 
Results in Virginia:
On March 20, the Power 2 Change campaign in Virginia launched with a successful Sierra Club and Beer event that drew more than 80 volunteers. The national Power 2 Change report highlighted Virginia's stories, and the report was released at the Oakton Library, a LEED-certified building in Fairfax County. The campaign was a big hit at the Wakefield Shad Planking, a traditional political gathering that attracts candidates, activists, lobbyists and reporters, and the free CFL light bulbs were popular with the enthusiastic crowd.
Below: good and bad energy actions in this state, as profiled in our report.
Virginia college students are starting a green revolution. Both public and private campuses are bursting with creative ideas and ways to go green. Not only have the environmental studies programs at universities around the country become more popular, but students are also becoming much more active in their campus communities by focusing on promoting energy efficiency, reducing waste, encouraging recycling, and exploring many other ways to become more environmentally friendly.
Old Dominion University (ODU) has come up with an ingenious way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels - a way that has gotten the attention of Governor Timothy Kaine. The students and scientists at ODU have discovered that they can create a biofuel made from algae grown in the tanks of the Virginia Initiative Plant wastewater facility. The algae crop will be dried and converted into biodiesel using a proprietary reactor that has been developed by ODU scientists and students. This process has an extra helping of environmentally friendliness built-in: the algae grown in the wastewater tanks will act as an extra scrubber, removing nutrients from the water that would otherwise be dumped into the Elizabeth River. ODU researchers and students are still performing experiments to determine the conditions under which a maximum population of algae can be grown.
Many colleges in Virginia have also agreed to construct all new buildings according to LEED's (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) codes, including the College of William and Mary, and the University of Richmond. William and Mary's Barksdale dorms will implement biodegradable interior building products, low-emitting carpets, adhesives, paints, and coatings. The materials used in the building of this dormitory will all be manufactured within 500 miles of the building site. The University of Richmond's Heilman Dining Center promotes minimal water usage with innovative piping, sink, and toilet systems. The center also has completely HCFC-free refrigeration units and uses building materials manufactured within 500 miles of the construction site.
One of the most promising parts of the college campus green revolution is promotion of environmental awareness. The students are becoming involved in the future of their campus communities -- actively pursuing their faculty and staff to do the same. Estimating overall carbon footprints, like the report that Hollins University has compiled, has helped many university and college students understand just how crucial environmental awareness is.
Presidents of fourteen Virginia Campuses have signed the Presidents Commitment on Climate Neutrality, pledging their schools to aggressive cuts in pollution and a rigorous education plan. James Madison University even formed the Presidential Commission on Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, an advisory board that will perform energy audits and plan for implementation of green technologies. The nation-wide green campus revolution is well underway in Virginia. Students are actively reaching out to their peers -- making their voices heard and pushing for greener campuses.
Bob and Margi Vanderhye may not think that their concern for the environment inspires those around them, but one of Bob's statements humorously betrays that sentiment.
"I'm not sure that our quiet example has done much to affect the lifestyle of any of our neighbors," said Bob, "except that we did talk one neighbor who is building a new house into using geothermal heat pumps, another into installing a solar hot water heater, and yet another into buying a hybrid."
One could say that the Vanderhye's lead by example in their McLean, Va., neighborhood. Their home is a veritable showcase of energy efficiency and clean energy sources. The two have bought only Energy Star appliances since the rating was first offered and all of their lights have been switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
The Vanderhye home is well-insulated and also relies on the most efficient heating system for their climate without using a geothermal heat pump (which they said they would use if they ever built a house again). They have the most efficient heat pump on the market, with a backup gas furnace that is more than 90% efficient.
Seven years ago they installed solar cells, which provide 20-25% of their electricity needs. The remainder of their electricity is renewable energy purchased from Pepco Energy Services since late 2001. Bob notes that the electricity from their solar cells is more expensive than that from power company Dominion, but "if you consider that our cells reduce the summer peak power load for everyone, and after installation have produced no pollution whatsoever, we consider them to pass our cost-benefit test."
Push for coal would actually cost jobs
Dominion Virginia Power, Virginia's largest electric utility is rushing to build a new coal-fired power plant and a new electricity transmission line before the U.S. Congress takes expected action on global warming in the next year or two. The coal rush is a national movement, with more than 100 coal fired power plants being proposed across the country.
As Virginia's largest electricity provider, Dominion has tremendous political influence with both the state's General Assembly and Governor Tim Kaine. Dominion on average spent more than $5,000 per legislator in 2007 to secure their favorable legislative treatment. Over the last ten years Dominion has contributed more than $4 million to Virginia politicians - with $138,000 alone for Governor Kaine's previous campaign.
Dominion demonstrated its political influence in 2006 by helping get legislation passed that directed the state utility regulatory agency to rule a proposed new coal plant in southwestern Virginia in the public interest. In 2007, Dominion then successfully lobbied again to have the utility regulation legislation rewritten in order to ensure they would get a favorable return on investment of 12% to 13% once the plant was built.
Dominion's misleadingly named "Virginia City Hybrid Center" is actually a new dirty coal-fired power plant. This Wise County, Va., power plant would emit 5.3 million tons of carbon dioxide per year and would continue to practice devastating mountaintop removal coal mining.
While Dominion and local legislators insist that the power plant would increase employment in southwest Virginia, an analyst for the State Corporation Commission found that the increased price of electricity for this $1.8 billion plant would actually cost the state 1,474 jobs. Others have said that by simply eliminating the wasteful use of electricity in the state would eliminate the need for the power plant.
Dominion Virginia Power's permits are now pending before the State Corporation Commission and the state Department of Environmental Quality. A coalition of organizations including Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and the Southern Environmental Law Center are actively working to defeat the Dominion's efforts to build this coal plant.
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