SIERRA

    The environment is too important to be left to Bush and his advisors.

    Weekly we read of the watering down of the regulations that protect us and the environment. Reasonable behavior would be to proceed with caution and to gather meaningful scientific information. We have developed over 70,000 chemicals and tested less than a 100 for their impact on the human body. The bodies that are most at risk are infants. I for one doubt that we can go on for ever poisoning the planet.

    The economist Lester Thurow of MIT has stated that the problem of the environment is: capitalists budget nothing for the environment because they know there will be few problems for 25 years. When the first 25 years are up, they say not much has happened so they don't budget anything for another 25 years. Eventually, there isn't enough money in the budget to clean up the situation.

    Another subject that really concerns me is our continuing dependence on oil. We are totally willing to let young men and women die in order that we can have oil to ride around. We could conserve energy, we could employ much more energy efficient appliances, we could be using all sorts of alternative energies to a greater extent. But rather than having the American public or our businesses make sacrifices, we are sending young people over seas. What sense does it make.

    I hold myself responsible for the situation. I do have the vote and I can use it. Voting the incumbents out may be the only way to being making some changes. The words and promises of politicians no longer mean anything to me!

    VOTE in the coming election. If you disagree with the above, you still are encouraged to VOTE. If you don't like any of the candidates write in someone. I think that I have written in my wife's name for everything but president.

    Fred Adams Click to email comments, or call 467-2775.

    Opinion polls show that Americans overwhelmingly place a high value on environmental quality yet this environmental support is frequently missing at polling places on Election Day.

    Those of us in the conservation community need to hold the political system more accountable on environmental quality issues. On Tuesday, November 4, the entire Virginia Senate and Assembly is up for reelection and some of us get a chance to remind our elected representatives about their environmental responsibilities. I say "some of us" since only 36% of the Assembly delegates and 55% of the Senate incumbents have opposition in Hampton Roads. For those of you with contested elections, make your voices heard in November.

    In the contested elections, the lineup is listed below with ratings for incumbents from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters (VALCV). The VALCV has tracked key votes over the last two years and are scoring elected representatives on how often they vote to protect the environment. As you can see, there are some opportunities to send a message in the contested races in our region.

    We have a pretty low environmental performance in the region's legislative delegation. Anyone voting less than 33% on environmental issues should automatically be a questionable incumbent for conservation- minded voters.

         Of special interest are:

    The Rerras/Protogyrou race because Rerras is a low-performing incumbent on the Senate Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources Committee, the key environmental committee in the Senate.

    The Suit/Williams/Bivens race because Suit is on the Assembly Committee on Counties, Cities, and Towns that has blocked efforts to consider sprawl control measures.

    The Lewis/Dix race, the open Eastern Shore seat, where the Virginia League of Conservation Voters has endorsed Linwood Lewis to replace retiring Del. Bob Bloxom, a strong supporter of the Chesapeake Bay.

        SENATE RACES:
6th -
Nick Rerras (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 20%
Andy Protogyrou (D)

7th -
Frank Wagner (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 19%
Clancey Holland (D)

13th -
Fredrick Quayle (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 18%
Richard Ramsey (I)

18th -
Louise Lucas (D) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 33%
Walt Brown (R)

        ASSEMBLY RACES:

21st AD -
John Welch (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 26%
Tim Jackson (D)

81st AD -
Terrie Suit (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 38%
Lois Williams (D)
Sharon Bivens (Green)

85th AD -
Robert Tata (R) (Incumbent) - VALCV = 45%
Eric Potter (I)

100th AD -
Linwood Lewis (D) (Endorsed by VALCV)
Thomas Dix (R)

    We are very fortunate to have REECE LUKEI as our presenter. Reece has for many years been the local expert on birds of prey. He has operated a hawk banding station on the Eastern Shore for over a dozen years and often brought specimens to our meetings. He will not be doing that this year as he has been unable to man his station. In addition he has been the local monitor of the eagle population in Hampton Roads.

    Reece will be discussing Ospreys and their remarkable return to the area. He has been involved in two recent studies about the current problems that these birds of prey still are confronted with. Come and hear about it and what we the public may do about it.

    Time is the 3rd of November, the time is 7 PM and the place is the Virginia Beach Central Library.

    The first ever GREEN SCENE FESTIVAL was held at the NARO cinema the last weekend of September. There was little advertising due to the late notification so the attendance was small. This may have contributed to the openness of the participants because the presentations were excellent.

    Scott Harper of the Virginian Pilot was the opening speaker and monitor. He did an excellent job of introducing topics of concern.

    Presenters included Skip Stiles who has written several editorials for the Pilot and is a member of the state Sierra Club Chapter. In addition Jay Taylor of Wetland Watch, along with Delegate John Welch, and candidate for state delegate Sharon Bivens. DEQ director of the local office was informative and challenging. Professor and York River Group Chair Tom Ellis and Fred Adams of CBG made comments.

    Jay Taylor discussed what we all can do here in Hampton Roads. Professor Tom Ellis made a presentation about Gaia emphasizing this is the only planet we have. Skip Stiles mused about what does it take to get the public enraged and involved. We the people say we are concerned but that is not the way we vote. Mr. Frank Daniels of DEQ stated that the laws reflect the way we vote and not the way we talk.

    The GREEN SCENE FESTIVAL consisted of 5 movies about the outdoors and nature. These were not documentaries but standard dramatic movies like "Whale Rider".

    We are already working on what we can do next year and we definitely want the members involvement.

     Come and share your holiday spirit with others with similar interests and values. In the past we had good turnouts and a great fun. This is a great way to begin the holidays!

     Our annual Holiday Party will be from 5-7 PM, Sunday the 7th of December, at the Barcita's.

     All you need do is bring your favorite dish for our potluck meal. I'm always amazed at what a remarkable meal develops when people bring their favorite dish. There must be a god of potluck diners.

     For directions contact Pam or Jose Barcita at 548-9880, or pam@iname.com.

The singles have a tentative plan for an outing on Saturday, the 22nd of November at the Back Bay NWR. The time is 9:30. For details contact Nancy at 464-4483.