On Thursday January 26, 2023 we voiced support for the County Executive to ensure funding for the PGCPS  Climate Change Action Plan, to end funding for synthetic turf, and to fund safer streets for students to walk and bike to school on.

 

Read the full text:

Thank you, County Executive Alsobrooks for this opportunity to address you on the FY24 budget.

My name is Joseph Jakuta and the lead volunteer for Climate Parents of Prince Georges.

Climate Parents is a campaign to reduce climate change causing pollution in our schools, and our group is active in Prince George’s County. In particular, we recently worked directly with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) technical staff and other advocates to develop a first in the national School Climate Change Action Plan.

PGCPS will certainly ask for funds in regards what is necessary to implement their Climate Change Action Plan which was constructed as a complement to the one adopted by the County Council.

Support should be provided for what they need to implement this, including, but not limited to, funding for solar installations, energy management, electric buses, food waste reduction, climate friendly foods, electric heat pump HVACs, and green infrastructure.

Additionally, PGCPS’s CEO Monica Goldson recently announced the school system will discontinue installation of new synthetic turf fields.  We ask that the County commit to ending funding for new synthetic turf fields on their park properties as well. This both helps the environment, children’s health, and alleviates ballooning end-of-life costs to the county.

The county also has a role in making our streets safe for walkers and bikers.  Students do not have access to buses in our county if they are within 1 1/2 mile of elementary schools and 2 miles of other schools.  Those students need safe routes to school.  They need better investments in sidewalks, bike lanes, and traffic safety.  And the county must prioritize that over road expansion. 

Last, but certainly not least, we cannot have a sustainable future without a stable functioning democracy.  In 2018 legislation (CB-99-2018) was passed allowing for matching funds of election candidates in Prince George’s County, but this Fair Election Fund has yet to be budgeted.  The FY24 budget must include the funds to allow this program to flourish.

EPA recently  issued a Request For Information (RFI) seeking information for a Clean School Grants Program funded under the Inflation Reduction Act.  Based on the insights we gained from our work with the Climate Change Action Plan Focus Workgroup we shared this knowledge with EPA to help make a better grant program.

Read the Comments

On August 18, 2022, the Prince George’s Board of Education introduced a Sustainability (Energy Use) Policy for first reader. The Sustainability Policy is intended to fulfill the requirement to develop an energy use policy under HB 630 (2021 Maryland Legislative Session). It also goes beyond the bare bones requirements of HB 630 and institutes into policy many of the recommendations from the PGCPS Climate Change Action Plan.

At the meeting we testified in favor of adoption of the Sustainability Policy, though did have several suggestions for improvements to more completely align the Sustainability Policy with the Climate Change Action Plan. You can read the written testimony here. You can also watch the oral testimony we gave.

On July 14, 2022 we testified to the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) on the need for the IAC to update their rules and guidance to require school construction decisions to be made in light of full Life Cycle Cost Analyses (LCCAs) and the need to include Maryland’s statutory climate goal of net zero emissions by 2045 in its (LCCAs).

Watch the Testimony:

https://youtu.be/culbMpNwCOA

Read the Written Testimony Here.

CR-032-2022 – 2022-07-12 – Testimony – Climate Parents of Prince George’s

We submitted two sets of comments to the full Prince George’s County Council urging them to adopt the County Climate Action Plan. This plan is important for our work since the PGCPS Climate Change Action Plan was developed with this plan as a complement to the one developed by the County Council. You can read our comments here.

And the good news is that on July 12th the County Council passed the resolution adopting the Climate Action Plan in response to all of the positive comments submitted by the public.

We submitted two sets of comments to the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee urging them to adopt the County Climate Action Plan.  This plan is important for our work since the PGCPS Climate Change Action Plan was developed with this plan as a complement to the one developed by the County Council.  You can read our comments here and here.

Its not too late for you to take action too.  Voice your support for the County Council to Adopt the Climate Action Plan.