DETAILS: Lavona Grow, a member of the UU Congregation of Arlington, will offer some insights into how the 118th Congress and the massive 2023 Farm Bill might address concerns around BIPOC farmers and water pollution among other climate and social justice issues so that we might advocate for justice, equity, and compassion in the coming year! Lavona has been working with the interfaith community to research national legislative climate and social justice initiatives, in order to inform advocacy efforts in these areas.
SPONSOR: Act for Climate Today! (ACT!) of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax.
Fairfax County’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) Public Comment Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday, January 11; 7:15 PM
WHERE: Fairfax County Government Center, Conference Room 9 & 10 (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035)
DESCRIPTION: The Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) is appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to advise on environmental matters. The public is encouraged to attend EQAC’s public comment meeting to share views on the state of the environment and to identify environmental issues of concern applicable to Fairfax County. EQAC welcomes in-person, written, and/or video testimony. Please limit comments to three minutes in length.
Contact Fairfax County School Board for Solar on Schools
Now is the time to contact your school board member and at-large members to urge them to vote to approve solar on a group of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). So far they have approved solar on Annandale High School and Mason Crest. An agreement has been signed with IPSUN solar for solar on Annandale HS.
IPSUN is working on the details of the installation that will be reviewed by the 3rd party consultant and then will go to Fairfax County for permitting. In a meeting with the FCPS superintendent and the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, we were told that 6 more schools would be on the agenda for approval in December. In the end it was only Mason Crest.
In a recent survey published in The Lancet, of young people 16–25 in 10 countries, including the United States, 45% said that worry about climate change affects their daily lives and functioning.
Saving money on electricity is the economic benefit that FCPS will see from installing solar via PPA. FCPS says that it will see a saving of $11,000 to $22,000 per year on Annandale HS. Multiply that over the large fleet of FCPS schools and you are talking about real money.
In addition to the moral obligation of FCPS to show their efforts to impact climate change and cut the cost of electricity on a strained budget, there are opportunities for jobs training as well as lessons to be learned about math, physics and climate science through having solar on schools.
Please contact your school board member and all the at-large members and tell them the time to approve MORE schools is now. FCPS staff has determined that solar should only be installed when the students are not in the schools. This means that if the approvals don’t happen now we won’t see the solar installed in 2023. We’ll be waiting for a few more schools into 2024. There’s so much opportunity for solar at FCPS. Here is the link to school board member email addresses and phone numbers. https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/school-board-members
Please contact them ASAP!
Photo: Those panels are on Discovery Elementary in Arlington. The students are from the middle school next door. They are able to adjust the pitch of the panels to see what effect it has on productivity.
Legislation in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly to Encourage Solar on Virginia Schools
Contact your legislators, senator, and delegate, and ask them to vote in favor of SB848. There will be a companion bill from Del. Subramanyam, but at this moment it hasn’t received a bill number. These bills are a first step to encourage school systems, when they renovate or build a new school, to have the appropriate roof that will support solar panels. Here is the language of the bill(s).
“Directs the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, in consultation with the Department of Energy, to develop and make recommendations on strategies to assist interested school divisions with incorporating renewable energy generation facilities in the construction or renovation of school buildings. The bill requires the Commission to report the recommendations to the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2023. “
Solar is important on schools to reduce the cost of electricity, to demonstrate to the students that the school system cares about their future and is doing what it can to mitigate climate change and to provide educational and job training opportunities. Please reach out to your representatives and ask them to vote in favor of SB848 and the companion house bill.
Save Mature Forest in Southern Maryland from Development
Middle School student Nethra P. is fighting to preserve a mature forest in southern Maryland from development. She created this change.org petition to Oppose Girl Scout's decision to sell 633 acres of mature forest to developers. The petition is directed to the national capital area Girl Scouts leadership and appropriate for Virginians to sign. Nethra writes: In 2021, Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital (GSCNC) (the council for the D.C., northern VA, and southern MD area) sold 633 acres of mature forest to developers to cover costs they supposedly can't pay due to lack of funding and lower retail sales.
When they were selling the forest, they got two bids to buy this piece of thriving land. One from the Maryland Park & Planning Commission - who were willing to pay $11 million (which is more than the original $10 million GSCNC asked for) to conserve this forest for the communities nearby and to protect the species of environmental concern. The other offer came from a group of developers who offered around $30 million. GSCNC went with the offer from developers - for more money and to keep the GSCNC business around for the next "110 years". Will this be a Girl Scouts we can be proud of?
Girl Scouts is about caring for each other and the places we call home. How can they say this when they are actively destroying the foundations that keep us alive? Not only will destroying this forest be burdensome (with difficult terrain to break) it will also impact the already underserved communities living nearby. In addition, it will lock in more deforestation for Prince George County, Maryland, the place that has lost the most forest in the whole state.
DESCRIPTION: Early bird registration is open for the annual Conservation Lobby Day, which is organized by the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN)! This is your chance to lobby with fellow advocates in your district for the environmental action that matters most to you. VCN will teach you how to lobby, share resources for environmental policy solutions, and schedule meetings with your legislators on your behalf leading up to Lobby Day. Register now to secure early bird pricing!
For the GFG weekly environmental events email, join thelistserv here and select subscribe (or unsubscribe).
The MeetUp group for Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (SCPRO) is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. The group organizes hikes and other events in Virginia, DC and Maryland. No Sierra Club membership is necessary to participate. SCPRO welcomes all people on a variety of outdoor adventures, nature walks, conservation outings, and exploration of our natural and regional history. Join SCPRO MeetUp here
Power for the People Virginia
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia.
