350 Montgomery County (350 MoCo) is a child organization of 350.org, a left-of-center environmentalist organization that advocates for a complete elimination of the use of conventional energy, focused on the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. 350 MoCo has also supported the Green New Deal, a proposed piece of radical environmentalist legislation. ¹

Activity

350 MoCo has joined the Montgomery County Green New Deal Coalition Building and Community Engagement Project, a local level advocacy project supporting the left-wing  Green New Deal. The project advocates for environmentalist policy that also addresses purported racial and social inequality. ²

Through the Montgomery County Green New Deal Coalition Building and Community Engagement Project, 350 MoCo contributes to the Montgomery County climate scorecard that keeps track of how well the county government is doing in meeting its goal of reducing emissions by 80%. ³

350 MoCo advocates for the total divestment of government funds from energy companies. 350 MoCo has supported a Montgomery County fossil fuel divestment bill (Bill 44-16) and has criticized the country government for not fully divesting the county’s pension funds from conventional energy companies. ⁴

People

Jeffrey Weisner is the president of 350 MoCo. In June 2019, Weisner, alongside other representatives from the Montgomery County Coalition for 80% by 2028, wrote a letter to the Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro (D). The statement advocated for left-of-center environmentalist activist Brandy Brooks to be appointed a seat on the Montgomery County Council because she has called climate change an “emergency.” ⁵

Peter Murtha is a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official who co-founded 350 MoCo. He was president of 350 MoCo until he passed away in 2015. ⁶

Financials

350 MoCo is registered as a nonprofit organization, though its financial data is not publicly available because it has always reported less than $25,000 a year in gross receipts. ⁷

1. “MoCo GREEN NEW DEAL.” 350MoCo. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://www.350moco.org/gnd.
2. “MoCo GREEN NEW DEAL.” 350MoCo. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://www.350moco.org/gnd.
3. “MoCo CLIMATE SCORECARD.” 350MoCo. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://www.350moco.org/moco-climate-scorecard.
4. “DIVESTMENT.” 350MoCo. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://www.350moco.org/divestment.
5. Wallace, Nancy, Lauren Greenberger, Walter Weiss, Jim Driscoll, Sefani Olsen, and Ed Fischman. Letter to County Council. “Memorandum.” Montgomery County, Maryland: Montgomery County Planning Board, June 10, 2019. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2019/20190613/20190613_1.pdf
6. “Facebook. Conservation Montgomery. December 27, 2015. Accessed February 4, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/129749357068584/photos/we-are-very-sad-to-deliver-the-news-that-montgomery-county-activist-peter-murtha/1047004692009708/.”
7. 350 Montgomery County (EIN: 47-5331447); IRS Tax Exempt Organizations Search; 2019; Queries conducted February 3, 2021 https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=475331447&name=350%20Montgomery%20County%20Inc.&city=Bethesda&state=MD&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20DETERMINATIONLETTERS,%20EPOSTCARD&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=EPOSTCARD