keckel, Author at Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund

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So far keckel has created 5 blog entries.

Urge Your County to Apply for New Electric School Buses

Help us make a difference by contacting your School Superintendent and School Board to urge them to submit an application to access new federal funding under the EPA’s $5 billion dollar Clean School Bus Program.

Funds from the program will allow us to replace diesel polluting buses with zero-tailpipe-emission electric school buses, so vitally important in improving the health and welfare of our children and our community.

We’ve done all the work writing the letter – you just have to add your info!  Our children deserve no less.

CLICK HERE if you’re in Baltimore County

CLICK HERE if you’re in Prince George’s County 

CLICK HERE if you’re in Caroline County

CLICK HERE if you’re in Kent County

CLICK HERE if you’re in Somerset County

CLICK HERE if you’re in Dorchester County

 

2023-01-03T14:54:41-05:00July 19th, 2022|Categories: CHISPA, Education Fund|0 Comments

Attorney General Candidate Forum: 5/20

Attorney General Forum

Friday, May 20

12:00 – 12:30pm

via Zoom

Three of the four candidates for attorney general – Anthony Brown, Katie Curran O’Malley, and Jim Shalleck have agreed to answer questions related to the role the office plays in defending the environment.

The program will take place on Zoom and is expected to last 30 minutes. The program is offered for free. REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND. (If you are not available to attend at the time of the program, you may still register to receive a link to the recording after the program has ended.)

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT WHO BECOMES OUR NEXT AG

Did you know that the Trump Administration tried to replace the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan from 2015? The proposed plan failed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions or other harmful air pollutants from coal and oil-burning power plants. Fortunately, the Maryland Office of Attorney General joined the fight challenging the rule change in court and won victory for clean air.

Did you know it was the Office of Attorney General that negotiated a $35.5 million settlement for the State of Maryland with Volkswagen as a result of their violation of our air quality control laws?

This election year, the position of Attorney General is one of three open statewide seats. Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund wants to ensure voters are aware of the importance of the role of Attorney General in advancing and defending environmental policies. 

All four registered Attorney General candidates were invited to participate in the forum. Republican candidate Michael Anthony Peroutka did not respond to our invitation. 

2023-01-03T14:54:45-05:00May 19th, 2022|Categories: Education Fund, Media|0 Comments

“Best in Nation” Climate Bill Highlights 2022 Legislative Session’s Many Environmental Achievements 

Press release from Maryland League of Conservation Voters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 11, 2022

Contact: Kristen Harbison, 410.952.8100 Emailkharbeson@mdlcv.org                                                                                                     

“Best in Nation” Climate Bill Highlights 2022 Legislative Session’s Many Environmental Achievements 

Annapolis, MD – After struggling for several years to reach consensus on a comprehensive bill to address climate change in Maryland, the 2022 Legislative Session closed tonight with passage of the Climate Solutions Now Act. The momentous bill commits the state to net-zero climate emissions by 2045 and requires a 60 percent carbon reduction goal by 2031, the strongest near-term goal in the country.

The Climate Solutions Now Act passed the General Assembly on March 31 and became law when Gov. Hogan chose not to veto the bill.

“The Climate Solutions Now Act is a huge step toward a brighter future for our public health, budgets, and communities,” said Maryland LCV Executive Director Kim Coble. “It is major news that Maryland is leading the fight against climate change. We are enormously grateful the Maryland General Assembly had the courage and vision to vote for a healthy future for Marylanders, and that the Governor chose not to stand in the way of progress.”

The Climate Solutions Now Act also incorporated many provisions that traditionally would have been included in stand-alone bills.

The Act requires emissions reductions from large buildings and creates a 15-month study to determine steps needed to electrify new buildings.

The bill also includes an electric school bus pilot program in which utilities partner with school boards to purchase electric buses and use them for electricity grid storage. It creates the first in the nation mandate that school buses purchased after 2024 be zero-emission and requires all state passenger and light-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2031 and 2036 respectively.

Coble also celebrated environmental justice advancements in the bill.

It codifies the definition of “overburdened” and “underserved” to ensure equitable treatment of communities and sets goals for state clean energy investments in overburdened communities. And it will make the benefits of solar energy more accessible to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households by exempting solar on rooftops, parking garages, and brownfields from property taxes if it provides more than 50% of the energy to these households.

“Along with our community partners, we are still pushing Maryland to create a comprehensive policy framework to achieve environmental justice in the state, based on community-driven solutions,” said Coble. “Although the state still falls short of that paradigm shift, the 2022 legislative session delivered significant equity advances to communities that are disproportionately harmed by  environmental and public health problems.”

Several bills supported by the environmental community did not pass, including the FUTURE Act, which would have mandated a transition to zero-emissions for Maryland’s State University System, and the Clean Truck Rule, which would have signed Maryland onto the Advanced Clean Truck Rule to drive electrification of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. A grant program for medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles within the Clean Cars Act (HB1039), however, does take positive steps in this area.

“On the whole, the successes of the 2022 legislative session provide a valuable reminder that to achieve meaningful, lasting environmental victories, we need to elect conservation-minded candidates,” said Coble. “We are enormously grateful to our legislative leaders who delivered for Maryland’s environment and communities this session. It’s crucial that Maryland’s next governor builds on the victories of this legislative session to advance the state towards 100 percent clean energy and truly equitable environmental policies.”

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2023-01-03T14:54:46-05:00April 12th, 2022|Categories: CHISPA, Education Fund|0 Comments

LEGISLATIVE SESSION WRAP-UP WEBINAR 4/12

Tune in via ZOOM on Tuesday, April 12 at noon for a candid rundown of the key environmental bills that made it and those that didn’t in the 2022 General Assembly.

Executive Director Kim Coble will provide updates and insights into the why’s and why-not’s, and how the outcomes will impact us all as we work to combat climate change and environmental inequities.

Fresh from a face-to-face meeting with the Hogan administration, Kim will also shed light on what’s ahead as we wait to see which bills the governor signs into law and which he vetos.

You do not want to miss this insider view into the state of some of the most critical climate legislation in the nation. REGISTER NOW

2023-01-03T14:54:46-05:00April 8th, 2022|Categories: Education Fund|0 Comments

NATIONAL LCV CALLS ON GOV. HOGAN TO SUPPORT THE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS NOW ACT

NATIONAL LCV CALLS ON MARYLAND GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN TO SUPPORT THE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS NOW ACT

Following the Maryland General Assembly’s passage of the Climate Solutions Now Act, the national League of Conservation Voters released the following statement from Bill Holland, Senior Director of State Policy, Advocacy, & Network-wide Campaigns urging Governor Hogan to support the bill and sign it into law:

Last week Maryland’s General Assembly passed the strongest carbon pollution reduction goal in the countryThe Climate Solutions Now Act is the most significant action on climate we have seen anywhere in the country in 2022. This is a critical moment. The consequences of the climate crisis are growing and Marylanders feel the impacts from hotter summers, rising sea levels, and stronger storms every day. In the strongest possible terms, we call on Governor Hogan to support this crucial bill and allow it to become law. He should be championing such a win-win for Maryland.

From new electric school buses so our kids can breathe easier to stronger efficiency standards in new buildings, this bill will create a cleaner healthier future and invest in thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs for Marylanders. Thanks to the tireless leadership of Senator Paul Pinsky, Delegate Kumar Barve, Delegate Dana Stein, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and Speaker Adrienne Jones, the Climate Solutions Now Act is a chance to re-establish Maryland’s climate and clean energy leadership. Governor Hogan should stand up for Maryland’s environment and follow the legislature’s leadership.”

4/7/2022

2023-01-03T14:54:47-05:00April 8th, 2022|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments