October - November 2007
Earth Friendly Friday - October
12
Scenes from Kumaon: Landscape, culture, and
threats
We are pleased to welcome guest speaker Dr. David O. Scaer, Assistant
Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Roanoke College. Dr.
Scaer will take us on a photographic journey to north central India's
Kumaon region.
The Indian Kumaon is one of the most picturesque and fast-evolving
areas of the South-Central Himalaya. Poised between the austere
peaks of the India/Nepali border and the humid plains of the terai
(plains grasslands), it is a haven for wildlife and exotic flora
and home to one of the oldest cultures on earth. Dr. Scaer will
give an overview of his travels during the summer of 2006, and also
foreground many of the issues facing the Kumaon, including forest
preservation and deforestation, the tension between rural life and
modern urbanism, and the potential impact of climate change on fragile
ecosystems and traditional cultures.
For event details and location see "Earth Friendly Friday",
below.
Earth Friendly Friday - November
9
The Mountain Top Removal Road Show
OUR EFF PROGRAM for September is one you won't want to miss! We
are proud to present Dave Cooper and "The Mountaintop Removal Road
Show". The "MTR" Road Show includes a stunning 22-minute slide
show about the impacts of mountaintop removal on coalfield residents,
communities and the environment, and features traditional mountain music
and shocking aerial photos of decapitated Appalachian mountains.
Dave and his colleagues have made this presentation over 350 times in
sixteen states since 2003 at colleges, churches, community and
civic organizations.
Sierra Club member Dave Cooper lives in Lexington, Kentucky. He
devotes his full attention to environmental issues after seeing a
mountain-top removal mine on Kayford Mountain, WV.
Dave will be joined by Hannah Morgan of Appalachia, VA, who is
organizing opposition to a new coal-fired power plant in Wise
County.
For more information about the Mountaintop Removal Road Show, see www.mountainroadshow .com
We will have information about the Wise County proposal and what you
can do to help stop this unnecessary and destructive project.
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.
Everyone is invited to bring a snack dish for sharing, and to enjoy
socializing, music and refreshments before and after the program - for
details of upcoming programs, see articles on page 1.
Earth Friendly Friday is FREE and open to the public! Contact: Diana
Christopulos 387-0930 or Bob Egbert 387-7448.
Words from the Chair -- Let's take it
to the next
level!
The Roanoke Group is thriving! Our membership is increasing at
a rate greater that the Club's national average. We sponsored a
hugely successful film festival that attracted hundreds of attendees,
and we founded Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition which has now become
an independent organization with nearly 70 affiliates. We have
continued to improve our web presence and have one of the most visited
environmental sites in Virginia. We have appeared prominently in
local media including newspaper, radio, television, and
magazines.
This is all great news, but
where do we go from here? We can take it to the next level and
make even more difference in the local policy debate, but we need your
help. The overwhelming majority of the work of your local Sierra
Club group is done by a small but dedicated group of volunteers.
If you appreciate the work we're doing, I would ask you to show that
appreciation by stepping up to the plate and helping us sustain
our momentum.
You can make a real
difference by donating only a few hours per week. Let me tell you
about some of the most critical needs we have for volunteer help:
Executive Committee - Don't be daunted by the
highfalutin title - these are the folks that are responsibile for our
group's ongoing management and activities. If you have supervisory
or administrative talent and an interest in the Sierra Club's local
campaigns, you will fit right in! The committee meets monthly, and
the meeting is open to all members, so even if you're not a voting
member of the ExCom, you're welcome to come and get involved. See
inset box about the upcoming election.
Conservation Activism - If you
want to make a difference in public policy and are willing to invest
time and energy to study issue(s) and communicate our position, we have
an opportunity for you. Whether it's at a public hearing,
one-on-one with decision makers, writing to officials, or media work,
your dedication and skills are needed to further our mission.
Financial - Lend your talent in accounting or
financial management. Only a handful of transactions each month,
so this is not a big drain on a volunteer's time. A monthly report
to our ExCom, annual report to the Virginia Chapter, and timely deposit
and payments are the requirements of this job.
Newsletter - If you have a flair for writing,
good computer skills, attention to detail, and discipline in meeting
timelines, this may be the job for you. There are only six issues
per year, so there is a lot of downtime for other activities. All
production and mailing work is done by a vendor.
Advertising - We have four ad spaces to fill in each
newsletter, and a long list of existing advertisers to rely on.
This job requires good discipline in meeting deadlines, some computer
savvy, and follow-up to make sure we're paid for everything we run.
Web Site - If you have basic web editing and site
management skills, consider volunteering to be our webmaster. We
do one major update per month of our home page and calendar, and
occasional updates to other pages.
Service Projects - If you have basic organization
skills and a desire to roll up your sleeves and do some community
service in the great outdoors, consider becoming the coordinator for our
service activities. We do trail maintenance on the Falling Waters
Cascade Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway three times per year. We
also participate in service projects sponsored by other organizations
such as Clean Valley Day.
Membership - If you like working with people and/or
have good computer skills you could be an asset to our Membership
Committee! Welcoming new members and inviting them to our events,
touching base with those whose membership is lapsing to encourage them
to renew, hospitality work at Earth Friendly Friday and other events,
and keeping records on members' activities. These are all under
the purview of the Membership Committee.
So, what do you say? If you choose to make a volunteer
commitment to our group, you will receive all the training and guidance
you need. Your training will come from one or both of two
sources:
First, you will work under the supervision
of one of our local activists who has first-hand experience on the job
at hand. The amount of training you receive will depend on the
complexity of the job and your own skills.
Secondly, you will have access to a wealth of information from the
Sierra Club's web site for activists, the "Clubhouse". This site
has tutorials, policies, procedures, and examples of just about
everything that we do. What's more, there is national staff office
that is always available to answer questions you might
have.
Will you be counted among those who make a
difference for our local group? Let's talk.
Mark McClain
387-0930
Executive Committee Election
Announcement:
The management of the
Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club is the responsibility of an Executive
Committee of seven members who are elected by the general membership of
the group. Any member in good standing may stand for election to
the Executive Committee. A Nominating Committee will consider
prospective nominees and submit a slate of candidates to the membership
on a ballot which will appear in the December-January newsletter.
Candidates not selected by this committee may be nominated by
petition. If you would like to be considered for nomination, or if
you would like to submit a recommendation, please contact any member of
the Nominating Committee: Mark McClain (540)387-0930; Bob Egbert
(540)384-7448; Ed Kyle (540)772-0244. Deadline for submission:
October 15, 2007.
FALL Tour de Cut heads to
Alleghany Highlands - Oct. 6
The Tour de Cut is a hiking event highlighting the threats on our
Virginia public lands and the outstanding features on these lands.
It is a great opportunity to learn more about George Washington National
Forest and to learn how you can personally make a difference in
protecting the GWNF.
The GWNF plan revision, setting the direction for the Forest for the
next 15 years, was begun in February, 2007 and is expected to continue
until 2009 or 2010. Drafts of the plan give the Forest Service much more
leeway to log, build roads, and develop minerals on public lands and
fail to protect special places that we want to protect.
We will walk to Hoover Creek, a centuries-old forest in Alleghany
County that was partially logged a few years ago, or another recently
logged tract. After lunch (bring your own), we will hike in the
vicinity of the 7,800 acre Warm Springs Mountain area, a highly scenic
Virginia Mountain Treasure Area abounding with old growth, trails, and
important rare fisheries habitat.
Some hiking may be moderately strenuous to strenuous.
Bring sturdy boots, water, food for lunch, and rain
gear.
For car-pooling caravan from
Roanoke, meet at 8:00 AM at the USFS office parking lot office at 5162
Valleypointe Parkway, Roanoke (off Peter's Creek just north of
I-581).
For car-pooling caravan from
Lexington, meet at 9:30AM. Directions: From I-64, Exit
55, go north on Rt. 11, North Lee Highway (away from Lexington).
Meet in the parking lot in front of the Dollar Tree store along US 11,
located just beyond the turn-off to US 39.
Contact Sherman Bamford (540) 343-6359, bamford2@verizon.net,
