SM at Sustainable States Network Retreat /
Welcome Aboard North Brentwood & Morningside/
Utility Energy Registry Moves Forward /
SM Featured in National Business Magazine
Our monthly sampling of news, resources, events and other items of interest from across the sustainability spectrum in Maryland.
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Volunteers planting native plants this fall in recently SM-registered North Brentwood
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FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
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Land & Water Conservation Fund Grants
Deadline: Dec. 18
Link
Montgomery County Green Bank
More info
Montgomery County Energy Efficiency Program
More info
Prince George's County Sustainable Energy grants
More info
Prince George's County Green Energy Loan program
More info
Maryland Urban & Community Forestry Grants
(Maryland DNR)
Deadline: semi-annual
More info
Charles County Forestry Grant Program
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
Community Engagement & Restoration Mini-grants
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
Prince Georges County Weatherization Program
Deadline: Rolling
Prince Georges County Raincheck Rebate
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
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EVENTS CALENDAR
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Date: Dec. 10
Financing Urban Tree Canopy: A How To for Chesapeake Communities
Date: Dec. 13
Location: DC
2nd Annual Grinch Garbage Gather
Date: Dec. 15
Location: Lexington Park
Looking Ahead
Growing Our Future Harvest
Dates: Jan. 17-19
Location: College Park
Link
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Date: Jan. 26
Locations: Annapolis, DC
National Bike Summit
Dates: March 9-12
Location: Wash., DC
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SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND COMMUNITIES IN THE NEWS
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Naval Academy Plans to Raise Seawall as Annapolis Faces Sea Level Rise
More
More Land Uses Could be Coming to City of Frederick's Business District
Mini-parks are popping up in Hyattsville for PARK(ing) Day
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WELCOME ABOARD NORTH BRENTWOOD AND MORNINGSIDE!
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We are pleased to welcome two newly registered Prince George's County municipalities to the Sustainable Maryland program:
the Town of North Brentwood and the Town of Morningside.
These two towns bring our total to 24 of the County's 27 municipalities registered with the SM program. It also will result in all of the municipalities along the Route 1 corridor, from Laurel to Mount Rainier on the DC line, participating in the program. We're excited to work with both Morningside and North Brentwood in 2019!
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UPDATE: UTILITY ENERGY REGISTRY IN MD AND NATIONALLY
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The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) will continue to help launch a Utility Energy Registry (UER) in the state of Maryland in 2019. Working with our partners at Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on a grant from the US Department of Energy, EFC staff convened stakeholders across the government, utility and non-profit sectors in 2018 to help determine the structure and process of setting up a comprehensive registry of utility data that will be publicly accessible and regularly updated. These efforts have yielded a draft protocol of common data points for the registry.
The goal will be an online platform that contains aggregate electricity usage data by municipality or zip code for different types of customers (residential, commercial, and industrial). Access to this information will enable communities to better understand their energy usage patterns and to develop energy and climate mitigation plans. Next year will be dedicated to coordinating data and developing a beta website.
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Jim Yienger of NYSERDA presenting at Sustainable States Network retreat
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Jim Yienger of the NY State energy office and coordinator of this effort presented on the ongoing UER projects in NY, MD, DC, and MN at the recent Sustainable States Network retreat (see article below). MN's LogoPep program is already ahead of the curve in aggregating data and making it publicly available.
Stay tuned for more updates on our progress to launch a public website next year.
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SM STAFF PARTICIPATES IN SUSTAINABLE STATES NETWORK CONVENING IN POTOMAC, MD
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Dazzle Ekblad of NY Climate Smart Communities program speaking at the Sustainable States Network meeting this month
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SM staff participated in the third national convening of the
Sustainable States Network, held at the Bolger Center in Potomac, MD this month. Participating states include California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Working groups include shared data energy infrastructure, equity issues, and federal/state partnerships. Presentations included "Embedding Equity in Our Work", "Regenerative Development", "Accelerating Program Impacts", and "Education, Training, and Outreach Programs". To learn more about the network, contact
infoN2S2O@gmail.com
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SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND PROGRAM FEATURED IN NATIONAL BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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The SM program was
featured in Business View magazine last month. The article highlights the origins of the program, examples of projects MD towns have undertaken, and the driving inspiration behind the work the SM team does each day: "
One of the most important things about the program is supporting and inspiring individuals and communities as a whole to pursue these projects, because the change we need to make needs to come from the bottom up."
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QUOTE
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"As [the recent
National Climate Assessment] makes very clear, if we don't tackle climate change, it will cost our economy billions and endanger our national security and our health. S
tepping up now to move toward renewable energy, more sustainable agriculture and electric cars can yield economic benefits. The longer we wait, the more our communities will suffer under bigger wildfires, longer heatwaves, more severe droughts and shrinking crop yields. We can't afford that future."
-- Lou Leonard, Vice President, World Wildlife Fund
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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
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Mike Hunninghake
Program Manager
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