Maryland state law requires that every new school facility and full renovation be a high-performance building and meet stringent state and international building codes. In an average year, Maryland’s 24 school districts perform renovation or major maintenance on more than 200 of the state’s 1,400 public pre-K-12 school buildings. This provides an enormous opportunity for green construction.
See the full story at Maryland Matters.
More DMV News
Hundreds of Natural Gas Leaks in D.C. Contribute to Climate Change
DCist
If you’ve ever walked down the street in D.C. and thought you smelled natural gas, you’re not imagining things. A new study by a coalition of environmental and religious groups found 389 gas leaks in neighborhoods across the city — more than a dozen of which had gas levels high enough to cause an explosion.
Biogas Bill Gains Bipartisan Support but Opposition from Environmental Groups
Virginia Mercury
The General Assembly is poised to pass legislation that will encourage the state’s natural gas utilities to invest in projects that could capture and reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 25 to 30 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Fees from Pepco Put Solar Panels Out of Reach, D.C. Residents Say
Washington Post
Pepco customers in D.C. say that significant electrical upgrade costs from Pepco are thwarting their plans to go solar — even as the District tries to combat climate change through promoting solar energy.
Money for Electric Vehicle Rebates Appears Unlikely
Virginia Mercury
Prospects for funding Virginia’s electric vehicle rebate program, which was created in 2021 but never given any money, appear dim.
National and International News
Climate Fears on Back Burner as Fuel Costs Soar and Russia Crisis Deepens
New York Times
The debate about the critically important transition to renewable energy has taken a back seat to energy security as Russia — Europe’s largest energy supplier — threatens to start a major confrontation with the West over Ukraine while oil prices are climbing toward $100 a barrel.
Researchers Say Science Skewed by Racism is Increasing the Threat of Global Warming to People of Color
Inside Climate News
Black, Brown and Indigenous people have been systematically excluded from earth sciences, magnifying their exposure to the most severe impacts of climate change. More diversity in research could speed the search for climate solutions and distribute the burden of warming more equitably.
Which States Will Win Out on $9.5B in Federal Clean Hydrogen Funding?
Canary Media
The federal government has $8 billion to spend to kick-start construction of the first “clean hydrogen hubs” in the U.S. — and competition for that funding is heating up. At congressional hearings this month, a number of senators and representatives from both parties pitched their home states as the ideal sites.
Supreme Court Case Could Restrict Biden’s Effort to Tackle Climate Crisis
The Guardian
Joe Biden’s faltering effort to tackle the climate crisis faces a further, potentially devastating, blow on Monday in a supreme court case that experts warn could severely restrict any future US government attempt to limit planet-heating emissions.
How Greenhouse Gases Released by the Oil and Gas Industry Far Exceed What Regulators Think They Know
Inside Climate News
Over much of the last decade, oil and gas operators in Texas and a dozen other U.S. states have flared, or burned off, at least 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That’s the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of nearly 42 million cars driving for a year. The industry has also directly released unknown amounts of gas into the atmosphere through a process called venting.