 The Cascade: The Great Falls Group Newsletter Fall 2015
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 Calendar |
Upcoming Events--Everyone Welcome!
Sept. 9: Environmental Quality Advisory Council Meeting
Annandale
Sept. 11: Film: Merchants of Doubt, Oakton
Sept. 24: People's Rally for Climate Justice
Washington, D.C.
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Join the People's Rally for Climate Justice
while Pope Francis Is Here
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 Pope Francis made the news last May with the release of his climate-change encyclical: Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home. The pope is coming to Washington, D.C., and will address Congress on Thursday, September 24.
A People's Rally for Climate Justice is planned that morning at 7:30 am on the National Mall between 4th and 7th streets. The location is a short walk from several Metro stops and from Washington's Union Station. The most up-to-date rally details are posted on the Action Network website. Check for time changes.
While the Sierra Club is not a rally sponsor, the Virginia Chapter encourages Virginians to attend the rally to show support for the pope's call for action on climate and for climate justice for the world's poor. Everyone is welcome to attend the rally regardless of personal beliefs. There will be large TV screens for viewing the pope's address to Congress.
While many rally details are not yet final, there likely will be prominent speakers and musicians, and the pope may view the rally from the Capitol's west side after his speech.
By Seth Heald
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Pope's Powerful Letter May Catalyze Global Action on Climate
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Last June, Pope Francis addressed the global warming crisis in his second encyclical--a teaching letter he directed to "all people of goodwill." The most heavily anticipated such document in decades, Laudato Si' (Praised Be) did not disappoint. As climate change activist Bill McKibben says, it's "nothing less than a sweeping, radical, and highly persuasive critique of how we inhabit this planet--an ecological critique, yes, but also a moral, social, economic, and spiritual commentary."
In Laudato Si' the pope doesn't make an infallible "pronounce-ment" on climate change. He simply accepts what the vast majority of climate scientists say is happening to our planet and situates it within the larger crisis brought on, in part, by our economic system's tendency to consume as if the Earth's resources have no limits. Francis also calls out the faulty theology that sees humans as owners, rather than caretakers, of our common home.
Laudato Si' is a highly readable, often poetic document, evoking the Earth's beauty while lamenting that we risk turning it into "an immense pile of filth." But it's also thoroughly researched, touching on everything from the carbon cycle to water pollution and biodiversity loss. It has a strong practical bent. It calls for sweeping worldwide change--including completely ending the use of fossil fuels for energy--while encouraging readers to take such steps as recycling, carpooling, and turning down the heat.
Social Justice
Many readers are particularly inspired by Laudato Si's stress on social justice. The latest Sierra magazine quotes economist Jonah Busch on the way the poor and dispossessed are by far the likeliest to suffer from global warming: "Heat waves that have office workers reaching for the air conditioning will have farm workers facing heat stroke. . . . Storms that rattle windows in affluent homes will sweep away poor homes entirely." Catholic environmental scholar Sylvia Hood Washington sums it up: "What we corrupt on the Earth, we corrupt in ourselves."
Harmony among Faith Leaders
Francis makes sure that many voices--not just his--speak in Laudato Si'. After citing several previous popes on creation care, he quotes the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew's call to "mov[e] gradually away from what I want to what God's world needs." Relevant comments also come from other faith leaders, bishops' groups, philosophers, theologians, and saints. Francis makes it plain that the encyclical's message is not his opinion alone, but part of a chorus of deep concern from spiritual individuals and scientists worldwide.
Politicians Concur
Local Sierrans can be heartened by the praise for Laudato Si' coming from political leaders Tim Kaine, Don Beyer, and Gerry Connolly, as well as President Obama.
What You Can Do
Catholics wanting to act can find helpful resources offered by the Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Catholic Climate Covenant, and parish social justice committees.
People of all faiths will find information and action tools from Interfaith Power and Light, among others. All these groups see the pope's upcoming visit (see related article above) as a catalyst for political change that may yet turn the tide of climate change.
By Peg Hausman, Great Falls Group contact for People's Rally for Climate Justice during the pope's visit ( [email protected]).
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Help NOVA Natives Promote Virginia Native Plants
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Native plants support wildlife, benefit pollinators, and improve local water quality. Plant NOVA Natives encourages gardeners to plant Virginia native plants, providing a guide to native plants for Northern Virginia and where to buy them on the Plant NOVA Natives website.
The Plant NOVA Natives campaign just started a Facebook page and is about to roll out the same campaign via Twitter and Instagram. Please help us use social media to grow the native plant movement.
We are a volunteer organization with big ambitions: We hope to see a very substantial increase in the use of native plants in Northern Virginia so that within a few years, using natives becomes ingrained in the gardening and landscaping culture. We need a LOT of help to do that, and right now are asking you to actively participate in our social media blitz.
Here is how to help:
- Visit our Plant NOVA Natives Facebook page and click the Like button at the top, then choose "Get Notifications" and "See First" on the "Liked" dropdown list. Also, on the left, click on "Invite Friends to Like this Page."
- Whenever you see a new posting (which we plan to put out at least once a week), don't just Like it. Please also use the Share function to post it on your timeline.
- Please post your own comments, photos, and videos, and turn this into a lively conversation that keeps everyone interested. Photos of NOVA natives and of private or demonstration gardens that successfully incorporate natives would be great, along with your tips about how to make the process easy. And what really goes viral are clever "memes" that tickle the funny bone and inspire people to share them with their friends.
- Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, add popular hashtags, retweet, and tweet your photos of native plants to @plantnovanatives so we can retweet them.
By Margaret Fisher
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Annual Report on Fairfax County's Environment
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Reading the Annual Report on the Environment for Fairfax County is like taking a crash course in ecology and natural resource management. Did you know that approximately 50 percent of Fairfax County's waterways are in "poor" to "very poor" condition based on macro-invertebrate sampling? Or that the average density of white-tailed deer in our county parks is 47 deer per square mile? Every year the Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) publishes an annual report on the state of the environment in Fairfax County. The report is a bounty of information on stream health, deer management, and almost every other aspect of our local environment.
EQAC (pronounced "E-quack") is a group of community members appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to advise the board on environmental issues. One member is appointed from each district, along with four at-large members and one student member. Members serve three-year terms, except for the student member, who serves for one year.
I recently attended one of EQAC's monthly meetings and got an idea of how much work goes into their annual reports. Each member is in charge of writing one or more chapters of the report. Chapter topics include climate change and energy; land use and transportation; water resources; air quality; noise, light, and visual pollution; hazardous materials; solid waste; ecological resources; and wildlife and the environment.
Advisory council members begin researching and contacting the appropriate agencies and organizations for information months before they submit the report to the Board of Supervisors. The chapter covering air quality, for example, cites the Fairfax County departments of Environmental Health, Transportation, and Vehicle Services; the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; the Virginia department of Environmental Quality and Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as sources. After the authors compile all of this information into a coherent document, it is distributed to the rest of the council members for comment. Questions are asked, suggestions are made, and chapters are edited until the document is as clear and complete as possible for the Board of Supervisors and the general public.
 The report goes far beyond just a compilation of statistics. In the wildlife section, for example, you can read about not only the numbers of deer found in various parks throughout the county, but also their impact on forest health and the challenges and successes of the county's various management strategies. Read the water resources chapter, and you will discover not only which of our streams are considered impaired, you will also learn the names of Fairfax County's 30 different watersheds, basic stream ecology, the importance of riparian buffers, and the difference between point and nonpoint source pollution.
In addition to the annual report, the council also advises the board on environmental issues that affect the county, including everything from fall cankerworm control to energy efficiency projects in county facilities. EQAC also makes recommendations for the board to support specific issues that come before the General Assembly, such as community net metering and restrictions on single-use containers.
The public is welcome to attend any of the council's monthly meetings, held either at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale or the Fairfax County Government Center. Once a year, residents are especially encouraged to attend the public hearing EQAC hosts every January and share their views on the state of the environment.
To read the report, see the council's meeting schedule, and read minutes of past meetings, visit the EQAC webpage.
Next meeting is Wednesday, September 9, 7:15 pm, at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center, 7701 Royce St., Annandale. The September agenda includes the budget process for environmental issues, and whether the Board should support two pieces of legislation in the General Assembly: to reduce the use of plastic and paper bags and to allow Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to comply with the Clean Power Plan. (See related story on Sea of Change below.)
By Trish Wotowiec
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Great Falls Group Adopts a Highway!
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| | Great Falls Group's Norbert Pink, Patricia Leslie, and Peg Hausman picked up litter on Jones Branch Drive. |
On a hot, muggy June day, three Great Falls Group volunteers headed out to Jones Branch Rd. at Tysons Corner to pick up trash. As part of the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT's) Adopt-a-Highway program, Norbert Pink, Peg Hausman, and I (Patricia Leslie) filled three bags with trash, cigarette butts, hubcaps, food wrappers, cardboard, plastic, bottles, etc. that littered both sides of the road. The work went fast; we covered more than a mile in about an hour. We celebrated by snacking on the sea salt brownies Peg brought to reward our hard work.
Now that the Great Falls Group has completed its two initial cleanups, we can request a sign bearing Sierra Club's name. Once VDOT schedules the sign for installation, we will try to schedule an installation ceremony.
Our next cleanup will be this fall. It's great exercise, Earth friendly, and a good way to socialize with like-minded individuals.
Keep an eye out for future email with details on the sign installation and next cleanup.
By Patricia Leslie
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Sea of Change: Sea Level Rise on Virginia's Coast
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On Monday, July 27, the Great Falls Group partnered with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) to show the film Sea of Change, which shares stories of flooding from Virginia coastal residents. Home owners and business owners spoke about flooding in their neighborhoods or at their businesses, some citing chest-high water in front of their homes.
Interspersed with these testimonies were comments from scientists, such as Larry Atkinson, Ph.D., professor of ocean-ography at Old Dominion University and director of the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative. He has been studying tide data, which show that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. Speaking of the cause, he commented, "Obviously, it's greenhouse gases. It's not rocket science." He predicts more coastal floods and storm events.
Hampton Roads and Norfolk are two Virginia communities most at risk from sea level rise. Hampton Roads is home to more than 30 federal defense facilities, and Naval Station Norfolk is the largest U.S. Navy base in the world. In the film, Joe Bouchard, retired Navy captain and former commander of Naval Station Norfolk, reported that the Department of Defense is investigating sea level rise at its coastal bases and is making plans for adapting to climate change.
A Plan to Lower Pollution and Raise Funds
After showing the film, Dawone Robinson, CCAN's Virginia policy director, reported that the Atlantic Ocean is rising faster than the global average, and it is rising particularly fast on the Virginia coast. He noted that reducing carbon emissions is vital to slowing this rise, pointing out that this year, the federal government called for power plants to reduce their carbon pollution by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Robinson explained how participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced "Reggie") can help Virginia reduce its emissions. RGGI is a cooperative involving states from Maine to Maryland. In RGGI states, power plants purchase allowances for every ton of carbon pollution they emit. RGGI states decide together how many pollution allowances they'll offer for sale each year, thereby setting a cap on emissions, and they lower the cap each year. Once the carbon cap is set, power companies decide how to stay below it.
 RGGI states have cut carbon pollution three times faster than the rest of the U.S. since 2008, while experiencing 3 percent more economic growth than non-RGGI states. At the same time, electricity prices dropped 2 percent on average, while electricity prices in non-RGGI states increased 13 percent. In 2013, RGGI states agreed to set their carbon caps based on the region's 2012 emission levels, and then lower that cap by 2.5 percent per year starting in 2015. If Virginia joined RGGI, it would not only significantly reduce its CO2 emissions but would also gain a source of funding from the sale of pollution allowances. Some of these funds , Robinson said, could be spent on coastal adaptation. Over the seven years that RGGI has been operating, participating states have used allowance proceeds to help fund social, fiscal, and environmental efforts. Norfolk hired a Dutch engineering firm to develop a flooding action plan. The firm estimated costs to build seawalls, elevate homes, etc. at more than $1 billion. RGGI allowance proceeds could help fund these protections against future flooding. By Linda C. Brown
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Featured Fall Hike
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Pimmit Run in Arlington: The downstream hike begins by Chain Bridge. There's a small parking area off Glebe Road just west of Chain Bridge Road.
The trail meanders beside Pimmit Run and spills out into an exclusive neighborhood with stunning mansions. You can turn around here or continue on for a longer hike. Find more photos and a map on this Pimmit Run write-up.
Explore, enjoy, and protect the planet!
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Get Outdoors with the Sierra Club
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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, D.C., 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]. Back to Top
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Great Falls Group Executive Committee
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The monthly meeting of The Great Falls Group (GFG) Executive Committee is open to all Sierra Club members. Contact Norbert Pink for meeting times and location. If you would like to help the group, please volunteer by contacting one of the following leaders or Norbert Pink.
Officers:
Committee Chairs:
Committee Support:
Back to Top
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Calendar
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Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7:15 pm
Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) Meeting
Hidden Oaks Nature Center, 7701 Royce Street, Annandale
Public is welcome! The September agenda includes the budget process for environmental issues, and whether the Board should support two possible pieces of legislation in the General Assembly: to reduce the use of plastic and paper bags and to allow Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to comply with the Clean Power Plan.
Friday, Sept. 11, 7:30 pm
Movie: Merchants of Doubt
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax
2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton
Merchants of Doubt examines the history of corporate-financed public relations efforts to sow confusion and skepticism about scientific research.
Sponsors: Unity of Fairfax, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, Sierra Club Great Falls Group, and other environmental groups.
Thursday, Sept 24, 7:30 am
People's Rally for Climate Justice
National Mall between 4th and 7th Streets NW, Washington, D.C.
(a short walk from several Metro stops and Washington Union Station)
Pope Francis addresses Congress on September 24 to discuss his recent climate encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for our Common Home. The People's Rally for Climate Justice is planned at 7:30 am on the National Mall. See above story for more details. Time may change so check before you go.
Sponsor: Moral Action for Climate
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The Cascade is published by the Great Falls Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. 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 weekly event email!
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Linda Brown, Editor
Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Virginia
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