-mail to: letters@baltsun.com or preferably use the Baltimore Sun's Form for letters. or mail to: Letters to the Editor; The Sun; P.O. Box 1377; Baltimore, MD 21278-0001
PATUXENT PUBLISHING NEWSPAPERS: For any of the following Patuxent Publishing newspapers: Baltimore Messenger, Jeffersonian, Northeast Booster, Northeast Reporter, Owings Mills Times, Towson Times or North County News, send your Letter to the Editor
by email: kweiss@patuxent.com, fax: 410-825-4278, or mail: Patuxent Publishing, Letters to the Editor, Baltimore County Office; 409 Washington Avenue; Towson, Maryland 21204
The Avenue; ph: 410-687-7775; Jean Flanagan, Editor; aveeditorial [at] chespub.com
Northeast Booster; ph: 410-337-2400; David Sturm, Editor; dsturm [at] patuxent.com
Arbutus Times or the Catonsville Times: fax 410-788-4102 or mail to: Patuxent Publishing, Letters to the Editor; Catonsville Office; 757 Frederick Road Ste. 103; Baltimore, Maryland 21228 Click Here for Editorial Staff contact information for Patuxent Newspapers outside of Baltimore County: The Columbia Flier, Howard County Times, Laurel Leader, Soundoff!, The Eldersburg Eagle, and the Westminster Eagle.
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STATE & LOCAL LINKS:
www.baltimorecity.gov/sustainability is the new (June 2008) website of Baltimore City's new Office of Sustainability.
Excellent new (May 2008) 14 minute video on state-wide climate efforts, including Maryland:
http://seastudios.org/ahead2_video_qt.php
Maryland Commission on Climate Change: www.mde.state.md.us/air/mccc Climate Change Initiative of Howard County, MD. www.hococlimatechange.org U.S. Green Building Council - Baltimore (regional) Chapter: http://www.usgbcbalt.org/
Their Advocacy Committee is at: http://groups.google.com/group/advocacy-usgbcbalt
(U.S. Green Building Council: www.usgbc.org)
MD Dept. of Energy renewable incentives: www.energy.state.md.us/programs/renewable/
MD energy efficiency news (on the site of EERE: Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. D.O.E.)
http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/state_specific_information.cfm/state=MD and:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/state_news.cfm/state=MD Maryland Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=MD11R&state=MD&CurrentPageID=1&RE=1&EE=1
(from DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency)
Towson Energy Activists: http://towson.edu/tea Towson University. (Meeting every Wednesday at 6 PM at UU 309 - per website 9/07) Goucher Climate Action Group: Contact: franklin.russell [at] goucher.edu; brianna.bowman [at] goucher.edu
(no website)
HEAT: Hopkins Energy Action Team at Johns Hopkins University: www.jhu.edu/heat/index.htm This coalition of 22 student groups led the entire Johns Hopkins University, on May 14th, 2007, to commit to becoming completely climate neutral. Energy Action Coalition - look up local college / highschool climate & environmental groups in your area:
http://energyactioncoalition.org/whoweare/movement/groups
www.chesapeakeclimate.org We (BCAN: Baltimore Climate Action Netowork) are a chapter of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, an oranization that serves Maryland, Virginia and DC.
National Polar Bear Plunge Dec 8, 2007 (a project of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council and CCAN):
http://keepwintercold.org
Environment Maryland: www.environmentmaryland.org
Maryland League of Conservation Voters: www.mdlcv.org
Sierra Club - Greater Baltimore Group: http://maryland.sierraclub.org/baltimore
1000 Friends of Maryland www.friendsofmd.org
Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network: www.bjen.org
The International Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) is a non-profit based in Maryland, which applies sustainable principles to development projects around the world. www.solarcities.org/index.htm
Commuter Options page of the Baltimore Metropoltan Council: www.baltometro.org/content/view/42/80/
"Commuter Choice" page at the MTA: MD Transportation Administration: http://www.commuterchoicemaryland.com/index.cfm
GOforChange (www.goforchange.com) , a website (new: 5-08) that presents stories of positive change in the Baltimore region. Includes greening, advocacy, and social justice featuring businesses, organizations, and individuals. Includes articles, a social network, discussion forums, and a local marketplace coming in summer '08.
Simplicity Matters Earth Institute (SMEI): www.simplicity-matters.org
(There are now a number of local discussion circles)
SMEI's Monthly Announcements page
SMEI's Video Lending Library on Global Warming
SMEI's best of - What We Can Do for global warming.
SMEI's global warming Resources
Northwest Earth Institute's Global Warming Resources
Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance: www.csballiance.org
Clean Water Action http://www.cleanwateraction.org/md/
711 West 40th St, Suite 209; Baltimore, MD 21211; ph: 410-235-8808
baltcwa [at] cleanwater.org
Maryland General Assembly: http://mlis.state.md.us
Green City Baltimore: http://greencitybaltimore.wordpress.com
Free index to the MD Code and Rules Network of Spiritual Progressives in Maryland http://nspmd.blogspot.com
- does a lot with global warming; Click here for their climate section.
www.parksandpeople.org
Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition: www.safeenergymd.org Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light: www.gwipl.org
Maryland Municipal Climate Protection Network
Launched in the fall of 2006, this group of municipalities has a wealth of experience and knowledge with climate protection. In collaboration with ICLEI, EPA, and state-wide stakeholders, these municipalities are sharing their expertise and resources, working to spread and intensify climate protection across the state. For more information or to be added to their listserv, contact Katherine Jarvis-Shean at: Katherine.Jarvis-Shean [at] iclei.org
Global Warming Action Alliance is based in Queen Anne's County, MD with chapters in Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties: http://globalwarmingactionalliance.org/chapters.php It is also an excellent source for general information.
Health Care Without Harm http://www.noharm.org/us and H2E: Hospitals for a Healthy Environment a www.h2e-online.org are active nationally & locally (contact Louise Mitchell at lmitc001 [at] son.umaryland.edu). Related: www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org
For info on recycling / re-using a wide variety of items, see one of the following:
(1): Maryland Recycles: http://www.mdrecycles.org/recyclingDirectory.asp?sec=salvage
(2): Baltimore County's recycling directory: http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/Public_Works/solidwastemanagement/2007reusedirectory.pdf
or (3): www.craigslist.org To find where your local farm, Farmer's Market, or CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) is, go to www.localharvest.org or http://marylandsbest.net
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GENERAL & NATIONAL LINKS:
Al Gore's newest slide show (2 years later - March 2008): http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/243
Subscribe to podcasts from www.earthbeatradio.org and www.ecoshock.org (usually more convenient than listening on their website). These are the two best sources we know of for hard-hitting, informative and insightful climate and environmental information.
Free online video of Carl Pope & Van Jones from This Brave Nation.
http://bravenation.com/carl_pope_van_jones.php?utm_source=rgemail (The full series of five videos is available by DVD for $15): Bonnie Raitt & Dolores Huerta; Pete Seeger & Majora Carter; Anthony Romero & Ava Lowery; Tom Hayden
& Naomi Klein.
Amazing sustainability artwork: http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
www.desmogblog.com A fact-checking site that examines the PR pollution that is clouding the science on climate change.
California Cars Initiative: www.calcars.org ...is a national group mobilizing citizens to pressure car makers to manufacture 100 mpg plug-in hybrid vehicles now with existing technology. Auto makers need not wait for better technology. Citizens should also demand rebates / tax incentives from government, and that government at all levels pledge now to purchase fleets of plug-in hybrids to stimulate their development. The Bluewater Network and Rain Forest Action Network are also plug-in hybrid proponents . The National Resources Defense Council has endorsed the SetAmericaFree agenda, and the Union of Concerned Scientists' Hybrid Center has more info.
Earthbeat Radio: www.earthbeatradio.org Either listen online or subscribe to the podcast (and the World On Fire podcast) so you can listen to episodes whenever it's convenient. www.ecoshock.org For top-notch information and analysis and a treasure trove of high quality audio interviews & presentations. Either listen online or subscribe to the podcast (and the World On Fire podcast) so you can listen to episodes whenever it's convenient.
One of our favorites: www.coopamerica.org National / local group succesffully encouraging sustainability practices at health care organizations: www.practicegreenhealth.org
Some of the best sites to find out what the heck your representatives in congress are up to: www.opencongress.org and www.govtrack.us (More useful than Congress' own "Thomas.gov")
www.architecture2030.org & also their page: 'Think You're Making a Difference? - Think Again' and their striking full-page New York Times ad of 9/28/07: 'Stop Coal'
www.coolyourdiet.com describes the significant contribution of meat - centered diets to global warming.
www.eco-res.org: Accessible, moderated discussions on socio-cultural aspects of climate change. Convenience increses participation. Archives of past conferences available on the site.
www.energyfuturecoalition.org
www.nextenergynews.com
www.popconnect.org Population Connection - works on the fundamental issue: population growth out - of - control.
www.truthout.org/environment.shtml
www.communitysolution.org
http://greenroofs.org/
www.bluemarble4us.com
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LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY - LINKS:
U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Handbook (This is a very useful document)
U.S. Conference of Mayors Energy & Environment Best Practices Report (pdf) See pages 7 & 8 on the pdf document, in which the city of Arlington, VA produced a chart of 'Completed Projects & Projects Underway...' that shows the up-front costs, the annual energy cost savings per year, and the number of years required to recoup the project's cost. (Very useful to show these few pages to local elected officials).
U.S. Mayors (This is a very useful document)U.S. Conference of Mayors (pdf) See pages 7 & 8 on the pdf document, in which the city of Arlington, VA produced a chart of 'Completed Projects & Projects Underway...' that shows the up-front costs, the annual energy cost savings per year, and the number of years required to recoup the project's cost. (Very useful to show these few pages to local elected officials). (This is a very useful document)U.S. Conference of Mayors (pdf) See pages 7 & 8 on the pdf document, in which the city of Arlington, VA produced a chart of 'Completed Projects & Projects Underway...' that shows the up-front costs, the annual energy cost savings per year, and the number of years required to recoup the project's cost. (Very useful to show these few pages to local elected officials). Sierra Club's Cool Cities site: http://coolcities.us
U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement and Climate Protection Center
Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration
Cool Counties: http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/coolcounties/Tools.aspx
ICLEI U.S. http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=391 : 'Local Governments for Sustainability' (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives).
Post Carbon Cities: http://postcarboncities.net
Local Government Commission: www.newpartners.org
(A non-profit organization working to build livable communities). *********************************************************************************************
GREEN BUILDINGS / ENERGY CONSERVATION LINKS:
U.S. Green Building Council - Baltimore (regional) Chapter: http://www.usgbcbalt.org/
Their Advocacy Committee is at: http://groups.google.com/group/advocacy-usgbcbalt
(U.S. Green Building Council: www.usgbc.org)
www.SunnysideSolarEnergy.com local company for solar energy installations
www.terralogos.com Local, energy audits & modifications, donated services to CCAN in 2007. Richardson LLC Local, does energy audits & modifications
EMO Energy Solutions Local, energy audits & modifications
www.savemoneyonenergy.com H.E.L.P. (Home Energy Loss Professionals): Baltimore area, Energy audits and/or modifications at a reasonable price. (Uses cellulose as insulating material).
Inspections by EAE Local, energy audits & modifications www.eeba.org The Energy & Environmental Building Association; see their Link Section also ("Related Sites").
Practical tips: www.homeenergy.org www.greenbuildinginstitute.org Good information, including online seminars. Energy Star appliances: www.energystart.gov Federal Tax Incentives: www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm Maryland Energy Administration Information on Residential Energy EfficiencyPrograms for Marylanders and other tax incentives: www.energy.state.md.us BGE Smart Energy Savers Programs: www.bgesmartenergy.com Database of State Incentives for Renewables: www.dsireusa.org USGBC's LEED for Homes: www.usgbc.org Green Buildings products and materials: www.buildinggreen.com Nature Neutral - environmentally preferable products and building supplies: www.natureneutral.com Treehugger - Green news, solutions, and product information gearing toward a more modern aesthetic: www.treehugger.com Plenty magazine - Environmental News and Commentary: www.plentymag.com
www.GreenHomeBuildingPro.com (Wendy Cooper)
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACE-3): www.aceee.org/ produces reports such as this one (2003) that helps legislators understand.
Maryland Building Energy Code: http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=MD11R&state=MD&CurrentPageID=1&RE=1&EE=1
www.climate.biz 'The Business Resource for Climate Management' with section on: The Business Case
Commitments & Goals, Measuring, Reporting & Verification, Reducing Emissions, Emissions Trading,
Renewable Energy, Carbon Offsets, Receiving Recognition.
The International Energy Agency: www.iea-shc.org/task28/publications
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GREEN JOBS:
www.greenforall.org
www.bluegreenalliance.org
The Apollo Alliance: http://www.apolloalliance.org/stateandlocal.php#Maryland/index.cfm
and the March 2008 New York Times article: Millions of Jobs of a Different Color
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PERSONAL STEPS:
The EcoMom Alliance (www.ecomomalliance.org),
www.eco-chick.com
www.alternativeconsumer.com
eco-friendly products on the site: bluemarble.com site:
http://www.bluemarble4us.com/page05.html
http://greenandcleanmom.blogspot.com, , the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org), www.treehugger.com Some of these organizations were mentioned in the New York Times article of 2-16-08: For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home: Read the article.
********************************************************************************************* CARBON OFFSET LINKS: Humerous spoof on carbon trading: www.cheatneutral.com
The term "offset" is imperfect since it may imply that wealthier individuals & corporations may "offset" their emissions instead of reducing them. (i.e., "I'm wealthy, so I don't have to reduce my polution, so I'll pay someone else to reduce theirs"). Another possible term might be "footprint fee." Also, offset projects can be a part of "cap and trade" schemes which can be manipulated to generate profit without helping the environment (see the 'World Bank' section below).
On the other hand, using offsets (or "fees") encourages us to measure our own greenhouse gas emissions which may be a necessary step in reducing them. (Although, where possible, it is far easier and preferable to simply measure the use of fossil fuels directly rather than to guestimate "greenhouse gas emissions"). The sale of permits, by government to corporations, to emit greenhouse gasses (or preferably, the simple taxing of fossil fuels), is a potential source of funds for the development of renewable energy.
Carbon calculators tend to be incomplete, ignoring the contribution of economic activity (since spending money and buying "stuff" generates emissions).
Directly measuring the amount of electricity and fossil fuels used is inherently easier than guestimating greenhouse gas emissions from various activities. So it is preferable for a household or business to measure the use of electricity and heating fuel separately, i.e. Kilowatt hours of electricity (in a household) per person per year, or therms (natural gas) used per person per year. These are easily corrected for published average outdoor temperature to allow meaningful comparisons between households, or from one year to the next. Since these measurements are accurate and standardized, they are useful for comparisons, and provide accountability and motivation. Other items such as estimating VMT (vehicle miles travelled), using a fuel-efficient car, air travel, use of compact flourescents, use of solar devices, purchasing renewable electricity (available for a few cents / KWH more), and other steps are tracked by people in our local community on our 'Personal Steps' page (e-mail us with your info so that we can display it). Personal Steps alone will never effectively address this problem, so we list advocacy steps as well; advocacy is likely the most important thing we can do to help (which is what Baltimore Climate Action Network is primarily about). The Ecological Footprint: is offered by the important organization: Redefining Progress (www.rprogress.org) and others. (One of the 50 Best Websites of 2007 according to Time Magazine. Two links are here and here).
www.carbontradewatch.org tracks developments in carbon trading ‘cap and trade’, including intended and unintended consequences, and contending political forces: Currently the U.S.-dominated World Bank is attempting to beat out the United Nations as the entity that writes the global carbon-trading rules.
'The World Bank: Climate Profiteer' is a soon-to-be-published report (April 2008) from the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network: (www.seen.org) of the Institute for Policy Studies, which illustrates that many of the climate projects undertaken thus far by the World Bank seem to benefit corporations financially without reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (This is reminiscint of the Bank's track record of projects ostensibly to reduce poverty, which tended to have the opposite effect).
Hear an mp3 audio interview (April 8, 2008) with the author of the above report, Janet Redman, on www.earthbeatradio.org which also features Barbara Bramble of the National Wildlife Federation describing the World Bank's role in arranging lucrative pay-offs to corporate polluters under the guise of "carbon trading."
Incidentally, subscribe to podcasts from www.earthbeatradio.org and www.ecoshock.org (or listen on their websites, but subscribing to podcasts is more convenient, since you can listen when and where you want). These are the two best sources we know for informative, accessable climate and environmental information.
www.carbontax.org A simple carbon tax, or cap and tax (as opposed to "cap and trade") is what is actually needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The "trade" component of "cap and trade" may serve primarily to make caps more politically appealing to corporate interests. Large profits resulting from carbon trading have already encouraged political influence over trading rules (especially when difficult-to-estimate "greenhouse gas emissions" are the benchmark, instead of easy-to-measure "fossil fuel use.")
Carbon Offset Quality (by Tufts Climate Initiative and Stockholm Environment Institute):
http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/carbonoffsets/carbonquality.htm#additionality
Includes standards & verification, such as Green-e, CDM (Clean Development Mechanism), and 'The Gold Standard' : the most rigorous standard available. "Although adhering to the Gold Standard incurs higher transaction costs . . . we strongly recommend purchasing offsets that follow these strict guidelines." The three vendors using The Gold Standard are: myclimate, atmosfair and Climate friendly.
The David Suzuki Foundation's page on going carbon neutral includes various types of carbon offset vendors:
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_neutral.asp
Comparison of vendors: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm
Tufts University report on how to buy offsets for air travel: http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/carbonoffsets/index.htm
(Tufts Climate Initiative)
On Your Mark, Offset, Go! A guide to offsetting your carbon emissions
By Erica Gies Grist magaizine, 10 Oct 2006 http://grist.org/news/maindish/2006/10/10/gies/
or click here. Excerpt: For now, there are bodies attempting oversight, such as the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance (CCB), the Center for Resource Solutions, and the Environmental Resources Trust. These are good organizations with solid records and intentions. But in the absence of mandatory regulation, their power is muted. For example, CCB focuses exclusively on forestry projects; CRS certifies only wind and solar projects with its "Green-e" label, although it has announced the development of a general carbon-offset certification program; and ERT, meanwhile, has a greenhouse-gas registry to define emission units, establish protocols, and provide third-party oversight.
A Consumer's Guide to Retail Carbon Offset Providers, by www.cleanair-coolplanet.org, Dec 2006. Feb 2008 article about "emission traders" who lobby congress
'Are We Ready to Track Carbon Footprings?' New York Times 3-25-08 read the article in Microsoft Word. about enhancing human nature: encouraging good behavior by providing feedback.
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THE ECONOMOMY & THE ENVIRONMENT:
Redefing Progress: www.rprogress.org 'Shifting public policy to achieve a sustainable economy, a healthy environment and a just society'
 www.storyofstuff.com
www.yesmagazine.org - published by the Positive Futures Network.
(You've got to check this out!). All about a just and sustainable future
QUOTE: Even the Pentagon believes in the danger of global warming. According to London’s Observer, a secret Pentagon report leaked to the press in February 2004, “predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water, and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.” The Observer quotes the report as concluding, “Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life. Once again, warfare would define human life.”
Sustainable Energy & Economy Network: www.seen.org (at the Institute for Policy Studies)
E c o R e s F o r u m www.eco-res.org
Exploring the Ethical, Political and Socio-Cultural Aspects of Climate Change. |
