In what amounts to a brilliant frontal assault on Virginia’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter, Dominion Virginia Power, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) proved yet again that Virginia’s energy Goliath won’t be able to stomp over Virginia’s future forever.
As the world warms, Dominion Virginia Power seems as committed as ever to continue down its usual path of greenhouse gas intensive energy production. On Monday, Dominion took the steps necessary to “move forward” with its Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) liquefaction project. The price tag on this global warming nightmare is anywhere between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion, according to an application submitted on Monday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
In their kind-heartedness, Dominion has chosen to build a ‘relatively environmentally friendly’ energy plant by selecting LNG. The fact remains, however, that LNG adds a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, from the cradle to the grave, to the planet’s atmosphere. **Cough, cough**
CCAN’s latest ad reminds Virginians how ludicrous it is for Dominion Virginia Power to publicly present itself as ‘environmentally friendly’ or in touch with the demands of Virginians for clean energy. If Dominion spent half as much money actually investing in clean energy research and development and construction as it does with public relations activities to give itself an environmentally friendly pat on the back, Virginia would already be well on its way to averting a climate change induced environmental disaster.
Does Dominion have futures stocks in Virginia’s destruction (partly joking)?!
There will be opponents of CCAN’s latest ad, those who will say something along these lines: if not LNG, then what, you environmentalists want your cake and to eat it too. My response is this: continuing to focus and invest in fossil fuel sources of energy will not only contribute to the continuing warming of our planet and the negative consequences that it brings, it will also disincentivize stronger investments in existing renewable energy technologies and forward-thinking energy technologies like hydrogen cells. That is, Dominion is like the couch potato that only gets up after its had a heart attack. Until that time, it will complacently lie around and let the environment surrounding it wither away.
Virginians have to be that heart attack, that spark that wakes Dominion from its fossil fuel stupor. Virginia’s legislators have demonstrated time and again that they are the delivery men and women who deliver the food directly to Dominion instead of making it get up to feed itself.
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