*Want to help Maryland get more of its electricity from clean, renewable
sources of energy?*  Offshore wind turbines generate renewable electricity
without producing air pollution or contributing to global warming, and they
help eliminate the need for destructive fuel extraction practices like
mountaintop removal coal mining.  Last spring, Maryland Governor Martin
O'Malley introduced a bill into the Maryland legislature that would have
jump-started the construction of the first offshore wind farm off the coast
of Maryland.  It gained a lot of support but didn't pass, partly because no
one in the educational system spoke up in favor of it.

Governor O'Malley has already promised to introduce the bill again this
spring.  This semester, Clean Energy at UMD is working with student
environmental groups on other UM campuses to collect signatures on *a
student petition asking the University System of Maryland Board of Regents** to
pass a resolution stating their support for offshore wind*.  If you're
interested, please *sign our petition here:*
http://www.umdforcleanenergy.org/petition.html!

Clean Energy at UMD is a student-run environmental group dedicated to
promoting renewable energy and sustainability on our campus and in
Maryland.  *We meet Monday nights at 7:00 pm in Benjamin Banneker Room A on
the second floor of Stamp*, so if you're interested in offshore wind or
clean energy in general, come join us!  More information can be found at
http://www.umdforcleanenergy.org/index.html.