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Sierra
Club News
A Publication for
Members and Friends
of the Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club
April-May 2007
Earth Friendly Friday - April 13, 2007 CCAN Presents "We
Are All Smith Islanders"
The award-winning film "We Are All Smith Islanders"
demonstrates how global warming is changing the Chesapeake Bay
region, using the waning livelihoods of Smith Island watermen as
its main example. The film explores how global warming is
affecting agriculture, wildlife, health and tourism throughout
the Chesapeake Bay, and how the crisis is expected to deepen
without immediate action. The film also looks at clean energy
solutions that can help slow and possibly stop human-induced
global warming in the region. Producer Mark Cohen and author Mike
Tidwell made the documentary for the non-profit organization
Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN).
Aaron Barr, a volunteer activist for CCAN, will introduce the
53-minute film and lead a Q&A session afterward. Aaron is a
mechanical engineer and a 2005 graduate of Virginia Tech. He has
worked on design, research and installation of wind turbines as a
student, intern, and engineer. He is also a community organizer
and has founded and led the Environmental Coalition at Virginia
Tech, the Southwest Virginia Biodiesel Initiative, the Blacksburg
Bicycle Cooperative, and the Blacksburg Cool Cities Campaign. For
event location and details, see home page or calendar.
Earth Friendly Friday - May 8, 2007 - Film: "The Power
of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil"
Faith Morgan and Pat Murphy took a trip to Cuba in August, 2003.
That year Pat had begun studying and speaking about peak oil
production. In May, Pat and Faith attended the second meeting of
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas. This European
group of oil geologists and scientists has predicted that we are
perilously close to using up half of the world's oil
resources.
When they learned that Cuba underwent the loss of over half of
its oil imports in 1990 during the decline of the Soviet Union,
the couple wanted to see for themselves how Cuba had survived
this incredible crisis.
During their first trip to Cuba in the summer of 2003, Faith and
Pat traveled from Havana to Trinidad and through several other
towns on their way back to Havana. They were astounded by stories
of what Cubans called "The Special Period", and they
were moved by the Cuban people's responses to this emergency.
Faith found herself wanting to document Cuba's successes so
that what they had done wouldn't be lost. Both of them wanted
to learn more about Cuba's transition from large farms or
plantations and reliance on oil-based pesticides and chemical
fertilizers to small organic farms and urban gardens. Cuba was
undergoing a transition from a highly industrial society to a
sustainable one.
Cuba became, for them, a living example of how a country can
successfully traverse what we all will have to deal with sooner
or later, the reduction and loss of finite fossil fuel resources.
In the fall of 2003 Pat and Faith had the opportunity to return
to Cuba to study its agriculture. It was a wonderful trip. They
saw much of the island, met many farmers and urban gardeners,
scientists and engineers - traveling more than 1700 miles, from
one end of Cuba to the other. It was all they had hoped for and
more.
In 2004 Community Service, Inc. (CSI) began raising money and
organizing a third trip to film in Cuba. The result is "The
Power of Community".
The goals of this film are to give hope to the developed world
as it wakes up to the consequences of being hooked on oil, and to
lift Americans' prejudice toward Cuba by showing the Cuban
people as they are. The filmmakers do this by having the people
tell their story on film. It's a story of their dedication to
independence, their triumph over adversity, and their spirit of
cooperation. Several Cubans expressed the belief that living on
an island, with its natural boundaries, breeds awareness that
there are limits to natural resources.
Perhaps through this story, we will all begin to see the world
on which we live as another, much larger, island. We are pleased
to present this 50-min. film at our May Earth Friendly Friday
program. After the film, Roanoke Sierran Kris Peckman will lead a
brief discussion and Q&A on local agricultural production and
sales. For event details, see calendar or home page.
News Briefs from Roanoke Sierra Club:
Film Festival A Smash Hit!
"Putting a Chill on Global" warming" was the name
picked to draw attention to our first environmental film
festival. That worked! Capacity crowds flocked to Hollins
University each of four Thursday evenings in February and March.
Seven films were featured, each dealing with some aspect of
energy policy or global warming. Twenty speakers participated in
panel discussions, representing environmental groups, local
governments, universities, and the media. We had more films than
we had time to show, so watch for festival quality films at Earth
Friendly Friday in April and May! (see page 1).
Sierran Makes Presentation At Salem City
Council
Diana Christopulos and Virginia Tech professor Sean McGinnis
represented Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition before the Salem
City Council meeting on March 12. Sierra Club is the founding
affiliate of this coalition, which now has 44 members. RVCCC is
urging Salem to endorse the US Mayor's Climate Protection
Agreement, signifying their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions that are known to cause global warming. Official
endorsement of this agreement would make Salem the first
"Cool City" in the Roanoke Valley and one of over 420
nationwide. Christopulos noted that Salem has already made great
progress in the area of energy efficiency and conservation, and
endorsement of USMPCA is the next logical step in this process.
The Council unanimously approved a resolution for study of this
proposal. This motion was made by Councilman Chris Clemens
(seconded by Councilwoman Jane Johnson). A final vote on the
endorsement of USMPCA could come within the next few weeks. City
Manager Forest Jones had provided Christopulos with details of
the city's energy projects, and he will be working with RVCCC
representatives to explore how best to go forward on this
important project.
Save These Dates:
April 21, 2007 - EARTH DAY returns
to Grandin Village for 2007, and promises to be bigger and better
than ever! See Roanoke Group calendar for details; much more on
our website:
http://virginia.sierraclub.org/roanoke/calendar.html
June 8, 2007 - Summer Solstice Celebration
Live music and food will be abundant as Earth Friendly
Friday celebrates the coming of summer with traditional string
band music by The Wild Turkeys and an old-fashioned potluck
supper!
New 15-year Plan for George Washington NF - Time to Speak
Out!
The 1.1 million acre George Washington National Forest (GWNF)
begins north of Barbours Creek Wilderness, the Rich Patch
Mountains, and the James River. This national forest is a
remaining stronghold for roadless areas - possessing 35% of all
the remaining Forest Service roadless areas in the southern
Appalachians.
For the next 18 months, the Forest Service will be revising its
15-year management plan for GWNF, proceeding under drastically
weakened rules. Initial drafts of the forest plan would give the
Forest Service far greater leeway to log, build roads, and
develop minerals on public lands
(see
www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/forestplan/revision/plan-home.shtml).
Without strong public outcry, hiking trails, drinking water
quality, wildlife, trout fishing streams, and magni-ficent
old-growth forests of GWNF could be jeopardized in the new plan.
You are encouraged to attend public meetings, write, or e-mail
the Forest Service to speak up for a plan that will better
protect our National Forest. Email your comments to:
comments-southern-georgewashington-jefferson@fs.fed.us.
Please write "Comment on George Washington Plan
Revision" in the subject line of your post. Written comments
should be addressed to: George Washington Plan Revision, George
Washington & Jefferson National Forests, 5162 Valleypointe
Parkway, Roanoke, VA 24019.
The Forest Service will also be holding an intensive schedule of
meetings between now and the end of the summer. The next round is
expected to begin by mid-April. For information on meeting dates,
visit virginiaforestwatch.org, where you can also learn more
about citizen efforts to protect GWNF by clicking on
"Forests for the Future" (a summary) and "Our
Land, Our Water, Our Home" (a comprehensive report -
upcoming).
To get more involved in Sierra Club's efforts to
protect the George Washington National Forest, contact Sherman Bamford at
bamford2@verizon.net
, (540)343-6359.
Virginia Ridge and Valley Wilderness Bill
This federal bill, originally introduced in 2004, was again
introduced in February 2007. If enacted, the Ridge and Valley Act
(HR 1011 & S 570) will create seven new Wilderness Areas, two
new National Scenic Areas, and expand six existing Wilderness
Areas in SW Virginia. See details at
http://www.safc.org/campaigns/va_wilderness_bill.php Write
or call your US Senators (Webb and Warner), your Congressman, and
also House and Senate committee chairs - Rep. Rahall, US House of
Representatives, Washington DC 21515 (202)224-3121, and Sen.
Bingaman, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510, (202)224-3121. Ask
them to schedule early hearings on this important
legislation. |
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