Ben Jealous visits with South Carolina Sierrans and residents of Lower Richland Community, Congaree National Park, October 25, 2023.
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May 2024: A Call to Action to take advantage of energy saving projects and Sustaining Way's Food Journey :
Energy Saving Projects Funds: The Inflation Reduction Act
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April 2024: call to action:
Contacting your Senator in the General Assembly About H 5118
We need you to call your senator about an energy bill the House just passed that was supposed to assure future energy needs. But it doesn’t do that and it takes away rights of taxpayers. It’s a perfect bill if you are a big powerful utility company. But it isn’t a good piece of legislation if you pay utility bills. Tell them to oppose H 5118.
Who is my Senator in the General Assembly?
You have one state senator who runs for office every 4 years-at the same time as we vote of President. Go to the General Assembly web page https://www.scstatehouse.gov/ and find out who is your state senator. Put their phone number in your contact list now.
Why Should I Call My state Senator?
The reason you call is that Senator’s offices keep a tally of how many calls an issue gets. 10-20 calls can get the issue on the Senator's radar.
How Do I Make a Call?
STEP 1: It is better to call rather than send an e-mail. They get so many spam e-mails that they tend to ignore all emails.
STEP 2: Whether you get an answering machine or a staff person, give your name and address (so they know you live in their district). Tell them the reason why you called.
STEP 3 (OPTIONAL): If you leave a message, ask that the Senator or their staff person call you back - be sure to leave your phone number. When the staffer calls you back, you can then ask again for the Senator to support or oppose the particular issue.
Now make that call to your Senator about H 5118- a bad energy bill for the economy and the people. If you don’t like making phone calls, just leave a message saying you oppose H 5118. The reason you are making this call is because you know this bill traps us in old polluting energy sources and keeps us from a clean energy future with more prospects for jobs and economic opportunities. But your Senator probably doesn’t care about this. If you want to say more, here are a few points that might help win him over:
- The bill gives utilities a blank check. H 5118 does not require utilities to spell out construction costs before they’re passed on to ratepayers. It gives investor-owned utilities a blank check with guaranteed profits resulting in much higher utility rates for residential customers. And remind the Senator that the last time the General Assembly gave the utilities a blank check, the people of SC had to pay off the $9 billion cost of a failed utility project (VC Summer expansion project in Fairfield Co.) and will continue to do so for years to come.
- The bill includes plans to build on a site that currently has no access to natural gas, which means they will have to build hundreds of miles of natural gas pipelines. The new pipelines and the accompanying electric grid infrastructure will result in billions of dollars in additional costs and construction delays while eminent domain lawsuits and site permitting lawsuits are resolved. The utilities will have the right to use the power of eminent domain to take private property for hundreds of miles of pipeline. The investor-owned utilities will pay dividends to their investors and pass the cost of forcible acquisition of property on to our utility bills.
- This bill reduces the role that taxpayers have in controlling utility rates. It reduces the size of the Public Service Commission (PSC) from 7 to 3. It limits the way the PSC conducts regulatory oversight of investor-owned utilities. For example, this bill would change the burden of proof by mandating that future PSC commissioners give “greater weight” to the testimony of utility expert witnesses. This means that experts representing consumers don’t count as much. The public doesn’t matter but they are the ones who pay the utility bills. Furthermore, this bill would remove the S.C. consumer advocate from participating in these hearings and would dilute the Office of Regulatory Staff’s ability to protect the public interest.
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ENERGY UTILITIES WANT YOUR WALLET
or a BLANK CHECK!
Ratepayers are STILL paying for the failed nuclear plants promised by the utilities.
Now Dominion and Santee Cooper want another giant project, an oversized, natural gas (methane) plant in Colleton County on the Edisto River to generate electricity. YOU will have to pay for it and for all the new gas pipelines through your light bill.
The cheapest, quickest, and most consumer-protective pathway to our energy future is through clean renewables and energy efficiency. But the utilities want to make huge profits on ratepayers’s backs from risky mega-projects.
The state legislature has a bill to give the utilities everything they want.
Bill H 5118, the “Ten Year Energy Transformation Act,” will guarantee high electric bills, economic injustice, and environmental disasters from this and any gas plant.
H 5118 bill, if passed, will result in the following:
- Ever-increasing bills for ratepayers to cover unknown amounts of money for the plant and new pipelines as well as the energy used;
- Destruction of quality of life and property protection for residents near the gas plant AND for residents whose property will be taken for gas lines;
- Removal of regulatory powers from the Public Service Commission so it cannot hold utilities accountable and protect rate payers;
- Untold destruction of the environment of Edisto River, the ACE basin, and other natural resources; more fossil fuels will increase temperatures and floods.
- Incentives other forms of non-renewable and dangerous energy instead of renewables and enegy efficiency
(Should anyone have choose between paying the light bill or food or rent or medicine?)
Call your representatives and tell them to vote against this bill.
Find your state legislator here!
March 2024: Two additional calls to action:
How to contact your US Senators and
Ruth Kempe's 80 yearlong food journey
How to contact your US Senators
Have you ever wanted to Take Action on an issue but not sure how or what to expect? Wonder no more. Contact your Senator in 2 easy steps to become an Action Alert Advocate!
Who Are My United States Senators in S.C.?
The two SC senators in Congress are Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott.
Why Should I Call My Senator?
The reason you call is that Senator’s offices keep a tally of how many calls an issue gets. 10-20 calls can get the issue on the Senator's monthly briefing.
How Do I Make a Call?
STEP 1: It is best to call the local office. (See phone numbers below). The answering machines in Washington offices often fill up.
STEP 2: Whether you get an answering machine or a staff person, give your name and address (so they know you live in SC). Tell them the reason why you called.
STEP 3 (OPTIONAL): If you leave a message ask that the staff person who handles the issue to call you back - be sure to leave your phone number. When the staffer calls you back, you can then ask again for the Senator to support or oppose the particular issue.
How can I be an ACTION ALERT ADVOCATE?
ACTION ALERT: When you receive an ACTION ALERT request on a national issue, contact your US Senator immediately. Remember the magic number of 10-20 calls to get on the monthly briefing.
PRACTICE: The best way to be prepared for action alerts is to practice calling and see how easy it is.
PHONE CONTACTS: Put their phone numbers in your phone so you are ready to call when the request is made.
Senator Graham’s Local SC Phone Numbers
Greenville (864 250 1417) Low County (843 849 3887) Midland (803 933 0112)
Pee Dee (843 6691505) Piedmont (864 646 4090)
Senator Scott’s Local SC Phone Numbers
North Charleston (843 727 4525) Columbia (803 771 6112) Greenville (864 233 5366)
My Food Journey by Ruth Kempe:
Hello. My daughter Kathleen is giving me the opportunity to talk about something dear to my 96 year old heart: the migrant workers who work so hard to put fresh food on our plates.
When I was 16 years old, a local farmer put out the call for workers to harvest his corn chop. The men and boys were all over in Europe fighting Nazis. So my friends and I borrowed our fathers' long sleeve shirts and we harvested corn for 10 days in the hot July heat of Illinois. At the end of each row we were given water, salt, and a moment to rest in the shade. We were paid $100, good wages for the time.
Flash forward to 1960 when I lived in Tucson. Through my Church, we did outreach at the farms in the area that used migrant workers. I was shocked at the working conditions: long hours, no shade, dangerous chemicals, and very low wages. My family, in an effort to improve the conditions for farm workers, joined Caesar Chavez ‘s boycott of lettuce and grapes. There was some improvement but not much.
Flash forward to now. Climate change has increased the temperatures that migrant workers must work in to harvest the food we eat. Heatwaves are now our deadliest extreme weather events. In the US there are no federal laws related to heat exposure for any worker. Farmworkers are particularly vulnerable. For years now I have been asking the department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) which is responsible for workplace safety and worker rights, to develop rules for heat exposure. In 2021, the Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Act was introduced in Congress. The main purpose of the legislation, named after a farm worker who died of heatstroke after picking grapes for 10 hours on a 105 degree day, is to require OSHA to develop heat rules. I wrote a letter to the editor and continue to call my Congressmen to pass this. I could sure use your help.
Harvesting corn at a young age made me grateful for the work that goes into putting food on our plate. But it also created a life long journey to help those who work the fields.
February 2024: two Calls to Action- Do something about the climate crisis and Sierra volunteer Ellie Taylor's Food Journey
What you can do to mitigate, adapt and be resilient to the climate crisis.
As part of the effort to do something about the climate crisis, the Midlands Group of the South Carolina Sierra Club has been working on a project called Greening Affordable Rental Properties since 2020. One of the efforts involved with this project is to provide energy efficiency workshops for renters and owners of multi-family housing in underserved areas. The workshops provide instruction from local experts and elected officials about the best way to reduce energy usage for both renters and homeowners. South Carolina Sierra Club c3 funds can be used to purchase energy efficiency devices such as led bulbs and door sweeps to distribute to residents who attend the workshops. These workshops can include presentations about weatherization funds available and energy efficiency workforce development. Ideally before and after data can be gathered to measure the amount of greenhouse gas reductions.
Actions:
- Start planning an energy efficiency workshop for your group and community (Contact Priscilla Preston priscilla.preston@alumni.unc.edu).
- Get involved with the Energy Efficiency workshop being planned for the Foothills Group -- contact Eunice Lehmacher (eunicerkl@gmail.com).
- Contact your local Community Action Agency for the Weatherization Program contact person for your county (https://oeo.sc.gov/managedsites/prd/oeo/help.html). Ask him or her to explain the program at an Energy Efficiency workshop and make appointments for people who qualify. Note that weatherization funds are available for both renters and homeowners.
- Contact Byran Cordell (director@sustainabilityinstitutesc.org ) or Mitch Houck (mitch@sustainabilityinstitutesc.org) at the Sustainability Institute for more information about weatherization and critical home repair.
- Share information about the IRA Toolkit
- https://energyfundsforall.org/ The IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) is the federal legislation that provides funds for people, organizations, companies, and governments to respond to the climate crisis. The IRA Coordinating Group is a good mix of environmental groups, solar installers, retired folks, volunteers, and social justice / organizing groups. The group has been working to categorize available funding opportunities for those in NC and SC. To request a presentation for your group, email info@energyfundsforall.org or contact Jessica Finkel at jessica@transformnc.org.
- Contact Grant Scheffer at grant@solarunitednational.com for a presentation about energy efficiency workforce development.
My Food Journey by Ellie Taylor:
Growing up my family ate meat and drank whole milk three times a day because my mother believed that we needed the protein. Despite my career as a Public Health Nurse, I continued to follow this diet from my childhood.
Later as a new mother, I finally awakened to new ways of thinking about food and nutrition. With support from various groups, I not only successfully breastfed three children, but I followed their concepts for a diet high in whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables. I made our own baby food and became increasingly aware of the power of natural foods: breastmilk followed by a largely plant-based diet including peanut butter as a protein.
Later I earned an MS Degree in Family Health Nursing and became director of a hospital-based Wellness Center. There I learned the root causes of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases: too many calories and too much saturated fat largely from animal products, and never enough fruits or vegetables. And the southern tradition of deep-frying doubles and triples calories in food.
My understanding of how food choices impact not just our bodies, but our entire eco-system continues to grow. For example, cattle are major emitters of methane, a gas 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the earth. A plant-based diet also has a positive impact on protecting our water resources and lessens the need for deforestation.
Climate change is now viewed as a planetary emergency. Our Standard American Diet (SAD) is hard on both personal health and our only Earth. The best way to change is having positive experiences trying new foods. We have a plant-based food group that meets to share a meal and exchange ideas. It’s often the actual tasting of delicious foods that changes both hearts and minds.
January Call to Action: Our Food Journeys
Food needs to be grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and waste disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change. About a third of all human -caused gas emissions is linked to food.
Three times a day at your meals and as many times as you snack (we are not judging), the choices you make impact the environment. Throughout 2024, we will be sharing the stories of Sierra Club volunteers who made or who are trying to make a journey to a sustainable and environmentally friendly diet as part of our monthly Call to Action initiative.
We believe, and research backs this up, that shared stories make an impact and encourage people to make changes. If you have a story to tell, send it to Kathleen at Kempeka@yahoo.com.
My Food Journey-The persimmon tree in the front yard by Ron Sobczak
We love our yard. We have had, over the years, a wildflower meadow and a huge vegetable garden. It was a lot of work. As we have gotten older, we needed to rethink the yard. We switched to fruit trees, blueberry bushes, raspberries, and blackberries. I decided to plant a Fuyu persimmon tree in our front yard.
The tree produces delicious fruit and lots of it. Kathleen makes cobblers spiced with cardamom or allspice. As the neighbors walk by, they ask about the fruit and we give them a few to try. And now every year, they know when to stop by and try out this year’s crop. We also have friends who are on our list to call when the persimmons are ripe. In fact, the demand is so big, we had to plant another tree.
We went on a hike with the Sierra Club at Ninety Six National Historic Site and we brought our persimmons to compare with the SC native persimmons that grow along the trail. It was interesting to compare the two.
There is so much plant diversity on this planet but we tend to eat and grow just a few of the many plants available to us. To protect diversity and to give yourself a treat, try something new. At the very least, get on my persimmon list.
December “Call to Action”: Do something about climate change now.
Do you believe you need to do something about climate change? Do you believe you need to act quickly? Then you need to be involved in the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Together these are our national plan with funding to address climate change. If fully implemented, we can meet our climate change goals. Unfortunately SC is behind other states in using these major environmental pieces of legislation. Here are three ways to quit talking about what we can do and start doing:
Action One: Get involved with The IRA Coordinating Group ( Contact Priscilla Preston priscilla.preston@alumni.unc.edu)
The IRA Coordinating Group is an informal collection of individuals that came together in May 2023 to educate themselves about all aspects of IRA implementation in North and South Carolina. The group shares information and ideas about helping underserved areas access IRA funding. Our goal is to help individuals, groups, and municipalities apply for funding for climate-related projects.
The group is creating a website that will bring all this information together in one place in a “toolkit” that will walk people through the process of accessing these funds:
Action Two: Calling All Electric School Bus Advocates:
The EPA has just released a timeline and application information about how school districts across the country can access $5 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for school bus fleets to go electric. Half of this funding could be used on propane or “natural” gas buses, so it is critical that advocates ensure schools are applying for all-electric buses.
If you are interested in learning more about how to effectively target school districts, and/or about the EPA's application process for funds. Fill out this survey (link is external) and the national Sierra Club will get you connected! Or contact Larisa at larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org.
Action Three: Stop burning fossil fuels in our homes
Ron Sobczak and Kathleen Kempe have prepared a short 10 minute power point on easy steps to take to stop using your gas stove . They are available to present this as part of any meeting. Schedule with Kathleen at kempeka@yahoo.com.
November Call to Action
Stop Forever Chemical (PFAS) Pollution of Our Iconic Black River
The Sierra Club has been actively engaged in education and advocacy regarding the problems caused by PFAS 'forever chemicals' in our water bodies and our human bodies. South Carolina has strong ties to recreation and subsistence on its lakes and rivers. Evidence of these forever chemicals have been discovered in every environmental source tested in SC: biological tissue, surface water, groundwater, and drinking water. It is the Forever Everywhere Chemical. Notably, the highest concentration of PFAS in surface waters in the state occurs within the rural watershed of the Black River, where subsistence fishing is a common practice, making this not only a threat to recreational resources (notably the new Black River Water Trail and Park Network), but also a critical environmental justice issue. It is imperative that we take action to identify and stop systemic pollution of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ which have been found at alarming levels in the tissue of our local fish, crabs, and oysters.
Save the date
Let's experience the beauty of the place we are protecting:
Outing - Saturday May 4th, 2024
Kayaking the Black River - led by Bill Turner
Contact your state senator and representative.
To find out who they are, go to https://www.scstatehouse.gov/
and use the sample talking points below:
PFAS, also known as the "forever chemicals", have been discovered in every environmental source tested in SC: biological tissue, surface water, groundwater, and drinking water. There is a good chance that PFAS in your blood, in your representative’s blood and the blood of his constituents.
PFAS has been linked to cancer, disrupts the endocrine/hormones system, and interferes with reproduction and fetal development.
You want additional funding for SCDHEC’s fish tissue monitoring program so that people know if there is PFAS in the fish they catch to eat.
You want SCDHEC to continue to monitor and identify possible sources of PFAS contamination, notably on the upper Black River Watershed, where the highest surface water PFAS levels in the state have been detected. DHEC needs this information to stop PFAS from entering the environment.
You want strict regulation of industrial sewage sludge on agricultural fields. The sludge leftover from industrial waste water treatment can have high PFAS levels, and becomes a non-point source pollutant when applied to agricultural fields, infiltrating groundwater and contaminating surface water via run-off. It is also one of the ways that PFAS enters the food supply.
October Action Alert: 2023 Farm Bill
Contact your members of Congress ( Senator Graham, Senator Scott, and your representative) and tell them what is important to you in the Farm Bill 2023. Now is the time for investment in sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture that builds strong farms and rural communities. Everyone should have access to food that is good for their health and the health of our soil and water. We ask for:
- additional funds for Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS);
- $20 billion investment from the Inflation Reduction Act in agriculture and conservation technical assistance programs protected in this Farm Bill;
- increased baseline funding for conservation programs and the hiring of more NRCS and FSA staff to support farmers in accessing conservation programs and implementing environmentally sustainable projects
- expansion of the Conservation Technical Assistance Program to provide support through NRCS or other contracted service providers to PFAS-impacted farmers to update their farm management practices;
- investment in family-sustaining jobs that protect the environment and our communities by expanding the Civilian Conservation Corps.
- Improve and increase funding for conservation programs, promote regenerative organic agriculture, and reduce water pollution. This includes moving away from funding industrial corn, soy, and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
- Lower barriers to SNAP benefits, boost funding for local food promotion, sourcing programs, and procurement
- Support small, BIPOC, and beginning farmers and ranchers through land access, debt relief, support for PFAS-impacted farmers, and integrating the Justice 40 Initiative into the USDA's programs.
- Improve water quality and soil health by encouraging farmers to plant cover crops, prioritizing the protection of drinking water, and driving climate-smart agriculture practices through new soil health initiatives to sequester carbon.
- prioritize protecting mature forests and old-growth trees from the impacts of climate change and commercial logging, and help mitigate the impact of climate change and pollution on frontline communities by supporting urban tree canopy and forestry projects such as the Neighborhood Tree Act.
- Learn from indigenous scientific and ecological knowledge.to prevent wildfires;
- Put together a bipartisan package of wilderness designations and lands protection bills
- Modernize our domestic sugar industry to promote justice for all.
See details here on farmaid.org.
For more info Sierra Club priorities:
Chapter and Group Elections
Schedule for 2023
Friday, November 3 - Nominating petitions due to Chapter Coordinator, audrey.jones@sierraclub.org
Petition candidates: please provide a brief statement and a photo at the same time the petition is submitted.
Monday, November 6 - ExCom appoints Elections Committee ((3 or more members, 1 non ExCom, no candidates)
Friday, November 10 - Election starts; Ballots mailed and/or posted to a secure website. (link to come)
Friday, December 8 - Election closes, ballots counted by Elections Committee
Tuesday, December 19 - Last ExCom meeting of the year- new members seated, officers elected
*Thursday, January 25, 2024 - First ExCom meeting of 2024
September Action Alert! Environmental Justice Summit hosted by Rev. Leo Woodberry
Please join Rev. Woodberry as he hosts the 7th Annual Global South Summit in New York, NY on September 22, 2023. New Alpha Community Development Corporation will be hosting this 7th Annual Global South Summit at James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary 3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, on September 22 2023, at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm eastern time. The hosting organization is the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. See the following for details and how to register: https://centerforearthethics.org/event/conference-global-south-summit/ The New Alpha Community Development Corporation and its partner organizations have hosted the Global South Summit since 2017. The importance of the Global South coming together has increased exponentially with climate change and its impacts. Some of the same companies that are major polluters in the southern United States are the same corporations that pollute in developing countries around the world. Many of the same impacts that have been felt in places like the United States, have also Join Virtually!Topic: Global South Summit in New York |
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August Call to Action: Learn about PFAS forever chemicals and what you can do about them
• PFAS: Forever Chemicals • Thursday, August 24th, 7:00 PM [Google Meets Online]
Join with Google Meet
meet.google.com/hmq-kzaf-rwi
Join by phone (US) +1 423-788-6964 PIN: 482 358 069#
Join the Bartram Group’s longtime Sierra Club members Ron Sobczak, retired chemistry professor USC Upstate and Kathleen Kempe, retired attorney for an informative overview of PFAS, “The Forever Chemicals”. We will learn how they enter the environment and our bodies, why they are harmful, ways to avoid them and how we can take action to regulate them.
"Oppenheimer Legacy:
South Carolina the Center of the
New Nuclear Arms Race"
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Click Here for a link to the recorded program!
- Join us for a discussion with an experienced panel, followed by audience Talk-Back (Q & A) about facts, myths, and ethics faced by Oppenheimer, and us today, concerning nuclear weapons
- Three Guest Panelists: Tom Clements, Director of Savannah River Site Watch in South Carolina; Jay Coghlan, Executive Director, Nuclear Watch New Mexico; and David Matos, President, Carolina Peace Resource Center
- A major focus will be the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed facility for plutonium pit production at Savannah River Site to make the plutonium cores for new nuclear weapons and the environmental impacts
Our next Conservation Committee meeting is
Tuesday, November 14 at 6:30pm
Click HERE to join via Zoom.
https://sierraclub.zoom.us/j/6106135191
Meeting ID: 976 0839 1278
Future dates in 2023:
Dec 12, 2023
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