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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

Serving 19 Counties in Eastern North Carolina since 1974

CYPRESS NEWS

Table of Contents

Page 1 : Program Page 2 : Outing Page 3 : Offshore Oil Page 4 : Green Expo Page 5 : 2018 Election Page 6 : ECU Films Page 7 : About Us

MARCH

PROGRAM

MONDAY March 12, 2018 7:00 pm

131 Oakmont Drive UU Congregation Greenville, NC

DIRECTIONS

Oakmont Drive is located off Charles Blvd, south of Red Banks Rd, across from

Fitness Connection.

All programs and activities of the Cypress Group are open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend.

Monday, March 12, the Cypress Group of the NC Sierra Club welcomes Rick Savage of the Carolina Wetlands Association as its guest speaker. The program will be held at 131 Oakmont Drive in Greenville from 7-8:30 pm and open to the public. Students are particularly encouraged to attend.

Mr. Savage’s talk will include the history of wetland evaluation in North Carolina. He will talk about how wetlands were monitored in North Carolina as part of an EPA project for ten years. He will discuss how the EPA's National Wetlands Condition Assessment was done in 2011, the role North Carolina played in that assessment, and how a regional assessment followed in 2012, which included North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Savage will describe other projects leading up to the end of the program in 2014, resulting in the compulsory return of $600,000 dollars in grant money to the EPA.

“Carolina Wetlands came about as a direct outcome of the loss of monitoring and assessment at the national, regional, and state level of the health of our wetland resources,” says Savage. “I came to love and appreciate the wetlands, their beauty, their function, and their value to our society. I learned that we could save hundreds of millions of dollars in water treatment if we let our wetlands do their function. I also knew that I could not leave my job with the State and not still care deeply for our wetlands. Turns out so did a lot of other people. I will tell the group about our Wetland Treasures program, the Wetland Forest Initiative, and other projects of Carolina Wetland Association.”

Savage worked as a Systems Engineer with IBM for 18 years, before returning to university (NC State) for a second Masters degree in Natural Resource Management. He was employed with the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources in the Division of Water Quality, where he worked for 12 years doing wetlands monitoring research for the EPA. When the McCrory Administration decided that it did not want scientific study of wetlands funded by the EPA, Savage left and formed the Carolina Wetlands Association, where he has been President of the Board of Directors since its founding in June, 2015. He is also the Co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Wetland Forest Initiative and Chair of the Town of Cary's Environmental Advisory Board. Additionally Savage runs the Cary Downtown Farmers Market.

For more information about this and other programs of the Cypress Group, contact Cindy Elmore, at elmorec@ecu.edu or 252-258-3329.

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

cypress outing

Pettigrew State Park Hike & Lake Phelps

Let’s take a hike at Pettigrew State Park near Creswell, NC on Saturday, March 17. Pettigrew State Park lies along the shoreline of Lake Phelps, NC’s second largest fresh water lake, and by a forest of old-growth trees. We will walk 2.8 miles to Moccasin Overlook for a really nice view of the lake.

After a break on the pier for snack or lunch, we will return to the visitor center, which has a lot of cool taxidermied critters. The walk is easy-to-moderate (total distance of 5.6 miles) on a good trail that

passes tall trees alongside the lake on our left and a canal and fields on the right. As an optional attraction to see afterwards, there is a historic plantation and the second oldest dugout canoe in the US.

Meet at the State Park Visitor Center at 10:15 on Saturday, March 17. In Greenville, we can meet at 8:30 AM at Ollie’s Bargain Store on the corner of East 10th Street and Greenville Blvd.

For information about the park, visit their website at http://www.ncparks.gov/pettigrew-state-park. You can sign up with Tom Williams at 252-917-4180 or on Cypress Group’s meetup page: http://www.meetup.com/Cypress-Group/.

Support our sponsors

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

boem meeting in raleigh

from Sierra Club NC Chapter State Director, Molly Diggins…

We had an astonishing turnout in Raleigh at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) pub-lic meeting on offshore drilling, February 26. As in 2015, the federal government is holding open house-style hearings instead of allowing oral testimony. But this didn't stop us from making our voic-es heard. The Sierra Club and our Don’t Drill NC coalition partners organized a rally in the same ho-tel as the BOEM meeting, and it was a tremendous success for all those concerned about the potential of offshore drilling and seismic testing off the North Carolina coast.

Over 500 North Carolinians enthusiastically cheered an excellent and diverse group of speakers. They included Michael Regan, secretary of the NC Department of Environmental Quality, coastal elected leaders, a commercial fisherman, voices of faith and coastal business owners, all of whom love and are committed to protecting North Carolina’s pristine waters and beautiful coast.

And coastal residents showed up! This was BOEM’s only hearing scheduled for North Carolina - and it was held hundreds of miles from the coast. But the Don’t Drill NC coalition sold out four buses that carried passengers from four coastal cities to Raleigh (and the coalition purchased a carbon offset for the bus trips!). BOEM officials said that this was the largest turnout they have had on the East Coast!

Much of the success was due to the leadership of the chapter’s coastal coordinator, Erin Carey; lead organizer Zak Keith; and communications coordinator Margaret Lillard, with support from the rest of the NC chapter staff who attended. The event was truly a collaborative effort with our Don’t Drill NC partner organizations, with whom we worked closely over the last six weeks.

Sierra Club groups from across the state stepped up too! Coastal leaders including Penny Hooper, Andy McGlinn, Michael Schachter, Madi Polera, Priss Endo, Michael Murdoch, and Dave and Jill Pol-lock all pitched in to help plan and organize members and supporters, and many dedicated time to a coastal phone bank! The event would also not have been possible without the generous financial sup-port of our chapter members.

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

Ecu sustainable film series

Just Eat It: A Food Waste StorY

March 20, Tuesday, 6:30-8:30 pm

Willis Building, 300 E. 1st St., Greenville

In The Clean Bin Project, Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin attempted to produce zero waste in a throw-away society. They stopped buying groceries for six months and survived exclusively on discarded food. Living off rescued goods, they demonstrate how the supply and demand chain is out of sync. It

becomes immediately apparent that this is a widespread problem. Unlike many environmental films that portray apocalyptic outcomes or make viewers feel helpless, Rustemeyer's and Baldwin's personal investment makes major sustainability issues comprehensible, solvable and delicious. Click here to view the trailer: https://youtu.be/zkASAZGIuu0.

before the flood!

april 18, wednesday, 8:00-10:00 pm

Ecu Mendenhall student center, Greenville

If you could know the truth about the threat of climate change — would you want to know? Before the Flood! features Leonardo DiCaprio on a journey as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, traveling to five continents and the Arctic to

witness climate change firsthand. He goes on expeditions with scientists uncovering the reality of climate change and meets with political leaders fighting against inaction. He also discovers a calculated disinformation campaign orchestrated by powerful special interests working to confuse the public about the urgency of the growing climate crisis. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Academy Award-winning actor, and environmental activist, Leonardo DiCaprio, the film presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change, as well as actions we as individuals, and as a society, can take to prevent the disruption of life on our planet. “We need everyone to demand bold action from their political leaders and to elect representatives who have their best interests at heart, not the interests of corporations to perpetuate a cycle of greed and destruction,” says DiCaprio. “This documentary shows how interconnected the fate of all humanity is — but also the power we all possess as individuals to build a better future for our planet.” Click here to see the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UGsRcxaSAI&feature=youtu.be

The carbon emissions from Before The Flood! were offset through a voluntary carbon tax. Learn how you can offset your own carbon emissions by going to carbotax.org.

The Cypress Group is proud to be a Sponsor of ECU’s Sustainability Film Series & Discussion hosted by

Chad Carwein, ECU Sustainability Manager, along with SustainECU, FROGGS, Keep Greenville

Beautiful, Sound Rivers, ReLeaf, ECU Student Activities Board, and the Unnatural Resources Institute.

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

Green expo

Green $aves Green Expo 2018

The Albemarle Area is positioned to become a model “green region” of the state. Come out and learn about clean local renewable energy, efficient heating and air conditioning, energy efficient lighting, insulation, home and office energy audits, energy efficient hybrid and electric cars, local wetlands, parks and recreation. Children will enjoy some neat environmentally friendly activities. LaLupita will have their food truck on site. Buy some environmentally friendly products and enter the raffle for some really neat door prizes.

The Cypress Group is proud to be a Sponsor of the Expo. The event will:

• Build support for energy conservation and the renewable energy industry in this community • Connect attendees with vendors of energy and money-saving products and services • Provide a menu of actions attendees can take to save money and help the environment

• Celebrate the natural resources that make our region special: our waterways, forests, parks, fertile croplands, abundant wind and sun

• Encourage stewardship of these resources through “greener living”

Over 30 vendors and exhibitors will offer consumer-friendly information about the savings and benefits of their goods and services. Attendees will have an opportunity to leave the event with a personal “action plan” and the information they need to implement it.

Interested in a bus tour to one of our local wind turbines?

There will be 3 field trips to visit the Amazon Wind Farm and Albemarle Resource

Conservation and Development Council’s wetland project next to the wind farm. A 12-

person van will leave the Museum of the Albemarle at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm.

The cost is $5 (cash) payable at the van. Space is limited and a sign-up sheet will be

available at the Expo.

Visit Albemarle Resource Conservation and Development Council’s website for lots more information and a list of

vendors: http://www.albemarlercd.org/green-expo-2018.html.

Cypress Group has expanded it’s social media to include Instagram &Twitter!

Find us on Instagram: sierraclub_cypress

Find us on Tweeter: @SierraCypress

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

SAVE THE DATE! 26 APRIL 2018 CYPRESS GROUP NC SIERRA CHAPTER POTLUCK, POLITICS AND OUR PAC

Join friends and other Cypress group members to discuss and identify a political strategy and action plan that will better protect our environment! Bring your checkbook so that we can financially support our Sierra Club PAC.

WHEN: 26 APRIL 2018

WHERE: UU Congregation

131 Oakmont Drive

Greenville NC

TIME: 6:30 PM

Enjoy some great food! Bring a dish to share.

Hear an excellent presentation from NC Sierra Chapter Political volunteers.

Get involved by volunteering your time, talent and very much needed treasure to the PAC and political action!

Discuss the issues that are important to you.

For additional information, contact Cypress Group Political Chair, Dave Emmerling, by email at emmerlingd@gmail.com,

or by phone at 252.916.8555.

2018 elections

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NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER of the SIERRA CLUB cypress group Volume 43 NUMBER 3 march 2018

Charles Brossman Charles Classen

Dr Daniel Bossut Frances Egan

Gary Camarro Karin Thompson

Linda Speary Mr John Mitchener

Pete Friedman Peter Hickey Rena McVey

Robyn Schwantz

The Cypress Group represents 19 counties in eastern North Carolina, from Northampton to Lenoir and Wayne to Currituck, making it the largest Group in the state geographically. The Cypress Group's Leaders are listed below. If you are interested in becoming part of the Leadership Team or serving on a commit-tee, please contact any of the following. We welcome you and need you!

About us

MONTHLY

PROGRAMS

Programs are held month-ly, September through May, on the 2nd Monday of the month. In Decem-ber we have a potluck din-ner and in June we have a Sunday afternoon picnic.

LEADERSHIP

TEAM MEETINGS

All Cypress Group mem-bers are welcome to at-tend Leadership Team meetings. Leadership team meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of the month. Location is 131 Oakmont Drive at 7:00 pm.

Welcome new members!

Chair, Executive Committee David Ames

Secretary OPEN

Treasurer Jeannette Debs

Membership Chair OPEN

Program Chair Cindy Elmore

Outings Chair, Executive Committee Tom Williams

Political Chair, Executive Committee David Emmerling

Conservation Chair OPEN

Publicity Mary Alsentzer

Wood Pellet Issue Chair J. C. Woodley

ECU Sustainability Manager Chad Carwein

Student President of ECU Eco-Pirates, Exec. Comm. Jeremy Serfling