After the largest industrial spill in US History, TVA is considering replacing the Kingston plant with clean, renewable energy. But they are also considering replacing Kingston with polluting fossil fuel power plants instead. Tell TVA to replace the power with clean energy like solar while investing in locally-led economic development, instead of gas plants and pipelines!
Renewable, efficient energy is available now and will prevent air and water pollution, create new jobs, and lower power bills for TVA customers. Comments to TVA are due by July 15th!
(Left) Bonnie Swinford photographed a home devastated by the Kingston coal ash spill of 2008. (Right) Crew from Lightwave Solar have installed solar power throughout Tennessee. Photo courtesy of Lightwave Solar.
*Sierra Club COVID-19 Update*
Sierra Club has issued some updated guidance around in-person activities. Please continue to be cautious in order to prioritize personal health and public safety. For details about policies during outings, refer to this COVID Protocol document.
In-Person Outdoor Events: With the exception of large-scale events, as of July 5th we’ll resume some organizing, advocacy, and staff gatherings that happen solely outdoors while requiring some COVID-19 safety modifications and planning.
In-Person Indoor Events: Indoor events will remain restricted; however, we’ll provide pathways for many small-scale indoor activities to resume, particularly organizing and advocacy actions.
Environmental News
Study to examine litter problem in Tennessee. "The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) has voted to do a comprehensive, first-of-it-kind study of Tennessee's huge litter problem. TACIR will examine the problem from every angle and make recommendations on what would solve litter in Tennessee." Read more here.
Y’all are crappy neighbors’: Rutherford County residents slam landfill expansion plan at public hearing. "Republic Services, operators of the Middle Point Landfill, have proposed expanding the controversial landfill by nearly 100 acres, lengthening its estimated 7 years of remaining life by upwards of 25 more years." More than a dozen residents spoke up with concerns about health effects and quality of life. Read more by Anita Wadhwani - Tennessee Lookout - June 29, 2021.
Sierra Club sues Coca-Cola, plastic water bottlers. "The Sierra Club today sued companies that bottle brands like Dasani, Poland Spring and Niagara, alleging their bottles are falsely advertised as "100% recyclable." Lawyers for the advocacy group are filing two lawsuits, one on behalf of the group and one on behalf of consumers. Both lawsuits allege that Coca-Cola Co., Niagara Bottling LLC and BlueTriton Brands (formerly Nestlé Waters North America Inc.) violate California's Environmental Marketing Claims Act." Read more by Jacob Wallace - E&E News - June 17, 2021.
Biden's First Reg Agenda Lays Out Plans to Roll Back Trump Environmental Rules. "The Biden administration laid out its timeline for rolling back major Trump environmental rules, but acknowledged that the process of enacting more protective regulations on climate and air pollution and drinking water will take years — if they can estimate the timeline at all." Read detailed policy plans here by PoliticoPro - June 11, 2021.
The effect of global warming in the Mid South. WREG News Channel 3 (Memphis) recently interviewed Mac Post, Chair of Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter about the effects of global warming locally. "One study found that Shelby County could experience 113 days per year with temperatures of at least 90 degrees less than 60 years from now if steps are not taken now to prevent global warming." Read more by WREG Staff - June 29, 2021.
Why are fossil fuel pipelines bad for our climate and communities? "Pipelines traverse millions of acres of plains, desert, forests, and mountains. [They] run through lakes, rivers, aquifers, and waterways, endangering the ecosystems and communities in their paths and fueling the climate crisis. In 2019, there were 316 reported incidents of fatality, explosion or significant oil spill — almost one for every day of the year, according to the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration." Read more by Earthjustice.org - March 5, 2021.
"Oil and gas infrastructure in the Western Arctic, around the Lake Teshekpuk area." Photo credit: KILIII YUYAN for Earthjustice.
Tennessee News
Memphis pipeline rekindles eminent domain fight. "Construction has not yet started on the project, but it's under siege by community activists who say it would dump more industrial activity and pollution on the city's Black community. They've joined with environmentalists who say it would jeopardize the aquifer that supplies the city's drinking water ( Energywire, May 3).The Memphis City Council came out unanimously against the pipeline in March and is working on an ordinance intended to discourage Plains and Valero from building it through the city (Energywire , March 17). In the face of that resistance, the companies paused work on the pipeline early last month to consider route changes. The company's attorneys have dropped condemnation suits against the main holdouts, while preserving their right to refile such suits in the future." Read more by Mike Soraghan - E&ENews - June 7, 2021.
TVA studies plan to idle Kingston coal plant where ash spill destroyed homes, polluted river. "Twelve years after the worst coal ash spill ever from a U.S. coal power plant, the Tennessee Valley Authority is considering shutting down the plant where the spill occurred and replacing its coal-fired generation with a cleaner source of power. TVA will conduct a public hearing next week to begin an environmental assessment on a plan to shut down its Kingston Fossil Plant in the next decade." Read more by Dave Flessner - Times Free Press - June 21, 2021.
Environmental groups want probe of TVA support of group fighting clean air standards. Investigation urged into whether TVA illegally lobbied EPA. "...his records request uncovered hundreds of emails, calendar invitations, budget documents, and billing details about payments from TVA to the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth. 'The records clearly indicate that TVA staff members did sign off on the use of funds that were non-technical and that were lobbying or litigation type expenses,' Tate said. TVA CEO Jeff Lyash told Congress in a 2019 letter that the utility had contributed $7.3 million to the Utility Air Regulatory Group since 2001. But Lyash said the funds were not used to lobby or sue on behalf of TVA, which would require explicit board approval." Read more by Dave Flessner - Times Free Press - May 26, 2021.
Local conservation group concerned about wetlands damage from Red Wolves Stadium development. "A local [Chattanooga] conservation group is worried construction associated with the Red Wolves soccer stadium in East Ridge will permanently damage wetlands in the South Chickamauga Creek watershed after the state allowed the $150 million project to go forward. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation this month issued an aquatic resource alteration permit that allows the filling in of 2.4 acres of wetland on the 61-acre site despite objections from the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance over wetland and flooding concerns." Read more by Ben Benton -Times Free Press - May 30, 2021.
Last call for Ex-Com nominees! The July 31st deadline to receive nominations is coming up. Members will vote for final candidates in the November/December edition of the Tennes-Sierran newspaper as well as online for members receiving Sierra Club emails. Candidates receiving the top votes will start their 2-year terms in January 2022. Any Sierra Club member who is interested should indicate their intent by July 31, 2021. Email Todd Waterman at jtoddw@gmail.com or mail to 418 Orchard Knob Road, Clinton, Tennessee 37716.
"The Diamond pipeline currently ends at Valero's Memphis Refinery, pictured above. Valero and Plains All American Pipeline want to extend Diamond around Memphis to Byhalia, Miss., and connect it to a pipeline to the Gulf Coast. But the connector project has raised questions about granting private companies the right to seize property through eminent domain." Photo: Eric Allix Rogers/Flickr.
Most Americans Think They Can Spot Fake News
Spoiler Alert: They can't.
By Ryan Prior, CNN
As many as three in four Americans overestimate their ability to spot false headlines -- and the worse they are at it, the more likely they are to share fake news, researchers reported Monday. The study of surveys involving 8,200 people, which published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also showed Republicans are more likely to fall for fake news than Democrats are. Read full article by Ryan Prior - CNN - May 31, 2021.
Pride Perspective: TN Trans Lives, Do They Matter?
By Jack Knoxville, Sierra Club Community Engagement Coordinator
Local trans activist Jack Knoxville summarizes current anti-trans legislation and other threats the Tennessee trans and gender non-conforming communities face: “Instead of writing letters to transphobic leaders who have already shown us that they refuse to learn, I encourage you to support the initiatives being run by the people that are most impacted in these fights: Queer and Trans people of color. Visibility matters; if an organization says they’re doing work for a marginalized community but don’t have leaders of color, hold them accountable! Organizations like Southerners on New Ground (S.O.N.G.) which has a Knoxville Chapter and Trans Empowerment Project, as well as the up and coming Transcend Memphis are all in need of volunteers and donors who are willing to show up to do the actual work needed to abolish the white supremacy that is keeping the rest of us from being able to live and breathe freely in Tennessee.” Read Jack's full article here!
Quilt Display at Juneteenth Celebration
By Bobbi Smith, Care NET CCC [edited]
Several Care NET CCC members brought our 'Say Their Names -- Never Forget' Black Lives Matter quilt to the Second Annual Juneteenth celebration at Cherokee Park in Morristown on Saturday. It was a very warm, very muggy, and thankfully windy day -- summertime! We got so much help from others at the event, as we re-learned how to put up our canopy, and successfully, more or less, the quilt stand and quilt after several unsuccessful attempts.
It was great to have William Isom of Black In Appalachia join us with books, stickers, and Black In Appalachia shirts. Thanks to our member Linda Orth for having more 'Love Wins' shirts made, and to CaSandra Palmer for helping to get 50 more of our 'Say Their Names' quilt booklets printed. Special thanks to Joanne Irvin for getting our canopy and quilt up and ready for the celebration.
The program was great -- and the day was made even more poignant as president Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday! Many thanks to everyone who contributed in making the quilt, and to those who volunteered their time, energy and goodwill at Price Public Community Center, Central Baptist Church in Kingsport, and at Cherokee Park's Juneteenth celebration. As Care NET CCC members, and TN Sierra Club members, we will continue our commitment to positive change at the intersection between Social, Economic and Environmental Justice in these United States.
Editors Note: Juneteenth (June 19th) is a commemoration day in honor of the 250,000 enslaved people in Texas who were notified of their freedom two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
In this photo, our member Joanne has successfully put the quilt up with the help of our next-door-neighbors in the vendor section of the park, before the festivities began. We got help from many others, as it blew down 6 times during the day!
Events
Listed in order of occurrence:
National Children & Youth Garden Symposium. For nearly three decades, the American Horticultural Society has been cultivating tomorrow’s gardeners by energizing, inspiring, and training today’s garden educators. The 29th annual professional development conference will take place as a virtual event. This year's theme is youth empowerment and speakers will give educators the inspiration and tools needed to discover and nurture the passion within a child and create the space and support for a child to pursue that passion. Wednesday July 7- 9.More info here.
Strategizing with Bull Run Community and Lisa Evans. Earthjustice Senior Counsel Lisa Evans is author of A Toolkit to Advocate For Coal Ash Cleanups. Together we thwarted TVA’s proposed toxic fly ash landfill targeting the heart of our community. Join us now to win a reborn and beautiful Claxton community free of Bull Run coal ash contamination. On Thurs. July 8 at 6:00-7:00 pm ET , Evans will help us prepare our comments and questions for an upcoming meeting on Monday, July 12 (see event listed below), where we will will have opportunity to comment (virtually or in-person) to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) officials. Sign up for July 8th strategy meeting on Campfire.
Anderson County Intergovernmental Committee Coal Ash Meeting with TDEC officials. As mentioned above, we need to be prepared to give powerful comments and ask probing questions to secure the bright future Anderson County wants and deserves: a properly cleaned up, decontaminated, and restored Bull Run site that can become the centerpiece of a thriving and vibrant Claxton community on a beautiful, uncontaminated Melton Lake Reservoir. Comments must be under 3 minutes in length. Meeting held Monday July 12 at 5:00 pm ET in Room 312, Anderson County Courthouse, Clinton, TN 37716, or via GoToMeeting. To access the virtual meeting when available, click on "Intergovernmental" under Monday, July 12 on the Anderson County Calendar. COVID Safety Note: Though the courthouse has a new UV air filtration system, because only 41% of Anderson County is fully vaccinated and the Delta variant is spreading, we urge in-person attendees to be fully vaccinated for two weeks, wear a properly-fitted mask, socially distance where possible, and assume others may be vulnerable or careless.
HBG Program: Become an Advocate for Public Electric Transportation. Join Kent Minault, TN Chapter of the Sierra Club Transportation Committee Co-Chair, and the Knox-region Harvey Broome Group (HBG) for a lively discussion about what’s going on around the world and here in our state about getting our public fleets electrified. Kent will present reports that persuasively argue that we’re on the cusp of a big surge in EV adoption. Learn about the initiative to encourage (1) school districts to switch to electric school buses, (2) public works to convert to electric garbage trucks, and (3) metro and county transit to convert to electric buses. With your help we can reduce our communities’ carbon footprints. Virtual event via Zoom on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:00-8:30 PM EDT. RSVP through this Campfire Event Link
Save the Date: Cherokee Group is hosting the next Chapter Retreat on October 29-31 at Booker T. Washington State Park in Chattanooga, pending National Sierra Club loosening restrictions for in person meetings. Hopefully, we can all get together and meet in person again!
Sunset at Booker T. Washington State Park.
Special Features
Dear Eartha: Advice from an Eco-Guru
Dear Eartha, I’m interested in knowing more about graduate programs in sustainability in Tennessee. Can you enlighten me? —GenY Career Guy
Dear GenY Guy, Funny you would ask this question now. The other day Emily Fairbank, a grad student at Lipscomb University’s Institute for Sustainable Practice (started in 2007, first of its kind in the southeast) rode her bike to my cohousing community in Nashville and asked if she could learn more about us. She shared she was doing field research about sustainable communities. A few of us out on our courtyard lawn just shooting the breeze welcomed the conversation. After receiving your question, I asked her to teach me more about sustainability. Here’s what I learned:
Large corporations aren’t always utilizing sustainable business practices to the extent now possible
Universities and colleges offer programs to teach students to learn more to advance what the planet, people, and profiteers need – environmental, social, and economic sustainability
Sustainability is the intersection of people, planet, and profit
Lipscomb offers a 30-credit program, with four concentration options: Urban Resilience, Building and Energy Systems, Renewable Energy, and Food Systems. Emily will earn a Master of Science in Sustainability, and she decided to attend graduate school after earning a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and working for years at a large corporation. She enthusiastically told me about the storm management program downtown where the city put in porous sidewalks, bioswales, and more trees to divert storm water away from the Cumberland River and rainwater back into the earth.
Sustainability isn’t just minimizing our human and corporate footprint, it’s also “making the most out of people’s relationships with others and improving their day to day lives,” Emily said. “Social sustainability is to sustain life.” As the Sierra Club propounds, sustainable practices increase social, racial, and environmental justice. Think of a plastic container of strawberries that might get delivered by a fossil-fueled truck to a store in a food desert. It’s common for food to travel 1000s of miles before reaching the grocery store. Instead, sustainable social practices would incorporate environmental efficiency at every step of the process using green transportation, creating local jobs, and using green buildings that maximize efficiency and use 100% sustainable energy. And strawberries would arrive in biodegradable containers.
Emily sees her future career as a Sustainability Consultant for a corporation or governmental agency. Young people know the chain effect of individual power—one conversation at a time—engendering positive, productive change. “I want my job to convey my values, with my buying power, as I age, becoming a force to reckon with.” And corporations, companies, and governments need to change and be the voice at the top that leads. With a degree in sustainable practices, Emily sees her voice and those of her generation leading the way towards creating a thriving and sustainable—that is life-enhancing—planet.
Yours for a greener future,
Eartha
P.S. I’ll be taking a break in August but my editor, Allie Stafford, will bring you more information on sustainability programs throughout Tennessee. See you in September!
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 genus is: Sunflower(Helianthus)
Photo courtesy Al Braden, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
The joyful sunflower genus includes about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae). While many sunflowers are tall and bright yellow, they come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, such as red and purple. Dwarf varieties tend to stay under 3 feet and work well for container gardening.
Heliotropism is the process by which young sunflowers track the sun. In a study by ScienceMag, scientists found that circadian rhythm regulates the solar tracking. While growing, a young sunflower’s face follows the sun from sunrise to sunset each day. Once they've reached maturity, sunflowers face East, which actually attracts more pollinators than westward facing plants since they warm up faster.
Sunflowers have been featured by many famous artists including Vincent Van Gogh, Diego Rivera, and Alfred Gockel.
Sunflowers are native to the US, likely originating in the southwest. The UT Institute of Agriculture reports that "archaeological evidence from a site in Middle Tennessee indicates that sunflower was being grown in Tennessee by Native Americans more than 4000 years ago (Crites 1993)."
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.
