HBG ExCom meetings: In-person at Church of the Savior, 934 N Weisgarber Rd, Knoxville, TN 37909 (with Zoom option)
HBG Program meetings: In-person at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919
Tennessee Chapter ExCom Business meetings: In-person or online (via Zoom)
(see our Chapter Calendar for more details)
August 2023 Program
What: Tennessee's Environmental Legacy of Coal, Indian Removal, and Industry by Rob Winslow, Filmmaker and Historian
When: Tuesday, August 8, 2023, 7:00-8:30 PM
Where: Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville TN
East Tennessee has a pivotal role in the story of the modern world. Especially in this moment of transition, re-thinking our own landscape can equip us for creating change in our own time. Robert Winslow is a filmmaker and public historian from Chattanooga. Tonight's program grows out of a 2022 arts residency on "climate resilience", spent reporting the legacy of coal country, Indian Removal, and generations of industry.
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HBG Business & Local Issues
HBG Endorses Candidates for Knoxville City Elections
Our group has endorsed candidates for Knoxville mayor, city council at-large, and city judge in the upcoming election. Early Voting for the primary runs from Wednesday, August 9 to Thursday, August 24, and Election Day is Tuesday, August 29. The deadline to register to vote in this election is Monday, July 31.
Find out more about the candidates and our endorsement process on our website.
Sierra Club and Allies Push for Renewable Future at TVA Open House
By Todd Waterman
At its June 14 Kingston Replacement Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Open House in Kingston, TVA was pushing its preferred Alternative A – replacing Kingston’s energy, when it closes, with a huge combined-cycle methane gas plant and a 122 gas mile pipeline. TVA claimed this plan was environmentally preferable (though only to coal), and its DEIS contained skewed cost and other data to make Alternative B, replacing Kingston's generation with solar and the battery storage to make it 24/7, sound impossible.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is already suing TVA for violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by committing to build another combined-cycle combustion gas plant to replace its Cumberland coal plant without meaningfully considering replacing the plant with solar energy and battery storage, let alone fully considering the climate impact of its upstream methane leakage and CO2. TVA had signed a contract for the gas pipeline before fairly considering alternative plans or even completing the required environmental review.
HBG Cleans Up Third Creek Greenway
By Jerry Thornton
The monthly public meeting of the Harvey Broome Group on Tuesday, July 11th started with a nice dinner provided mostly by stalwart member Bob Grimac, which gave the ten of us lots of energy to walk vigorously down the Third Creek Greenway on a cleaning mission. Bob provided collapsible trash barrels
and “grabbers” that we used to pick up quite a bit of trash between Tennessee Valley UU Church and Tyson Park. The greenway itself was remarkably clean, but on our side trip along the entrance road to “Safety City,” we found a mother load of trash between the railroad tracks and the football/soccer field.
In less than an hour, we got it all picked up, including a one-dollar bill, a dime, and a penny! In addition to the camaraderie, this goes to show that it is profitable in more ways than one to join a Sierra Club trash-picking party! (Bob has been leading trash pickups for his church for years. A young girl found a $20 on one of Bob’s trash forays!) We hope to make cleanup outings a regular feature of the HBG outings program. Please join us to help keep Knoxville beautiful!
In Smoky Chicago, We Comment on a More Just EPA Coal Ash Rule
By Todd Waterman
Betty Johnson (speaking), widow of Kingston cleanup driver Tommy Johnson, and Kingston worker's wife Julie Bledsoe (blonde hair) made national news at Earthjustice and partners' June 28 news conference. Photo by Todd Waterman.
I’d been a standing declarant for SOCM in Earthjustice and its co-plaintiffs SOCM, Sierra Club, and others’ successful lawsuit suing the EPA for an updated Coal Ash Rule that would at last cover not just the half of the power plant coal ash impoundments in use after the current rule went into effect in 2015, but all of them. So I agreed to testify at the June 28 EPA public hearing on the proposed new rule in Chicago. Earthjustice’s suit had cited my nearby Bull Run coal plant’s impoundments, all of which were exempt even though they’d already contaminated our groundwater and the drinking water reservoir for Anderson and much of Knox Counties. But how could I speak for someone who’d endured decades of living right beside Bull Run, under a constant rain of toxic coal soot? Or for someone dying because they’d been denied a mask while cleaning up the Kingston coal ash spill? Nonetheless, there I was in a Chicago hotel, at 5 AM groggily still groping for words to persuade the EPA, in a five minute comment that afternoon, to protect my neighbors and friends from millions of tons of toxic Bull Run coal ash that TVA wants to abandon in place when it closes the plant later this year.
I needn’t have worried so. First commenting were Appalachian Voices’ Bri Knisley, Duke University coal ash researcher Avner Vengosh, and Susan Wind, whose cancer-plagued home town was built on coal ash. But the most powerful comments I’d ever heard came from Kingston spill activists. Recent coal ash cleanup driver’s widow Betty Johnson angrily berated EPA’s panelists. Why hadn't they done their job? Why hadn’t they protected her husband? Immediately after came Julie Bledsoe, whose Kingston cleanup worker husband now has COPD, who paraded before the panelists a photo of a worker whose coal ash-spattered face revealed he’d been made to wear goggles but no mask. Hours of powerful, sometimes tearful comments from experts and activists from all over the country had made the case for a strong new rule by the time I testified. I pleaded that without strong enforcement and an end to the EPA’s “Non-hazardous” coal ash designation, TVA would do little.
Chicago was an organizing tour de force by Earthjustice Attorney Lisa Evans. She hadn't just successfully sued the EPA for an updated rule. She’d lit up organizers and activists from 22 states and Puerto Rico; raised money for and booked flights and hotels; and prepared us with a webinar, commenting tips, and talking points. She would encourage many more of us to comment on EPA’s July 12 Online Hearing and to submit written comments by the July 17 deadline.
Though no utilities dared comment on camera in Chicago, they’ll be lobbying hard against Sierra Club and partners’ expensive consensus ask: that all coal ash be safely and justly removed to high, dry, lined storage, away from people and waterways. But we departed Chicago as a united, nationwide movement. We know each other now. We know we’re not alone. And we know we’ll keep raising our voices together until justice is won.
Read Todd’s full public comment here
Join the HBG Executive Committee!
The Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club is seeking candidates for its Executive Committee to provide leadership and guidance for the group in the years 2024-2025. The Committee meets monthly and engages in various Sierra Club activities. For more information, visit our group website. If you have questions about this, would like to serve on the Executive Committee, or know someone who would be a good candidate, please contact John Nolt (nolt@utk.edu). Qualified candidates will be listed on a ballot, and the Harvey Broome Group membership will vote in the fall to determine who is appointed. The two-year term begins in January 2024.
HBG Outings Program Needs You!
 2016 HBG Outing to Honey Creek Loop Trail, Big South Fork NRRA © Ron Shrieves (edited).
The HBG Outings Program needs a new Outings Committee Chair who has the time and energy to re-energize the long-standing outings program. Please consider whether you have the energy to be the new Outings Chair and to help make our Outings Program the great program that it has been since the beginning of our group. The position is not hugely time consuming, but the program needs some nurturing and attention. An HBG Outing can be an urban adventure, a trip to a recycling center, a community litter clean-up project, a day hike, a backpack, a birding outing, a kayak/canoe outing or anyway of getting active together outdoors. The Outings Committee Chair works with other committee members and other outings leaders to support the Outings Program. Having a thriving Outings Program helps HBG to exemplify the Sierra Club slogan “enjoy, explore, and protect the planet.” For more information, please contact Joan Tomlinson at joanptomlinson@gmail.com or Jerry Thornton at gatwildcat@aol.com.
Call for Volunteers
Are you passionate about local conservation issues? Do your public comments and letters to the editor shine? Is chatting up strangers at community events your favorite hobby? The Harvey Broome Group wants YOU!
We currently have a particular need for volunteers to support our endorsed candidates for Knoxville municipal elections this fall.
No matter what your talent is, we want to get to know you. Reach out to our group chair, Jerry Thornton, or find a relevant committee chair on the HBG website.
Federally Funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
This federal program provides federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with: home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs.
Read about other local events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.
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Events and Actions
HBG Outing: Indian Boundary Hike and Swim
Saturday, August 26
8:00 AM
Indian Boundary Recreation Area
This is a nice family outing at the lovely Indian Boundary Lake which features an easy hiking trail around the lake. We will meet at the US Forest Service Picnic Pavilion in the Indian Boundary Recreation Area and hike together around the Lake. This 3.6-mile loop is on a hiking/biking trail through the forest along the lakeshore, with only minor ups and downs - very suitable for children or adults with limited endurance. After the hike, we will picnic and swim at the broad, sandy beach on the west shore of the lake, which has a great view of Flats Mountain to the east. Those so inclined are also welcome to bring fishing gear and try their luck. Because of the remote location, each participant must fill out a Sierra Club medical form. Call (865-719-9742) or email (gatwildcat@aol.com) Jerry to sign up and get meeting time, directions, and a link to the medical form. All participants must also sign the standard Sierra Club liability waiver. Indian Boundary Recreation Area is about an hour and a half drive from West Knoxville, off the Cherohala Skyway. There is a $3.00 daily parking fee for use of the recreation area.
HBG Outing: Come Swim with the Fishes in Citico Creek!
Saturday, September 2nd
8:00 AM
Citico Creek
Join the Harvey Broome Group for a snorkeling adventure in Citico Creek, one of the cleanest and most biodiverse streams in Tennessee. Sometimes called “the hillbilly coral reef,” Citico Creek drains the Citico Creek Wilderness and is known for its wide diversity of native fishes, freshwater clams, and myriad aquatic insects. If you have never worn a mask and snorkel and put your face into a clean, freshwater stream, you have no idea what you have been missing. The colorful darters, madtoms, minnows, sculpins and other fishes are a delight for the senses! Leading this adventure will be Patrick Rakes (M.S., Zoology), an amazing fish expert and co-founder of Conservation Fisheries, Inc., and Jerry Thornton (M.S., Aquatic Ecology).
Masks and snorkels will not be provided. Dive fins are not needed, but sneakers, sandals or booties are useful for crawling upstream along the rocky stream bottom and protecting your feet. If you have a wet suit, wear it, but it should be a hot day and you can survive the cold water in your swim trunks and a T-shirt.
Participants must be able to swim. Call (865-719-9742) or email (gatwildcat@aol.com) Jerry for information and to sign up. Meeting time and place and directions will be supplied to those accepted for the event.
HBG Outing: Lower Abrams Creek Hike and Swim
Saturday, September 23
8:00 AM
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Join Jerry and Alice Thornton for an approximately 8-mile loop hike in the Smokies on the Cooper Road, Little Bottoms, Hannah Mountain, and Rabbit Creek Trails. This route follows Abrams Creek upstream on the Little Bottoms Trail, starting from Abrams Creek Campground in the western end of the park. It crosses the creek on the Hannah Mountain Trail, and loops back to the start on the Rabbit Creek Trail, where a second ford of Abrams creek is necessary. A great hike for a hot summer day, with the reward of a swim in the creek at the end and/or along the way! Rated moderate, with minor elevation gain. Creek shoes are a good idea! A Sierra Club medical form and liability waiver is required. Call (865-719-9742) or email ( gatwildcat@aol.com) Jerry for information and to sign up. (If there is a major rain event during the days before September 23d that might cause flooding of Abrams Creek, the hike will be postponed to Sunday, October 8th for safety reasons.)
HBG Outing: Canoe/Kayak Float at Seven Islands
Saturday, October 21
9:00 AM
Seven Islands State Birding Park
This go-with-the-current float covers an easy 5 miles, starting from the Seven Islands State Birding Park public access point on the French Broad River and ending at a public boat ramp at Cruze Landing. This river has some interesting sights and a bit of wildlife (and some not-so-wild life). There may be some shoal water, but no whitewater. Basic canoe/kayak and swimming skills are required. We'll take our time exploring the shoreline for birds and other wildlife, and stop to eat lunch and stretch our legs on an island that is in the State Park. Boats are not provided. Contact a local outfitter and make your own arrangements for boats, paddles, lunch, and PFDs. Meetup time/place details will be provided about a week before the outing. Pre-register with Ron Shrieves: 922-3518; ronshrieves@gmail.com (email preferred).
HBG Outing: Old Sugarlands Trail Day Hike
Saturday, November 4
9:00 AM
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This moderate trail ultimately climbs about 1,000 feet to its junction with the Bullhead Trail. There are several very interesting historical relics to examine along the way. These are mostly remnants of CCC facilities used during the construction of park infrastructure in the 1930's and 40's. Also, there's the option of visiting the "Stone House," a bit of a mystery, and also an old cemetery along the way. Meetup time/place details will be provided about a week before the outing. Distance 6-8 miles total, depending on how far up the trail we go. Pre-register with Ron Shrieves: 922-3518; ronshrieves@gmail.com (email preferred).
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Environmental Newsflash
*** Note to readers about accessing these articles. Gift links provide a link that allows access for a single time, even if you have reached your limit.
Why a sudden surge of broken heat records is scaring scientists: Scientists say to brace for more extreme weather and probably a record-warm 2023 amid unprecedented temperatures. Scott Dance, The Washington Post, July 6.
“‘We have never seen anything like this before,’ said Carlo Buontempo, director of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. He said any number of charts and graphs on Earth’s climate are showing, quite literally, that ‘we are in uncharted territory.’
“It’s not just that records are being broken — but the massive margins with which conditions are surpassing previous extremes, scientists note. In parts of the North Atlantic, temperatures are running as high as 9 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, the warmest observed there in more than 170 years. The warm waters helped northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, clinch its warmest June on record.”
As Canada reels from wildfire, First Nations hope for larger role: Advocates say that Indigenous communities must be given greater autonomy to engage in traditional burning practices. Brian Osgood, Al Jazeera, July 5.
“Dane de Souza, a citizen of Metis Nation and former wildland firefighter who specializes in Indigenous fire management, sees a connection between today’s fires and the restriction of Indigenous practices.
“‘Indigenous people have been managing fires for thousands of years,’ de Souza told Al Jazeera in a recent phone call. ‘Putting fire on the land is a very human thing to do. But we’ve replaced fires of choice with fires of chance.’
He said there is a ‘beautiful truth’ in the Indigenous approach to fire, one that has taken on even greater importance as countries struggle with climate change.
“‘When we talk about climate resilience and sustainability, that’s Indigenous knowledge,’ he said. ‘What is being Indigenous? It’s a connection to the land.’”
At rules hearing, U.S. EPA hears human toll of unaddressed coal ash pollution: “My husband and I had plans when I retired to travel; now he’s in the graveyard,” said the widow of a cleanup worker at the infamous 2008 Kingston, Tennessee, coal ash spill. Along with emotional stories, the agency heard testimony that its proposed exemptions would cause loopholes and confusion. Kari Lyndersen, Energy News Network, June 29.
“The environmental injustice of coal ash was clear at the hearing, as residents testified from Native American communities in New Mexico and Nevada, Latino communities in Midwestern cities, and Black communities in Alabama and Tennessee, among others. Multiple people told the EPA officials about their friends and family who had died or suffered from cancer or other illnesses they attribute to coal ash.
“Cerissa A. Brown of the People’s Justice Council in Birmingham, Alabama, decried how coal ash from the infamous 2008 Kingston, Tennessee, spill was delivered to a landfill in the largely Black community of Uniontown, Alabama. The Energy News Network reported last year that Uniontown residents have been unable to get answers from the private landfill company about its coal ash management procedures and whether it still accepts coal ash.
“Betty Johnson’s husband, Tommy, was among the first responders cleaning up the 2008 Kingston spill. She broke down into tears testifying about how he and other workers labored without adequate protective gear. She blames his death last month on his exposure to coal ash. Johnson is among workers who have filed lawsuits against the contractor responsible for the cleanup, citing multiple deaths and serious illnesses. Advocates argue that disasters similar to Kingston could happen if regulations do not require the full cleanup of all coal ash dumps.”
The World’s Demand for Oil Is Set to Slow: The International Energy Agency said oil consumption would hit a peak in a few years, with gasoline use shrinking after 2026. Stanley Reed, The New York Times, June 14.
“World demand for oil is likely to drop off sharply over the next five years, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday, as a shift to electric vehicles and other cleaner technologies brings growth in global oil use almost to a complete halt.
“‘The shift to a clean energy economy is picking up pace, with a peak in global oil demand in sight before the end of this decade,’ said Fatih Birol, the agency’s executive director, in a news release.”
“Underneath the ground, intricate fungal networks are working together with plants to absorb massive amounts of carbon — equivalent to more than a third of the world's annual fossil fuel emissions, according to a new study.
“What these findings do make clear is how essential soil is to carbon sequestration — and the role mycorrhizal fungi play in keeping it healthy, acting as a well-known defense against soil loss and certain plant diseases.
“Conservation and restoration activities that protect soil are becoming increasingly urgent. Recently, the United Nations warned that 90 percent of the Earth’s topsoil — where crops, forests and more grow — could be degraded by 2050, in part due to intensive farming practices.”
Debt Deal Includes a Green Light for a Contentious Pipeline: Climate activists are livid over a provision in the debt limit agreement that orders federal agencies to issue permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline — and says courts can’t review them. Coral Davenport and Brad Plumer. The New York Times, June 2.
“‘This is an unprecedented end run around the courts, which have repeatedly rejected permits over M.V.P.’s failure to comply with basic environmental laws,’ said Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, which has challenged several permits related to the pipeline. ‘We’re exploring the legal implications of this proposal and our next steps.’
“Some activists warned that the move could cost Mr. Biden election-year support among the young, climate-minded voters who helped elect him in 2020 but are now angered at his administration’s approval of multiple fossil fuel projects, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Alaska oil drilling project known as Willow, and a contentious pipeline project that would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil through Minnesota’s delicate watersheds.
“That anger comes even as Mr. Biden has pushed through both the new climate law, which is projected to reduce America’s climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by up to one billion tons in 2030, as well as proposed regulations that could eliminate as much as 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2055.”
Read about other events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.
*** A democracy with informed citizens requires the professionalism that we have historically expected of credible news sources. Most “local" newspapers today are asking folks who access their online news stories to purchase a subscription to their paper. This is understandable generally, and reminds us that we should do our part to pay for the resources that result in publication of local news. Those of us who use summaries of published print news, as we do, are no exception, and we ask the same of our readers. However, we also believe that a person who only wants to see an occasional article published in a newspaper should not be required to subscribe. So if you believe that you are in the latter category - only an occasional reader - you may be able to read an article without a subscription. You can click on the gift link, which assumes that you plan to "gift" the journal or magazine or newspaper to someone, or you can "browse anonymously" or clear your browser cache before activating a link to an article. This may help you avoid many "pay walls" at these news sources (some sources restrict access even with anonymous settings). Another approach is to search for alternate source on the particular news item. But we recommend that our readers who find themselves accessing an online news source on a regular basis subscribe to an online version of the paper, which is generally much cheaper than a print version.
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Can't donate now? Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards. Kroger donates a portion of what you spend to the Harvey Broome Group as long as you designate HBG as your preferred charity.
Here's how:
1. Go to the Kroger Community Rewards web page
2. Register (or Sign In if you already have an account.)
3. Enroll in Community Rewards (or Edit if you're already enrolled.)
4. Enter HBG's Community Rewards Number 27874.
That's it. Swipe your Kroger Card when you shop and know that you're helping protect your environment.
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Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization -- with more than two million members and supporters. Our successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, we've made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.
The Harvey Broome Group (HBG) is one of four Sierra Club Groups within the Tennessee Chapter. HBG is based in Knoxville and serves 18 surrounding counties. HBG's namesake, Harvey Broome, was a Knoxvillian who was a founding member of the Wilderness Society and played a key role in the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Visit our website
Join HBG
Donate (click the Donate button on the HBG home page)
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