There's a lot to worry about for the coming months and years. We've decided to focus on the following themes:

• Working with other organizations to push back against the expected attempts to weaken environmental protections at federal and state levels. See more below about some groups we plan to work with. Contact: Wes Wallace, wes.wallace@icloud.com
• Improving our choices related to food and food waste on a personal level and in local policies. Contact: Melissa McCullough, melissamccnc@gmail.com
• Reducing local carbon emissions. Contact: Frank Princiotta, FPrinciotta@msn.com
• Protecting water locally and across the state. Among other issues, this includes continuing to work for proper coal ash disposal and fighting the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Contact: Judith Ferster, jferster@ncsu.edu

We're always looking for new people to help explore, enjoy, and protect the planet. You can join some of the initiatives above or volunteer for some of the following roles:

• Membership chair
• Outings leader
• Event coordinator
• Communications coordinator and assistants

Get in touch with one of the people mentioned above or Max Felsher at max.felsher@gmail.com to get involved. You can also join us at our next Executive Committee meeting this Sunday, February 19, from 1 to 3 at the home of one of our leaders in downtown Chapel Hill. Contact Max Felsher for the exact address.

Upcoming event: Eat, drink, and activate!

Wednesday, February 15, 7 p.m.
Imbibe (108 Henderson St., Chapel Hill, NC)

Join us at Imbibe to mingle, have fun, and learn about opportunities for action. We'll have representatives from local groups such as Neighbors on Call and Indivisible (described below) to help people figure out how they can best take action to protect the environment. We hope to have similar events at Imbibe each month.

Neighbors on Call: There is a new local and state political action group that grew out of the election results. Formed and led by two Chapel Hill women, it has teams that do research, liaise with like-minded NGOs, and coordinate with volunteers (the "neighbors"). Every week, there's an email with actions to take: calls to legislators, letters to the editor, or other directed and facilitated actions. See their official description for more information or you can sign up with them.

Indivisible: This group developed from a guide written by former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party and sought to apply the same lessons to fight for progressive values during a Trump presidency. It is now a network of groups across the country that are making sure members of Congress are aware of the intense opposition in their districts to attempts to roll back recent progress.

The Orange-Chatham Group will be joining with groups like these to hold our government accountable. We are looking for a few Sierrans and friends willing to spend couple of hours a month at key times to stop the environmental destruction, racism, authoritarianism, and corruption being pushed by Trump and others.

Many of us are asking what we can do in the limited personal time we have. This may be one of the most effective options. Want to volunteer? Contact Wes Wallace at wes.wallace@icloud.com to get involved.