who’s afraid of the carbon rule? - sierra club · pdf filewg host lead: gloria griffith...
TRANSCRIPT
The monthly state newsletter for the Tennessee Chapter Sierra Club Volume 46, Number 5 - September/October, 2014
Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
By Ivy Main, chair of Virginia Chapter Sierra ClubPrinted with permission of the Old DominionSierran
When I was a law student working at theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the‘80s, we sued a company that had been pollut-ing a Maine river for years. Back then, EPAcalculated penalties based on the amount ofmoney a polluter saved by ignoring the require-ments of the Clean Water Act. The idea was totake away the economic benefit of pollution sothat companies would make out better byinstalling treatment systems than by imposingtheir toxic waste on the community.
Not surprisingly, the company’s lawyers triedto prevent their client from having to pay apenalty for all those years it had been dumpingpollution into the river. But their reasoningwas interesting. Faced with the lawsuit, thecompany overhauled its industrial process andeliminated most of its waste products, whichturned out to be a money-saving move. Thus,said the lawyers, the company hadn't gainedany competitive advantage by polluting theriver; it had actually lost money doing so.Really, they'd have made a lot more money ifwe'd forced them to clean up their act sooner.
Needless to say, the argument didn't fly, andthe company paid a fine. But its experience
Presented by: Tennessee ChapterDate: Friday, October 24 to Sunday, October 26, 2014Time: Check in Friday after 3 P.M. Check out 10:00 A.M. Sunday.
WG Host Lead: Gloria Griffith - 423-727-4797 [email protected]: Confirm before October 17 at 11:00 P.M.Location: Pickett State Park Group Lodge
Members and guests can explore large rock houses, natural sandstone bridges, scenicbluffs, and wild mountain streams. The park memorializes and preserves the uniqueworkmanship of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Many of the original buildings wereconstructed of native sandstone rock that the CCC quarried from the nearby forest.These beautifully built buildings have stood the test of time, thus qualifying the park tobe listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More info here:http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/pickett
You are invited to attend the TN Chapter Fall Chapter Retreat!
Group Lodge offers bunkhouse with separate bathhouse accommodations. Early birdreservation fee is $40.00, which includes Saturday and Sunday breakfast plus dinner onSaturday night. Specify vegetarian or omnivore preference with your reservation.Special 1/2 price for first time attendees and a few scholarships are available withadvance approval. Come join the fellowship, hikes, meetings and activities such as TheDefenders Silent Auction. See You There!
Pickett State Park Fall Chapter Retreat
Who’s afraid of the Carbon Rule?turns out to have been a common one. When itcomes to environmental regulation, industryscreams that the sky is falling, but then it getsto work to solve the problem, and frequentlyends up stronger than ever.
This is one reason to be skeptical of ad cam-paigns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerceand the National Mining Association trying toconvince the public that the EPA’s new regula-tions on carbon pollution from power plantswill destroy the American economy. They’vecried wolf so many times they have lost allcredibility.
And in case you are of a generous nature andinclined to forgive previous false alarms, it’sworth noting that the National MiningAssociation campaign earned the maximumfour Pinocchios from the Washington Post fact-checker—meaning, it’s a pack of lies. TheEPA has been scarcely kinder in its analysis ofthe Chamber’s campaign, and the economistPaul Krugman says the Chamber’s own num-bers actually prove compliance with the carbonrule will be cheap.
The fact is, there is little reason to fear theeconomy will suffer by cleaning up carbon pol-lution and transitioning to clean energy. To thecontrary, we have already paid dearly for ourreliance on fossil fuels, through rising health
care costs for asthma and heart disease, throughpremature deaths, and through babies born withneurological damage from mercury in theirmothers’ bodies.
Meanwhile, clean energy industries aregrowing and flourishing. The breathtakingpace of advances in wind, solar and batterytechnologies make it clear that the age of fossilfuels will end in this century. There will bewinners and losers, as there always are in a freemarket, but the new energy economy offers somany opportunities for American companiesand workers that one wishes the fear-mongersat the Chamber and the NMA would stretchtheir necks out of their bunker far enough tosee the horizon.
As for society in general, we have seldomseen a limit on pollution that didn’t make uscollectively better off, and carbon protectionswill be no exception. It is always easier andcheaper to stop pollution at its source than toclean it up later or pay for the damage. Thatwill be true here in spades, where the damageincludes hotter summers, more crop losses,more disease, more destructive storms, andwhole communities swamped by rising sea lev-els. These are already happening, and theyaffect both our health and our wallets.
We have nothing to fear but inaction.
TTeennnneess--SSiieerrrraann
Page 2 - September/October, 2014 The Tennes-Sierran
Target Date forNovember-December Issue
is September 25, 2014.
All meetings and outingsnotices, articles, and
photographsshould be in by then.
Send material toGene Van Horn at
The bi-monthly newsletter of the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club.
SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO:
*Email: [email protected]*Snail Mail: clip the Moving? coupon below and mail
*Address changes are processed much faster if youinclude your Sierra Club membership number. To findyour membership number, look on the address label ofthis newsletter.
SEND ARTICLES TO:
E-mail: [email protected]: Gene Van Horn, Editor
895 Red Cloud TrailSpring City, TN 37381423-365-0692
ARTICLE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Submission Target Date is September 25 for theNovember-December issue.1. E-mail and e-mail attached files are preferred. Send [email protected] either with embedded text mes-sages, or attached files. Attached files are preferred. Wordis preferred but Apple users may send articles in Pages. 2. Photographs should be scanned in a .jpg or a .tif fileformat then either attached to e-mail or mailed via U.S.Postal Service on a 3 1/2” diskette or CD RM. Pleaseinclude a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you wouldlike your diskette or photo prints returned.3. Hard-copy handwritten or typewritten articles may beaccepted: however, pre-approval from the Editor isrequired.4. Any materials submitted via USPS mail will not bereturned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is pro-vided.5. Concerns or complaints should be addressed to:Barbara Kelly, Communications Committee,[email protected] opinions expressed in the Tennes-Sierran arethose of the contributors and do not necessarilyreflect the official views or policies of the TennesseeChapter, or the Sierra Club.
Sierra Club Officers
Please notify theEditor when changes
are needed
TENNESSEE CHAPTER:Chair: Keven Routon (901) 485-3960
[email protected] Chair: Charles White (731) 307-8140
[email protected]: Barbara Kelly (423) 718-5009
[email protected]: Alice Demetreon (660) 247-2288
[email protected]. Treasurer: Bob Perlack (865) 229-5027
[email protected]: Axel Ringe (865) 850-0255
[email protected]: Phil Davis (423) 247-0473
[email protected] Delegate: Keven Routon (901) 485-3960
TN LOCAL GROUPS:Cherokee Groupwww.tennessee.sierraclub.org/cherokeeCo Chairs: Barbara Kelly (423) 718-5009
[email protected] Doyal (423) [email protected]
Treasurer: Barbara Hurst (423) [email protected]
Conservation: Davis Mounger (423) [email protected]
Outings: Sheryl Campbell (423) [email protected]
Upper CumberlandCommittee: John Harwood, 931-372-0493
Chickasaw Group - Memphiswww.tennessee.sierraclub.org/chickasawChair: Judith Rutschman (901) 485-3960
[email protected] Chair: Mark Plumlee (901) 679-4622
[email protected]: Keven Routon (901) 767-3960
kwratcs.me.comTreasurer: Ed Jones (901) 374-0582
[email protected]: Scott Banbury (901) 619-8567
Harvey Broome Group - Knoxville/Oak Ridgewww.tennessee.sierraclub.org/broomeChair: Robin Hill (865) 966-9435
[email protected] Chair: Dave Reister (865) 670-8991
[email protected]: Kris Christen (865) 593-9876
[email protected]: Bob Perlack (865) 229-5027
[email protected]: Axel Ringe (865) 850-0255
[email protected]: Ron Shrieves (865) 922-3518
Middle Tennessee Group - Nashvillewww.tennessee.sierraclub.org/mtgChair: Cliff Cockerham (615) 336-3905
[email protected] Chair: Penny Brooks (615) 792-5306
[email protected]: Charles High
[email protected]: Joel Gearhardt (615) 591-0268
[email protected]: Scott Heflinger (615) 351-2626
[email protected]: Craig Jervis (615) 400-4309
Watauga Group - Carter, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoiand Washington Countieswww.tennessee.sierraclub.org/wataugaChair: Gloria Griffith (423) 727-4797
[email protected] Chair: Sandi Cranford (423)727-5044
[email protected]: Dennis Shekinah (423) 727-6497
[email protected]: Cindy Johnson (423) 768-3882
[email protected]: Dean Whitworth (423)727-7214Outings: Webb Griffith (423) 727-4797
By Whitney JarreldTennessee Chapter Chair Keven Routon pre-
sented the Robbie Cox Award to chapter mem-ber Cliff Cockerham at the May ChapterExcom meeting on behalf of the nationalSierra Club. The award is presented annuallyto acknowledge one member who has "mademeaningful contributions to the progress of theSierra Student Coalition." During this pastyear Cliff mentored students from six differenthigh schools to attack environmental justiceissues in Nashville, testing new social changeand social media tools developed with grantsfrom several foundations to the MYW [MapYour World] project. The Nashville group isdoing groundbreaking work paralleling otherMYW beta test student activist groups in sitessuch as Harlem, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh,
India, Venezuela, Kenya, and Swaziland. TheNashville Sierra Student Coalition is notewor-thy in specifically focusing on an array ofenvironmental justice topics such as homeenergy efficiency, sustainable lifestyles, andtoxic pollutants in air and water. ThroughCliff's international connections and previouswork in developing nations, the Nashville stu-dent group is now fostering youth environmen-tal advocacy counterparts in the CentralYucatan and in Northern India, joining to cre-ate a project-based learning model for environ-mental justice work that will be widely distrib-uted when the MYW website on youth drivensocial change tools is globally launched laterthis year. The 2011 recipient of the RobbieCox Award was Sierra Club President RobinMann.
National Award Given to Tennessee’sCliff Cockerham
Page 3 - September/October, 2014The Tennes-Sierran
SAVE THE DATE: November 14-17, 2014
WHERE: Washington, DC
WHO: Sierra Club members and all those interested in ending nuclear power and dealing properly withradioactive waste. Participating organizations include the Nuclear Information and Resource Service(NIRS), Beyond Nuclear, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Institute for Energy and EnvironmentalResearch, Earthworks and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.
FRIDAY, Nov. 14: Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) Pre-Summit event • Peer to peer sharing of concerns of communities where reactors have closed (or will soon be closing) andcommunities that are being singled out for possible “centralized storage” of high-level irradiated nuclearfuel. In the morning people with the same immediate challenge will share information. In the afternooneveryone will meet together to find common concerns and share insights.
SATURDAY, Nov. 15: Plenary Workshops• Moving to a clean energy economy through phasing out nuclear and carbon – discussion with Sierracoal, oil and gas campaigns; EPA Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule • Front End: Uranium mining and milling; mine and mill waste cleanup; environmental justice issues• Back End: Securing waste: high burnup fuel; waste confidence; hardened onside storage (HOSS);centralized interim storage; transport; low level waste; importation; reprocessing; reports from Friday
SUNDAY, Nov. 16: Strategy • Most useful actions we can take; coordination among organizations; coordination between Sierra
nuclear, coal, oil and gas campaigns• Strategies to shut down commercial reactors• Media strategy• Engaging youth, Sierra Student Coalition • Reports from regions on local challenges• Co-mingling of weapons and power issues
MONDAY, Nov. 17:• Lobby day, Congress is in session
Registration cost is $35. Scholarships will be available. Online registration forthcoming.
Contact: Steven Sondheim 901 237-6504 for information
See our Facebook page: Save the Date! for the Summit for a Nuclear Free Future
Tennessee Chapter Call forNominations for At Large Delegates(2015-2016 Term)
The Tennessee Chapter will elect three(3) at-large delegates for a two-year termbeginning in January 2015. Members arerequested to give serious consideration torunning for these important offices on theChapter Executive Committee (ExCom)which manages the fiscal, legislative, envi-ronmental and other appropriate responsi-bilities for our Chapter.
Requirements of the office of at-largedelegate are as follows:
• Commit to attending the four chapterExCom meetings each year. These meetingsrequire an at-large delegate’s presence forthe meetings each quarter.
• Commit to study issues confronting theExCom from a Chapter or statewide per-spective.
• Commit, for the term of office, to voteelectronically by email on issues thatrequire a Chapter ExCom vote.
• Serve on ExCom committees whenappointed and as needed for the term ofoffice.
If you are interested in being consideredfor nomination for the office of at-large del-egate, please notify the NominatingCommittee Chairperson Barbara Kelly at(423) 718-5009 or [email protected]. The other membersof the committee are Robin Hill and BrianPaddock. Please submit a short statementof your qualifications and reason for run-ning, and respond by Sept 14. The at-largedelegate position provides an opportunity tohave an important role in the Chapter man-agement of a large grass roots environmen-tal organization having more than 6,000members in the State of Tennessee.
Interested parties who are not selected bythe nominating committee will have theopportunity to run by the petition process;contact Barbara for more information. Allcandidates will be expected to provide a shortstatement for the ballot -- details will be pro-vided. Elections will be conducted by ballotdistributed in the November/December issueof the Tennes-Sierran, with provisions spelledout for our "paperless subscribers."
Harvey Broome Group (Knoxville)The Nominating Committee for this class
will be chairman Mac Post with membersWarren DeVine, Axel Ringe, and Ron Shrieves.
Thank you gentlemen for agreeing toserve on this important committee!
This committee will nominate a slate ofat least six candidates to fill the six posi-tions. This committee must report and postits slate of delegates no later thanSeptember 10, 2014 and place the ballot bythat date for publication in the November -December 2014 Tennes-Sierran. Terms ofoffice are for two years.
Any Incumbent who wants to be consid-ered for placement on the ballot shouldnotify the Nominating committee in writingof their intent and desire to be consideredas a candidate.
Members please submit any suggestionsyou have for candidates to the nominatingcommittee chair Mac Post [email protected] as soon as possible.
Watauga Group calls for ExecutiveCommittee nominations
The following members constitute theNominating & Election Committee for the2014 election cycle:
• Rita Cowan 423-727-6497• Catherine Murray 423-929-8163• Linda Carlough 423-768-1170
Current Watauga Group Sierra Clubmembers may self-nominate by
contacting any Nominating Committeemember above by SEPT 8th 2014.
A total of five ExCom members, eachserving two year terms, will be elected toserve JAN 2015 through DEC 2016.Successful candidates will join returningExCom members, Cindy Johnson, LynWalker, Sandi Cranford and Mary Gale.
Nominating Committee ReportsNominees to Watauga Group ExCom
on Tuesday SEPT 9th.* Deadline to submit Candidate
Petitions is SEPT 20th via file doc emailto Dennis Shekinah at [email protected] or USPS mail petition to RitaCowan 900 Mining Town Rd MountainCity, TN 37683.
Nashville Area – A Call to ActionOr, how anyone can make a difference:Our Nashville Area Group (MTG) is made
up of many Sierra Club members – all ofwhom are well aware of the environmentalthreats to our planet. However, only a smallnumber of people are actively involved in ourlocal education, lobbying, and conservationefforts. If you are not already activelyinvolved with an environmental organization,you are encouraged to do more, and join usby:
1. Attending our monthly business/localissues meetings,2. Running for our executive committee, &3. Encouraging others to become activewith our group.NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEINGACCEPTED FOR FOUR SEATS ON
THE 2015 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEExecutive Committee Members serve as
our “Board.” We have required monthlymeetings (usually at the Mad Platter). Wehave nine voting members who take the leadon planning our activities and actions in theMiddle Tennessee area. Please contact BetsyGarber at [email protected], or 615/668-1977 to express your interest, nominatesomeone else for the Executive Committee,or find out about our next meeting. The othermembers of the MTG NominatingCommittee are Joy Mayfield and CharlieHigh; they also will be happy to answer anyquestions. Nominations must be received bySeptember 20, 2014.
Cherokee Group Call for Nominations for 2015-2016The Cherokee Group nominating committee for ExCom candidates for the term of 2015-2016
are: Alice Demetreon, Barbara Hurst and Bob Pyle. Suggestions for candidates, and those interest-ed in becoming candidates should submit their names to Alice for consideration by the committeeby September 15, 2014 at [email protected]. Candidates, if elected, must be willing toactively participate in Group management. Serving on the ExCom requires some commitment oftime and energy, but it is also interesting and fun. Please consider becoming a candidate!
interstellar explorer in the January 2013 issueof National Geographic. How, you ask, doesthis relate to the Sierra Club? Les will dis-cuss how space technology can help solve (inthe long term) some of the energy and envi-ronmental issues we face here on Earth. Hispresentation to the Sierra Club will be drawnfrom his book Harvesting Space for a GreenerEarth. He has also written science fictionbooks including Rescue Mode, GoingInterstellar and Back to the Moon. Popularscience books include Solar Sails, Living Offthe Land in Space, Sky Alert: When SatellitesFail, and Paradise Regained. Les will bebringing books to autograph. Don’t miss thisvery special program!
PROGRAM: November 13, 7:00 P.M. atRadnor Lake Visitor Center, Ice Climbing:Ronson Dykstra will present our first-everprogram on Ice Climbing! Ronson hasclimbed in Canada and Northern Michigan.The program will include photographs fromhis climbs, tales of his adventures, and infor-mation on how it's done. Please join us forthis unique opportunity. These programs arefree and open to the public.
STRATEGY MEETINGS: September16, and October 21th, and November 18th -Tuesdays at 6:30 P.M.
Everyone is welcome at this local issuesand business meeting. Meetings are usuallyheld at the Mad Platter Restaurant, 1239Sixth Ave. North, Nashville 37208 (near theNashville Farmer's Market), but there may betimes we meet elsewhere. If you are not aregular attendee, please contact Betsy at 668-1977 or [email protected] in case themeeting location has changed. Come a bitearly because we start the meeting at 6:30.The Mad Platter is not open on Tuesdayevenings, so be sure to eat before you comeor bring something with you. We look for-ward to seeing you.
WATAUGA GROUP (Northeastern TN)
PROGRAM MEETINGS: Every secondTuesday at 7 P.M. Please contact GloriaGriffith at [email protected] or 423-727-4797 for more information.
HARVEY BROOME GROUP (Knoxville)
September 9, 7:00 P.M. Tennessee ValleyUnitarian Universalist Church, Knoxville.Chris Ann Lunghino, OrganizingRepresentative, Beyond Coal CampaignSierra Club
Overview of the Sierra Club's Beyond CoalCampaign to End Fossil Fuel Emissions
October 14, 7:00 P.M. Tennessee ValleyUnitarian Universalist Church, Knoxville.To Be Determined.
All Harvey Broome Meetings are free andopen to the public. Our Executive CommitteeMeetings are held the 4th Tuesday of eachmonth, 7:00 P.M. at the Tennessee ValleyUnitarian Universalist Church, Knoxville.All Sierra Club members are invited to partic-ipate.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE GROUP(Nashville)
PROGRAM: September 11, 7:00 P.M. atRadnor Lake Visitor Center (always enterfrom Granny White Pike) CumberlandTrail State Park: Del Truitt will presentthis program on the Cumberland Trail StatePark. Cutting through eleven Tennesseecounties along a line of pristine high ridgesand deep gorges of the Cumberland Plateau,this park is a real treasure. Come learn aboutthe history, hiking, and other interesting hap-penings in Tennessee’s first linear park.Light refreshments. These programs are freeand open to the public.
PROGRAM: October 9, 7:00 P.M. atRadnor Lake Visitor Center (always enterfrom Granny White Pike)
We are excited and honored to host LesJohnson, physicist, author of sciencefiction/science fact, and the Senior TechnicalAdvisor for the Advanced Concepts Office atNASA in Huntsville. He is also a co-investi-gator for The University of Surrey’sDeploytech (Solar Sail) Project and served asthe NASA co-investigator on the Japanese T-Rex Space Tether Experiment. He hasreceived three NASA ExceptionalAchievement Medals and was the featured
The public is very welcome at ALL SierraClub Meetings and Activities! All memberstraveling across the state should feel free todrop in and attend another Group’s meetings.You will find yourself among friends andlearning something interesting.
CHEROKEE GROUP (Chattanooga)
2014: Learn Globally, Then Act LocallyStrategy/Business Meetings: Sept. 8 and
Oct. 13 (2nd Monday) 6:30 P.M. -Held atSecond Presbyterian Church, at the corner ofE. 7th Street and Pine, 700 Pine Street [park-ing is free in their Pine Street lot, across thestreet from the church, next to the old BlueCross (orange) building.] If you want to beconnected to the Environmental Buzzin/around Chattanooga -- this is where to be.Come add your ideas and share your con-cerns. We'll be planning our actions here.All are welcome!
September Program: 4th Monday, Sept.22, 7:00 P.M. at Outdoor Chattanooga,Coolidge Park, 200 River St., Chattanooga."We Speak for the Trees - and the plants,animals and habitats!" Davis Mounger willgive a talk on the Cherokee Forest and hisresearch and ramblings throughout the Forestas he checks out areas proposed for timbersales, looks for old growth timber, and justtakes a walk in the woods. Davis, a scienceteacher at CSAS, has been involved in forestpreservation for decades. We are blessed tohave a good chunk of the Cherokee withinour Group boundaries. Community Invited!Bring your friends and family -- and yourcamp chair, just in case we run out of seating.
October Program: 4th Monday, Oct. 27,7:00 P.M. at Outdoor Chattanooga,Coolidge Park, 200 River St., Chattanooga.Learn: Sustainable Building, with CarolKimmons, Director of Education andResearch, Sequatchie Valley Institute(SVI.) Carol will talk with us about sustain-able building, along with ecological construc-tion and technology. Carol has much toshare: she has taught in Nigeria (Peace Corp),India, and Haiti, and was an agriculturalresearch scientist in Guam. A mainstay at theSVI; she and her husband Johnny and familymoved to the Sequatchie Valley in 1971,where they cleared land, planted gardens andorchards and built their home, Moonshadow,and developed the program that is now theInstitute, a learning center and model for sus-tainable living. Surrounding Moonshadoware four acres of edible landscaping integrat-ed with the forest ecosystem!
The public is very welcome, healthysnacks are served. Parking is free in thedriveway & parking lot behind the building,and along the sidewalks of the park, or there'spaid parking in the Theatre lot. Invite yourfriends!!
CHICKASAW GROUP (Memphis)
Checkhttp://www.facebook.com/Chickasaw.Group/for meeting information.
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CHEROKEE GROUP (Chattanooga)
Sheryl Campbell is our Outings Chair, andpoint-person for outings information for ourGroup. Our activities are always open to thepublic and to members of the Club fromacross our state! Outings are planned to takein the interests and skill levels of the partici-pants. For more information, contact Sheryl [email protected]. Also check ourFacebook page, Cherokee Sierra, for the lateston our outings.
Sept. 6 - 7 (Sat-Sun) Citico CreekWilderness (A Celebration), 10 A.M. Sat to5 P.M. Sun. We will leave from the WholeFoods parking lot (near the bank) at 8 A.M. orfolks can meet us at McNabb Group Camp inthe Cherokee National Forest. Activities forSaturday will include Leave No Trace taughtby Master Scout and Educator Wayne Hannah,and a Edible Native plant hike led by HolliRichey. Certificates will be given to partici-pants. Come and experience the Wildernessand let it rejuvenate and restore you. We willcamp overnight and the next day you canenjoy the activity(s) of your choice from fish-ing, cooling off in the creek, and hiking.Activities Saturday night will include cookingand singing around the campfire, and we willview a special guest who will teach you aboutthe wilderness. All ages are welcome. To reg-ister, and for more information, contact SherylCampbell at [email protected]
Oct. 5 (Sun) Stringers Ridge Walk - greatfamily outing right in the middle of the city!Citizen effort has preserved one of the lastlarge natural areas within Chattanooga's citylimits! Tree identification markers will beplaced by TN Heartwood members, DavisMounger's CSAS students and Sierra Clubmembers. We are encouraging all to join in onthis event and help place markers (trees havealready been identified!) To register, and formore information, contact Barb Kelly [email protected].
Nov. 2 (Sun) South Chickamauga CreekAfternoon Walk - bring your family, good forall ages, We'll be walking along the board-walks that wind above the creek, through tow-ering oak-hickory forests and rolling farmland.Dogs welcome too, on leash. To register, andfor more information, contact Barb Kelly [email protected].
Chickasaw Group (Memphis)
Time and dates of outings are to be deter-mined. Checkhttp://www.facebook.com/Chickasaw.Group/
HARVEY BROOME GROUP (Knoxville)
6 Sept (Sat). Wildlife Float, RankinWildlife Management Area, Douglas Lake.At this time of year, Douglas lake will be“drawn down” enough to expose large mudflats in the Rankin Bottoms area. Theseattract many species of migrating shore birdsand waterfowl, making Rankin a real treat at
Sierra Club outings offer a variety ofwilderness and near-wilderness experi-ences. It is important to realize that whileall trips are guided by a leader, it is ulti-mately the responsibility of the individualto operate in a safe manner. To this end,the following is a list of essential itemswhich should be modified according tothe particular type of outing. These are:1. Adequate map2. First aid kit3. Compass4. Rain gear 5. Extra clothing (it is a good idea toalways have a wool hat)6. Matches 7. Knife8. Flashlight9. Extra food, water10. The tenth essential: You decidewhat is the most important thing tobring!
Ten Essentials for Hiking
this time of year. Though we can’t know forsure what awaits us in terms of migratingbirds, we’ll have a fair chance of spotting sev-eral species that may be new to you. Onlyvery basic canoe skills are necessary for thistrip. Sorry, but we cannot provide canoes.Check with local outfitters for rentals. One-way drive: 50 miles. Pre-register with RonShrieves at 922-3518 or [email protected] (email preferred).
13-14 Sept (Sat-Sun). Backpack, RabbitCreek, Hatcher Mountain, and AbramsFalls Trails, GSMNP. We will meet at theCades Cove Loop entrance parking lot at10:00 A.M. (closed for bikers before then).Starting from the Abrams Falls trailhead, we'llhike up Rabbit Creek Trail to Campsite 15. Itis an easy hike, but not too easy - there is acreek crossing (Mill Creek) that requires wad-ing, a little under 1,000 feet of elevationchange, and about 4 miles. For the return trip,we'll consider returning by way of HannahMountain and Abrams Falls if Abrams Creekisn't too high. The Abrams Creek crossing canbe challenging or pleasant depending on theweather. If it’s more of a challenge than wewant, we'll return the way we came in. Thecampsite is limited to 12 persons.Backcountry camp fee $4 per person – checkwith the leader about reservations status.Distance, about 11 miles. Rated easy to mod-erate. One-way drive: 50 miles. Pre-registerwith Conrad Ottenfeld, [email protected];865-288-0975.
20-21 Sept (Sat-Sun). Backpack, BigSouth Fork National River & RecreationArea (John Muir Trail). One of the best hik-ing-only trails in the Big South Fork NRA isthe John Muir Trail (JMT), and on this back-pack we’ll be hiking the JMT fromLeatherwood Ford to Station Camp, a distanceof about 15.1 miles (9.5 miles on Saturday to acreek side campsite, and 5.6 miles on Sunday).Features include the famous Angel FallsOverlook (in recent years a featured Hike-of-the-Month in the Knoxville News Sentinel)plus fall wildflowers and numerous views ofthe Big South Fork River and the cliffs androck houses for which the Park is famous.We’ll learn about the history of the Big SouthFork along the way. Because of mileage andsome significant up and down elevation gain,plus a wet crossing of the Big South ForkRiver at the end, it is rated difficult. One-waydrive: 72 miles. Preregister with Will Skelton:H 523-2272; Cell 72-7327; [email protected].
4 Oct (Sat). Take-a-Hike, BiodiversityTour (Mixed hardwood Forest), BoogermanTrail, GSMNP. We will hike a 6.6 mile loopthat includes the Boogerman Trail and a sectionof the Caldwell Fork Trail. Boogerman containsa large section of old-growth forest including theBoogerman White Pine, the tallest tree in east-ern North America. The once heavily settledCataloochee Valley is special this time of yearwhen the elk are bugling. Rated easy to moder-ate. One way driving distance is 86 miles.Preregister with Mac Post at 865-806-0980 or
[email protected] (email preferred).11 Oct (Sat). Canoe/Kayak Float, French
Broad River. This go-with-the-current floatcovers 10.5 miles from the TN 66 bridge tothe Seven Islands public access point on theFrench Broad. Though far from pristine, thisriver does have some interesting sights and abit of wildlife (and some not-so-wild life).There may be some shoal water, but no white-water. Basic canoe/kayak skills are required.Adverse wind conditions are another possible"hazard." Sorry but we cannot provide boats,so you will have to contact a local outfitter andmake your own arrangements for boats, pad-dles, and pfds. Pre-register with Ron Shrievesat 922-3518 or [email protected](email preferred).
18-19 Oct (Sat-Sun). Backpack, BigSouth Fork National River and RecreationArea. We will explore the west end of thearea on this 13-mile lollipop route. Sightsinclude Slave Falls, Needle Arch, and the TwinArches. We will camp along Station CampCreek and hike the Twin Arch Loop onSunday morning. Rated moderate. Drivingdistance about 60 miles each way. Pre-registerwith Rob Davis at 865-202-6661 or [email protected] (email preferred).
25 Oct (Sat). Take-a-Hike, Old SettlersTrail, GSMNP. We'll hike the section fromWebb Creek to Campsite 33. Traveling theOld Settlers Trail, a hiker can see more tracesof 19th and early 20th century mountain com-munity life than any place else in the park.This trail illustrates the powerful force of for-est succession after settlement. We will hike a6.5 mile section in the middle passing throughmany old homesteads marked with chimneysand rock walls. Rated moderate. One-waydrive: 55 miles. Contact Mac Post: 938-3116,[email protected].
Middle Tennessee Group (Nashville)
We have an active outings schedule andwant you to come along! To check out ouroutings, please click on the outing of choice athttp://www.meetup.com/Middle-Tennessee-Sierra-Club-Outings-and-Adventures/events/calendar/
Page 6 - September/October, 2014 The Tennes-Sierran
Event: Tennessee Wilderness: Celebrating 50 years of people, place, and promise
Date: September 3, 2014
Time: 6 P.M.-9 P.M.
Location: East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee
Speakers include:Tom Tidwell, Chief of US Forest Service Bill Meadows, former President of The Wilderness SocietyWill Skelton, Sierra Club Charles Maynard, Historian and Methodist MinisterBill Hodge, Southern Appalachian Wilderness StewardsBill Broome, Nephew of Harvey Broome
Join us on September 3, 2014 at the East Tennessee History Center in downtown Knoxville for an inspirational evening celebrating the 50thAnniversary of the Wilderness Act. The Wilderness Act of 1964 was landmark legislation and has protected thousands of acres of Tennessee’smost beautiful natural wonders. If you cherish the woods, waters, and wildlife of East Tennessee you don’t want to miss this event.
Tennessee has played a key role in helping our nation realize the importance of protecting wild places that define America and represent free-dom in the truest sense of the word. Celebrating this history, speakers at the event will tell the story of people, place, and promise. Theevening will take you on a journey to explore what wilderness means in Tennessee, why it is more important than ever, and what the futureholds for the next 50 years of this natural legacy.
The event will include refreshments and plenty of time to socialize. The event is sponsored by the USFS, Wild South, Smoky MountainsHiking Club, the TN Wild Coalition, Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, The Wilderness Society, East Tennessee History Center, SierraClub, Cherokee Forest Voices, and Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning.
Photos by: Will Skelton
CELEBRATION OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OFPASSAGE OF WILDERNESS ACT
Former Tennessee Chapter Chair Roger Jenkins hiking along the State Line RidgeTrail on the first Sierra Club backpack into the Upper Bald River area in April 1996.The 9,038-acre Upper Bald River Wilderness Study Area is the centerpiece of theWilderness Bill introduced in the current session of Congress by Senators Alexanderand Corker.
Tennessee Falls along the Bald River Trail in the Upper Bald River WSA, taken on aJune 2011 TN Wild day hike with various congressional, media and foundation repre-sentatives.
Randy and Julie Clemons relaxing beside Brookshire Creek on a Sierra Club back-pack into the Upper Bald River WSA in October 2010.
Barbara Allen fording the Bald River on a Sierra Club backpack into the Upper BaldRiver WSA in October 2011.
Page 7 - September/October, 2014 The Tennes-Sierran
WHAT IS THE HOOPLA ABOUT HONEY-BEES?
When people think of honeybees, honey comesto mind. Most people are not aware that honeybeesare a major pollinator for crops that produce onethird of American food, including over 140 fruits,vegetables, seeds and nuts.
Yet honeybee populations are in significantdecline.
WHAT IS THE SCIENCE BEHIND THEDWINDLING HONEYBEE POPULATIONS?
There is a strong body of scientific peer-reviewed papers linking the honeybee demise to awidely-used class of neurotoxic pesticides calledneonicotinoids ("neonics" for short). This newclass of pesticides has been registered for use sincethe early 1990's. Commonly used neonics are imi-dacloprid, clothiandin, thiamethoxam (and others).
Traditionally, pesticides are applied directly tothe soil or plant. In 2005, Monsanto receivedpatents to "coat" their propriety genetically manipu-lated seeds with neonics, primarily manufacturedby Syngenta and Bayer.
Since 2005, seed treatments became the newnorm, in order to protect emerging seedlings frompests. These neonic-coated seeds are encapsulatedwith a material which releases the pesticide slowly.www.i-sis.org.uk/requiemForTheHoneybee.phpwww.i-sis.org.uk/SmartStaxCornCorporateWarOnBees.phpwww.i-sis.org.uk/MysteryOfDisappearingHoneybees.php
Neonics are systemic pesticides that are taken upthrough roots and leaves and distributed throughoutthe entire plant, including pollen and nectar. Theyare even present in the tiny drops of fluid whichform on the plant's surface. Neonics are slow tobreak down. They contaminate surface water,ground water, and soil. The entire food chainbecomes contaminated.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22228315
Neonics endanger not only pollinators, but alsoother beneficial species that inhabit these ecosys-tems, such as butterflies, earthworms and birds.Many are calling this critical situation the nextSilent Spring.www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13642.htmlwww.iucn.org/?uNewsID=16025www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/09/neonicotinoids-farmland-birdswww.newscientist.com/article/dn25783-neonicoti-noid-pesticides-are-bad-news-for-everything.html#.U6tK5vldVL
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEENSEED COATINGS AND GENETICALLYMANIPULATED SEEDS?
Neonics are used extensively as seed dressingson corn, soy, sunflower, canola, as well as on horti-cultural crops.www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/whats-poison-ing-the-bees/Content?oid=3939487&showFullText=tru
Most conventional corn seeds and virtually allgenetically manipulated corn seeds are now treatedwith a neonic seed treatment. Corn is grown notonly for human consumption, but also to feed ani-mals raised in livestock factories and feedlots andto drive our cars.www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/Final_Paper.pdf
WHAT IS COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER(CCD)?
The surge in seed treatments coincided closelywith the crash in honeybee populations. In 2006,David Hackenberg, former president of theAmerican Beekeeping Federation, and other bee-keepers discovered their foraging bees left thecolony in search of pollen and nectar but did notcome back, which is highly unusual for a socialinsect to leave a queen and its brood or youngbehind. This finding of neurobehavioral disruptionis a significant distinction of Colony CollapseDisorder.
Other responses include disruptions in bee
mobility, navigation, feeding behavior, foragingactivity, memory and learning, and overall hiveactivity.www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0091364
Neonics also impair the bee's immune system,leaving it much more susceptible to attacks by par-asitic fungi and other disease agents.www.pnas.org/content/110/46/18466www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22246149
Exposure to neonics has both lethal and sub-lethal effects on honeybees. Lethal effects occurwhen bees die within a few hours from exposure toa high dose. Sublethal effects, measured at verylow doses in parts per billion or even parts per tril-lion, result in various harmful symptoms.www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2012/120111KrupkeBees.html
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONAGENCY (EPA) AND REGISTRATION OFNEONICS
The U.S. EPA has allowed the very rapid andubiquitous expansion of neonic application to mostfarmland in North America. EPA registration wasbased solely on the data submitted by the compa-nies manufacturing their proprietary pesticide (pri-marily Bayer Crop Science). In addition, the EPAdid not consider sublethal effects on honeybees inthe approval process. (EPA spokesperson MargieFehrenbach's wrote to Sierra Club (9/10/2008),stating: "With the recent concerns about the unusu-al honey bee losses in this country, we are nowexamining more advanced methodologies forassessing behavioral effects, such as mobility, navi-gation/orientation, feeding patterns, learning per-formance, and community ecology. In order toappropriately evaluate these types of sub-lethaleffects and to use the information in a regulatorycontext, standardized methods and protocols needto be developed for assessing these types of behav-ioral effects."
DOES THE MULTINATIONAL AGRIBUSI-NESS SUPPRESS THE SCIENCE?
Numerous independent scientists signed a state-ment which included: "When those with a vestedinterest attempt to sow unreasonable doubt aroundinconvenient results, or when governments exploitpolitical opportunities by picking and choosingfrom scientific evidence, they jeopardize publicconfidence in scientific methods and institutions,and also put their own citizenry at risk. Safety test-ing, science-based regulation, and the scientificprocess itself, depend crucially on widespread trustin a body of scientists devoted to the public interestand professional integrity. If instead, the startingpoint of a scientific product assessment is anapproval process rigged in favor of the applicant,backed up by systematic suppression of independ-ent scientists working in the public interest, thenthere can never be an honest, rational or scientificdebate."www.independentsciencenews.org/health/seralini-and-science-nk603-rat-study-roundup
Many believe the crisis of worldwide bee deathsthreatening the global food supply has been wors-ened by an industry-funded misinformation cam-paign and that public relation companies hired byleading chemical companies (Monsanto, Bayer, andSyngenta) have been distracting policy makersfrom identifying the causation of honeybee decline.
EUROPEAN UNION SUSPENSION:In January 2013, the European Food Safety
Authority officially labeled neonics to be an "unac-ceptable" danger to bees feeding on floweringcrops and the regulations contained "major weak-nesses." Following that review, the EuropeanCommission implemented a continent-wide twoyear suspension of the three most-used neonics.
THE SIERRA CLUB GENETIC ENGINEER-ING ACTION TEAM (GEAT):
Sierra Club's Pollinator Protection Campaign is aspecial project of the Sierra Club's GEAT. The evi-dence points to neonic seed coatings as an impor-
tant cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Mostcorn, soy and canola are genetically manipulatedand "coated" with neonics. (Sierra Club policystates: "Genetic engineering is a new technologywhich, unlike traditional breedingmethods, allows thetransfer of geneticmaterial fromone organ-ism intoa host
organ-ism ofan unrelat-ed species, thusbypassing the natu-ral reproductive barriersbetween species.")
Sierra Club's GEAT wrote the EPA, urging theregulatory agency to suspend all neonic seed treat-ment product registrations until it can obtain scien-tific evidence that the effects are not causing harmto America's honeybees.
Sierra Club's GEAT worked with Kevin Hansen,who produced the outstanding documentary"Nicotine Bees." The film included an interviewwith independent scientist Charles Benbrook,Ph.D., who explained in layman's terms how neon-ics are decimating honeybee populations. SierraClub's GEAT then distributed copies of NicotineBees to every member of Congress, along with aletter from the National Honey Bee AdvisoryBoard, stating: "Nicotine Bees vividly describes avery real threat to the pollinators of our country."
Sierra Club's GEAT sent a press release(11/11/2009) announcing the release of NicotineBees. The McClatchy newspaper publisher pickedup the story, which made its way to federal regula-tory agencies.
Following the Purdue study entitled "MultipleRoutes of Pesticide Exposure for Honey BeesLiving Near Agricultural Fields," Sierra Club'sGEAT sent a press release (1/10/2012) with theheader: "New research should nail the coffin lidshut on a toxic bee-killing pesticide." Again, ourrelease was picked up on the McClatchy wire.www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029268
Sierra Club and other groups and beekeepers(3/21/2013) filed a lawsuit in Federal District Courtagainst the EPA for failure to perform adequatetoxicity evaluations and allowing registration of thepesticides on insufficient industry studies.
According to Dr. Benbrook, the EPA has neverdenied an application for a new pesticide, norbanned a currently registered product because ofadverse impacts on bees, nor is it likely to withoutnew legislation and a push from the public andCongress. Therefore Sierra Club sent numerousaction alerts for members to encourage Congress tosupport the Saving America's Pollinator Act of2013 (H.R. 2692).
TAKE ACTION:Tell the story.
(continued on page 8)
Deepening Honeybee Crisis and our Food SupplyBy Sierra Club's Genetic Engineering Action Team (GEAT)
July 16, 2014
Page 8 - September/October, 2014 The Tennes-Sierran
The Sierra Club-Middle TN Group
Tennes-Sierran3712 Ringgold Road, #156Chattanooga, TN 37412-1638
Bi-Monthly Newsletter for the TN Chapter Sierra ClubVol. 46, No. 5 - September/October, 2014
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Attach mailing address label, or fill in currentname, address & Membership ID#
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Moving?
are often crowded with large tanker trucks. Water is frequently drawnfrom local streams and mixed with unknown chemicals to fractureshale thousands of feet below the surface. Four to six million gallonsof water may be used to frack a single well.
Particularly disturbing is the inability of local residents to protecttheir homes. Our guides from West Virginia Host Farms told us themajority of people living above gas deposits in Doddridge County donot own the mineral rights below their land. There is no way forthem to prevent the gas companies from laying pipelines, buildingroads, leveling hillsides, and constructing huge storage ponds andcompressor sites. This can all be done within 600 feet of their homes.To date, 30 of the 300 leases have been drilled in Doddridge.
For about 100 years, natural gas was extracted from this area inWest Virginia without seriously disturbing the natural environment orpeople living in the communities. Shallow surface wells were drilledvertically, usually at a depth of less than 2,000 feet. Storage tanksand pumps were relatively small and unobtrusive. People living onthe land coexisted comfortably with this traditional form of naturalgas extraction.
When fracking came to Doddridge County, everything changed forthe people and their land. As one resident told us, “This is not yourgrandfather’s gas well. Fracking has ruined our county. Don’t let ithappen where you live!”
A First Hand View of “Fracking”By John A. Cruickshank, Chair of the Piedmont Group of theSierra Club. He lives in Charlottesville, Va. Printed with permis-sion of the Old Dominion Sierran.
I had seen the movie “Gasland” and read numerous articles on thissubject, but a visit to operational fracking sites increased my under-standing of how this process can damage a community. In early AprilI went to Doddridge County, West Virginia, with a group of activistsorganized by Wild Virginia. During our two-day visit we got a close-up view of several sites where natural gas is being extracted by theprocess of horizontal hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
I never fully comprehended how this process can transform a beau-tiful rural community into a wasteland. It is more than just a naturalgas well. Fracking includes clear cutting, mountaintop removal, andmassive road building. It causes pollution of the air, streams, andgroundwater. Compressor stations are like factories and public roads
Deepening Honeybee Crisis andour Food Supply
The old well site has a storage tank and pump coexisting with a nearby home andforest.
A road being constructed to the well site passes close to a cemetery and church.
The storage pond that will hold fracking fluids took more off the mountain top.
(continued from page 7)Call Congressional representatives to support the Saving America's
Pollinator Act of 2013 (H.R. 2692). Phone calls are more effective than emails.Encourage garden centers to refrain from selling neonic-treated plants.Replace grass with edibles and pollinator plants in residential and business
areas.Plant edible gardens.Install backyard beehives.Encourage cities to ban neonics.See the Cleveland Hts, Ohio, ordinance that bans outdoor pesticides on pub-
lic grounds:www.neosierragroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/131-1995PSH-As-Amended.pdf
ENDING THOUGHTSAs Dr. Benbrook so eloquently explained in his Rachel Carson Memorial
Lecture (12/2008), "Our failure to ask ecologically-grounded questions, cou-pled with the economic power behind the private sector push toward high-costsystemic, genetic engineering and proprietary pest management technology,has set the stage for a series of train wrecks."www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/Final_Paper.pdf
The EPA claims the agency will review the situation in 2018. Clearly, that'snot good enough. The time is now for EPA to quit dodging the illusion ofoversight and, instead, cancel these bee-killing pesticides. If we travel too fardown our current path, we could create conditions in our food system muchlike those that brought down the financial system.
For further information, contact Laurel Hopwood at <[email protected]> (volunteer) Chair, Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Action Team(volunteer) Coordinator, Sierra Club Pollinator Protection Campaign.