A New Coalition for DC’s Other River: United for a Healthy Anacostia

This month, environmental, community, business and religious groups across the DC Area have banned together to form a new coalition – United for a Healthy Anacostia River (UHAR) to improve conditions on the Anacostia River. While there’s less litter along the River’s streambanks these days, there are still dangerous chemicals in the riverbed and at certain places along the river bank that put humans and aquatic life at risk.  The Coalition is launching a social media campaign to awareness about conditions in the Anacostia The Coalition’s first effort is an online petition addressed to Mayor Gray and members of the DC Council, requesting:

1.      All of the PCBs, PAHs and other toxic chemicals in the tidal Anacostia River, including sites along the shore and legacy toxics in the riverbed sediments must be cleaned up

2.      Planning must be completed and the actual cleanup of the river bottom underway by midway through the next mayor's term (January 2017) 

Please sign UHAR’s petition for a cleaner Anacostia. As the weather warms, plan to participate in a river cleanup on April 5^th, or take a bike or canoe trip along the Anacostia or visit Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens to see for yourself how beautiful this often forgotten river is!

Clean Currents is Closing…but Clean Energy Options are Still Available for DC Residents

We're so very sad to see you go!

Clean Currents, which has offered wind energy options to DC, Maryland and Pennslyvania   electricity customers since 2005, is going out of business. Their DC customers will begin receiving non wind energy Pepco (which is currently using over 40 percent coal and less than 6 percent renewable) for their electricity needs.  According to a Clean Currents statement, the polar vortex is to blame for the business's demise as the extreme cold weather resulted in soaring wholesale electricity prices. A Washington Post story says that the company stopped producing energy this past weekend and will lay off its 19 employees in the coming weeks.
 
Fortunately, there are other clean energy options out there for DC residents that you can sign up for NOW.  GreenLivingDC has a great short article on this topic and posted these options on their website following Clean Currents’ closure.

•  Ethical Electric – current rate for 100% wind with a 3 month contract is 10.84¢/kWh, 12 month fixed rate is 12.54¢/kWh
•  WGES – current rate for 100% wind with a 1 year contract is 11.50¢/kWh
•  Viridian – current rate for 100% wind with a 6 month contract is 11.29¢/kWh, or 11.59¢/kWh for a 24 month fixed-rate contract.

Meanwhile, Groundswell is doing a bulk clean energy purchase in the Spring. Bulk purchases can save you money by reducing the cost of your kWh. According to Groundswell, their fall bulk purchase was 16 percent lower than what homeowners would have been able to negotiate on their own. Whatever option you do, please continue to invest in clean energy!