Cypress Group of the NC Sierra Club

Welcome!

Sand Beach, Acadia National Park. Beaches in Maine are also seeing recent unexpected erosion. A severe winter storm in 2024 washed away a large part of the dune on the right side of Sand Beach. Much dune grass to the right of the sand is now gone in this recent picture. photo Monico

Updated June 26, 2024

Opportunity to Support North Carolina Wetlands

Last year, North Carolina's legislature changed state laws in a way that eliminates protection for those wetlands not having a surface-water connection to a river or lake. The new law allows removing the vegetation and wildlife and backfilling the wetland with gravel and dirt. In other words, filling in wetlands and using them for activities that require dry land is now allowed. Hundreds of thousands of acres of NC wetlands are under threat from this new law.

This change seems to indicate legislative indifference to the environment. In other words, the legislature appears to have said that other things are more important than protecting the state's environment.

If you believe state leaders should protect the environment, and thereby our long-term health and well being, there is something you can do. One of our members has yard signs and bumper stickers that voice the need to save wetlands and will provide them to you for free.

To receive a yard sign or bumper sticker, email Susan at redding47@aol.com and show your support for our wetlands.

Here is some additional, scientific information. A wetland is defined by the US EPA as: "... areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season."

The EPA goes on to explain their importance. "Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils." Wetlands also cleanse water moving from the surface to aquifers.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monthly Program Meetings
Cypress Group monthly program meetings are taking the summer off. Thank you for attending our winter and spring presentations.

Beginning in September, Cypress Group will resume monthly programs, now on the second Tuesday of the month. The day change will allow our members to attend local government meetings. Greenville City Council usually meets on Mondays, as do Pitt County Commissioners. Frequently these meetings deal with environmental issues for which our input and presence is needed.

Monthly meetings will continue to be held at Tapped, 650 E Firetower Rd. In Winterville at 7 p.m. The next meeting will be on Sept. 10.

You may also attend from home by Zoom.

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Information and Musings

6/26/2024: A recent AP online article (Iowa floodwaters breach levees as even more rain dumps onto parts of the Midwest) had a great quote by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The AP quotes Gov. Walz as saying "Nature doesn't care whether you believe in climate change or not. The insurance companies sure believe in it. The actuarials believe in it, and we do."

6/15/2024: On the evening of Thursday, June 13, Greenville's (NC) City Council passed a budget for the next fiscal year. It included a new position: Sustainability Coordinator. This is wonderful news. It indicates more people are understanding that humans now have life and death influence over Earth's environment.

The domination started at the beginning of the industrial revolution, and ever since humans have had steadily increasing abilities to change our Earth's environment. And we have.

Progressive cities are acting on this environmental dominance by hiring Sustainability Officers. Sustainability Officers are responsible for understanding the effects of local environmental dominance and then communicating their knowledge. They also define actions for mitigation. Sustainability officers bring together environmental study and environmental solutions in one person thereby overcoming weaker responses that occur when responsibility is spread across many departments.

Thank you Greenville City Council for taking this environmental step. Recognition and loud support of your foresight and political courage are deserved. Funding a Sustainability Coordinator position shows Greenville Leaders understand quick and organized actions are needed. We support your work.

1/27/2024: Here is positive news about efforts to reverse global climate change. Some climate-change deniers appear to be switching to acceptance, even a number of those who dogmatically called it a hoax.

A recent article in Greenville's (NC) The Daily Reflector (Friday, January 26, 2024) may be an example. The story, titled "Summit floats ideas to fight flooding" described comments made in the recent Water Adaption to Ensure Regional Success (WATERS) Summit held at the Greenville (NC) Hilton.

One of the event organizers was Republican Greg Murphy, a Conservative representing NC District 3 in the U.S. House. Murphy, notably, is Vice Chairman of the Conservative Climate Caucus. The Daily Reflector reported Representative Murphy said that he and others do not doubt that weather has increasingly impacted the state.

Comments like this from conservative politicians seem to indicate a change in opinion is occurring. Are comments like these tacit agreement by Conservatives that climate change is real?

As always, you should read everything you can about the environment, on all sides of the debate. Think about what you read, make decisions, and then talk about it a lot.

12/11/2023: Here are two N.C. environment wins to celebrate. The Coastal Federation reports in the fall Our Coast newsletter that their work with N.C.’s Legislature generated two new pieces of legislation. The first prohibits unencapsulated polystyrene for being used in floating docks. Unencapsulated polystyrene is fragile and easily breaks apart into tiny foam beads. The second adds residential docks to our state’s building code. This means docks must now be built to withstand severe storms. If you have kayaked in our salt marshes or the Intercoastal Waterway after a big storm, you will have seen floating debris from docks. This will now be reduced. Small wins eventually add up to large-scale environmental victories!

12/9/2023: Solar and wind power are in the news lately and not always in a good way. Recent media stories talk about canceled wind-farm projects, decreases in solar company stock prices, and weakening sales of all-electric cars. Don’t despair, alternative energy is continuing to expand. The reason for the stories is Economics 101. For example, the Federal Reserve Bank has been successfully working to decrease inflation by slowing the economy though higher interest rates. Also, a year or two ago, alternative energy companies received strong financial incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. In response, they quickly expanded. Not everybody who expanded or jumped into the business was good enough to succeed. Finally, all-electric (not hybrid) vehicles are probably being purchased by early-adopters. The rest of us will take more time to get comfortable. We will. The technology is sound (and getting better and better). Hybrid, electric/gasoline, cars continue to sell well. To stay sane in these times, read a healthy cross-section of news stories. You will see we are dealing with a shakeout in the industry and not a collapse. Don’t forget, the planet requires alternative energy!

11/26/2023: "This year, investments in renewable energy projects will surpass investments in new oil and gas extraction." (Sierra Magazine, Fall 2023). Environmentalists can't rest though. In a recent Pitt County Board of Commissioners meeting, a solar project was voted down despite the county zoning board unanimously recommending it go forward. Supporters of the environment and those that believe accelerated climate change is occurring, please get involved with your local governments and speak out about your views.

11/22/2023: Stephen Lapp from Plug-in North Carolina educated us on electric car technology, usability, charging, and importance for the Earth, at our meeting Nov 13. Questions from the audience proved many Sierra Club members own or are strongly considering buying an electric vehicle. Stephen painted a picture of what to expect when owning one. More on Plug-in North Carolina can be found here. A switch to electric vehicles from ones with engines running on carbon-based fuels is a necessity that needs to occur in our lifetimes, according to almost all environmental scientists.

11/9/2023: Sound Rivers, the riverkeepers for the Neuse, Tar, and Pamlico waterways, provided in their recent newsletter some positive news. They reported, "We have a new, amazing partnership with Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant that will engage employees and community members in our work in the upper Tar River basin." This illuminates the often-ignored fact that many industries are interested in helping keep the environment healthy, especially in their local community. Yes, industries need to make profits, and yes, many industries want to preserve the environment. Seek out and support the ones that are pro-environment!

10/28/2023: You may have heard about the increasing global awareness of the existence of PFAS chemicals in the environment, including, sometimes, in containers we use every day. Ongoing research is seeking to define health risks associated with levels of PFAS chemicals ordinary people are exposed to and may have in their bodies. If you want to be cautious, here is a tip from Business Week magazine. Flip the container over. If printed on the bottom is "PET" or "PETE," the container is not suitable for treatment with PFAS chemicals. If it says "HDPE," the plastic is suitable for treatment with PFAS chemicals. Treatment makes the plastic tougher and more resistant to what is stored in the container. Business Week goes on to say, keep in mind, seeing "HDPE" does not mean it was treated with PFAS. In fact, many product manufacturers say they take steps to prevent PFAS in what they sell. Still, these are good things to be aware of.

10/12/2023: Recycling is a very green, very environment-benefiting thing, and is easy to do. Recycling reduces material going to landfills and reduces energy used to mine and process ore. Counties in North Carolina have multiple drop off locations at their trash transfer stations. One note, many things are recyclable, and many are not. Here is a link to what Pitt County accepts for recycling.

10/10/2023: Wind and solar power work! This from the Fall 2023 edition of Sierra Magazine: "Wind and solar power provided a record amount of renewable power during a Texas summer heat wave," 35% percent. This renewable power helped protect Texas's gird from becoming overstressed.

10/9/2023: The Cypress Group of the NC Sierra Club just finished two exciting events: participating in the Tar River Community Science Festival at Greenville's Town Commons on Oct 7, and a wonderfully informative presentation by Heather Deck from Sound Rivers, Oct 9, at Greenville's UUCG chapel. Sound Rivers is the river keeper for the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse River basins.

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