Current and Past Climate Action Projects

The Politics & Prose Climate Action Project will meet on Saturday, November 7 at 10 a.m. This four year old project focuses on governmental and community action in the Washington metropolitan area and meets at Politics & Prose Bookstore on the first Saturday of every month. Our special topic this week is how close we can get to low-energy usage in our own homes and other buildings. Our presenters are Amy Gardner, Associate Professor at the U Maryland School of Architecture and Greg Kats, author of works on the economics of high-efficiency/low net-energy buildings. Everybody is welcome to attend.

P&P Environmental Boat Tour, Anacostia River, Saturday, October 24, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Anacostia Riverkeeper, a local not for profit, non-governmental organization, will lead a boat tour of the Anacostia River for Politics & Prose customers on Saturday, October 24, from 10 - 11:30 a.m. This short river is highly polluted by DC and Maryland, but its great potential is increasingly drawing attention, even as climate change places it under added strains. The tour will embark at the Riverkeeper’s dock in southeast DC, and navigate by Kingman Island to Kenilworth, where one of the Riverkeeper’s principal research projects is centered. You will increase your awareness of the environmental issues that affect the river and its watershed and their impact on our own health and economy. The Anacostia Riverkeeper is one of several NGOs working through advocacy, research, youth and volunteer projects to restore the river to health, engaging DC and Maryland governments in this pursuit. Click here for more information about this organization - www.anacostiariverkeeper.org

Car pools will depart from Politics & Prose at 9:30 a.m. Space is limited to 12 persons.Teens and adults welcome!

The Politics and Prose Climate Action Project meets monthly on the first Saturday of the month. Our next meeting will take place on Saturday, November 7 at 10 a.m. We are working on the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act, District Transportation Issues, and Montgomery County Street Light Replacement.

We are working on the following issues:

The Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act would ban the use of disposable non-recyclable plastic carryout bags in the District of Columbia; establish a nickel fee on all disposable carryout bags provided by grocery stores, drug stores, liquor stores, restaurants, and food vendors; give the Mayor the authority to implement rules and procedures to collect the fee; and establish a non-lapsing, recurring Fund for Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection to use the fees collected. Most Council Members support it, but there will be strong pushback from the plastic industry and others. If you wish to support the bill, you might wish to send an email to the city council, membersonly@dccouncil.us.

District Transportation Issues

The Climate Action Project presented testimony at a budget hearing for the District Department of Transportation last week. We argued for using federal stimulus (and other) funds for LED streetlighting rather than older lighting technologies. We also argued for revisiting several proposals to increase funding for Metro, to provide more "Circulator" bus routes, and to make downtown parking more expensive and scarce to encourage greater use of public transportation. Finally, we supported DDOT's plans to expand its Bicycle Master Plan targets, to make DC more bicycle-friendly.

Montgomery County Street Light Replacement

PEPCO has received permission to replace all street lighting in Montgomery County with high pressure sodium bulbs. From experience in other localities around the nation, there is strong evidence that LED lighting is far more cost effective and less intrusive in residential neighborhoods. We are trying to find out why the County is not only resisting LED, but will actually penalize towns or neighborhoods which take the initiative to use LEDs.

We continue to work on these and other issues through subcommittees. If you would like to sign up for a subcommittee or for the Climate Action Project, contact John Macgregor, the chair, at beamup2@gmail.com.