Mount Vernon Group Activist Night

Weekly on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm
2312 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Suite 206, Alexandria

Come have fun. Meet new people. Save the planet! Help the Sierra Club move our region and the nation to a cleaner energy future. Each week we meet to plan campaigns, collect petition signatures, distribute literature at community events, recruit additional volunteers and more. Come once or come weekly--it's up to you! We meet at The Sierra Club's NOVA Hub, located in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood at 2312 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Suite 206.

For more information, contact Phillip Ellis at phillip.ellis@sierraclub.org or 571-970-0275.

Green Breakfast - Northern Virginia's Common Wealth: Recognizing our Region's Treasured Landscapes

Saturday, May 12, 8:30 - 10:00 am
Brion's Grille, 10621 Braddock Road, Fairfax, VA

Laura Grape, Senior Environmental Planner/Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), will talk about the NVRC's Conservation Corridors Planning Project and the importance of assessing ways to balance growth and conservation as Northern Virginia continues a trend of population growth. The objective of Conservation Corridors has been described as follows: identifying new opportunities to collaboratively plan for the connection, restoration, and enhancement of Northern Virginia's natural resource assets and strengthening public health, local quality of life, and the region's economy.

COST: $10 for the buffet (includes tax and tip). Cash is preferred.

Virginia Water Monitoring Council 2012 Conference

Friday, May 18, 9:30am - 4:00pm (Registration and coffee at 9:00)
Henrico County Training Center, 7701 E. Parham Road, Henrico, VA

The conference is open to all local government employees, elected officials, citizens, wetland board members, educators, and students--everyone interested in Virginia's water! See www.VirginiaWMC.org for the agenda and registration form.

REGISTRATION FEE: $32 before April 30; $42 after April 30. Payment by check only. Includes lunch, morning coffee, PM break. No refunds after April 30, but substitutions are allowed.

Tapped (part of the Environmental FILM SERIES on SUSTAINABILITY)

Tuesday, May 22, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Arlington Central Library, 1015 N Quincy St, Arlington VA

The high cost -- to both the environment and our health -- of bottled water is the subject of this documentary that enlists activists, environmentalists, community leaders and others to expose the dark side of the bottled water industry. Americans may rethink their obsession with bottled H20 when they learn of the unregulated industry's willingness to ignore environmental and health concerns, and the problems that arise as a result. (75 minutes, 2009)

A discussion will follow the film.

Click here for more information on the film series.

Mount Vernon Group Book Club

Monday, June 4 , 6:30 pm
The Silver Diner, 3200 Wilson Blvd Arlington

Join us at the next meeting of the Mount Vernon Group Book Club for a discussion Antonia Juhasz's Black Tide: The Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill (Wiley 2011). It is the largest oil disaster in American history, and it could happen again. It is more than a story of ruined beaches, dead wildlife, chemical dispersants, corporate spin, political machinations, and financial fallout. It is a riveting human drama filled with people whose lives will forever be defined as "before" and "after" the Gulf oil disaster. Black Tide is the only book to tell this story through the perspective of people on all sides of the catastrophe, from those who lost their lives, loved ones, and livelihoods to those who made the policies that set the devastating event in motion, those who cut corners that put corporate profits over people and the environment, and those who have committed their lives to ensuring that such an event is never repeated.

As an added discussion piece, check out her just published essay in The Nation "Two years Later: BP's Toxic Legacy." Feel free to invite others; you need not be a member of the Sierra Club to attend. Questions/need info? Contact Pat Soriano, patemail@comcast.net