Solutions

A waning crescent moon hangs over the Chesapeake Bay just before sunrise in North Beach, Md.  Twenty one states are challenging the Obama administration's plan to clean up the bay.  (Ray K. Saunders / The Washington Post)

washingtonpost.com - by Darryl Fears - February 5, 2014

Attorneys general in 21 states are backing an attempt to derail the Obama administration’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, fearing that the government will use that authority to regulate wastewater in other watersheds, including the Mississippi River Basin.

Nearly 100 students, faculty, volunteers of Mountainside Community Mediation Center (MCMC) and other Frostburg community members participated in a peace march that led to the Sustaining Campus and Community Dialogue Series on Oct. 15. The theme of the march was promoting peace on campus and in the community and was held to celebrate National Conflict Resolution Day and the American Bar Association’s Mediation Week. T-shirts designed by student Roland Lovett promoted “Walk in Peace, Learn Through Love.”

Climate Progress, Katie Valentine, October 24, 2013 

It’ll soon take just one day to get a solar permit in Chicago, thanks to a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s down from the 30-day wait that Chicagoans had to endure previously if they wanted to install small-scale solar projects on their homes or businesses. The grant will also help the city cut fees for solar panel installations by 25 percent, to $275.

Chicago’s grant is just one of $60 million worth of solar grants announced this week by the Department of Energy. The grants are housed under the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative, a program announced in 2011 with the goal of reducing the cost of solar energy by 75 percent. The grants announced this week will go toward initiatives including increasing diversity in the solar industry, making installing solar cheaper and easier for Americans, and helping kickstart solar businesses. 

In September of 2012, a 131-page comprehensive report was issued by the Grid Resiliency Task Force in Maryland. This task force was created in response to an executive order from Governor O'Malley in July 2012.  The goal was to obtain input and recommendations from experts on how to improve the resiliency and reliability of the Maryland electric distribution system.

The foundational principles that guided the Task Force recommendations included the following:

 The current level of reliability and resiliency during major storms is not acceptable.

 Increased reliability and resiliency during major storms is the goal of the Task Force and will inform the recommendations.

 Severe weather events resulting from climate change are likely to continue to occur. It is unacceptable for anyone involved in response efforts to continue to be surprised by the “worst storm” the system or the State has ever seen. Utilities, government and citizens must be prepared for severe weather events.