25th Wege Speaker Series Virtual Event: Dr. Beverly Wright, May 26
Progress Fighting Plastic Pollution
Oakland County Climate March, Rally and Fair
Health Care and Environmental Justice
Nominations Open for Michigan Chapter Executive Committee Members
Make Support for the Michigan Chapter Evergreen
Explore and Enjoy: Sylvania Wilderness
Mature hemlock trees grove on Michigan public lands. Photo by Marvin Roberson.
Beware Utility Upcharges for “Carbon Credits”
Many consumers in Michigan have received utility company mailings offering to provide “Carbon Offset Credits” for an extra fee above and beyond the normal utility costs.
Sierra Club urges consumers to pass on this option.
The utilities claim they are using the money to buy “carbon credits” from forest owners, including the State of Michigan, and that these carbon credits will reduce the amount of carbon the utilities emit.
These claims might be true if these utility companies were paying forest owners to reduce harvests and to keep more carbon in the standing trees. However, in most cases the forest owners are not changing their harvesting at all, so consumers are paying this fee but there is no extra carbon being captured.
This also means that there is no added expense to the forest owners, so the consumer is paying an extra fee and getting nothing in return. A recent Bloomberg article points out that “State and local governments stand to earn tens of millions of dollars from managing forests in ways that will deliver few new climate benefits, while corporations get to take credit for reducing emissions.”
Sierra Club strongly suggests that consumers not accept this offer but instead tell their utility provider to invest in truly renewable energy. Contact Michigan Chapter Forest Ecologist Marvin Roberson at marvin.roberson@sierraclub.org with questions.
25th Wege Speaker Series Virtual Event:
Dr. Beverly Wright
Thursday, May 26 at 4 p.m.
Dr. Beverly Wright grew up in southern Louisiana where her exposure to environmentally compromised communities was close to home. She lived along the highly polluted 85 mile long stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge known as “cancer alley.” Dr. Wright’s childhood experiences led her to research and activism, laying the base for her to become the founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans. Recently, she was appointed by President Biden to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to help support the president’s whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis. A short video recorded for Women’s History month provides an introduction to Dr. Wright’s work.
Dr. Wright’s lecture and the panel following it will discuss her groundbreaking strategies to create equitable approaches to addressing climate change. Learn more about Dr. Beverly Wright, the Wege Speaker Series and the previous Wege speakers here.
Plastic pollution, including bans on single-use plastic bags, are becoming more common worldwide. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Progress Fighting Plastic Pollution
The battle to remove plastic from the environment ranges from statewide initiatives all the way to the United Nations (UN). While removing plastic from the environment may seem overwhelming, there have been significant victories in the fight against plastic pollution.
Several states, including Michigan, have bottle deposit programs that help keep some plastic out of the environment. In addition, eight states have banned the use of plastic bags. Many countries also ban plastic bags and other single-use plastic items. Representatives from 175 nations in the UN are working to eliminate plastic pollution. In the past, the UN has dealt with environmental crises effectively. It took only five years to effect a total ban on chlorofluorocarbons after a hole was discovered in the ozone layer.
The challenge is the widespread use of plastic in homes, grocery stores, clothing and more. Plastic pollution is found in the deepest parts of the ocean, in the air and even in the placentas of expecting mothers. Marine life is dying from eating it. Animals get tangled up in plastic. Even the fertility of humans is being affected. George Leonard, the Ocean Conservancy’s chief scientist said, “If we don’t get the plastic pollution problem in the ocean under control, we threaten contaminating the entire marine food web from phytoplankton to whales...”
How quickly this existential threat is addressed depends on people acting today. Changing lifestyles and purchasing habits help, but more is needed. Advocating with elected officials to seriously deal with the issue and tackle the problem on a global level is essential for change to happen.
2022 Oakland County Climate March, Rally and Fair. Photo courtesy of Beyond Coal Campaign.
Oakland County Climate March, Rally and Fair
On April 23 the Sierra Club collaborated with Turn Oakland County Green and several other environmental and social justice organizations to host an Earth Day Climate March, Rally and Fair. The event attracted upward of 1,000 people and included amazing speakers, live music and more than 45 booths where participants could learn about environmental work being done across the state by organizations, nonprofits and local businesses.
While Earth Day technically only happens once a year, the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and partners will continue to advocate and celebrate the earth each and every day. If you live in Oakland County and would like to get involved, visit the Turn Oakland Green website to learn more.
Screenshot from "The Color of Care" documentary.
Health Care and Environmental Justice
The pandemic and high-profile cases of police violence have thrown a spotlight on deep-rooted inequities of social, economic and healthcare systems in the United States. Environmental injustice plays a significant role in the health disparities issue explored in a documentary, “The Color of the Care” produced by Oprah Winfrey. In the case of Covid-19, the result has been a double dose of tragedy for low-income communities of color: higher rates of hospitalization and death due in part to poor access to health care and inequitable treatment in health care settings.
Lax environmental protection laws and regulatory enforcement enable polluting industries to create environmental throw-away zones in low-income communities of color, leading to greater rates of asthma, heart disease and other problems. The documentary explores this issue through the tragic experiences of several Detroit-area residents with Covid-19 at health care facilities including Detroit Receiving, Beaumont, Henry Ford and Sinai Grace. Underlying environmental injustices put people at increased risk for experiencing serious illness if they become infected with coronavirus.
Sierra Club is working on the health disparity issue in the Detroit region as part of its decades-long environmental justice work to help local residents build a healthier community. The successful effort to close DTE Energy’s toxin-spewing River Rouge power plant is a recent victory in the overall campaign for environmental justice. In addition, a group of Michigan Chapter and national Sierra Club staff and volunteers are exploring ways to improve access to health care in this under-served and over-impacted region to help address these problems.
A sign that change may be happening in response to the racial disparity issues identified, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a rule in 2021 requiring health care workers to participate in training about implicit bias with a deadline for completion of these trainings by June 1, 2022.
Michigan Chapter ExCom, 2014, on Whitefish Bay. File photo.
Nominations Open for Michigan Chapter Executive Committee Members
Each autumn the Sierra Club members in Michigan elect members of the Michigan Chapter Executive Committee, the governing body overseeing the work of Sierra Club in Michigan. In 2022, five two-year at-large seats on the Executive Committee are up for election.
Members can seek nomination in one of two ways:
by requesting consideration by the Nominations Committee; or
by submitting a petition with the signatures of at least 50 Michigan Sierra Club members no later than July 15.
If you are interested in running, please contact the Nominations Committee to discuss the steps it takes to become a candidate. Email the Nominations Committee at nominations.committee@michigan.sierraclub.org for more information.
Mary Andersson and Ed McArdle appreciating a magnificant white pine tree. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Make Support for the Michigan Chapter Evergreen
Michiganders enjoy many beautiful outdoor spaces like the Sylvania Wilderness described below. But it takes a lot more than luck to guarantee that families today and in the future will have access to these kinds of special places.
For five decades Michigan Chapter volunteers and staff have worked to protect wild places, help communities of all sorts and the ensure the right of Michiganders to have a say in a clean and healthy future. Fighting for clean water, outstanding natural resources, renewable energy and democracy is at the heart of everything Sierra Club does, and in 2022 it is more important than ever.
Supporting the critical work of the Sierra Club is a way that everyone can play a part in protecting Michigan and its people. The Michigan Chapter’s Evergreen Program provides a way to donate a set amount every month that can fit even the tightest budget, so that the children of tomorrow have a brighter, cleaner and safer future.
Take a small step today to have a big impact by becoming a part of the Evergreen Program. These donations add up quickly and are an easy way to ensure Sierra Club’s programs in Michigan are successful. Contact the Michigan Chapter at Contact.Us@michigan.sierraclub.org with any questions.
Clark Lake in the Sylvania wilderness, photo by John Rebers. Wilderness boundary marker in Sylvania, photo by Anne Woiwode.
Explore and Enjoy: Sylvania Wilderness
Sierra Club Victories Series: Part 2
The Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act of 1987 designated 90,000 acres in 10 wildernesses across the three national forests in Michigan. The Sierra Club led the 10 year campaign to secure Congressional designation of these public lands, defined under wilderness law as areas “...where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The Michigan Chapter Update is exploring important victories of the Sierra Club in Michigan in this series.
The Sylvania Wilderness in the Ottawa National Forest straddles the divide between the Great Lakes watershed and the Mississippi River watershed. The extraordinary complex of pristine lakes and old growth forests near Watersmeet on the border with Wisconsin is a paradise for canoers and kayakers. Rustic drive-up camping is available just outside the wilderness with easy access to Clark Lake, while backcountry campsites are scattered throughout the wilderness. Portages off Clark Lake provide access to some of the 35 lakes in the area, allowing the most adventurous to get far from civilization. Hiking trails are available as well, and in winter remote cross country skiing or snowshoeing experiences offer a truly challenging wilderness experience.
Sylvania offers a chance to be immersed in nature. From crystal clear waters to towering white and red pine, hemlock and yellow birch trees to common loons, black bears, otters, fishers and more, a visit to Sylvania is a unique and memorable experience.
Visitors should plan ahead for visiting Sylvania wilderness to comply with the regulations which protect this special area. In particular, advance reservations are needed for most backcountry campsites. The Forest Service provides extensive information at this site, including a brief, informative video covering many requirements.
