Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Ellen Post.

The world’s carbon-based economies have a problem. Scientists say we must limit global warming to 2°C to avoid catastrophic climate change. To meet this goal, we can burn only 565 gigatons more carbon. But the fossil fuel industry has 2,765 gigatons of carbon in their proven reserves – nearly 5 times the threshold amount – and every day they’re searching for more. Simply put, their “business plan” is incompatible with a livable planet.

350 Montgomery County (350MoCo) has joined the national campaign spearheaded by 350.org (lead by environmental writer-scholar Bill McKibben) aimed at doing something about this through divestment — the process of pulling institutional investments (here, the MoCo retired employees pension fund) from fossil fuel companies (i.e., oil & gas and coal producers) in order to cease capitalizing the destruction of the planet.

Why divestment? First, it can pack a much-needed political punch. The fossil fuel industry has overwhelming and disproportionate influence in Congress, preventing our elected officials from passing laws that would address climate change by placing a price on carbon pollution. As more and more local governments, universities, and religious institutions choose to divest, the industry will be increasingly stigmatized, creating the political space we need to get climatechange legislation passed — meaning more solar and other clean renewables. Nelson Mandela said divestment was pivotal in ending apartheid in South Africa, and it can succeed here too. Various institutions, including Stanford University, the University of Dayton, and the Unitarian Universalists USA have made commitments this year alone, while Massachusetts and the District of Columbia (led by DC Divest) have pending
legislation, with many sponsors, to divest their employee pension funds. The momentum is growing and world leaders from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Jim Yong Kim (president, World Bank) are calling for it.

Divestment also makes economic sense. As the climate worsens, the burning of carbon will have to be curtailed. While stocks are valued based on full exploitation, most known fossil fuel reserves will need to remain in the ground, becoming “stranded assets.” This makes stock prices in this industry potentially much overvalued. Will Montgomery County lose money if it divests? No. Not only do studies make clear that divestment doesn’t sacrifice rate of return, the prospect of those stranded assets makes divestment the more prudent approach.

And there’s a moral reason too. The U.N. has called climate change “an existential threat to human existence,” and yet the industry’s business plan calls for as much exploration for and development of fossil fuels as possible. It’s time to say we will not be a part of this.

350MoCo has sponsored a petition urging the County Council (and County Executive) to direct the Board of Investment Trustees to (1) make no new investments in the fossil fuel industry, and (2) divest the pension funds it oversees of all holdings in the 200 largest publicly traded fossil fuel companies – currently over $112 million (and mostly paid for by MoCo taxpayers) – within 5 years. 350MoCo’s campaign is growing and includes the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Sierra Club (MoCo), Environment Maryland and others. For more details, and to sign the 350MoCo petition, go to their website: www.350moco.org.

Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Shannon Moore.

Your yard is a heaven where dogs frolic, flowers bloom, and a lush green carpet of grass creates a sense of order and calm. It’s also a source of pollution from pet waste and fertilizer. The hot water coming off your roof, walkways and driveways combines with your neighbors’ yards to create intense storm flows that erode your yard, damage stream banks and cause heat pollution that can kill fish. But there is a way to have it all, and that is to control the runoff coming from your property, and for your neighbors to do the same.

If you’re lucky, your property was built with runoff reduction in mind. Maybe your roof drains, instead of being connected the storm drains that go directly into streams, drain to a nice grassy patch in your yard

or into a rain barrel that you use to water your plants. Maybe you have conservation landscaping or a rain garden that came with your house. And maybe you know exactly how much fertilizer to use so that you save money and pollution by not overfertilizing, or you don’t fertilize at all. If so, good job, and turn the page. If not, hey, you are not alone! Most lawns are like this.

The bad news: polluted stormwater runoff from developed areas is damaging our waterways to the point that they cannot fully support their designated uses. In Frederick County where I work, we have impairments to streams and reservoirs from phosphorus, sediment, and bacteria that are damaging to fisheries. This is especially the case in waterways that support brook trout, where populations will likely become extirpated in 50 years if we don’t do something.

If you live in certain areas of Frederick County, you can take advantage of a new program called Neighborhood Green that provides no-cost landscape plans, fertilizer plans, and cost share for the installation of stormwater practices; see http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/NGreen for more information. You can also learn more about how to restore your yard by participating in the Green Homes Challenge at www.frederickgreenchallenge.org, which has a ton of actions you can do and resources that show you how to do them. There are also resource guides on the internet like the Homeowner Guide for a More Bay-Friendly Property available at http://chesapeakestormwater.net/download/3770/.