Tag: Climate Crisis
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Virginia’s General Assembly: highs and lows
Updated 4/13/26 @ 11:15am Thank you to Nature Forward volunteers Anne DeNovo, Chris Powell, Heather Safford, and Sabine Miller who helped track VA legislation this General Assembly and co-wrote this blog post with NOVA Conservation Advocate Renee Grebe! Lots of good environmental wins and some progress still to be made It is undeniable that many…
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Post-Sine Die Updates
The Maryland General Assembly will wrap up Monday, April 13th after many hours of poring over legislation, tracking amendments, and hundreds of letters from Nature Forward’s members to their legislators. Read on to understand which of our priority bills were able to pass muster this session. This year, Nature Forward and Marylanders for Data Center…
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Building Flood Wise Communities Expanded
As climate change intensifies, flooding is no longer a distant possibility for Washington, DC, it’s a present and growing reality. In response, Nature Forward, alongside powerful community partners, Ward 7 Resilience Hub Community Coalition, The Green Scheme, and Washington Interfaith Network has expanded and reimagined Building Flood Wise Communities Workshop Series. Through the support of…
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DC’s Fight for a Bottle Bill: How the 3RC for DC Coalition Is Leading the Way
Washington, DC is drowning in beverage container waste. From the banks of Oxon Run to neighborhoods across all eight wards, plastic bottles litter our public spaces and waterways. But a powerful grassroots movement is fighting back using strategy, determination, and collaboration. 3RC for DC, the Return, Refund, Recycle Coalition, the driving force behind the District’s…
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What is the Utility RELIEF Act and Where Is It Now?
The Utility RELIEF Act is a broad energy and environmental bill focused on lowering electricity costs for Maryland ratepayers. It is an omnibus bill, incorporating aspects from at least 15 different energy and environmental bills that did not pass on their own this session. Originally, the bill’s data center provisions were fairly weak. However, after working with members of the Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment, several of Nature Forward and Marylanders…
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The Potomac Interceptor Sewage Spill: Water Infrastructure Wake-Up Call
In January 2026, one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history occurred along the Potomac River, exposing vulnerabilities in aging wastewater infrastructure and raising urgent concerns about environmental health, economic impacts, and public accountability across Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line not only polluted a critical regional…
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Nature Forward Statement on Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Sale of Publicly Owned, County Land for New Data Center Development
For Immediate Release – March 18, 2026 For more information contact Lisa Goodnight at [email protected] or 301-450-1478, or Nature Forward Communications Director [email protected] 301-450-1458 Chevy Chase, MD – Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors undermined its own climate goals and One Fairfax equity policy by unanimously approving the sale of publicly owned, County land to a…
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Data Center Bills for MDGA2026
Sine Die Updates: You can read our full press release on the end of session here! Crossover Updates Before Crossover, Governor Wes Moore and General Assembly leadership introduced the Utility RELIEF Bill, which is an omnibus bill that includes many of the energy and data center bills that we have been working on. Even if…
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2026 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Priorities
Updates: Bill Outcome Next Steps CHERISH (HB1287) Dead – read more here Work with MDE and coalition members to ensure that CHERISH finds a middle ground for next session CHERISH (HB1268) Dead – read more here Work with MDE and coalition members to ensure that CHERISH finds a middle ground for next session Bottle Bill…
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Data Centers are said to create jobs, but people need to know: what kind and how many?
Guest post by Nature Forward volunteer Sheila Igoe…if you’d like to research, write, and edit educational materials like this, reach out! Photo via The Cyber Express Among the many controversies surrounding data center construction is the question of jobs–how many and what kind will be created during construction and operational periods? Empirical evidence shows that…