Comments from the Chair, Robert W. Hastings

The year 2017 promises to be one of the strangest and most challenging that we have ever experienced, just as the election of 2016 was the strangest ever. A combination of unusual circumstances and voting patterns has resulted in a government led by an unqualified and untruthful president, and Cabinet nominees and a Congress dominated by anti-environmentalists. Virtually all of these “leaders” refuse to accept the science of global warming, and oppose the Paris Climate Accords. They don’t see the value in landmark legislation such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. They view environmental protection as incompatible with economic development. The nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is a climate change denier and Big Oil supporter, and has sued the EPA while Attorney General in Oklahoma. During the campaign, the president-elect stated that EPA should be cut, and claimed that “what they do is a disgrace.” The nominee to lead the Department of Energy has suggested that the department needs to be abolished. There is already a move in the new Congress to transfer or sell federal public lands which all of us enjoy for recreation and wildlife protection. There are also numerous threats to other government benefits, such as civil rights, the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security, immigration, and national defense.

Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club must be ready and willing to fight the threats that are already being made, and the challenges that are sure to come. What can we do? Stay informed. Communicate with our political leaders and let them know our opinions on various issues. Write “letters to the editor” defending environmental protection. Attend Sierra Club Group and Chapter meetings. Be a Sierra Club activist. Recruit friends and neighbors as new Sierra Club members. Support the work of other environmental organizations. Participate in demonstrations for environmental protection and other issues when appropriate. And vote for environmental protection in future elections.

I wish you the best in this new year. And thank you for all that you do for environmental protection.

ADEM wants EPA out but hasn't proved it can protect environment without them

By Mitch Reid, program director for the Alabama Rivers Alliance, written in collaboration with member groups Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Cahaba River Society, Cahaba Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee RiverWarden, Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper, Save our Saugahatchee, and Tennessee Riverkeeper.

On November 16th, the director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management signed on to a letter from the Secretary of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality to President-elect Trump calling for a halt on important environmental and public health progress that has been developed over the past several years and suggesting a significant roll back of the responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency in protecting our lands, water and air. 

Those of us working to protect clean water, clean air, and public health in Alabama are greatly concerned that ADEM, the state agency charged with ensuring that our air and water are protected, would take a position that would essentially erode protections achieved in recent years, such as the rules that clarify it is not legal to dump pollution into our tributary streams and wetlands and the rules that keep harmful toxins like arsenic and mercury out of our rivers and streams. (read the full editorial on al.com here)

ACT: January Actions to Resist Trump

This January, as we prepare for a Trump Administration, the Sierra Club is supporting two nation-wide days of action to resist the Trump agenda:
People’s Climate Movement 100 Hours of Trump Resistance (January 21-24) (c3)
Day of Action Against Climate Denial (January 9th) (c4)

We will have more information- including websites to sign up to join these actions- immediately following the Winter Break, but we wanted to share initial information about each action now so you can begin to plan to participate. Below is an overview of each action.  These actions will be incorporated into our Field Action Request and nominations opposition plan, but we want to call them out here since the actions take place in January and the full FAR will not be released until the week of January 9th.

PLEASE NOTE:  the January 21-24th People’s Climate Movement 100 Hours of Trump Resistance is a priority for the Sierra Club, while the January 9th Day of Action Against Climate Denial is an optional activity.

We encourage everyone to participate in these activities with the Sierra Club’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals at the forefront of the planning process.  We encourage everyone to reach out and include all communities and constituencies in leading and planning these actions and to support and promote leadership of front-line communities, low-income communities, youth,  communities of color and Indigenous peoples.

Lastly, we thank all of you for your dedication to the work now and in the coming months. The Sierra Club’s grassroots power will be critical as we fight back against the Trump Administration, and these January actions will help lay the groundwork for our grassroots resistance. We hope that you all take time to unplug and recharge over the Winter Holiday.

January 21- 24: People’s Climate Movement 100 Hours of Trump Resistance
(Note: This is a C3 priority activity)
On Saturday January 21st through Tuesday January 24th, for the first 100 hours of Trump’s administration, join the Sierra Club and the People’s Climate Movement to oppose the Trump Administration’s aggressive attacks on our air and water, our economy, our health, our families, and our future. The goal of this action is to communicate to both public officials and corporate leaders that there is a large, powerful and national movement that will mobilize to hold them accountable to protect our planet, communities and people.  We will get local and national press attention that tells the story of communities across the United States standing up and resisting Trump’s radical agenda. Organizers are encouraged to think about the best location or target that can help tell the story of how their community is standing up together to fight for the people and places that they love and/or represents the issues, communities and or programs they care about.

Maura Cowley is our lead staff person for PCM.  Questions can also be forwarded to Bob Bingaman.

January 9th: Day of Action Against Climate Denial
(Note: This is a C4 optional activity)
On January 9, 2017, organizations across the climate movement are hosting the Day Against Denial, a chance for people in all 50 states to pressure their Senators to stand up against Trump’s Climate Denial Cabinet. The goal is to turn people out to in-district Senate offices all across the country, with a special focus on target Senators who are swing votes for either the Pruitt or Trump nominations. The message of the Day of Action Against Climate Denial is focused on standing up to climate denial and the fossil fuel industry that funds it. But Trump’s denial goes beyond just climate change: he also denies the dignity of all people, denies the importance of human rights, and denies the needs of our communities. Denying climate change denies the fact that sea levels are rising, and black, brown, and Indigenous peoples are at the forefront of storms, floods, sea level rise, and all the other climate impacts we are already witnessing. The Day of Action Against Climate Denial will fight back against this complete disregard for human life, health, and safe liveable communities.

Maura Cowley and Lena Moffitt are coordinating our engagement on the Day of Action Against Climate Denial.

If you have questions/concerns about either of these actions, please reach out to Maura Cowley, Bob Bingaman, or Becki Clayborn.

Bob Bingaman
Sierra Club National Organizing Director
bob.bingaman@sierraclub.org
202-675-7904 (O)
301-213-2897 (C)

SAVE THE DATE: People's Climate Mobilization, April 29, 2017, Washington DC

We're excited to let you know that the People's Climate Movement is planning a movement-scale mobilization in Washington, DC on April 29, 2017. Following the election, the mobilization is more critical than ever before. It will be a key moment for the climate movement to come together and show our country, and the world, that we remain strong and will continue fighting for racial, economic and climate justice. It will also strengthen and provide momentum so that local and state campaigns can win bolder policies and raise the demand for an equitable transition to a new energy economy.

In addition to the mass mobilization on April 29, the People's Climate Movement will be organizing massive distributed events across the country in the first 100 Hours of the Trump Administration. We will organize bold actions throughout the first 100 days and we will be in Washington DC on April 29th to let the Trump Administration and the world know that we are going to keep fighting for everything and everyone that we love.

The Sierra Club will launch our action page and social media outreach this week and next in parallel with the launch of the People's Climate Movement First 100 Days Fight for Climate, Jobs and Justice website. Look for more details soon on where and how to get involved.

The Sierra Club will be playing a leading role in helping to plan and do turn out for the event in coordination with hundreds of partner organizations. The People's Climate Movement is a large and diverse coalition, focused on ensuring strong leadership from across the climate and climate justice movements.

Feel free to reach out if you have any initial questions. Maura Cowley (maura.cowley@sierraclub.org) from the Federal and International Climate Campaign is Sierra Club's representative on the People's Climate Movement Mobilization Support Team.

from Scott Elkins, National Sierra Club

5 Species You Can Only Find in Alabama

Alabama is fifth when it comes to biodiversity in the US, and number one when it comes to crayfish, freshwater turtles, freshwater snails, and freshwater mussels. In fact, the 180 freshwater mussels species found in Alabama make up 60% of the nation’s total mussel population. Though this article focuses on fauna, it’s worth noting that Alabama is also the most biodiverse state when is comes to carnivorous plants.

There are 14 river basins in the state, supporting 132,000 miles of rivers and streams, making varied marine ecosystems prominent in the Alabamian environment. This explains the high rate of unique freshwater creatures, as well as said creatures’ vulnerability to change. See all of them here.

Northport sewage spills raise concerns

On seven different occasions this year, at least 10,000 gallons of wastewater overflowed from sewer lines in Northport and at least some of the effluent made its way into the Black Warrior River and nearby creeks each time, prompting city officials to warn the public to avoid swimming or fishing in the waterways. Read the full story in the Tuscaloosa News here.

Coal ash controversy on the Mobile River

Mobile Baykeeper is concerned about hundreds of acres of toxic coal ash sitting next to the Mobile River Delta. Alabama Power's Barry Electric Generating Plant, in Bucks, burns coal to generate energy. When the coal burns, toxic coal ash is left.  The power plant has been disposing of the ash in massive ponds next to the plant. Now, the EPA has ordered power plants, like Plant Barry, to take further action on coal ash ponds to prevent pollution. In response, Alabama Power plans to de-water and cap-off some six hundred acres of the coal ash, but Casi Callaway with Mobile Baykeeper worries that plan could put the public at risk. read the full story on Fox10.

New Guide to Fracking Available

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club has released "Fracking in Colorado, a Citizen's Handbook", a guide to fracking information, history, risks, and citizen resources. I had the honor of co-authoring the Handbook with Andrea Reyes, a Chilean environmental attorney and Humphrey Fellow at Cornell.  To be sent a pdf, (fairly large file, and the chapter wants to keep track):
http://www.sierraclub.org/rocky-mountain-chapter/fracking-guide

Even though some of it is Colorado-centric, we hope those outside our state find it useful. Please feel free to share the link with your networks and communities. We are working on a Spanish translation as well.

Defend Rivers Legislative Meeting

On Thursday, January 19, Alabama Rivers Alliance will host our annual Defend Rivers Legislative Agenda meeting to prepare for the upcoming Alabama legislative session.  The meeting will be held in Montgomery 10 am – 1 pm.  We will provide lunch.  Location to be determined.

If you can join us please let me, Martha Hunter, know by Friday January 6th.  Also by this deadline, please let me know if you want to see a particular item on the agenda or want to speak.

FYI – the Alabama Legislative session starts  February 7th, so let’s use this time to get ready!. See the original announcement here.

End of 114th Congress/end of Year Report/Update on Campaign to reauthorize Land & Water Conservation Fund

Short version: Nothing happened on LWCF -- it remains where it was end of last year -- extended for three years through end of 2018, end of the 115th Congress. CAUTION:  we NEVER call this short, three-year extension a “reauthorization”  it was an emergency extension, that’s all, and unless we can get a REAL, serious, long term or, ideally PERMANENT reauthorization passed in the 115th Congress, at its end there will be emergency maneuvering again for a short extension.

This report has three parts:  summary of 2016; outlook & preliminary plan for 2017, Chapter-specific cosponsorship summary; and finally a short “coda”, about how best to communicate in 2017.  I will leave individual state cosponsorship matters to later memos.

1.Summary of 114th Congress, 2015-2016:

In 2016, the Senate, spurred by a compromise hammered out by chair and ranking member of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee (AK Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and WA Sen. Maria Cantwell—champion of the strongest Senate bill to permanently reauthorize LWCF—passed permanent reauthorization for LWCF as part of its energy bill. However, this bill went nowhere, because the differences between it and the House-passed energy bill were so great and so many that a conference committee appointed to resolve them failed to come to any resolution.  Still, that put the Senate on record as supporting permanent reauthorization—so after that, we focused less on Senate cosponsors and concentrated on the House.

In the House of Representatives, there were two bills for permanent reauthorization:

• HR 1814 introduced April 2015 by Rep Raul Grijalva of AZ, ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and ending the Congress with 211 cosponsors, plus the champion. The only two new cosponsors since last summer are Peter Visclosky of Indiana, and David Scott, of Georgia.
• HR 4151, introduced after the Senate’s LWCF passage and mirroring its LWCF language, by Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho; this bill ended the Congress with 20 Republican cosponsors, 16 of them also cosponsors of HR 1814, and signing on immediately after the Nov. 2016 election, four new Republican cosponsors who have not been on 1814 Donovan and Collins of NY, Joyce of OH, and Jenkins of WV.  The first three had long been targeted by our task force.  Also calling for permanent reauthorization, this Republican-sponsored bill has a few additional minor restrictions in it on how the money can be spent and is thought to be a bit "safer" politically for Rs to cosponsor--but we do have a bunch of Rs on Grijalva's bill too.   More than a dozen Rs are cosponsors of both bills.  Right after the election we got four new cosponsors for Simpson's bill that were not also on HR 1814, but we do support both bills

We did amass a few more cosponsors during the year, and will focus next year on getting even more.

2. Prospects for 2017:
The GOOD NEWS: LWCF, due to having so many cosponsors of both parties is one of the VERY FEW positive issues we will be able to promote and push proactively next Congress.  With 211 plus the champion on HR 1814, and an additional five Republicans on the other House bill for LWCF, HR 4151, that makes a total of 217 avowed supporters in the House.  (With just ONE more—we would have had  over half of the House!—so close…)

The BAD NEWS: Rob Bishop is still around, is still in a position of power as chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.  For LWCF, he is public enemy # 1.  I think it is not an exaggeration to say that were it not for his stubborn and steadfast opposition, this popular program to fund parks would long since have been reauthorized.

Read the Task Force Plan here.

PROCEDURE FOR SENDING MATERIAL TO THE ALABAMA SIERRAN

Many thanks to Roe Hyche, Bob Hastings, and Peggie Griffin for agreeing to be the new newsletter committee.
The newsletter is put together monthly, and material for the newsletter should be sent to plgriffin@comcast.net, with a subject line of "For the Editorial Board" no later than the 15th of the month.
Group newsletter editors may continue sending group meeting information and calendars of events to Joe Watts at joe@joewatts.com, no later than the 25th of each month.
Guidelines for Material:

• The newsletter committee is seeking articles about Alabama environmental issues, articles highlighting Alabama’s special beautiful places, and engaging write-ups about group and chapter activities.
• Articles should be originally written for the Alabama Sierran, factual, and timely.
• A link to another publication should only be used rarely, but if a link is to be used, a full summary of the information (at least a paragraph long) should be written, with the link provided for more detailed information.
• The newsletter committee has the right to make any changes, so that material will meet these guidelines

Outings and Events

Cahaba Group

Thursday, Jan 12 6:30-9:00 pm. 4th Annual Social for Outdoor Enthusiasts. at Cahaba Brewing.
Join us as we gather like-minded outdoor enthusiasts and to encourage people to act upon their resolutions to get outside and get involved in exploring, enjoying, and protecting Alabama. Come out and meet new people in a fantastic space with great music. The Old Paints will be performing and the Taco Morro Loco food truck will be on site. Interested in hiking, backpacking, paddling, caving, climbing, sustainability, or environmental justice? If so, then this will be a great opportunity to network with members of several outdoor and environmental organizations.

Sunday, January 15. Pinhoti Challenge dayhike.  Hike part of Section 10 of the AL Pinhoti between Pine Glen campground and Coleman Lake trailhead. This hike is rated moderate due to the distance. Along the 7.9 mile trek we'll see the banks of Shoal Creek and Sweetwater Lake’s tributaries, Laurel Shelter, and the Shoal Creek Baptist church built in 1885 – one of the few remaining hand-hewn log churches left in Alabama. The trail passes right by the church building and cemetery, where graves are rumored to date back to 1811. Make sure to bring a camera. Hiking boots are a necessity, as well as plenty of water and a picnic lunch. Dress for the weather. There will be an optional dinner afterwards. Call 205-540-3930 or e-mail kennethhyche@yahoo.com for more info.
Meet at Bass Pro Shop in Leeds - exit 140 off I-20 - at 7:00 AM in the upper parking lot. Or at  8:00 AM at Target - exit 188 off I-20 in Oxford. Our cars will be away from the store in the parking lot.

Typical Monthly meetings - 2nd Thursday every month at 6:00 pm at the Birmingham Zoo Auditorium (building to the right of entrance gate) NOTE: locations do vary, so check the facebook page for the latest information.
Business meeting at 6:00, presentation at 6:30.

Coosa Valley Group

Directions to the Joe M. Ford Center:  From I-59, take the exit for I-759.  Follow I-759 until it ends at George Wallace Dr.  Turn right,
then take the first left onto East Cardinal Drive.  The Joe Ford Center is the first building on the right.

Connect with Sierra Club: By phone |256| 459 8177 (get info, text, leave a message) fb.com/CoosaValleySierraClub

Mobile Bay Group

Tuesday evening, January 3.  What: Mobile Bay Sierra Club Monthly Meeting. The Mobile Bay Sierra Club is pleased to host the screening of the Southern Exposure 2016 film series about environmental issues in Alabama, sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Each year, the series brings undergraduate and graduate film students from across the country to Birmingham for the summer months as they work to produce 8-minute documentary films about environmental issues in Alabama. This is the fifth year of the Southern Exposure film program, which is sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center. The 2016 films explore a variety of issues Alabama currently faces.
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE 2016!
When: Tuesday evening, January 3rd at 7:00 p.m.
Please don't miss these powerful documentaries!
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m.
Please forward this invitation to any interested people or groups.
Where: 5 Rivers, Tensaw Theater, Please follow the Sierra Club signs.
(The General Public is invited, No Admission)

5 Rivers, Tensaw Theater, Please follow the Sierra Club signs.
Location address: 5 Rivers, Alabama’s Delta Resource Center, 30945 Five Rivers Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL 36527
(entrance is across from Meaher State Park on the Mobile Bay Causeway).
For more information, please contact Carol Adams-Davis, 702-496-5050 or email: mcadamsdavis@earthlink.net

Montgomery Group

We will also be selecting Group leaders for the coming year. Current Executive Committee members are Bob Hastings, Bob Melczarek, David Norwood, Lynn Shaw, Bob Villafane, and Roger Wolczek.  We encourage others (especially our new members) to volunteer to serve in one of these lofty positions.  Bob Hastings now serves as Chair and Chapter Delegate, David Norwood is Treasurer, and Roger Wolczek is Outings Leader. We also need a Secretary and Conservation Chair.
And we also need volunteers to help schedule programs (speakers, videos, etc.) for our monthly meetings.
 
Note that our regular monthly meetings are the 3rd Thursday of each month at Aldersgate Methodist Church (Room 25) on Vaughn Road in Montgomery at 7:00 PM, and all are welcome to attend.

North Alabama Group

West Alabama Group

Thurs. 1/19. 7:00 PM. Monthly meeting. “Exploring Wild Alabama: A Guide to Publicly Accessible Natural Areas” co-authors Ken Wills, Friends of Moss Rock Preserve and Larry Davenport, Samford University, University Lutheran Church, 911 5th Avenue, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.

Sat. 1/21. Oak Mountain State Park Hike. Join us for a jaunt in Alabama's largest state park. With the rainfall and snowfall that we have received recently, the waterfalls should be glorious. The hike is moderately strenuous because of some elevation changes and steepness of the terrain. Distance of the hike is approximately 3 miles (round trip). Pack a lunch, water, sturdy shoes, walking stick, and meet at the old Books-a-Million lot at 9:00 a.m. Also, bring $5.00/per person admission to the park.

Visit our website for up-to-date info.: http://www.sierraclub.org/alabama/west-alabam