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Sustainable Maryland Update
August 2019

 
Sustainability-Themed Sessions from MML Summer Conference/ Global Climate Strike Sept. 20-27 /  
50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 
 
Our monthly sampling of news, resources, events and other items of interest from across the sustainability spectrum in Maryland. 

Charles Mahron from the Strong Towns movement at the Summer MML Conference in June
FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
EVENTS CALENDAR

Reversing Global Warming: Intro to Drawdown
Date:  August 21
Location:  Columbia

Jobs for a Low-Carbon, Circular Economy
Date:  August 22
Location: DC

Looking Ahead

National Drive Electric Week Events in MD
Date: S ept. 14
Location:  Annapolis
Date:  Sept. 15
Location:  Hyattsville
Date: S ept. 21
Location:  Poolesville

Global Climate Strike
Date: September 20th, 27th
Location: TBD
  
5th Annual DC Sustainability Summit 
Date: Oct. 16
Location:  DC

Maryland Clean Energy Summit
Date: Oct. 22
Location:  Hyattsville

Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Conference 
Date:  Nov. 19-20
Location:  Baltimore


SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND COMMUNITIES IN THE NEWS


Speakers at Thurmont Library Highlight How Climate Change has Affected Maryland  
More
 
Poolesville Sunflowers are Blooming   
More
 
Old Salisbury Mall Site, Vacant for Years, Sold for Redevelopment
 
Takoma Park Listens to Recommendations
in Tree Ordinance Review
More 
 
 
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY SESSIONS AT MML SUMMER CONFERENCE ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE

The   Maryland Municipal League's Summer 2019 Conference was held in June in Ocean City. The summaries from the many workshops are now  available online, including many with a sustainability theme.  
 
The  Strong Towns Keynote presentation slides and follow up webinars can be found  here. They provide many online resources to help communities achieve the Strong Town approach, such as webinars, videos, and podcasts. The Strong Towns podcast with Charles Mahron is a great resource for local elected officials, staff and Green Teams.
 
The  Future of Recycling and Zero Waste presentation slides can be found  here. They discuss the successes and challenges of recycling, the reasons to recycle, recycling statistics. The second set of slides ( here) discusses the future of recycling, the economic factors and impacts, and necessary investments to improve the quality of commodities.  
 
The  LED Lighting presentation slides can be found  here. It discusses the switch to LED streetlights in Takoma Park, MD, the benefits of LED lights, and how towns can implement LED lights, and other considerations. 
 
The  Procurement Best Practices presentation slides cover a range of achieving best practices. This  document discusses how to balance perceived opposing goals and objectives and includes some key terms and descriptors. This  presentation workshop discusses what procurement is and its values. This  presentation discusses the benefits of procurements to local governments. This  document is Ocean City's Procurement Policy and Procedure Manual.

GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE: OUR YOUTH DEMAND ACTION
The youth have had enough of the lack of action taken to combat climate change, and are asking people all over the world to join them on September 20th and 27th to protest this inaction and bring awareness to the seriousness and urgency of climate change. These dates were selected because the UN Emergency Climate Summit in New York will meet September 23, and the general protest is scheduled for September 27. 
 
150 countries have already started to organize their climate protests. 
Each protest around the world will tackle a different topic that falls under the umbrella of climate change, such as oil drilling and the expansion of mines, while others will educate their communities and push for solutions for these issues. The goal is to "disrupt business as usual" by walking out and protesting. These protests originate from school students who walked out of school every Friday to protest these issues and were called #FridaysForFuture.  
 
Locally, there will be a climate strike event in Frederick on Sept. 20, in Silver Spring on Sept. 20, and DC on Sept. 20
 
If you or your Green Teams want to get involved or learn more as more strikes are added, click here.
 
START PLANNING YOUR GREEN TEAM EVENTS NOW FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY IN 2020
2020 will mark Earth Day's 50th Anniversary!
 
Green Teams can start planning now for a year of education and action.  
 
The first Earth Day in 1970 enlisted 20 million Americans and helped launch the modern environmental movement. It also led to the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States, including the Clean Air, Clear Water and Endangered Species Acts. Many countries soon adopted similar laws, and the United Nations chose Earth Day 2016 to sign the Paris climate agreement.
 
Green Teams across Maryland can use this landmark event and year to raise awareness in their communities about the impacts of climate change and the many ways they can mobilize groups and individuals to care for and protect the Earth:
  • Green your municipal fleet - go hybrid or electric
  • Conduct energy audits on your buildings - figure out ways to reduce energy and carbon emissions
And let Sustainable Maryland staff know if we can help you take advantage of this timely and tremendous opportunity. 
 
QUOTE
   
"Above 2 degrees of global warming there could be an increase of 100 million or more of the population at risk of hunger... We need to act quickly." 
 
---Edouard Davin, researcher at ETH Zurich, commenting on the recent UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on climate change and agriculture/food supply 
 

Sustainable Maryland is an initiative of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland. It is a free and voluntary program designed to help Maryland communities choose a direction for their sustainability efforts, improve access to resources needed to implement action, and recognize their accomplishments. Our sponsors include the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Municipal League. For more information about how your municipality can register in the Sustainable Maryland program, plus customized Green Team training and access to student resources that are available to provide consultancy services for municipal planning, please contact 301-405-7956 or mikeh75@umd.edu   

Mike Hunninghake
Program Manager 
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