COVID-19 Update: Sierra Club National’s current COVID safety guidance extends through August 31, 2022. The plan allows for limited in-person gatherings. Groups may hold events such as ExCom meetings and tabling with the approval of the Chapter chair. Certain larger gatherings may occur with approval by Sierra Club safety staff. Read more about reopening guidelines here.
Tennessee News
Midterm Elections are underway! Make sure you have a plan to vote. Voter turnout in midterms is notoriously low, but it's extremely important. Early voting is happening now through Friday, July 30. Voting day is August 4. Look up a sample ballot or polling location at GoVoteTN.
Tennesseelags in Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s solar report. "Tennessee’s solar energy falls short compared to other Southeastern states, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s fifth annual solar energy report . The Southeast had substantial growth, according to the report, but Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi fell behind other states in the region in both installed solar capacity and watts per customer — a metric that the Southern Alliance said provides an unbiased standard." Read more by Keely Brewer - Daily Memphian - July 20, 2022.
Opinion: Court of Appeals whittles away protections of [Tennessee] open meeting law. "It is difficult to watch Tennessee courts roll back the meaning of the sunshine law. In May, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that the Dickson County Planning Commission and the Dickson County Commission did not violate the Open Meetings Act when both left off of their published meeting agendas an item of widespread public interest....In holding that it is A-OK for a governing body to hold private meetings with a company’s lawyer on a controversial project and to hide the upcoming vote on that controversial project by leaving it off the agenda, the court undermines the respect of the open meetings law embraced by earlier courts." Read more by Deborah Fisher, Guest Columnist - Daily Memphian - July 17, 2022.
Cherokee tribe supports renaming Clingmans Dome in Smoky Mountains National Park. Clingmans Dome, the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, got its current name from a Confederate general who had no ties to the area; Thomas Lanier Clingman lived 75 miles east in Asheville. But long before the mountain "was a National Park attraction, the Cherokee referred to it as Kuwahi, which translates to 'mulberry place.' Tribal medicine men would journey up the mountain and pray for guidance, then share the visions they had with the rest of the community." Read more by Dustin Jones - WUTC (NPR) - July 17, 2022.
Nashville's only local construction-waste landfill's almost full. What now? "A bitter, nearly 20-year-old feud raging between Nashville community leaders and owners of a 77-acre landfill north of downtown reached critical mass this week." Waste Management Inc. of Tennessee, owner of Southern Services Landfill, made the "difficult but necessary decision" [ to ] cut off 70% of business at Davidson County's only construction-and-demolition landfill... The drastic business decision was hastened by Metro leaders working to pressure companies to increase recycling, accelerate a zero-waste-by-2050 goal and to protect historically underrepresented communities from undesirable businesses." Read moreby Sandy Mazza - Nashville Tennessean - July 21, 2022.
Industrial waste piles up in a Memphis landfill. Photo: MLK50.com.
Environmental Updates
Take Action! The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are seeking public comments about how the agencies should define old growth and mature forests under a Biden administration executive order intended to protect forests. The executive order directs the Interior and Agriculture Departments to define, identify, and complete an inventory of old-growth and mature forests on federal lands, accounting for regional and ecological variations, as appropriate, and make the inventory publicly available. The agencies held a webinar on July 21 and public comments are due August 15th!
Save Lick Creek Interview with Rodes Hart, Board Chair of Friends of Lick Creek. Joshua Claussen interviews Rodes Hart about protecting Lick Creek in Hickman County, TN. Listen to the interview here (10 min) - WNKX Morning Show - July 19, 2022.
Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered. "The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers...In North America, millions of monarch butterflies undertake the longest migration of any insect species known to science.” Read more by Christina Larson - Associated Press - July 21, 2022. See also this month's Species Spotlight below.
Massive Tennessee Oil Spill Barely Missed State's Largest Aquifer. "One of the largest crude oil spills in Tennessee history took place last week, and oil just missed the state's largest aquifer...The pipeline, which stretches for roughly 1,000 miles, burst on June 29, leaking more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil into the rural town of Henderson.” Read more by Emma Mayer - Newsweek - July 8, 2022.
On June 29th, a pipeline belonging to Mid-Valley Pipeline Co. ruptured, resulting in the second largest oil spill to ever happen in Tennessee. Photo: Protect Our Aquifer.
Health & Justice
Take Action! Expand equitable access to the outdoors with the Outdoors for All Act. Reach out to your Members of Congress today and urge them to co-sponsor the Outdoors for All Act! If passed, this legislation will protect and increase funding for a federal program that builds and maintains parks and green spaces in urban communities that historically have been denied access to nature. Send a quick letter to your representative here!
Looking at the state of pipelines in Tennessee. "On June 29, a pipeline ruptured in West Tennessee, spilling approximately 200,000 gallons of crude oil . It was the second-largest spill in state history. But at the time, there was no public announcement of the spill, which came very close to contaminating Tennessee’s largest aquifer. Environmental activists say this incident goes to show that the state needs to do a better job of maintaining its existing oil and gas pipelines, rather than building new ones. But a new state law just made it easier to build this kind of infrastructure. What do we know about the state of pipelines in Tennessee? And how are efforts to block new pipelines going to work in the future?" Listen to the story here (50 min) - Paige Pfleger, WPLN (NPR) Nashville - July 15, 2022. With contributors Scott Banbury, Justin Pearson, and Sarah Houston.
Op-Ed by Marquita Bradshaw & Vonda McDaniel: Climate Justice Organization And Labor Partner To Organize Community Meetings In West TN. "All eyes are on Tennessee as the issues of climate, racial justice, and economic opportunity intersect in our state. Our communities have long suffered from attacks on our well-being that damper our ability to thrive – dangerous jobs that don’t offer a living wage, the toxic and long-lasting health impacts of fossil fuel pollution, and a state government that is hostile to unionization, as most Southern states are. Now, Tennessee has an opportunity to do things right – or risk repeating the mistakes of the past. The electric vehicle industry is taking off nationwide, and Tennessee is gearing up to be a hub for the manufacturing of these vehicles." Read more by Marquita Bradshaw, Environmental Justice Chair, Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Vonda McDaniel, President, Central Labor Council of Nashville/Middle TN, AFL-CIO - Tennessee Tribune - July 14, 2022.
Living with it: Uniontown residents feel like they’re screaming for help, but no one is coming. "Over the past 15 years since Arrowhead Landfill opened in 2007, dozens of people who call Uniontown, Alabama home describe disruption in their lives. They complain about a strong stench, health concerns and noise at all hours of the night coming from the site. There have been months when the problems have worsened, like when the landfill started accepting coal ash after a spill of the waste in Kingston, Tennessee, in 2008. Exposure to the substance in the short term can cause irritation and shortness of breath, and in the long term, it can lead to liver damage and a variety of cancers, according to the CDC." Read more by Hadley Hitson - Montgomery Advertiser - July 18, 2022.
MLK50 Founder Wendi C. Thomas to receive national press freedom award. "Thomas will be recognized with the Freedom of the Press Local Champion Award, which honors a journalist, attorney or organization whose work has had a significant impact locally." Read more by MLK50Staff - June 7, 2022.
Celebrate the Byhalia Pipeline victory but don’t forget there’s more to fight. "While some nonprofits are getting more money and some politicians are touting the cancellation for re-election, Southwest Memphis faces mostly all the same problems it did a year ago." Read more by Kathy Robinson - MLK50 - June 30, 2022.
"Kathy Robinson raises her fist in support during a Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP) rally at Alonzo Weaver Park in Memphis." Full article by Kathy Robinson here. Photo: Brandon Dill, MLK50.
Fill out the Recycling Survey!
From Dan Firth - Chair, Solid Waste and Mining Committee, Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club
Are you happy with your recycling? Regardless, please take this short survey and tell us about your experience! The Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club is working to improve recycling across Tennessee and to do that we need your input.
Access to recycling varies from county to county and municipality to municipality. Global forces such as China’s National Sword program, where China chose to no longer accept certain plastics, and the pandemic have made the recycling harder. In addition, we seem to be buried under a tsunami of trash packaging from goods purchased from the internet and in person. Much of this is headed to the landfill.
As we explore opportunities to standardize, expand, and increase recycling through legislation such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and input to the update of the state’s Solid Waste Management Plan, we would like to better understand how recycling is working or not throughout the state. Please help us by completing this short survey!
Job Opening: Tennessee Organizer
Sierra Club is hiring a Tennessee Organizing Representative to work with community members, volunteers and staff to build grassroots power, grounded by the Jemez Principles. The Organizing Representative builds relationships, increases the number of people engaged, supports leadership development and builds just and supportive partnerships. The salary range for this position is $60,000 - $68,500. Learn more details here!
Events
Statewide environmental events listed in order of occurrence:
Department of Energy (DOE) hearings on long-term mercury storage. The DOE will hold web-based public hearings via Zoom on August 2nd and August 4th, 2022 regarding a Draft Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS-II) for public review and comment. A copy of the submitted Federal Register notice, the Draft SEIS-II and other information on the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury can be found here.
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) Public Meeting. "The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) will hold a public meeting August 3-4, 2022 from approximately 3:00 - 7:30 PM ET each day. This free meeting is open to all members of the public. Individual registration is required and is available through the scheduled end time of the meeting day." Register for the WHEJAC public meeting here.
HBG Program: Overview of Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area and Plans for the Future by Jack Sims, President of Friends of Frozen Head. Join the Harvey Broome Group on Tuesday, August 9, 7:00-8:30 PM ET. Jack Sims, an accomplished photographer, will present an overview of this biologically diverse and beautiful landscape. This event is both in-person at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church and virtual via Zoom. RSVP online here.
Tennessee Youth Climate Justice Summit. The Sunrise Movement Nashville hub, along with multiple other hubs statewide, are coming together to host a Tennessee Youth Climate Justice Summit August 13-14, 2022. The Youth Summit will enable TN youth (defined as 14-35 years old) to gain experience and knowledge through training, community building, and diving into environmental activism! All costs for attending the summit, including transportation, lodging, food, and supplies, will be covered by the organizers, meaning the cost for all attendees is free! Learn more here!
Tennessee River Basin Conference in Knoxville, TN on August 24-25, 2022. "We are excited to have you join us to network, share information, and celebrate success in the conservation of aquatic life in the most biologically diverse region in our nation, the Tennessee River Basin!" Learn more here.
Note: Fall Retreat Cancelled. The Sierra Club Chapter Retreat which would have been at Pickett State Park has been cancelled.
Special Features
Dear Eartha: Advice from an Eco-Guru
Dear Eartha, In a recent Tennes-Sierran/Sierra ENews column, you posed the question “What Matters Now?” I’ve been closely following what Forbes and the Wall Street Journal are predicting should the GOP take over Congress in the midterms. My feeling is if folks who care about the environment don’t make electing climate change politicians our top priority, we’re all doomed. What is the Sierra Club doing about getting out the vote? —Tony Cernosek, Memphis
Dear Tony, Thanks for the timely question and good to see you are still active and working for change. Before I get to the heart of your question, let’s set the stage first.
Aljazeera on their “Mapping Wildfires Around the World” site shows fires in France, Greece, Algeria, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, Jerusalem. Closer to home, the USDA Forest Service shows over a hundred emerging fires in the western United States with dozens more active fires under Diamond Watch from Houston to northeastern Washington state.
"In the next 30 years, food supply and food security will be severely threatened if little or no action is taken to address climate change,” reports the United Nations.
Sierra magazine reports that Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is “a literal coal baron who lives on a yacht, drives an Italian sports car, and rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas executives and assorted billionaires.” He “single-handedly [derailed] our country’s (and perhaps humanity’s) last, best chance to finally pass climate legislation that will give us some hope of averting the most catastrophic effects of warming” (Josh Dorner, “Joe Manchin’s Final Betrayal”).
The Center for American Progress found that there are 139 members of Congress who are deniers of climate science, and their analysis shows that these 139 leaders have received more than $61 million in lifetime direct contributions from the oil, gas, and coal industries, or an average of $442,293 per elected official of Congress that denies climate change ( Center for Responsive Politics).
What is the Sierra Club doing? Well, if you’re a member, you already know since you are getting the numerous invitations, as am I, to participate in making actual calls to voting constituencies around the nation to get out the, uh, VOTE.
The Sierra Club uses Chapter Political Action Committees (PACs) to request funds and promote direct action. You can support the PAC here.
As a SC member, you are also reading the requests to petition Biden, our Senators, and Congresspersons to act. I’m thinking now it is up to us to act locally since that’s where change takes place and to do what we can, as you have, Tony, to bring attention to the importance of voting in this upcoming midterm election, and for everyone to vote in all elections. We must put into office those who reflect our views, beliefs, and commitment to justice, including environmental justice.
Citizens unite – donate and vote!
Yours, as always, Eartha
I love hearing from you! Submit your questions, comments, or brief opinion of 'What Matters Now' to the Sierra E-News Editor [Enews.sierratn@gmail.com]. Dear Eartha is penned by Rita Bullinger.
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Monarch Butterfly(Danaus plexippus)
Left photo: "Monarch Caterpillars on Butterfly Milkweed" by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Region, Public Domain Mark 1.0; Right photo: "Monarch On Milkweed" by TexasEagle, CC BY-NC 2.0.
Monarchs have a remarkably unique and long annual migration starting in northeast US and Canada and ending in Mexico. It's the longest migration of any known insect species. Monarchs flap their wings about 5-12 times per second, compared to the average butterfly's rate of 20 times per second.
Scientists recently added monarch butterflies to the endangered species list after a precipitous decline in population. Why the population drop? Habitat loss, increased agricultural use of herbicides and pesticides, and climate change are all contributors. Non-native milkweed, such as tropical milkweed, is also detrimental.
Monarch caterpillars exclusively eat plants in the milkweed family, building up the milkweed's toxic cardiac glycosides, which make them and the butterflies become repugnant to predators. But it needs to be a native milkweed species. If you want to plant milkweed to support monarchs, do NOT plant tropical (Mexican) milkweed, because its long bloom time causes monarchs to overstay into winter where they freeze, instead of continuing their migration to Mexico. Tropical milkweed can also spread a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) which can prevent metamorphosis completion, or cause wing deformity.
A good alternative to tropical milkweed is orange butterflyweed, as seen in the left photo above — but don't confuse it with butterfly bush, an invasive species.
Fundraising Corner
By Mac Post
So Many Ways to Support the Tennessee Chapter
We know that you appreciate the work that our local Sierra Club members are doing since you are reading this newsletter. To continue and hopefully expand our work we need your help.
Our Chapter’s annual budget is around $100,000. The national Sierra Club provides only around 30% of this. The remainder is up to the Chapter to provide through local fundraising. This is the reason you get those pesky fundraising letters in the mail a few times a year. Thanks to all of you that generously respond to those letters. But did you know there are many more ways you can financially support the Tennessee Chapter? There is now a new place on our Chapter’s website that summarizes these and provides convenient links. Check out the new donation link here.
In addition to the usual Donate link you can securely use with your credit card, you will find these additional options:
So take a look and see if there is some new way of supporting the Chapter (or your Group) that interests you and help us work together for a better environment for all Tennesseans.
What Will Your Legacy Be?
There is no greater commitment to nature, the environment, and environmental justice for the future than to name the Tennessee Chapter, or any of its member groups, as a beneficiary in your will or trust. The legacy you create now can continue, in your name, with a tax-free bequest to the Tennessee Chapter through the Sierra Club Foundation. For more information on how to accomplish this, including sample request language templates see the Planned Giving page.
If you have named the Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter as a beneficiary or would like more information, reach out to our staff – Gift Planning Department, gift.planning@sierraclub.org, 800-932-4270.
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!
The views expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sierra Club.
Who We Are
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.
