DCDL

Our friends at the Sierra Club’s DC chapter are having one of their “Sierra Club and Beer” nights on Tuesday, October 23, from 7 to 9pm at Temperance Hall (3634 Georgia Avenue NW, Georgia Avenue–Petworth Metro):

Enjoy free beer. Meet new people. Protect the planet.

Join us for free beer and become part of Sierra Club’s mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet. Meet other folks who care about local and national conservation issues, win prizes, and find out how you can help make DC a leader in the fight against global warming.

As of last month, there are two monthly happy hours in DC for people interested in environmental issues, and both are happening this week.

The Sierra Club happy hour is on the second Monday of each month at different locations. Tonight, March 12, it’s in Adams Morgan at the Reef (2446 18th St NW), in the street-level bar, 5:30–7:30pm. It’s an opportunity to socialize with local environmental activists, hikers, and Sierra Club members, and this time there’s a presentation as well:

Representatives from the Sierra Club Inner City Outings (ICO) will be available to answer questions about the program. ICO provides wilderness adventures for people who wouldn’t otherwise have them, including low-income youth of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, hearing or visually impaired individuals, and the physically disabled. ICO promotes personal development by linking cultures, fostering respect of self and others and providing leadership skills.

For more information, see the DC Sierra Club site or e-mail Chasta Piatakovas at cpiatakovas{at}netzero.com.

The newer happy hour is Green Drinks, which meets on the second Tuesday of the month (March 13 this time), 6–8:30pm, at Local 16 (1602 U St NW):

GOAL: To bring together all who share a passion for the environment, sustainable/green living, energy efficiency and green power, green transportation, green product-sourcing, environmental legislation and advocacy, LEED architecture, and, well, you get the picture.

PRODUCT: The creation of a green community network, a sense of place, and connections with like minded people.

WHAT: These events will be very simple, unstructured and mostly FUN! We’ll meet monthly, same time and place.

For more information, contact Tina Schneider at indigoblue2{at}verizon.net.

In spreading the word about Drinking Liberally, one of the local groups that I try to do cross-fertilization with is the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. The club has made its endorsements for the September 12 Democratic primary in DC, but they don’t seem to be on its website anywhere, so I thought I’d quote them here (I’ve added links to the candidates’ websites):

Council chair — Vincent Gray
Gray stands out for his forward-thinking approach to public transit and his commitment to cleaning up the Anacostia River and protecting our parkland. He has been a consensus-builder in his ward, and as chair he will push the council to advance the city’s environmental agenda.

At Large — Phil Mendelson
Mendelson has been an unwavering environmental supporter over the last eight years, shining as a leader on issues of renewable energy sources, restricting the transport of hazardous materials, promoting restoration of the District’s tree cover, and more. He is committed to protecting the District’s green space for generations to come.

Ward 1 — Jim Graham
Graham has been an outspoken leader on public transportation issues during his two terms, playing an instrumental role in improving and expanding Metro service and replacing dirty diesel buses with clean natural gas buses.

Ward 3 — Mary Cheh
Tops in an excellent field of candidates, Cheh will prove to be a knowledgeable and articulate advocate for parkland protection and transit-oriented development.

Ward 6 — Tommy Wells
Wells understands how to improve the quality of our urban environment by improving transit, cycling and walking opportunities.

The club has not made endorsements in the mayoral and Ward 5 contests at this time.

There are no conflicts between these endorsements and those by DC for Democracy, though there are some races where one group made an endorsement and the other didn’t.

On a muggy, occasionally rainy DC night, about 70 people gathered in an upstairs room at Così coffee shop and bar to show their support for Jerry McNerney, the Democrat who’s running against Richard Pombo, the House’s foremost enemy of the environment (I announced the event earlier). Among the crowd were

• members of DC for Democracy and DC Drinking Liberally
• a director of the Sierra Club
• Ian Fried and Campbell Tyler of Blue Catapult, who presented Jerry with a check
• staff from the Humane Society
• the general counsel of a large California tech company, who maxed out on his contribution for Jerry
• students from area universities
• Helen McCloskey, wife of Pete McCloskey, the Republican who challenged Pombo in the primary
• Hill staffers
• Jerry’s son, Michael, a lieutenant in the Air Force
• Jerry’s brother, John, from Connecticut
• political organizer Christine Pelosi
• Christine’s mother, Nancy (whom you may have heard of)
• Rep. George Miller (D-CA-7)
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9)
• Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA-6)
• other Democratic members of Congress

Jerry was introduced by Congressman George Miller and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (I got a bad photo — should have used a flash). He then spoke about his how he got into alternative energy and eventually ended up running for Congress.

Jerry spoke about having a job interview for an oil company at a site where he could taste the oil in the air. He knew he didn’t want to be contributing to that sort of pollution, and he had to decide whether to take the money or do the right thing (and, as Jerry said, we know what Richard Pombo would do in that situation). So he went into wind energy.

Years later, Jerry said, his son Michael felt called to join the military after 9/11, and then in 2004 Michael noticed there was no Democrat running in the 11th District and suggested that his father do his part for the country by running. Jerry jumped in at the last minute, ran as a write-in in the primary, and got onto the ballot to run against Pombo. Unfortunately he didn’t win that time, but now he’s back with the experience he’s gained from his first campaign, and judging by the polls and the number of supporters, he’s doing a lot better this time.

If you missed the fundraiser and still want to do your part by donating what you can afford, you can give through the ActBlue netroots candidates page.

Update (July 18): It’s possible it was Pete McCloskey’s daughter, not his wife, who was there. Sorry for the inept reporting.

Are you worried about what’s happening to the environment under Republican rule? Then show up at an affordable fundraiser for Jerry McNerney, the Democrat running for Congress in California’s 11th District. Join Jerry, Democratic members of Congress, and DC netroots activists on Wednesday, July 12, 5:30-7:30pm, at Così, 301 Pennsylvania Ave SE (Capitol South Metro). Suggested donation is $25 per person, but please give more if you can afford it. RSVPs to Kenneth Christensen at 202-543-8191 (or ken{at}caiassociates.com) are appreciated.

McNerney’s opponent is the Republican incumbent, Rep. Richard Pombo, who we’ve written about several times before, mainly in connection with his proposal to sell off Roosevelt Island. The way he’s used his chairmanship of the House Resources Committee to do the bidding of oil and mining companies has made Pombo the foremost enemy of the environment in the House. He’s also one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress, according to the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Here’s Pombo having his head adjusted by the Personal Space Invader-in-Chief (from Pombo’s own photo gallery):

Jerry McNerney, on the other hand, is a windpower engineer who ran against Pombo in 2004. This time around he has great support from the netroots, who have helped him win endorsements (and donations) from Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots Fund and Democracy for America, and have put him among the Map Changers finalists for Mark Warner’s Forward Together PAC. There’s an interview with him on the DNC blog.

A poll in May by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showed McNerney actually winning over Pombo 46 to 42 percent (PDF), so this seat is a real pickup possibility for Democrats — if McNerney can get the money to fight back against Pombo’s polluter-backed and corruption-funded campaign. So come meet Jerry and give generously!

Update (July 14): Followup.

Thanks to all who came out last night to make our dinner-and-a-movie outing to see Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” a success. There were about 25 of us, and everyone seems to have been impressed by Gore’s delivery of his message. AltHippo has posted his thoughts.

Anyone who hasn’t seen “An Inconvenient Truth” should go see it. As it said at the end of the film, there’s more about steps you can take on the film’s website.

The industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (recently mocked webwide for its “CO₂: They call it pollution, we call it life!” ads) has come out with ads attacking Al Gore that feature numbers that are wildly off and seem to be completely made up.

Salon has an article talking to actual scientists about whether Gore got the science right. One of the scientists, Eric Steig of the University of Washington, has posted a review on the RealClimate website (and while looking at the site I saw an interesting article about carbon offsets).

This past Saturday, a few dozen Sierra club members, local citizens, and environmentalists gathered on scenic Theodore Roosevelt Island, located on the Potomac between Foggy Bottom and and Arlington, VA. One person was conspicuously absent, however, Rep Richard Pombo (R-CA). Saturday’s rally may not have been held in Pombo’s “honor” so much as to point out the danger that Pombo’s actions hold towards the environment. From drilling in the Arctic reserve, to oil rigs on the coast of Virginia, to gutting the Endangered Species Act, Pombo seems to relish his role as the Anti-Environmental Prince of Darkness.

I asked one of the speakers, what in his opinion motivated Pombo. What could move him to draft a bill to sell off national park land, including the very park where we met? The speaker nodded his head, understanding how puzzling Pombo’s behavior was. “Power,” he said. “Money and power.”

“You don’t think it’s personal?” I probed.
“Pombo has been well trained to make it look like that.” While the speaker didn’t mention a certain exterminator from Texas, one whose antics leave one puzzling over how much is personal, how much is ham-handed acting, Tom Delay came unbidden to mind.
(more…)

Over at my other place, a reader had written in asking some really good questions. Since I had just posted on Pombo, this largely serves as a follow up to that previous post.

(more…)

Representative Pombo (R-CA) is apparently gearing up for a little environmental jihadism: (Washington Post)

Imagine Theodore Roosevelt Island filled with strip malls and hundreds of luxury townhouses, all with breathtaking views of the Potomac River and the monuments. A new bridge would connect the newly developed island with George Washington Memorial Parkway.

That vision of the island’s future is contained in a House Resources Committee “brainstorming” document that was inadvertently released to the public. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) is looking for ways to raise $2.4 billion in new federal revenue.

This is reminiscent of another Pombo story from 2004.
(more…)

Though last place is very good in this case. According to the California Energy Commission, DC has the lowest per capita gas consumption. At 214.4 gals/person, DC is well below half the national average of 470.6.

Congratulations DC for getting the lead out. Granted it’s in the water supply now, but it’s a start.

Via Metroblogging DC