Sierra Club blasts 'ridiculous' proposal for Tennessee to take over coal mining regulation."Banbury argues that Tennessee's coal-mining industry is nearly non-existent, yet the state would spend at least $870,000 annually to hire 24 people to run the program. Barely a ton of coal was mined in the state in the last year, and only about one permit a year is expected to be filed, according to Banbury." Read more by Sam Stockard - Tennessee Lookout / ChattanoogaTimes Free Press - April 5, 2021. Take Action: Tell your Representative to vote NO on Coal Primacy SB742/HB90!
Superfund contamination seeps into groundwater at breaches in Memphis aquifer. "The presence of these breaches, even at a local scale, can have a region-wide, costly impact on water quality when younger, potentially contaminated water, leaks into deeper, more pristine groundwater reservoirs," CAESAR researcher Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaíno wrote in a 2019 study of the total exchange of water occurring in the aquifer system in Shelby County." Read more by Sarah Macaraeg - Memphis Commercial Appeal - April 20, 2022.
Cohen pushes for tighter rules on coal ash clean-up, including in Memphis. "U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen took aim at the lingering coal ash in his district last week, targeting the pollution that is the byproduct of coal-fired power plants in Memphis and across the country. Cohen introduced the Ensuring the Safe Disposal of Coal Ash Act this week, a move that could help strengthen provisions of the Clean Future Act, a bill introduced this year that is aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and includes measures intended to speed up coal ash clean-up and set further standards for it." Read more by Samuel Hardiman - Memphis Commercial Appeal - April 12, 2021.
Hardeman Co. residents are concerned about the environmental impact of the industrialization of the Hatchie River Basin. "The Hardeman County Zoning Compliance Office, Planning Commission, Mayor and some on the County Commission have been working to fast-track Industrial Zoning of the Hatchie River basin." There is a likelihood of accumulated pollution and deforestation of heavily timbered areas surrounding the Hatchie. Learn more at Savethescenichatchie.com.
Google's new time lapse shows 37 years of climate change anywhere on Earth, including your neighborhood. The Timelapse tool from Google Earth allows users to view landscape-scale change over time, from 1984 to today. The images reveal five major themes: forest change, urban growth, warming temperatures, sources of energy, and fragile beauty. Read more by Olivia Rosane - EcoWatch - April 15, 2021.
Leaders Summit on Climate. On April 22-23rd, President Biden hosted leaders from around the world "in discussions highlighting the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help vulnerable countries cope with unavoidable climate impacts, as well as the economic benefits of climate action.” Read about the summit here.
On Earth Day (April 22), Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED) hosted a groundbreaking for the organization’s first entirely solar-powered home, complete with state-of-the-art energy reducing procedures. Once completed, the Knoxville home will be offered for sale at an affordable, below-market price to a low-to-moderate income family in the Lonsdale community. Donations are accepted via CashApp: $YSEEED. Read article by Molly Kennedy - WATE TV - April 22, 2021.
Tennessee News
EPB efficiency program cuts energy use for 400 Tennessee Valley low-income homes. "Chattanooga is one of 49 local power companies in the Tennessee Valley providing the Home Uplift program to qualified homeowners with incomes of no more than 200% of the federal poverty level and in houses needing energy upgrades." Participating homes experience an average 30% increase in energy efficiency as well as increased air quality and safety. Read more by Dave Flessner - Times Free Press - April 14, 2021.
Local conservation group critical of 133-acre Prentice Cooper timber sale. "We've been seeing how in the last five years how so much of this south end is getting logged, and this is continuing to be a significant issue," Davis Mounger, founder of the Tennessee Heartwood nonprofit group that seeks to protect forests, said last week...."We're concerned with clear-cutting anytime lowering biodiversity. You're getting a lot of things like poplar and scrub coming up in what was originally a mixed hardwood stand with some pines," Mounger said." Read more by Ben Benton - Times Free Press - April 19, 2021.
Jack Daniel's adds solar array to power Lynchburg, Tennessee, distillery. "Under TVA's Green Invest program, the distillery said Wednesday it has signed an agreement for 20 megawatts of solar energy to be generated at a new solar farm. The solar farm should supply nearly three-quarters of the distillery's electricity needs. Jack Daniel's already runs its distillery with a zero-waste to landfill policy." Read more by Dave Flessner - Times Free Press - April 14, 2021.
Silicon Ranch mulls expansion. "Electricity producer Silicon Ranch Corp. could add acres of solar panels near its solar power farm north of Memphis, funneling more energy into TVA’s grid as Facebook and other expanding companies ask for electricity made from renewable sources. Silicon Ranch would expand near its 420-acre Millington solar station, which opened in April 2019 as the largest solar farm in Tennessee." Read more by Ted Evanoff - Commercial Appeal - April 20, 2021.
Clarksville may sell part of athletic complex site for solar energy plan. "The Clarksville City Council may vote to sell part of the city's family athletic complex property near Interstate 24 Exit 8, which could result in transforming the sold acreage into the site for a solar power generation facility." Read more by Jimmy Settle - Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle - April 1, 2021.
The proposed Motorsports Park developer is backing out, WVLT and others report. "Rusty Bittle announced April 6 that he was pulling his proposed Oak Ridge Motorsports Park from the city and would search for a new home for the estimated $50 million development. Bittle said he is evaluating other East Tennessee communities to find one that "offers more attractive options for the project," according to a press release." Read more by Brenna McDermott - Knoxville News Sentinel - April 9, 2021.
Hiking amongst the canyons of the Colorado Plateau. Photo credit: Roger Jenkins. Jenkins will present the May program for HBG (see "Hiking the Backcountry of Southern Utah" in the Events section for information).
Byhalia Pipeline Updates
Sick, hospital-bound and faced with a choice: Sell land rights to Byhalia Pipeline or lose them in court? "Karmen Johnson-Tutwiler’s oxygen dropped to a dangerous level on a Friday in late January; she needed to rush to a hospital. But she stopped at a Starbucks on the way. Not for coffee, but because a Byhalia Pipeline agent gave her a high-stakes choice: meet him to sign paperwork or lose control of her family land in court, she said. Now, she’s suing the company to undo the agreement." Read more by Carrington J. Tatum - MLK50 - April 15, 2021.
Pipeline tells Black Memphis landowners: sell us the rights to your land or get sued. "The legal battle over Byhalia pipeline has become a flashpoint in the conversation about environmental justice and the right of energy companies to take private land." Read more - The Guardian / Southerly / MLK50 - April 22, 2021.
Tenn. environmental justice fight overlooks existing pipeline. "The debate about an oil pipeline in Memphis called Byhalia Connection is getting louder by the day, with complaints of "environmental racism" on one side and calls for economic development on the other. But there's a key issue on which both sides are all but silent: There's already a pipeline connecting the same two points that the 50-mile Byhalia project would link." Read more by Mike Soraghan - E&E News - April 15, 2021.
National Poor People’s Campaign leader says no to Byhalia Pipeline. "The Rev. Dr. William Barber II, co-chairman of the National Poor People’s Campaign, joined Memphis Community Against the Pipeline at Alonzo Weaver Park in southwest Memphis Sunday, April 18, to drive out the proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline and show that affected communities are not the path of least resistance. “Not here, not now, not ever on our watch!” Barber led several dozen participants in the fiery chant. Shouting back at him was a mixed crowd of participants from across the age spectrum. They waved signs with slogans like “Stop the pipeline,” and “No oil in our soil.” Read more by Daja E. Henry - Daily Memphian - April 18, 2021.
Byhalia pipeline case tests eminent domain law. "...But Tennessee law also allows quasi-governmental agencies and utility companies to use eminent domain powers under certain circumstances. The April 23 hearing could turn on whether attorneys representing Byhalia Pipeline can convince Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin Johnson their company fits into one of those other categories mentioned in Tennessee Code Annotated." Read more by Blake Fontenay - Daily Memphian - April 20, 2021.
LUCB decision could make Shelby County pipeline ‘impossible.’ Pipeline company says setback conflicts with state law. "Despite objections from a company that wants to build an oil pipeline passing through South Memphis, the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board endorsed a zoning amendment with setback requirements for those types of projects. By an 8-0 vote Thursday, April 8, the LUCB recommended approval of an amendment that would require oil pipelines to be at least 1,500 feet from homes, schools, churches, parks and family recreation centers. The amendment...would require approval by both the Shelby County Commission and the Memphis City Council." Read more by Blake Fontenay - Daily Memphian - April 8, 2021.
About 100 people gathered at Alonzo Weaver Park in Memphis on Sunday, April 18th to rally against the Byhalia Connection Pipeline. Photo by Brandon Dill for MLK50.
Health & Justice
Derek Chauvin’s conviction shouldn’t obscure how broken our criminal justice system is. “There’s this sort of individualistic approach that says when someone does something wrong, we’ll punish them,” Pfaff argues. “But seeing the conviction as a success ignores the fact that Chauvin should perhaps never have been a police officer to begin with or, if he was, he should never have been going after a $20 bill in this way — in every way the system failed. While punishing Chauvin is critical and essential accountability for the harm that he did, it doesn’t address the bigger systemic failings that got us here.” Read the interview by Jerusalem Demsas - Vox - April 21, 2021.
Gov. Bill Lee blasts 'vaccine passports,' but Tennessee cities haven't proposed them. "Tennessee Republicans are seizing on a conservative talking point that has taken hold in recent weeks: So-called "vaccine passports" and the need to prohibit them... No city, county or government entity in Tennessee appears to have suggested forcing businesses to require patrons to show a vaccine passport." Read more by Natalie Allison - Tennessean - April 6, 2021.
Tennesseans hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccine, local residents share concerns. "Tennessee is among the bottom five states in the nation for the percentage of residents to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Experts estimate around 70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to return to "normalcy." Full story by Meredith Aldis - WRCBTV - April 22, 2021.
May 1st is International Workers Day! International Workers Day began in 1889 as a commemoration of the fight for an 8 hour workday. In 1886, the Haymarket Affair occurred in which labor activists in Chicago were wrongfully executed after a violent clash with police. Many years later, President Grover Cleveland designated an official holiday, Labor Day, to honor workers. Uneasy with the socialist origins of the cause, Cleveland designated Labor Day to be in September, and not May 1st. You can explore the primary documents of leftist political and social movements in 19th and 20th century America with PRISM ( Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements), a collaborative digitization project of Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida libraries and special collections departments. Browse the collection here.
Take action: Tell your senators to fix our broken democracy and pass the "For the People Act"! Congress has a duty to restore the promise of the American democracy. It's past time we take action to ensure everyone's voice - no matter what zip code, race, or background - is heard in our democracy. Tell your senator to vote YES!
Women's Auxiliary Typographical Union float in the Labor Day Parade in New York City in 1909. Photo credit: New York Department of Labor.
Care NET Makes 'Black Lives Matter' Quilt
By Bobbi Smith, Care NET Community Conservation Committee [edited]
Overwhelming grief and all-consuming sorrowfulness inspired members of Care NET Community Conservation Committee, and their friends to make a "Say Their Names - Never Forget" Black Lives Matter quilt. We needed a way to mend, and also a way to speak out. Wendy Ritchey, an art therapist who knows that art can have a healing power, suggested we create a quilt and invite others in the community to join in. Those who made a quilt square were asked to write about the person(s) they chose to honor. Their murders range from as far back as 1903 (George Washington Lee), to as recently as 2020 (George Floyd and Breonna Taylor). The names represent a tiny fraction of Black lives lost due to racism.
Two Care NET members asked the folks at Price Public Community Center (formerly a segregated, 'colored' school) if they would host an open house to display the quilt. The answer was not only "Yes," but "Yes, yes and yes!"
The quilt was displayed on three separate Saturdays in February (Black History month) to allow social distancing and time to share conversation with others about the quilt, and their own experiences with race, systemic racism, and the violence it brings. Over 70 people visited Price Public Community Center during the three Open House days. We plan to display the quilt at other local venues later this year - a community center in Church Hill, a church in the Tri-Cities, a Juneteenth celebration in Hamblen County, and local festivals in Hawkins County.
Anita Rondeau of Care Net CCC and Casandra Palmer, Interim Director of Price Public Community Center and Swift Museum, hold up quilt made to honor and remember Black victims lost to racist violence.
Call for Ex-Com Nominees
The Chapter’s Nomination Committee is seeking candidates to self-nominate and suggestions for nominees! This year, 4 out of the seven At-Large Chapter ExCom members will end their term. The Sierra Club’s democratic process ensures it is held accountable to its membership with viable candidates who best represent our members’ interests. Any Chapter member in good standing is eligible for nomination.
The ExCom sets the Chapter budget and strategic direction, reaches consensus on conservation positions, raises money, appoints officers and committee chairs, plans important events, and approves litigation and electoral endorsements. The Chapter ExCom meets 6 times a year, bi-monthly. At-Large candidates must be willing and able to participate fully.
After receiving your nominations by July 31, 2021, the Chapter Nominations Committee will consider and recommend candidates for the ballot, which is published in the November/December edition of the Tennes-Sierran newspaper as well as online for members receiving Sierra Club emails. Candidates may also get on the ballot by petition by July 31, 2021. All candidates are allowed space on the ballot to advocate for their election. Candidates receiving the top votes will start their 2-year terms in January 2022.
Any Sierra Club member wishing to be considered as a 2022-2023 At-Large candidate should indicate their intent by July 31, 2021. Email Todd Waterman at jtoddw@gmail.com or snail mail to 418 Orchard Knob Road, Clinton, Tennessee 37716.
Hikers Wanted!
The Harvey Broome Group (HBG) is producing an updated version of a hiking guide detailing trails in the Cherokee National Forest (CNF). HBG wrote and produced two previous versions which were published by University of Tennessee Press in 1992 and 2005. In the 15 years since the last version was printed, there have been new wilderness areas designated by Congress, as well as newly designated trails, decommissioned or changed trails, and trailhead changes.
We need volunteers to re-hike in 2021 all of the approximately 192 trails and over 600 miles of trails in the CNF. Will Skelton, Don Barger and Joan Tomlinson are organizing the effort. Some hiking experience is necessary and, since we’ll be verifying the trail mileage (which was originally done by rolling a measuring wheel along all the trails), familiarity with using a GPS or a willingness to learn such will be necessary (using a separate GPS device like a Garmin or a cell phone GPS program like Avenza or Gaia).
If interested, contact Will Skelton at (865)523-2272/ whshome@bellsouth.net or Joan Tomlinson at (865)567-8051/joanptomlinson@gmail.com. Our goal is to assemble a team of hikers over the next month.
Cades Cove in April. Photo credit: Anthony Chavez.
Events
Important Note: The Sierra Club's Safety Management Team has extended its prohibition on both travel and in-person meetings through July 4, 2021. Meetings and events continue to be held virtually for now.
Listed in order of occurrence:
Musical Documentary: TVA Coal Ash Spill. On April 16, 2021, musicians, artists, and survivors came together in the historic Laurel Theater in Knoxville to commemorate the lives lost in the Kingston Coal Ash Spill through music and storytelling. The deeply moving free concert featured several original songs about coal mining, the scourge of coal in Southern Appalachia, and TVA’s lack of accountability for any of it. They also debuted "Kingston," a song co-written by Jay and Daniel Kimbro along with Ron Bledsoe, a Kingston coal ash worker who is fighting for his life as a result of cleaning up TVA’s mess.Watch the free concert on youtube (1 hour watch).
Join us on April 29th for an intergenerational activist panel and art build! We’ll ground the THRIVE Agenda in a historical, youth and movement-centered context and discuss how we can all get involved in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to remake our economy and society so that it works for us! Thurs. April 29 at 7:30 ET. Contact sierrastudent@sierraclub.org to sign up.
Cornell University’s Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering will hold a series of seminars this spring about climate change with topics ranging from implications for agriculture, ecosystems and food systems and economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. Mondays May 3rd and 10th at 2:45-4:00 pm.Sign up here.
EPA Environmental Justice and Systemic Racism Speaker Series: Featuring the Climate Safe Neighborhood Partnership. "Learn about the Climate Safe Neighborhoods Partnership and how youth are leading the way in working closely with residents and stakeholders to organize, mobilize, and effect systems change to make communities more resilient to extreme heat and flooding." Register here for the event, Wed. May 5th at 12:00 - 1:00 pm EST.
Hiking the Backcountry of Southern Utah. Southern Utah is noted for its unique geology, as it is riddled with canyons like no other place on earth. In this HBG program, Roger Jenkins, creator of TwoHikers.org, will discuss backpacking and day hiking opportunities around the Colorado Plateau’s six National Parks. Roger will share some of his favorite photos, and interesting lessons learned over four decades of hiking in this amazing terrain. Register here for Tuesday May 11 at 7:00 pm ET.
'163 Tennessee & Me' is a year-long campaign to bring awareness to the 163 Threatened and Endangered Species listed in Tennessee and to promote progressive actions for their survival. Follow on FB for updates and meeting information.
Mt. Cammerer Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo credit: Ron Shrieves, 2012.
Special Features
Dear Eartha: Advice from an Eco-Guru
Dear Eartha, Two questions. In your newsletter last month, in response to a letter from Su Goodman, you explained about forest offsets and that you believe that they are “the tip of the iceberg.” What do you mean by that? Also, is there a way to nominate, so to speak, an acreage of forest, or bring it to the attention of companies that need forest offsets, with the intent that the acreage be bought by a company to serve as a forest offset, with the further understanding that the forest be retained as forest in perpetuity? My family owns a piece of property that I would love to see preserved and this might provide an avenue for the sale and preservation of a beautiful piece of Tennessee. Thank you, Hunter Oppenheimer
Dear Hunter, Thanks for your questions. While I’m not an expert (my expertise is American and English literature), here’s what I’ve got. After my last column went to press, I became concerned that my readers might think I was justifying capitalists’ irresponsible manipulation of climate solutions. While we may have to dance with the powers that be, we don’t have to climb into bed with them. But, as the Biden administration progresses through its revitalizing environmental agenda, the “tip of the iceberg” reveals just the beginning of what will become de rigueur in the future – the times they are a’cha-angin’!
For example, a quick Google search brings up dozens of companies providing carbon offsets. Many in our TN Sierra Club community are familiar with this practice. One in particular caught my eye: an NGO called COTAP (Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty). Their aim is to get developed countries to address both climate solutions and global poverty. Essentially, they use investors’ money to pay people in India, Nicaragua, Fiji, Indonesia, Mexico, and Uganda to plant trees, with 90% of the proceeds going “into local farmers’ pockets for reforestation efforts and orchards of edible food” (" 15+ Best and Popular US Carbon Offset Providers"). Meanwhile, how and where to preserve your family’s forestland and secure carbon offset credits?
I’d like to toss your question out to my readership to weigh in to provide the best possible solution. While I’ve read widely, I’m not an expert, and many in our community know much more than I do. For example, one article recommends employing The Nature Conservancy’s “Working Woodlands” project – where the forest owner secures a “working forest conservation easement, a binding legal agreement permanently tied to the property, which prevents development, agricultural conversion, or unsustainable forestry practices” (“Stories in Kentucky ") – while another lambasts The Nature Conservancy as using “far-fetched logic” to help absolve greedy capitalists “of their climate sins” (“These Trees Are Not What They Seem”).
So, if you, dear readers, can offer some recommendations about forest offsets in sales and preservation in Tennessee, please write to Dear Eartha care of this publication. Our collective brains are more powerful than any single one of us!
Ever thankful for our shared vision of preservation,
Eartha
Dear Eartha is penned by Rita Bullinger. Got an environmental query for Eartha? Submit your question to "Dear Eartha" via Enews.SierraTN@gmail.com
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
The virginia bluebell is an herbaceous perennial that blooms early-late spring. It's native to parts of North America and seeds quite readily.
Virginia bluebells grow up to 2 feet tall. Flowers are about an inch long and they begin "as a cluster of pink buds that blossom into beautiful trumpet shaped flowers in shades of blue" (TNstateparks.com). It only blooms 2-3 weeks so catch it while you can!
Virginia bluebells were given their botanical name in honor of German botanist Franz Carl Mertens. Later on, the name mertensia was given to a family of jellyfishes in honor of Mertens’ son. The jellyfish are colorful, much like the flower!
Volunteer Opportunities
Paperless Delivery
Are you a Sierra member who has been receiving our bi-monthly print publication, the Tennes-Sierran? You can now opt out of getting a paper copy of the newspaper and instead receive it digitally as an email attachment. To request paperless delivery, open this form to make your request.
Contact Us
Do you have a program or speaker idea for your Group? An issue you're particularly passionate about? Do you have a story idea for the Tennes-Sierran or the e-newsletter? Let us know! Look through our past programs for inspiration. Submit your suggestion here!
We are the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, the world’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. With over 3.8 million members and supporters, the Sierra Club has the resources to empower people and to influence public policy through community activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.
Our mission is to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.
