As 2017 comes to an end, I want to take this time to thank you for supporting our work through donations and calls-to-action. The letters and emails your give us online or at the door give grassroots credibility when we talk to your representatives about the issues that matter to you - whether it’s forests in Frederick or antibiotics in Annapolis.
Here are some highlights of what you have helped us accomplish this year:
- Passed the Keep Antibiotics Effective Act - Maryland became the second state to ban the use of antibiotics to prevent disease in healthy animals.
- Banned Mercury Switches and Relays and Lead Wheel Weights - Mercury and lead from consumer products is entering our waterways when these products are thrown away and incinerated. Maryland joined a growing list of states that have banned mercury switches and relays and lead wheel weights.
- Passed CB30 for publicly funded elections - On July 5th, the Howard County Council overturned a veto to put the Citizens’ Election Fund into law. Starting in 2022, candidates will be able to mount competitive campaigns by relying not on corporate donors or PACS, but on matched donations from Howard County residents.
- Mobilized the Baltimore Peoples Climate Movement Table - Last winter, we worked with a network of local environmental groups, human rights organizations, community groups, artists, and more to mobilize for the 2017 Peoples Climate March and for continued advocacy on climate, jobs, and justice in Baltimore. Since then, the coalition has continued and grown, providing a home for powerful mobilization and collaboration rooted firmly in a vision for a healthy, sustainable, and just Baltimore City.
- Tested Baltimore Drinking Water for Lead - This fall, we collected over 200 drinking water samples from homes across Baltimore City. The samples are still at the lab, so look in 2018 for a report about our findings and best practices for how you can minimize your exposure to lead.
- Spoke out for Offshore Wind - This spring, we brought over 400 comments from our members to the Public Service Commission, mobilized Baltimoreans to speak out at public hearings about the benefits offshore wind could bring to the city, and worked with the Baltimore City Council to pass a resolution demanding the projects be approved - and they were! We'll need to keep fighting for offshore wind in 2018, though, so stay tuned.
Please mark on your calendar the Maryland Environmental Legislative Summit, on January 18th. This year we will have both half-day, bring-your-own-lunch workshop with advocacy training and networking before the Summit! Register for one or both today.
This has been a whirlwind year for us, with so much turmoil on the national stage. Thank you for turning your passion into action on the state and local level, mobilizing with us to move Maryland forward.
From all of us in our Maryland office,
Happy Holidays!
