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Bill requiring permits for subsurface sewage disposal systems withdrawn
By Scott Banbury, Conservation Program Coordinator, Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club
Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club - Our first major challenge came up this year when the TN Home Builders Association put in a bill requiring permits for subsurface sewage disposal systems (septic tanks) if any municipal or county authority was not ready to provide sewer treatment. This is an important part of county land use planning and thus far we've prevailed. The bill has been taken off notice and the sponsors are having a hard time drafting language that will pass. They will likely bring it back up, but we feel confident that reason will prevail. Follow the bill at https://bit.ly/2WYBGRT . (Editor’s comment: Sierra Club members are quoted in a Chattanooga Times Free Press articles about the issue. See https://bit.ly/2DASRQJ.)
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Do you know about the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign?
Below is an excerpt from an email dated Dec 18, by Mark Kresowik, Eastern Region Deputy Director, Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign:
“It's a big day for climate protection, and the Sierra Club was a key part of making it happen.Today the residents and representatives of our nation's capital, the District of Columbia, came together to raise the bar on clean energy and celebrate the final unanimous Council passage of the most ambitious climate protection bill in the United States. The District will reach 100% clean, renewable energy by 2032, nearly a decade before any state has yet targeted such progress. We are committing to 100% electric vehicles for our transit systems, large private fleets, and ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft by 2045. We are enacting the first performance standard for energy use in existing large commercial buildings in the country. We are massively increasing funding for efficiency and electrification.” Read the entire announcement at: https://bit.ly/2AFBP2U
See a list of 206 mayors across the US who have already signed on: https://bit.ly/2HLS3xc
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Newsflash
Did you know? Tennessee’s Families Pay Some of the Highest Electricity Bills in the Country. A report by the Southern Environmental Law center tells all. See: https://bit.ly/2DwMg9A. The high cost of coal may be part of the problem.
On a related issue, TVA proposes to shut down Bull Run & Paradise coal plants despite opposition from Trump and the Senate majority leader. A TVA study says the plants won't be needed. The assessments prepared by TVA's staff over the past year said Paradise and Bull Run are among the coal-fired units with "relatively high projected future maintenance costs and environmental compliance expenditures, a high forced outage rate and poor generation fit" for TVA's future power demands.
February 11th, 2019 by Dave Flessner - Times free Press. See the article at https://bit.ly/2tgro1V.
Update:
On November 14th, TVA decided to close two coal-fired power plants , Bull Run in Claxton by 2023 and Paradise unit 3 in Kentucky by 2020. The Board’s decision was based on analysis, which demonstrated that these fossil fuel plants are uneconomical. TVA National and local Sierra Club members spoke in favor of closing these out-of-date power plants during the TVA Board of Directors meeting in Chattanooga on February 13th. TVA still operates 4 coal fired power plants. TVA released their Integrated Resource Plan, which is a comprehensive study that provides direction on how TVA can best deliver clean, reliable and low-cost energy in the Valley over the next 20 years. For more information contact Jan Berry at janatclimatechange@gmail.com.
One for the good guys (polar bears & their supporters): NO seismic oil testing in the Arctic Refuge this winter (but note the P.S. at he end of the letter). See the Sierra Club posting: https://bit.ly/2WYEGxN.
Important decisions on the development of Rocky Fork State Park lie ahead. The park, recently (1/7/2019) renamed as Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park was established by Tennessee in 2012. This state park is comprised of 2,000 acres carved out of a 10,000 acre primitive area that is now part of Cherokee National Forest. The problem — the State’s proposal to construct a “a massive road cut into the steep slope of Flint Mountain for a two-lane, 24-foot-wide access road leading three quarters of a mile ostensibly to an overlook and primitive campground.” This road proposal is a contradiction of the original intent of the movement behind establishment of the park.
See https://bit.ly/2TJdSiV and https://bit.ly/2SJyRVo.
"Five Big Ideas for a Green New Deal” by Ben Beachy (Director of the Sierra Club's Living Economy Program.) A concise summary of what and why. See https://bit.ly/2E5mk6C.
Microplastics - the next ecological shoe to drop? What about Tennessee? We’ve heard of several issues recently, including right here in Tennessee - so what’s the deal? Here are a couple of sources that will help inform you: https://bit.ly/2WWk4WN (abstract - full paper is downloadable); and https://on.natgeo.com/2pL5hij.
The Climate Challenge Problem - Getting our minds around the issues. A couple of good reads are Stephen Gardiner’s “ethics” article in YaleEnvironment360 at https://bit.ly/2WQMIbI, and a recent example of a bipartisan legislative initiative sets an example of potential progress: https://energyinnovationact.org
Sunrise Movement, a nationwide network of citizens concerned about the Climate Crisis, funnels public outrage into a highly-energized campaign to pressure elected officials into acting, and acting swiftly. We make use of office visits, protests, petitions, canvassing, social media, and more to achieve two main goals: getting fossil fuel money out of politics and passing a Green New Deal. As of January 2019, there is a Knoxville branch of Sunrise Movement! Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SunriseKnoxville/ for events and meetings.
If you would like more information, go to our website at www.sunrisemovement.org, or email sunrisemvmtknoxville@gmail.com to get involved!
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A Climate Conversation
Kent Minault, Harvey Broome Group
On Tuesday, January 22nd, about 30 people met at my house for a Climate Conversation. The Sierra Club was promoting conversations all over the country in response to two events: first, the release of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming, which concluded that we have only 12 years in which to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 45%; and second, the Democratic sweep in the House of Representatives which brought into Congress a number of climate champions, women and people of color. The conversations were prompted by both the dire urgency of our situation, and a unique political opportunity.
Our conversation was the January meeting of Knoxville Green Drinks, and Ariel Allen and Amanda Koenig spread the word through their lists. We also got participation through the HBG lists and a notification from Sierra Club national. My family and I were delighted to get a robust response.
After we all gave personal introductions, the conversation launched. Soon we were hearing about a national carbon fee, the scarcity of renewable energy infrastructure in eastern Tennessee, and TVA’s discontinued energy efficiency program. We learned from the Freeze the Fee movement how fixed fees on utility bills take away the financial incentive to conserve, and how the relationship between TVA and KUB makes it difficult to petition KUB for more clean energy.
The exploration of the Ready for 100 movement, namely cities and counties committed to getting 100% of their energy from carbon-free sources, led to Louise Gorenflo’s account of the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming. The scientists in the room elaborated on the extreme danger we face.
This pushed us into the heart of the matter. What are we going to do about it? Chet Hunt from the Citizens’ Climate Lobby told how bills for a carbon fee have already been introduced into both houses of Congress and have bi-partisan support. We started talking about how to get Knoxville to commit to renewables and join the Ready for 100 cities. Louise mentioned the 2030 Study Group which is working on a local Climate Action Plan. A major part of that plan will focus on equity - namely the fact that climate impacts hurt poor communities disproportionately. Our response must prioritize low-income areas for green development.
Several participants brought up regenerative farming and permaculture, which pulls carbon out of the atmosphere much faster than traditional agriculture. We want our actions to emphasize climate education as well, since many people seem unaware of the problem. A strong prospect for immediate action seemed to be getting back the incentives for energy efficiency upgrades. We talked about how SEEED has been getting income-qualified households on a waiting list for the upgrades, but that the TVA funding for the program has gone from 15 million to 1 million, slowing things way down. Renew Tennessee is a program of SACE which pushes back at the lack of transparency at KUB and TVA, both of which need new leadership. We’ll create ways to bring more people to Commission meetings and ramp up the pressure on them, especially the upcoming KUB Board meeting on Feb. 21st at 445 S. Gay Street, 6th floor at noon.
My personal takeaway from the conversation was that Knoxville has a large core of energetic and well-spoken climate activists. They are spread over a few different organizations which could use a bit of cross-coordination, but clearly they are ready for action. We should give up the notion that things have to move slowly in East Tennessee.
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Climate Change Action Forum
by Chet Hunt, Citizens' Climate Lobby
Knoxville’s Citizens' Climate Lobby hosted a successful Climate Change Action Forum on Saturday, February 9th. There were 41 participants who received excellent advocacy training along with a presentation on the recently introduced bipartisan climate legislation Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR763). Attendees possessed a variety of backgrounds including Climate Scientists, Engineers, Urban Planners, Ecologists, and a variety of other environmentalists. Several Sierra Club members were there to represent the club. It was very encouraging to see so many people interested in taking action to address climate change. Lots of people signed up to volunteer and also assist with lobbying our legislators.
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Forest Tranquility
Joan Tomlinson, Harvey Broome Group
I often have wondered about the tranquility I feel when I enter a forest. My attention is drawn both to the details of what’s around me and the unboundedness I feel. I like the word unboundedness to describe my forest experiences. Tranquil unboundedness. And since a HBG program (they are on the 2nd Tues of each month) on insects when I was introduced to a Hastings Triplet, seeing the intimate details of – well – every natural thing has opened up new doors of discovery for me. I encourage you to discover – or renew – your own times of forest tranquility. Use that tranquility as energy to support the Sierra Club’s environmental conservation issues! To explore more, check out Healing Forest.
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HBG/Chapter Events
Spring Chapter Meeting, May 3-5, 2019, Fall Creek Falls State Park
Put it on your calendar! Our Quarterly Chapter Meetings are a great way to get to know people from across the state that share a common goal of exploring, enjoying and protecting our environment. It’s also a great opportunity to learn the about conservation issues in Tennessee. See details here: https://bit.ly/2X5PjyF.
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HELP THE HARVEY BROOME GROUP
PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT
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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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Who We Are
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 five 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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