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Roanoke Group
of the Virginia Chapter

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Sierra Club News

A Publication for Members and Friends
of the Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club

December 2007 - January 2008

Earth Friendly Friday - December 14 - "Acoustic Appalachian Holiday"

EARTH FRIENDLY FRIDAY for December will be all about enjoying good food, music, scenes of wild America, door prizes, and socializing.  Please come, and bring your family and friends!
   Doors will open at 6:30, and everyone should bring a dish for our potluck dinner which will start about 7:00 – let's demonstrate our commitment to sustainable living by bringing something homemade or locally produced.  Some beverages will be provided, and you can also BYO including wine or beer. 
     Acoustic guitar music and vocals will be performed by Drew Arnn, including songs of nature and poems of Robert Frost set to music.
     Ed Kyle will provide a revolving backdrop of breathtaking photos throughout the evening.  These will be a selection from his family's 2007 trip through wild America, from Virginia to Oregon.
   We will have unusual door prizes, including a print by Sue Egbert of Gallery 108.
   For event details and location see "Earth Friendly Friday", below.

Earth Friendly Friday - January 9 - Green Building - Green Business

    LOCAL COMPANY, ORGANIZATION lead the way toward sustainable building and business practices.  We are pleased to have Nell Boyle as our January EFF guest speaker.  Ms. Boyle is Director of Sustainable Practices at Breakell Inc.,  and Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council's Southwest Virginia Chapter.
     Her presentation will explain "green" building programs  such as LEED, Earthcraft, and Energy Star.  
     Not building a new house or building soon?  Ms. Boyle will also explain how sustainable building practices can be applied to renovations and retrofit projects.
     Breakell Inc., one of Roanoke's leading proponents of environmentally responsible business operation, is currently undergoing a “green” renovation.  Ms. Boyle will discuss materials and practices that have been used in this process.  She will also explain the  business and economic benefits of going “green” in daily office practices and technology.
     Prior to joining Breakell, Ms. Boyle served as Executive Director of C2C Homes, which sponsored the phenomenally successful international sustainable design competition that drew over 600 entries.
     For event details and location see "Earth Friendly Friday", below.

EARTH FRIENDLY FRIDAY - Roanoke's monthly environmental gathering

Earth Friendly Friday (EFF) is a monthly program series to celebrate the natural wonders of the earth and to mobilize our community for needed action to protect our environment.  This series is sponsored by the Roanoke Sierra Club and the Environmental Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke.

LOCATION: At the UU Church, 2015 Grandin Rd., Roanoke (at Brandon Ave., across from PHHS).

DATE/TIME: Second Friday of each month.  Doors open at 6:30 PM, program starts promptly at 7:00.

In December, we will have a potluck supper, so please bring a suitable dish for that .   In January, we return to our  usual practice of bringing a snack dishes for sharing, and to enjoy socializing, music and refreshments before and after the program .

Earth Friendly Friday is FREE and open to the public! Contact: Diana Christopulos 387-0930 or Bob Egbert 384-7448.

YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: A SMALLER CARBON FOOTPRINT?

  Last year we asked people to reduce their use of coal-fired electricity by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that use 25% of the energy of incandescents. This was apparently an easy sell, as local residents will purchase over 170,000 CFLs in 2007. As a result, we will avoid burning over 13 million pounds of coal during the life of the bulbs. It is the carbon equivalent of taking 900 cars off our local roads. The Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition has given away about 2,600 CFLs this year and will continue the effort next year under the leadership of Sierra Club volunteer Craig Coker.
     Bulbs are a good start, but to really impact global warming and local air quality, we need to keep reducing the amount of carbon we burn by at least 2% per year. As with losing weight or keeping a household budget, the first step is taking a baseline measurement.
     At its simplest the carbon footprint has three elements:
     Household energy (electric, gas, oil). Plot a monthly record of the amount of energy you use. Suggested goal: a reduction of at least 5% this year.
     Vehicle fuel. The ideal measurement would be the number of gallons purchased each month – or substitute miles driven through the year and estimate your miles per gallon. Again, aim for a 5% reduction this year.
     Recycling. See the calculators at the “carbon offsets” link on the www.rvccc.org website for details on recycling. It makes a big difference!
     Traveling by air? Think seriously about purchasing carbon offsets – giving someone else the technology to reduce their carbon footprint as a way of making up for your EEEE's (BIG FOOTPRINT!).


Roanoke Group 2007 ExCom Election
     
Each year, we have the opportunity to select the members of our Executive Committee who are responsible for the management of our group.  This year we have three positions to fill by election, and we have three candidates, so each of these three will be serving on the ExCom for a two year term.  Two of our incumbent ExCom members (Bill Modica and Sherman Bamford) have chosen to stand for another term, and they are joined by Jerryanne Bier who will be a newcomer to our ExCom but is by no means a newcomer to environmental activism.  Here's a statement from each candidate:

Sherman Bamford:  I have been a resident of Roanoke (city) for over 10 years.  For most of this time, I have worked or volunteered for Virginia Forest Watch and other forest protection groups.  In the coming years, I would like to see the Roanoke Group of Sierra Club continue to focus on public lands protection, green cities, energy conservation, renewable energy, and protection of waterways and greenways.  I would like to see the Roanoke Group continue its high-quality Earth Friendly Friday program and other outreach/educational events.

Jerryanne Bier:  I have been a member of the Sierra Club for about 15 years.  My family settled in Ferrum about 30 years ago with the intention of living lightly on the land.  Our 20+ acres has been a treasure of rural life, graced with woods, wild flowers, and a bountiful bottomland garden. 

My recent activism has centered on the I-73 project initiated some 10 years ago.  But my opposition to building a new terrain interstate through prime farmland in our County represents broader concerns about living sustainably in a consumption-driven culture.  I am excited about what seems to be an emerging consciousness around local economies, local food production, and renewable energy possibilities. My activism with VAR (Virginians for Appropriate Roads) has been instructive in public policy process, environmental agency scope and practice, and citizen participation.  My husband, Jim, and I have four adult children, all of whom live in Virginia.  Our daughter, Jessica, lives in Wise County on an old farm part of which is reclaimed mine acreage, and which is bordered by mountain top removal activity.  Witnessing her landscape has brought this issue home for me and I look to be more involved with the (demise of the) coal culture in southwestern Virginia.

I appreciate the work of the Sierra Club - sharing the wonder and wonders of our environmental heritage, and being proactive in addressing issues that threaten these wonders.  I would appreciate an opportunity to be more  involved in this work locally.  My work experience in community organizing and as a certified mediator and trainer in conflict resolution over the past 15 years helps me to appreciate the importance of diverse perspectives and grassroots wisdom in addressing complex and challenging environmental issues.

Bill Modica: I have been an active environmental spokesperson for many years and championed numerous campaigns to protect the environment from harmful projects. That is why I became active in the Roanoke group. They too are actively working to stop the waste and destruction of natural beauty in our valley. It's a great bunch of active, committed folks who are willing to work to make things better, not just lament that things are getting worse. I'm proud to be playing a part. My focus lately has been on protecting and cleaning up the Roanoke River, but I still care about preserving our forests, hilltops and farmlands from misguided sprawl. I want to see the Explore Park property preserved as a natural park and Mill Mt. kept free of commercial buildings. I want to save old trees from ruthless cutting. I think the Sierra Club can play a significant role in these areas, so I am offering my help and expertise to the effort by serving on the ExCom. Your support and encouragement mean a lot. Your active involvement and giving your own time and money adds strength to the already strong voice of the Sierra Club for protecting our world. When we love the outdoors, we want to protect it for the future - that's what the Sierra Club stands for- and so do I.  

 

ExCom Ballot

You may vote for three candidates
Individual members use only column M1
Joint members use both columns M1 & M2

Candidate

M1

M2

Sherman Bamford

Jerryanne Bier

Bill Modica

Clip & mail completed ballot to:

 Sierra Club Election, c/o Mark McClain,
 907 Greenbrier Ct, Salem VA 24153

Ballots due by December 26, 2007

Write your name on the outside of the envelope so we can validate your ballot.

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