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The Cascade: The Great Falls Group Newsletter       Winter 2012-2013 
In This Issue
Post-Election Environmental Debrief
Fairfax Energy Task Force Recommends Reduced Energy Consumption
Great Falls Group Election
November Activist Night
Mixed Bag for Fairfax County Transit
Great Falls Group is on Facebook
Get Outdoors with the Sierra Club
Great Falls Group Executive Committee
Calendar of Events
Quick Links
 
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Upcoming Programs--Everyone Welcome!

 

December 17: Holiday Party Potluck, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.     

 

January 15: Natural Gas Hydrofracking7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

 

January 31:  Activist Night, Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.     

  

More information. 

Post-Election Environmental Debrief   
Jim Moran
Rep. Jim Moran

 

On Thursday, November 8th, the Virginia Sierra Club worked with our Clean Air Defense Coalition partners to host a post-election debrief at Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria. Over 25 local residents attended the event, where local leaders discussed what the election results would mean for environmental and public health policies in the lame-duck session and beyond.

 

Representative Jim Moran started things off by rallying the group about the recent victories. Moran spoke about the need to wage a "war on coal" despite the misleading ad campaign that the industry is currently waging. We should be doing even more to curtail the industry's harmful pollution. Rep. Moran has been a stalwart champion for clean air policy in recent years, defending the EPA's actions on mercury and other toxics, as well as vehicle emission standards, carbon pollution, and soot.   

Rob Krupicka
Del. Rob Krupicka 

 

Virginia Delegate Rob Krupicka called attention to the leg up that grassroots outreach gave many Democrats, including President Obama, creating many wins for more environmentally conscious leaders in these elections. He emphasized the importance of sustained involvement in our communities to ensure that we continue to see progress on our issues, and of holding our leaders accountable for standing up for stronger health and environmental protections.

 

 

Last but certainly not least, Dr. Samantha Ahdoot, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, discussed the damages wrought by Hurricane Sandy and the health implications of our continued levels of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly on children and the elderly. She reinforced the importance of cutting climate-changing pollution, since the threat to public health and safety has never been more obvious.

 

After the in-person presentations, many attendees participated in a nationwide webinar featuring former Virginia representative Tom Perriello, who now serves as president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Perriello presented results from the post-election report "Big Polluters' Big Ad Spending in the 2012 Elections" and answered questions from activists across the country on the deciding factors in the elections and prospects for federal policies to address climate change in the coming months. While victory was the tone throughout the night, there is no doubt that the fight for strong clean air standards is far from over.

 

Read the Big Polluters' Report.

 

by Kate Addleson 

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Fairfax Energy Task Force Recommends Reduced Energy Consumption
Energy Task Force Logo

 

Fairfax County's Private Sector Energy Task Force, initiated by Chairman Sharon Bulova, released its recommendations to the county's Board of Supervisors in late September. Their core recommendation was to reduce the county's per capita energy consumption from its current level of 12 metric tons of CO2 per capita per year by 20% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050 by improving the energy efficiency of the transportation, residential property, and commercial property sectors--the three highest sectors of energy consumption.

 

To sustain the required initiative over the next forty years, the Task Force recommended that the county create a public/private task force--an Energy Alliance--that would work cooperatively with the county. Areas for change included increasing renewable energy generation, building energy performance retrofits in both residential and commercial properties, and improving land use policies and building code policies.

 

The Task Force was chaired by Leo Schefer, President of the Washington Airports Task Force. It began meeting monthly last February. It was tasked "to develop a transformational vision, supported by achievable strategies that will define the steps our community can take to position itself as a leader in the area of energy efficiency, sustainability, and green technology."  

 

The Energy Alliance will significantly impact Fairfax County's progress on all energy initiatives, and the Sierra Club should voluntarily work with it and help shape its initiatives.

 

by Steve Bruckner

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Great Falls Group Election  
Vote

Members of the Great Falls Group are eligible to vote in the annual election to select members of the group's executive committee. Learn more on the Great Falls Group website. Voting deadline is December 31, 2012.

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November Activist Night Targets Uranium Mining  

Nov Activist Night  

The Great Falls Group launched its campaign to keep the ban on uranium mining in Virginia at our November 29 Activist Night held at the Oakton Library. After pizza and socializing, we watched a PowerPoint presentation that explained why the process of extracting uranium is particularly hazardous in places like Virginia with wet climate and dense population. (See the article on uranium mining by Glen Besa in the Virginia Chapter's Old Dominion Sierran.)  

 

We heard about Virginia Uranium, Inc., a company pushing to overturn the ban using well-funded persuasion tactics, such as contributing over $150,000 to influential legislators' campaigns and offering all-expense-paid trips for all legislators to mines in France and Canada.

 

A lively discussion followed, with a Great Falls Group member familiar with the nuclear regulatory process contributing his expert opinion. We agreed that the ban should stay in place, but recognized that in the face of such intense pressure from Virginia Uranium Inc., the environmental community has to work very hard. We may not have a lot of funding, but we do have grassroots power and need to use it to contact our legislators. Folks attending the meeting promised to call their legislators the next day. Although the bill to overturn the ban has not yet been written, we can guess its outline and were able to suggest a script to use in calls. Membership Chair Norbert Pink gave online assistance to people who needed to find the names of their Virginia legislators.

 

January Activist Night

 

Again focused on keeping the ban, our next Activist Night will be Thursday, January 31. That will be during the Virginia legislative session. By then we should have the bill to overturn the ban, and most legislators will have lined up on one side or the other. We will be able to provide updates to our PowerPoint presentation, and our colleague familiar with the nuclear regulatory process has agreed to return and share his thoughts.The evening promises to be interesting for those who missed the November Activist Night as well as for those who came. So get out your 2013 calendars and mark the date! Meanwhile, you can find uranium fact sheets, sample letters, and contact information for Northern Virginia state legislators on the Keep the Ban website

 

Learn some background on the issue and the proposed uranium-mining guidelines in the November 30, 2012, Washington Post Virginia Politics section.  

 

The Next Activist Night 

 

When:  Thursday, January 31, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Where:  Oakton Library, 10304 Lynnhaven Place, VA 22124-1785 (Phone: 703-242-4020) 

 

Please RSVP to Linda Burchfiel so we can plan for refreshments.  

 

As always, we'll have pizza, drinks, and committed people who want to help the environment.  

 

by Linda Burchfiel 

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Mixed Bag for Fairfax County Transit
Transportation

In spite of its predominantly suburban character, Fairfax County has been doing fairly well in establishing some dense mixed-use enclaves that are in high demand by the young professionals who continue to migrate to the area. Some of the features of the Tysons redevelopment plan--such as green building standards and affordable housing--are likely to become countywide standards. More complete bicycle infrastructure is being added, with plans for more. We should all be ready to offer support for the upcoming adoption of the Countywide Bicycle Master Plan early next year.

 

Transit Network Study

 

What's mysteriously missing in this picture is any new transit capacity, in spite of the crying need in many areas outside the Silver Line corridor. Early this year, the county began a Countywide Transit Network Study, an open-ended look at possibilities for new transit service. At public meetings in mid-November, some initial network concepts were presented. Four expansion plans include

 

1)      Mobility-based transit (longer trips within commuter corridors),

2)      Accessibility-based transit (shorter trips that reach more people),

3)      A blended approach along an Orange Line extension, and

4)      A blended approach along a Blue Line extension.

 

These are all worthy concepts to be explored, and we await more detail by spring. Meanwhile, readers are urged to offer comments on the Transit Network Study website. (I suggest giving support to the accessibility concept.)

 

No Revenue for Transit?

 

While this study is proceeding, the county had a separate effort in September-October to survey citizens on their support for various revenue sources to be used for transportation in the county (in addition to what comes from the state). That study started with a list of about 98 projects that could be funded with the target amount, but that list had no new transit capacity. It mentioned transit, but the only projects listed were a couple of maintenance garages and some replacement buses. It's possible the researchers considered the 10-year horizon to be too short, but they could invest in required preliminary project design and environmental studies. Late in the process, the Board decided not to share the project list with the public, lest it detract from our need to focus on how we might pay for those new roads.

 

Transit in Tysons

 

The Board prepared an update to the Tysons Plan. The early rush of development applications was about to exceed the expected total set for 2030 (although not all would be complete by that date). They extended the planning horizon to 2050. This has a larger development level but would also require identifying all the transportation needed and how it would be paid for. The revision listed all of the additional roads and bike lanes needed, but left out the additional transit that planners have long said was needed at higher levels of buildout.

 

The bottom line is that the Fairfax Board is more than willing to talk about more transit as long as they don't have to discuss paying for it.

 

by Roger Diedrich

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Great Falls Group is on Facebook
Facebook Logo

Like us on Facebook--Sierra Club Great Falls Group Page

  

 http://www.facebook.com/GreatFallsVaSierraClubChapter 

We are looking for a lead Facebook Administrator. If you have a passion for the environment, time to volunteer, creative writing skills, and a Facebook account, you may be the person we are looking for to join our Facebook Team! You will not be alone--we are a TEAM and will all work together to manage the Great Falls Group Facebook page. If you'd like to help, contact Susan Bonney

 

Get Outdoors with the Sierra Club

 

Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (SCPRO) is a special activities group of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. It organizes hikes and events year-round for the general public on behalf of the Sierra Club's Washington, DC, Chapter and the Maryland and Virginia Chapters' Washington-suburb groups. Volunteer leaders conduct the events, many of which include conservation, educational, or historical elements. For information about SCPRO and its upcoming events, visit the SCPRO Events website. To obtain a free calendar subscription, inquire about becoming a SCPRO outings leader, or get answers to other questions, write to [email protected].

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Great Falls Group Executive Committee

The monthly meeting of The Great Falls Group's (GFG) Executive Committee is usually held on the second Monday of the month, beginning at 7:30 p.m., and is open to all Sierra Club members. Contact Linda Burchfiel for meeting times and location.

 

Officers:

Chair                   Linda Burchfiel            703-506-4310             [email protected]

Vice-Chair            Chris Koerner             703-715-2204             [email protected]

Treasurer             Joe Apple                   703-860-1254             [email protected]

Secretary             Volunteer wanted

 

Committee Chairs:

Chapter Delegate  Joe Apple                  703-860-1254             [email protected]

Conservation        Steve Bruckner           703-883-3622             [email protected]

Membership         Norbert Pink               703-264-7445             [email protected]

Education            Volunteer wanted

Political               Bob Pearson              703 690-3071             [email protected]

Programs             Volunteer wanted

Social                  Susan Bonney           703-821-5587             [email protected]

 

Committee Support:

E-newsletter         Linda Brown                                               [email protected]

  

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Calendar1Calendar
 
Monday, December 17, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m., Holiday Party Potluck
Reston Community Center Lake Anne, 1609-A Washington Plaza, Reston, VA, phone 703-476-4500. Directions. (Scroll down to Reston Community Center Lake Anne.)

Come enjoy the Sierra Club Great Falls Group Holiday Party for a delicious potluck dinner. This is our best-attended event of the year and an opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. Members and guests will gather for camaraderie and good cheer. Enjoy great food and drink, and socialize with like-minded people.

We'll share our group accomplishments and offer new volunteer opportunities that allow you to dip your toe into becoming a new Sierra Club Activist. The Holiday Party is an opportunity to learn about your local Sierra Club and meet active members, who need your help to do more.

Bring a dish or beverage to share. Contact: Susan Bonney

Tuesday, January 15, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., Natural Gas Hydrofracking 
Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Avenue, East, Vienna, VA  22180

Natural Gas Hydrofracking: Natural Gas as an Energy Source and the Challenge of Safe Extraction. Come to hear an energy speaker discuss natural gas as an energy source and the challenge of safe extraction. Jeffrey Brown is an energy economist and management consultant with over 30 years' experience in the energy industry.

Contact: Susan Bonney

Thursday, January 31, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., Activist Night, Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining
Oakton Library, 10304 Lynnhaven Place, VA 22124-1785 (Phone 703-242-4020) 
Come have fun. Eat pizza. Meet new people. Make a difference. 

Contact:  Linda Burchfiel

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The Cascade is published by the Great Falls Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Beginning 2012, it is being published electronically. We reserve the right to edit all submissions, both editorial and advertisements. The views expressed are those of the authors and may not be those of the Sierra Club. Email articles, photos, questions, or comments to [email protected].

 

Visit the Great Falls Group website.  

 

Subscribe to our listserve at http://virginia.sierraclub.org/greatfalls/greatfallsnews.html  

Linda Brown, Editor
Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Virginia