Environmental groups from the United States and beyond are bringing people to New York City for the largest environmental march in history. Over 200,000 people are expected. The goal of the People's Climate March (PCM) on Sept. 21 is to demonstrate to world leaders gathering at the United Nations that now is the time to reduce greenhouse gases to fight climate change.   

Come be a part of the March. If you have never participated in a march, this is the one to go to. We're going to make history in NYC, and we're asking our members, volunteers, and supporters to be there with us in person and in spirit across the country. Come by bus or train, or have a local proxy represent you. Anyone can participate: bring your friends and family, too.  

The Sierra Club Great Falls Group is actively participating in PCM activities by chartering three buses from Northern Virginia to NYC for this one-day event.

If you can't attend the PCM activities in NYC, we are also planning local activities to support the NYC PCM.

The march will precede a UN Climate Summit, which will take place Sept. 23.  

Please visit the PCM website for more information about the March. 

Sierra Club Day-Trip Buses

Transportation will be modern 55-person deluxe buses with Wi-Fi and restroom facilities leaving from Loudoun and Fairfax counties at about 6 am and returning to the same stops at about 10:30 pm, Sunday, Sept. 21. The ride will take about 4 hours, and each bus will have a captain. The Great Falls Group has filled its three buses for the trip. There are about a dozen buses coming from Virginia and over a dozen from Maryland.  

At least 374 buses and trains will transport marchers to New York City from all over the United States. If you'd like to see them all, please visit the PCM website. 

The March 

The March will start at 11:30 am and end around 4:30 pm. The parade route is shown on the PCM website. 

Local Area PCM Activities

We are still planning activities in Northern Virginia for people who can't take the bus to NYC. One idea is a potluck lunch during the parade with a real-time video feed of the march. We need volunteers for this activity. We are considering a social event for 1 to 2 weeks after the PCM, where marchers can share their experiences and pictures, and attendees can watch the film Disruption and focus on future environmental events. If you are interested in these events, have other suggestions, or would like to volunteer, please contact Norbert Pink at norbertsierra@aol.com 

Spreading the Word

We will staff a table at local farmers markets to introduce the PCM to the public and to see if they would like to go to NYC, participate in local activities, or participate in a future environment event. We need volunteers for this tabling.

Volunteering

It takes a lot of effort to support an event like this. For any questions on volunteering to help organize, call members, plan bus activities, table at farmers markets, create banner ideas, or plan local PCM activities or future environmental activities, please contact Norbert Pink at norbertsierra@aol.com.

By Norbert Pink

A special election to replace Virginia House Delegate Bob Brink (D-48), who left for a position in the McAuliffe administration, was held August 18. With a schedule set by Republican Speaker William J. Howell, the Democrats had only six weeks to hold a primary, select a candidate, and organize a campaign. In those whirlwind six weeks Rip Sullivan managed to win the nomination in a field of seven candidates, conduct a terrific campaign, and win the House seat with over 60 percent of the vote.

And the Sierra Club was key to his election. He won our unanimous endorsement based on his support for renewable energy and energy efficiency and his opposition to offshore drilling. The Virginia Chapter mailed postcards to all 300+ Sierra Club members in his district, and a joint Great Falls/Mount Vernon Group phone bank reminded those members to be sure to vote. In addition, members canvassed likely voters from a list supplied by the campaign.

 As a committed environmentalist, Sullivan would be expected to support Sierra Club positions, but thanks to our work to get him elected, those ties have been strengthened. Thank you Political Team!

Many people have never heard of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)--or of Cove Point, Maryland. But last July 13, more than one thousand activists, including an enthusiastic contingent from the Sierra Club Great Falls Group, came together to put both in the public eye. Gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol, they demanded that FERC deep-six Dominion Resources' proposal to build an export plant for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Cove Point. 

Environmentalists have good reason for concern. FERC has a history of rubber-stamping such proposals on the theory that energy production and export jobs are always a great idea. Unfortunately, experts warn that this project would expand fracking in the Marcellus Shale region, put Cove Point and other local communities at risk, and delay the transition to clean, renewable energy sources.

Temperatures that day were in the nineties, but good cheer and good music abounded as marchers listened to speakers describe the dangers posed by fracking and natural gas transport. Some evoked the problems in statistical terms, while others recounted their own disastrous experiences with LNG facilities near their homes. The gathering then walked several blocks to FERC headquarters, chanting, waving to passersby, and occasionally stopping to chat with the curious.

The march benefited from a large and well-organized crew of helpers. Costumed performers stayed in character as long as the sweltering temperatures permitted, while volunteers offered people water, passed out song lyrics, and aided large numbers of marchers in signing a petition to President Obama. Some remarkably cute toddlers helped to lift spirits as well, while reminding participants of one of their chief reasons for being there: the next generation.

The marchers themselves looked like a slow-moving rainbow, having been asked in advance to dress in colors--red, yellow, green, or blue--corresponding to their chief concerns. Most Sierrans wore green ("no climate change") or blue ("no fracking"). Other groups present included 350.org, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Greenpeace, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Gas Truth, Public Citizen, Environmental Action, Energy Action Coalition, Earthworks, Food & Water Watch--more than 40 in all. A number of activists went back to FERC the next morning (Monday) to block the entrance peacefully and dialogue with FERC workers; 25 were arrested and released.

By Peg Hausman

A very serious public health issue is looming in the U.S., and our elected officials and media outlets are not giving it enough attention. It's something you've probably heard a family friend or a loved one mention in passing: more and more bacterial infections are no longer responding to antibiotics. Last fall, the CDC reported that 2 million Americans contract antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result. Antibiotics were first discovered in the 20th century and became a foundational tool in the fight against diseases and infections. Yet less than a hundred years later, our antibiotics are now becoming ineffective.

Factory Farms

Few people today realize that one of the main reasons bacteria have developed resistance is due to their overuse in industrial agriculture. Today, 80 percent of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are used for raising livestock. These drugs are usually given to animals that are not sick. Instead, healthy animals are given antibiotics as a preventative measure to compensate for the filthy conditions in which much of our meat is raised. Factory farms' routine use of antibiotics--many of the same drugs we use on people--creates a perfect environment for bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria then end up in our food supply, our waterways, and our environment, putting all of us at risk no matter where we live or how little meat we eat.

Government's Feeble Efforts

Unfortunately, federal agencies responsible for overseeing factory farms tend not to collect basic data about how antibiotics are used or implement comprehensive plans for how these critical drugs should be used. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for instance, has asked companies to voluntarily pull some "medically important" drugs. An analysis of this FDA plan shows that its initiative would reduce antibiotic misuse in factory farms by only 11 percent.

Despite scientific consensus about the severity of the problem, our elected officials have done little to respond to the huge red flags this issue raises. Two bills in Congress, the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act (PARA--S. 1256) and Preserving Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA--H.R. 1150), that would ensure antibiotics are given only to animals when they're sick, have stalled in the last few years.  

This is why Food & Water Watch and other groups across the country have launched a national campaign to pass city resolutions urging federal officials to support these two bills. As with many issues, we know that we have to demonstrate overwhelming public support for this critical issue to ensure that elected officials act. While we've passed 15 resolutions so far, it's going to take dozens of these resolutions to get the ball moving.

In Virginia in June, the City of Alexandria became the first city to pass a resolution thanks to the great work of citizen volunteers. But we must continue to educate and energize residents across the state to ensure that our politicians listen to us on this important issue. After all, our health and our children's health may depend on it.

What You Can Do

Write your members of Congress and ask them to pass a common-sense law to stop factory farms from feeding antibiotics to animals that aren't sick. Learn more about this issue on the Food & Water Watch website. 

By Jorge Aguilar, Food & Water Watch

Sierra Club members filled the meeting room at Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, on August 25 for an interactive discussion led by well-known fractivists Helen and David Slottje. A lawyer in upstate New York, Helen received the Goldman Award (the "Green Nobel") for pioneering a legal strategy for communities in her state to ban fracking. Over 170  New York communities now have fracking bans or moratoriums on the books.

Simple Tools: Petitions and Town Meetings

In 2009, people in the Slottjes' area were told: "Fracking's coming, and there's nothing you can do about it." They heard this not only from the natural gas industry but even from big environmental groups that thought resistance was hopeless. Undaunted, the Slottjes and other volunteers went door to door in towns areawide, getting residents to sign informal petitions to block fracking via local zoning laws.

Helen reported that the volunteers found the door-to-door campaign surprisingly fun and positive. Volunteers carried packets explaining the health, environmental, and economic hazards of fracking but usually didn't need them; people were ready to sign the petition as soon as they heard what it was for. The activists got enough signatures to persuade public officials there was widespread opposition to fracking--sufficient to unseat officials who failed to get the message.

Attending town meetings en masse also proved effective. According to Helen, officials were unused to so much in-person scrutiny; they'd say, "Okay, let's draft a law" just to get people out of their hair.

Challenges in DC Area

Helen cautioned that it won't be easy to derail several major fracking projects proposed for the Washington, DC, region. On the federal level, the State Department is eager to develop fossil fuel exports as a geopolitical tool--for example, to undermine Russia's threats to block natural gas supplies to Europe. And regulatory commissions aren't organized to consider the pros and cons of projects in depth; they exist to approve them, helping firms navigate any hurdles on the way.

In Virginia, industry is interested in fracking but has not yet applied for permits.  Meanwhile, elected officials and grassroots activists are collecting information and holding educational sessions.  

Three proposed projects are of special concern:

Cove Point. This $4 billion facility close to a residential Maryland neighborhood would export large amounts of liquefied natural gas. It's not a temporary project; for 40 years out, all its output is spoken for. Plainly it will generate new markets abroad, despite supporters' denials, making the necessary "stranding" of fossil-fuel assets worldwide that much harder to achieve.

George Washington National Forest (Marcellus Shale). Threatened by proposed fracking, this environmentally sensitive forest is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a source of sustainable timber. USDA's focus is on exploiting the resource, not conserving it, and it has shown a disposition in the past to skip environmental reviews and to block public comment on projects. Fortunately, it's had to toe the line, and the fracking approval process for the forest was sharply delayed by the 100,000 comments USDA received, mostly opposing the idea. (Handwritten comments are especially useful from this point of view!)

Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula (Taylorsville Basin). Here, a firm has bought a great deal of local land at $15 an acre with a view to fracking, and residents and elected officials are beginning to line up on either side. Drilling for gas in the Tidewater area is subject to special  regulations, including environmental impact statements for each individual site. But the prescribed process is still designed to ensure that once you go through the maze, you get your permit.

The Slottjes exemplify the activist's motto: "Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it." For more information about "doing it," contact Linda Burchfiel (linda@lburchfiel.com ), who can connect you with activists at each site.  

Farther Afield, Proactive Measures Are Effective

• Santa Fe County in New Mexico passed regulations saying companies can frack if they can prove that it won't cause any damage to water, air, public health, and so on. Since this isn't actually provable, firms have decided to take their fracking elsewhere.
   
• Other communities have completed widespread testing of their water supplies before any fracking proposals can make headway. This is useful because after fracking has begun, it's often difficult to prove that pollution in the water is fracking's fault, especially since firms aren't required to reveal the chemicals they use. This baseline testing has also scared off frackers.

  By Peg Hausman

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On July 27, members of the Sierra Club and NOVA Climate Action Network gathered in our Vienna backyard for a picnic. It was an enjoyable afternoon for socializing and getting to know each other a little better. The delicious potluck lunch had a variety of tasty dishes. A special treat was Bill Sidenstick performing his original environmental songs.

During the picnic, we conducted tours of the native garden under construction in our backyard. When we first moved into our house, the wooded area of our yard had diverse plant life, including dogwoods, forsythias, and a large, healthy apple tree. Over time, invasive Japanese honeysuckle grew from a few specimens to overwhelm and destroy nearly every plant besides some poison ivy and English ivy, creating a near monoculture. The honeysuckle even climbed up the trees, reaching to the tops, pulling down branches of a 50-foot beech tree, and ripping a large chokecherry in half. When the fallen treetop spread across a section of lawn, we realized the extent of the destruction, and decided to get to work replacing the nearly impenetrable invasive forest with a native garden.

A native garden is filled with plants and trees that create an ecosystem that supports local life. We learned that non-native species, while they may harbor birds and wildlife, do not in fact attract and provide nutrition to local species of fauna, including not only birds but local mammals, bees, and butterflies. Unlike our lawns, once established, these native perennial plants require little weekly care, water, or fertilizer. The first step in creating this oasis was to remove the undesirable invasive plants--no easy task, as the bush and vine species of Japanese honeysuckle grew to over thirty feet with branches several inches thick and runners that spread underground throughout the yard. The roots and branches both form a stubborn tangle. We worked for many months with chainsaws and shovels, filling several large trucks with debris. We even kept some of the root systems as trophies.

The next step, which was much more fun, was designing the garden. We drew a rough design of the area and then built a winding path of bark chips around the few surviving trees, creating garden areas variously sunny and shady. In those gardens, we planted native species purchased from a catalog and area garden centers. In one area above heavy tree roots, we sculpted pebbles to depict a triple spiral symbol from New Grange in Ireland. We also added a raised garden and numerous sculptures. In selecting our plants, we considered the amount of sunlight, plant heights, soil type, and the time when each plant blossoms to create a beautiful view during all seasons. One section was devoted to plants to attract butterflies; we have been thrilled to watch the large monarchs already arriving. Another area was devoted to native shade-loving forest plants. We planted asters, bergamot, false indigo, lobelia, butterfly weed, and much more. We added other elements including a bench, a bird bath, and an entrance trellis, ironically supporting (native!) honeysuckle vines.

We enjoyed giving tours of the garden. We hope to inspire others to create a native garden of their own, to provide an enjoyable area for the native pollinators, birds, mammals, and even humans.

By Robert Hamberger & Susan Weltz