COVID-19 Update: Read about the most recent Sierra Club guidelines here.
Tennessee News
Vote for Sierra Club Chapter and Group ExCom (Executive Committee) by December 15! Mail in your paper ballots to elect Sierra Club leaders for 2023-2024. Over the coming two years, the candidates chosen will make impactful decisions on your behalf. Candidate bios and ballots were in the November-December Tennes-Sierran, or you can print off ballots from the online edition. Ballots must be received by December 15, so mail 'em in!
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans run counter to the Biden climate agenda. "For decades, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has been an important presence in my Memphis district, across its seven-state footprint, and throughout the country...Unfortunately, instead of using its size and unique relationship with the federal government to lead the way toward a clean energy future, TVA is undermining the Biden administration’s climate goals and putting the communities it serves at risk by prolonging its reliance on carbon-emitting technologies — even when cleaner ones are available." Read more
by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) - Opinion Contributor - Nov. 16, 2022.
Clean Up TVA Coalition and National Environmental Groups Urge Senate to Confirm TVA Board Nominees Ahead of Congressional Close. "The groups sent a letter
today to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling on leadership to follow through on a bipartisan deal made last year to confirm all six of President Biden’s nominees together. TVA’s Board is currently at quorum with five sitting members. Without the immediate Senate confirmation of President Biden’s nominees, the Board will no longer be at quorum by the end of this year, hampering its ability to fulfill its statutory duties, including establishing the goals of the agency, developing long-range plans and approving an annual budget." Read press release here - Nov. 17, 2022.
TVA Board Update:
Senate panel narrowly votes in favor of Al Gore’s former chief of staff for TVA board. "By an 11-9 vote, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee endorsed Biden's appointment to the TVA board of Beth Prichard Geer, a Nashville environmental activist and former aide to Gore." TVA nominees await Senate vote to maintain a quorum of governing board. Read more by Dave Flessner - Times Free Press - Nov. 29, 2022.
How Tennessee Disenfranchised 21% of Its Black Citizens. "While many states have made it easier for people convicted of felonies to vote, Tennessee has gone in the other direction...One in five Black Tennesseans are ... barred from voting because of a prior felony conviction. Indeed, Tennessee appears to disenfranchise a far higher proportion of its Black residents — 21% — than any other." Read more by Bianca Fortis - ProPublica - Nov. 8, 2022.
Tennessee Chapter Winter Retreat!
January 20-22, 2023
Cedars of Lebanon State Park
The Tennessee Chapter Winter Retreat is on! Activities at the Winter Retreat include winter hikes, election of ExCom officers and Committee Chairs, planning for the year, socializing, and a (probable) Q&A with Sierra Club President, Ramón Cruz. This will be the first retreat since 2019 due to COVID, so it's an exciting return to in-person retreats!
Additional information will be on the Chapter website by mid-December with confirmed schedule and costs. If you don't wish to stay in the Group Lodge dorms, there are camping spaces and 2-bedroom cabins for rent at the Park. There are also hotels in Lebanon, which is about 10 miles north of the Park.
Register by January 13 for the Early Bird discount (stay tuned for the link). Pricing will vary depending on how many days you plan to attend, or if it is your first retreat. The Winter Retreat will begin at 4 pm on Friday, January 20, and end at 11 am on Sunday, January 22. Save the Date!
Upper Bald River Falls in Upper Bald River Gorge Wilderness. Photo: Bill Hodge, 2015.
HBG’s Political Team Wins 2, Loses 2
By Kent Minault, Chair of the Harvey Broome Group’s Political Team and Chair of Tennessee Chapter Transportation Team
HBG’s Political Team supported four endorsed candidates for state office in the recent election: incumbents Gloria Johnson and Sam McKenzie, and challengers Amanda Collins and Greg Kaplan. Sam and Gloria are both strong allies in Nashville, and we were relieved to see them win back their seats with comfortable margins. The Republican-led legislature had tried to sideline Gloria by merging her district with Sam’s, forcing them to run against each other. Gloria dodged this ploy by moving to a home a mile away so she could run in the newly formed District 90, containing a more rural and conservative constituency. Nonetheless, she won the seat by the biggest margin of all her four wins to date, seriously embarrassing the Republicans’ redistricting gambit. Sam also won his
district by a powerful 71%, though only 30% of the voters showed up.
Amanda and Greg both lost in districts with large rural and conservative areas. District 14 had the highest voter turnout of any district in the state with 46% of voters submitting a ballot, marking a trend where majority Republican districts had the highest participation. Greg’s race in District 18 had the second-highest voter turnout with 43%, but his campaign garnered an extra dollop of publicity from a highly antisemitic mailer put out by the County Republicans, though disavowed by his opponent, Elaine Davis. Even though District 18 had been redrawn by Republicans and extended into South Knoxville to make it more conservative, the margin of conservative victory was the same as in the old District 18 in 2020, clearly marking a Republican underperformance. Greg’s energetic
style and vigorous opposition to the recent “divisive concepts” legislation won him a 61% majority in the Sequoyah Hills area, beating Joe Biden’s percentage there in 2020 by one point.
Sierra Club members worked hard for our candidates, putting out endorsement statements and calls to action on social media and other platforms. Ex-Com Chair Jerry Thornton was out canvassing, as was the Political Team. Our new team member, Dana Moran, created a handsome setting for our endorsements that hit social media the Monday before election day, earning high praise from campaign managers. She also organized folks for door knocking and phone banking. Postcards and phonebanks made a difference this November, but nothing beats face-to-face conversation. Our political strength will keep growing to the extent that we get out of our comfort zone and speak with voters.
Left to right: Gloria Johnson, Sam McKenzie, Amanda Collins, and Greg Kaplan. Used with permission.
Environmental Updates
Conservation groups file complaint seeking stronger oversight over wastewater plants. "In September, landowners living near Trace Creek in Dickson County noticed a film of bacterial colonies forming on the waterway and alerted the Harpeth Conservancy, an organization dedicated to protecting Tennessee rivers. Organization members noted that the film was most likely caused by sphaerotilus natans, a bacteria commonly associated with raw sewage, and traced the problem to the White Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant– located directly upstream from the creek." Read more
by Dulce Torrez Guzman - Tennessee Lookout - Nov. 22, 2022.
Contaminants found in East Tennessee springs. "Fifty springs located in six Northeast Tennessee counties — Carter, Greene, Hamblen, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington — were tested for 13 water quality parameters, including the contaminants nitrite, nitrate, fecal coliform, E. coli and radon... Ninety percent of the springs tested exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation allowable maximum contaminant level standards for E. coli." Read more by Lorelei Goff - Nov. 17, 2022.
Cleveland man partners with conservation groups to protect 620-acre Custard Hollow on Cumberland Plateau. "A Cleveland, Tennessee, man partnered with conservation groups to conserve 620 acres of Cumberland Plateau forest in Franklin County where it will add to work already underway or completed. For Robert D. McCaleb, the conservation easement
on the property not only protects increasingly rare wildlife habitat and the land's scenic beauty, it honors McCaleb's father, a former World War II prisoner of war, and his "Greatest Generation." Read more by Ben Benton - Times Free Press - Nov. 12, 2022.
5 things to know about how TVA will meet both its energy goals and customer demand. "As TVA gets ready to shut down two of its legacy coal plants, Cumberland and Kingston, the agency will have to rely on other energy sources to power the Tennessee Valley while meeting its goals to decarbonize its system."
Read more by Anila Yoganathan - Knoxville News Sentinel - Nov. 4, 2022.
Sierra Club makes historic selection for its next Executive Director. After national search, Ben Jealous, former NAACP president, coalition builder and community organizer will lead nation’s most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization. “Jealous will be the seventh executive director since the position was created in 1952 and the first person of color to serve in the role.” Read more
- Sierra Club press release - Nov. 14, 2022. "Ben has demonstrated a personal commitment to our core values throughout his career as a community organizer, environmental and civil rights leader. He’s been a staunch advocate for the health of our planet since he was a child growing up in California and has worked tirelessly at the intersection of the environment, equity, and social justice - marking the path to a world that honors the harmony between our collective humanity and our planet.“
Health & Justice
Greenwashing delays climate action. And yes, it’s happening in Tennessee. "A recent Sierra Club report
that examined climate pledges and actions by the nation’s utilities ranked TVA toward the bottom. TVA was highlighted as an example of “textbook” greenwashing, between its coal phaseout timeline, plans for new gas and limited renewable additions. TVA has the largest gas buildout planned this decade of any operating company in the U.S., and the utility has plans to replace less than a fifth of its existing coal and gas generation with clean energy, according to the report." Read more by Caroline Eggers - WPLN Nashville NPR - Nov. 18, 2022.
Clingman descendants: Cost of renaming peak would be worth it. "To the Cherokee, the name of the mountain has always been Kuwohi, which means 'the mulberry place' in Cherokee. The mountain was dubbed Clingmans Dome by the federal government in 1859, named for North Carolina Sen. Thomas Lanier Clingman, who played a role in exploring and surveying area mountains...'All three generations of my family and I are 100% in favor of restoring the name Kuwohi,' said Tom Clingman, modern-day descendant of Thomas Lanier Clingman, the man for whom the peak is currently named." Read more
by Ben Benton - Times Free Press - Nov. 13, 2022.
New Report: Most Power Plants Violating Federal Rules Mandating Cleanup of Toxic Coal Ash Dumps. "Seven years after EPA imposed the first federal rules requiring the cleanup of coal ash waste dumps, only about half of the power plants that are contaminating groundwater agree that cleanup is necessary, and 96 percent of these power plants are not proposing any groundwater treatment. Only one plant out of 292 is planning a comprehensive cleanup." Read full press release from Environmental Integrity Project - Contact: Tom Pelton - Nov. 3, 2022.
TVA must address its history of environmental injustice | Opinion. "TVA’s failing environmental justice record doesn’t end with coal ash. Like many utilities across the country, TVA is largely fossil-fueled and delaying the transition to a resilient, renewable and just energy future...The reality is that TVA customers experience some of the highest energy burdens in the country – in some places more than seven times higher than the national average. Many TVA customers – especially those of color and low wealth – have disproportionately borne the burden of fossil fuel pollution, climate disasters, shutoffs and high energy costs...TVA needs to prioritize community input and safety through the proper remediation of coal ash sites."
Read more by Pearl Walker and Michael Malcom, Guest columnists - Tennessean - Nov. 3, 2022.
Events
Statewide environmental events listed chronolically.
Do you have an event you'd like publicized?
Send it to Enews.sierratn@gmail.com.
Chickasaw Group Annual Holiday Party. Join the Chickasaw Group for a potluck and social on Friday, December 9th, 7:00 - 8:30 pm at Burch, Porter, & Johnson Law Firm! Please RSVP to Rita Harris at rita2600@gmail.com.
Harvey Broome Group 50th Anniversary Celebration! The Harvey Broome Group is celebrating 50 years as a formal group of the Sierra Club! Join us on Tuesday, December 13th, 5:30 - 9:00 pm at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist in Knoxville for a potluck and slideshow of HBG history including outings, social events, rallies, and more. After dinner, we will enjoy music by Maggie Longmire and friends, followed by short presentations from several long-time members of HBG about past adventures. In-person and virtual via Zoom. RSVP through this Campfire Event Link to get the Zoom link. Note: Attendance is limited to 80 people.
HBG Outing: Frozen Head Hike on Chimney Top Trail. This strenuous hike is a 12-mile loop with a 2,000 foot elevation climb and descent, and offers beautiful winter scenery and mountain views. Participants must get approval from the outing leader after demonstrating fitness for the hike, provide a Sierra Club medical form, and sign the Sierra Club liability waiver. To register, call or email Jerry Thornton at 865-719-9742 or gatwildcat@aol.com, then use the Campfire link to RSVP and complete the waiver. Hike on Saturday, December 17th, 8 am - 6 pm.
SAVE THE DATE! Tennessee Chapter Winter Retreat on Jan. 20-22, 2023 at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.
Special Features
Dear Eartha: Advice from an Eco-Guru
Dear Eartha,
Most of us have kept a keen eye on the COP27 events just concluded in Indonesia. We also watched with horror the deaths from flooding in Pakistan and India, along with other atrocious events caused by climate change around the world. Finally, the “loss and damage” outcries are being addressed, albeit weakly, by the first world governments who have caused the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon overload upon planet Earth. Would you share your thoughts on the “loss and damage” progress and what we, as environmentally responsible citizens of the biggest producer of destruction, can expect? Thanks. —Guilty as Charged in Memphis
Dear Memphian,
Back in the 70s when I was wearing a “War is Menstruation Envy” t-shirt walking around Golden Gate Park on Earth Day, I bought a button with a photo of the earth and the words “One World” atop and below it. What I think we are all seeing more clearly than ever before is how every citizen of every country on the globe is connected and this is the one world we occupy, though not in equal comfort, prosperity, or future prospects. Here’s how the UN High Commission on Refugees defines a reparation pathway: “‘Loss and damage’ refers to the devastating impacts of climate shocks and pressures, such as cyclones, floods, droughts and sea level rise, on people’s safety, homes and means to live with dignity” (
UNCHR.org, 11/18/22).
As the Sierra Club has been promoting environmental justice in recent years, governmental leaders have continued to equivocate on what we now understand as the “loss and damage” conversation moving forward more rapidly as destructive climate patterns escalate, and more human beings die in countries other than those of the biggest users of carbon.
You mentioned Pakistan. Indian journalists reported 1,596 dead from Pakistan’s flooding with 12,863 injured (Tribune India, 9/23/22). Bill McKibben in The New Yorker
reminds us that there are over a million people dying from the effects of climate changes in South Sudan and Somalia (11/19/22). Leaders from around the world including the Secretary General of the United Nations, India, and Africa exhort those in powerful positions in what McKibben calls "the Global North" to imagine refugees multiplying from millions to hundreds of millions. It’s been reported that over 70 percent of the world’s displaced persons come from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Yemen (UNCHR.org, 11/7/22).
These are difficult times, and economic decisions need to be made very strategically. Economists ask questions about how to promote environmental business practices as outlined in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to get closer to being able to, as some say the World Bank can, lend much more for renewable energy products. But the contradiction is that this international development organization of 187 countries is “still pouring huge amounts into fossil fuel development, against the advice of climate scientists who say there’s no more margin for new oil and gas projects” (McKibbin). And now with Biden having effectively banned the sale of any modern semiconductor-manufacturing equipment to China, the US may be impeding China’s decarbonization development as
semiconductors are crucial for that process, suggests Robinson Meyer from The Atlantic (11/23/22).
Yep, it’s complicated. But we are inching forward since the alternative is a chaotic world that no one will abide. I’d like to leave us with the Sierra Club’s 2022 highlights showing that change is occurring, and our efforts as environmental activists are producing positive results:
Passed the Inflation Reduction Act — $369 billion to drive job creation, and reduce pollution in our communities
Stopped fracked gas exports in the Gulf Coast
Delayed the Mountain Valley Pipeline, again
Protected Gray Wolves, again
Celebrated the recognition of Tribal rights in land management
Eartha
Submit your questions, comments, or brief opinion of 'What Matters Now' to the Sierra E-News Editor [Enews.sierratn@gmail.com]. Dear Eartha is penned by Rita Bullinger.
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Poinsettia(Euphorbia pulcherrima)
In the wild, Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub that grows several feet tall, and can even grow long and lanky like a vine. It is native to Mexico and Central America and enjoys a tropical climate with warm-moderate temperatures, sunlight, and humidity. Needless to say, despite being a popular holiday plant, the poinsettia is not frost-tolerant.Photo by Frank Vincentz licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
The showy poinsettia is the most popular potted plant sold in the US and Canada, equaling about $150 million in retail sales in the US per year.
There are over 100 varieties of poinsettia which come in red, white, pink, orange, marbled, and speckled. Poinsettias have modest flowers in the center. The vibrance of the poinsettia comes from its colored leaves, or bracts. The Aztecs used poinsettia bracts to make dye for fabrics, and used the sap to treat fevers. Despite rumors to the contrary, poinsettias are not very poisonous. The bracts have an unpleasant taste, and sap might cause mild irritation.
In 1828, the poinsettia was introduced to the United States from Mexico by Joel Roberts Poinsett, an amateur botanist, physician, and slave owner who served as the first US Ambassador to Mexico. As a diplomat to Mexico, he so angered the Mexican administration and people that they demanded his removal in 1829. He also served as Secretary of War under Martin van Buren, during which he presided over the forcible removal of more Indians from east of the Mississippi than any other of his predecessors (40,000 people according to an 1841 report).
Long before Poinsett, the Aztecs called the plant Cuitlaxochitl (from cuitlatl, for residue, and xochitl, for flower), meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil" in their native language Nahuatl.
By Mac Post, TN Chapter Fundraising Chair [edited]
Recently the National Sierra Club fundraising team sent emails to many of you encouraging you to become a monthly donor to the Tennessee Chapter. The Tennessee Chapter is effective because we have the flexibility to fight any environmental battle at any time—including legislative fights in Nashville.
Monthly donors are the backbone of that power and flexibility. Your steady giving, regardless of size, sustains longterm campaigns that are improving Tennessee’s environment. Please consider this invitation to become a Chapter monthly donor by using our secure website.
Remember that you can also give a gift of Sierra Club membership. Keep this in mind as the holidays approach! Membership can be a thoughtful gift for like-minded loved ones, and if you use this link for gift memberships to new members, our Chapter will get the commissions!
Are you a Sierra member who has been receiving our bi-monthly print publication, the Tennes-Sierran? You can opt out of getting a paper copy of the newspaper and instead receive it digitally. To request paperless delivery, open this form to make your request.
Contact Us
Do you have a program or speaker idea for your Group? An issue you're particularly passionate about? Do you have a story idea for the Tennes-Sierran or the e-newsletter? Let us know! Look through our past programs for inspiration. Submit your suggestion here!
The views expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sierra Club.
Who We Are
We are the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, the world’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. With over 3.8 million members and supporters, the Sierra Club has the resources to empower people and to influence public policy through community activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.
Our mission is to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.
