Trees and shrubs do a lot more than add beauty to our yards. They help cleanse water, prevent soil erosion, provide habitat, cool our climate, and clean our air. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) is again having its annual native seedling sale, and for the first time, you can order online! Consider adding native trees and shrubs to your community today to improve our environment. 

 

Seedling packages will be available for pickup in early May. The Tree Package features 6 seedlings for $11.95, and the Small Tree & Shrub Package features 10 seedlings for $16.95. Both packages consist of bundled bare-root seedlings. The bundles aren't large and can easily fit into a small bucket in the back seat of your car. To see the tree and shrub species offered in this year's packages, and to place your order, please visit the  NVSWCD website.

 

 

By Norbert Pink

 

Three proposed pipelines to move natural gas across Virginia stand to threaten the environment and communities in their path. On Monday, February 23, Kirk Bowers, Virginia Sierra Club pipeline chair, spoke to the Great Falls Group about the proposed Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley, and Western Marcellus pipelines that would carry natural gas to the liquefied natural gas export terminal in Cove Point, Maryland.

 

The proposed pipelines would cross numerous watersheds, rivers, streams, springs, wetlands, and riparian areas and cut through some of Virginia's most beautiful wilderness areas. It will also pass through "Karst" topography, which is prone to sinkholes due to dissolution of underlying bedrock and covers much of the western third of Virginia. In addition, gas transmission companies could use eminent domain to acquire rights of way against landowners' wishes, and property values along the route will decrease significantly. As with all pipelines, the risk of leaks and explosion is always present.

 

Construction of these pipelines would continue our reliance on burning fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change, at a time when Virginia should be looking to increase its reliance on clean, renewable energy like solar and wind.

 

What You Can Do

 

Gas transmission companies must file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval of an interstate gas pipeline, and Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline have prefiled with FERC. Write FERC with your concerns about these pipelines. The FERC website has an eComment feature. After filling out basic information such as name, address, and email, you will receive an email from ferc.gov with a link to their comment system. You will need to identify each pipeline by docket number:

 

Mountain Valley Pipeline: Docket No. PF15-3

Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Docket No. PF 15-6

 

You may also mail a letter to FERC, and the address and more information on these pipelines is on the Virginia Sierra Club pipeline webpage. There is also information on contacting your representatives at the local, state, and federal level.

 

By Linda C. Brown

 

Two large trade agreements are coming soon to Congress: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment Partnership (TTIP). The Sierra Club Great Falls Group (GFG) is considering writing to U.S. Repre-sentative Gerry Connolly (D-Va, 11th District) urging him to take a very skeptical look at any proposal to "fast-track" these agreements. 

 

Corporations to Trump Local Laws
 

We also have equal skepticism about the agreements themselves. 

 

Little is known for certain about TPP and TTIP, with negotiations conducted in secret. But leaks from the TPP talks indicate that the deal will let corporations in its 12 member countries undermine Earth- and health-friendly laws in the U.S. and elsewhere.

 

Under past trade deals, foreign firms have filed over 600 lawsuits against nearly 100 countries to challenge environmental, health, and safety rules, including  tobacco and fossil fuel regulations. For example, a Swedish firm invested in German nuclear energy has sued Germany for $4.6 billion for possible losses owing to Germany's phase-out of nuclear power.

 

In another case, an international court fined Ecuador $2 billion for ending a contract with Occidental Oil. The court labeled Ecuador's action "indirect expropriation," even though Occidental had violated both the terms of the contract and Ecuadoran law. 

 

The TPP could also help dramatically increase fracking across the U.S. Under TPP, the Department of Energy would apparently lose its authority to regulate exports of natural gas to other TPP countries. That would mean automatic approval of liquefied natural gas exports to TPP countries--with no review or analysis.

 

In its letter, GFG asked Connolly for a meeting to discuss these issues. Given his strong environmental record, we hope that he, too, will be disinclined to grant the two treaties an express ticket to the House floor. We will also encourage him to cosponsor new legislation to ban investor-state provisions in trade agreements. 

 

What You Can Do

 

We encourage our members to contact Connolly with your concerns as well.

 

 

An Introduction to Green Burial, Home Death, Home Funeral, and Home Burial

 

For those who have spent a lifetime following green practices, green burial may be of interest. Green burial is a practice that can mitigate or even reverse the wasteful and toxic effects of mainstream burial or cremation. The nonprofit Green Burial Council (GBC) has certified three levels of green burial:

 

1. Hybrid Burial, the lowest GBC-certified level, involves land within a conventional cemetery being set aside to allow people to choose burial without a vault or liner, without embalming, and with eco-friendly burial containers, including shrouds.
    
2. Natural Burial prohibits vaults, liners, and embalming with toxic chemicals and allows only burial containers of sustainable plant-based materials. Landscaping must be consistent with regional ecosystems and based on native plants. A program of integrated pest management must be in place.
    
3. Conservation Burial, GBC's highest level of certification, meets all requirements of Natural Burial, and the land is legally protected in perpetuity, with funding set aside for conservation.

Find details of GBC's certification levels in its Burial Grounds Standards/Eco-Rating System, and learn more about green burial and the council on the GBC website. 

 

Problems with standard burial and cremation

 

Standard embalming is toxic and violent, filling the body with formaldehyde and other chemicals, which can leach into the ground and water and have been shown to damage the health of funeral workers. 

 

Standard burial uses large quantities of fine woods, precious metals, and concrete.

 

Many people think of cremation as a green option. However, cremation requires a high level of heat for several hours and thus uses a lot of energy. Depending on the energy source, it could contribute to global warming and use excess fossil fuel. Especially in older facilities, mercury and other toxins are released into the air.

 

In contrast, in green burial, the body is simply prepared for burial. Green burial is a practice that some people, this author included, embrace as a final way to give back to this natural world in which we have grown and been sustained. The body gives back its nutrients to the soil, supporting microorganisms, plants, and animal life.

Ramsey Creek, the first green cemetery in the U.S., was founded in 1998 in South Carolina and has been certified by the Green Burial Council at the Conservation level.

 

Home Death, Home Funeral, and Home Burial

 

People who are drawn to green burial may also value other alternative end-of-life practices.

 

An overwhelming majority of people prefer to die at home. With the support of family, friends, and perhaps hospice, home death is possible. Once someone has died at home, it would be natural for family and friends to hold the funeral there, too.

 

A home funeral is a significant shift for most of us today. It requires commitment. Advance planning and preparation, supported by someone with experience in after-death process, are very useful. For increasing numbers of us, it is well worth the effort, is a gift to ourselves, and is a more complete goodbye to our loved one. Participants speak of the home funeral process as extending their caring for the dying person. Their grieving process is assisted.

 

Especially in rural areas, burial in the backyard is legal. Local jurisdictions usually have requirements to keep some distance from water sources and residences. Home burial is a historical practice in Fairfax County.

 

Learn more on the National Home Funeral Alliance website.

 

Consider how these practices speak to you. If the interest is there, more details can be given on green burial, home death, home funeral, and home burial in future articles. Please contact me with your interest, questions, considerations, and feelings.

 

By Don Andress

[email protected] 

 

References:

 

Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial, by Mark Harris, 2007. Fairfax County libraries have several copies.

 

Martha Hughes, who assisted with this article, works as a geriatric nurse case manager in her own business, Wise Transitions. Previously a hospice nurse, Martha has attended over 100 home deaths and body preparations and has assisted multiple families with home burial. She lives in Rappahannock County. [email protected]

 

 

Forty Sierrans mingled, laughed, and shared activism ideas in Reston at the Great Falls Group Holiday Party last December. A potluck menu brought many delicious options including homemade turkey chili, cranberry salad, and rocky road brownies. 

 

The party setting was the Jo Ann Rose Art Gallery space in the Reston Community Center. The gallery's current monthly exhibit by local artists, students, and faculty in the visual arts program brightened the scene. A completed Great Falls Group volunteer survey served as the entry form for the door prize drawing, and six winners will proudly display their green side in their colorful new T-shirts. 

 

Singer-songwriter Bill Sidenstick debuted an environmental folk song, Gift Exchange.

 

Mark your calendar now for December 14, 2015, so you can be a holiday partier with the Great Falls Group next year.

 

Do you want to take the GFG Volunteer Survey to learn more about how to get involved? Email [email protected] to request the one page survey. 

 

By Susan Bonney

Back to top

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 chapter in Washington, DC, 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].