Reduce methane pollution! Methane is a climate "super pollutant," and reducing methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow the rate of climate change happening now and avoid the escalation of disastrous weather events. We need to incentivize the oil and gas industry to stop this pollution by instituting expensive consequences. Speak up before March 11 (preferably earlier!) to ensure the EPA doesn't cave to oil and gas industry lobbying and institutes the strongest possible methane pollution fees. Submit your comment here!
Tell Congress to improve outdoor access with the EXPLORE Act! The House has the opportunity to pass an outdoor recreation package called the EXPLORE Act (H.R. 6492), which is loaded with great provisions! The EXPLORE Act, a bipartisan recreation package, encompasses a comprehensive set of measures aimed at promoting equity, inclusion, and expanded access to the outdoors for all Americans. Urge your Congress member to pass the EXPLORE Act.
Protect workers and communities from this toxic pollutant! The Environmental Protection Agency is finally tackling one of the most toxic air pollutants it regulates: ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is a colorless, typically odorless, flammable gas used to make other chemicals, plastic, and to sterilize medical equipment and spices. It's also an aggressive carcinogen. Tell the Biden Administration to protect workers and communities from ethylene oxide! —Via Earthjustice.org.
Tennessee News
Kingston Fossil Plant retirement. "On February 16, 2024, TVA issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) associated with the Kingston Fossil Plant (KIF) Retirement. TVA anticipates making a decision in March 2024. TVA’s FEIS assesses the impacts associated with the proposed retirement and demolition of the nine coal-fired units at the KIF and the construction and operation of facilities to replace the retired generation."
Read more here.
OPINION: We can still resist a pipeline to hell. "This month, the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company announced its intention to build the South’s largest gas pipeline in more than a decade. The Southeast Supply Enhancement project, as the company calls it, would run from Virginia down through the Carolinas and Georgia before swinging west to Alabama, right through the heart of the American South...A renewable energy revolution is unfolding across the globe faster than anyone dared to hope
, but Southern officials, many of whom cut their political teeth on coal, have been cussedly resistant to it." Read more by Margaret Renkl, Guest Essayist - New York Times - Feb. 19. 2024.
Cheatham County TVA Town Hall draws hundreds of concerned locals.
On Tuesday, February 13th, over 400 people from Cheatham County and neighboring communities packed an overflowing gym at the local middle school in Ashland City, TN. This public meeting with TVA was the result of months of community leaders requesting that TVA come back to Cheatham after a lackluster scoping public meeting last summer where they announced their plans to build a methane gas plant and pipeline on pristine agricultural land in the county. Despite TVA cutting off the microphone while multiple community members were speaking, their message was clear: do not build a methane gas plant and pipeline on pristine agricultural land in Cheatham... This win for the Cheatham County community could not have happened without the hard work and dedication of local community group,
Preserve Cheatham County, which formed in the summer of 2023. —Submitted by Emily Sherwood. To view video of meeting, see FOX Nashville's coverage here.
There was a huge turnout at the TVA Town Hall in Cheatham County. Above, a man speaks in front of a packed middle school gym, voicing concerns about a proposed methane gas plant and pipeline to a panel of TVA representatives. Speakers raised concerns related to property values, water quality degradation, light and noise pollution, climate change, and more.Photo credit: Emily Sherwood, Feb. 13, 2024.
Environmental Updates
Wetlands have some protections in Tennessee. The state legislature might remove them. "Wetlands weave between land and water, connecting invisible threads in nature while teeming with plants and wildlife. These spongy soils absorb floodwaters and are considered among the most biodiverse habitats on Earth — andthe most vulnerable. In Tennessee, wetlands cover just 3% of the state, and more than half of these ecosystems may soon be in the path of construction. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would remove state protections that limit development on ephemeral waterways and “isolated wetlands,” a
misnomer for wetlands that do not have obvious connections to surface waters like rivers. Tennessee has about 780,000 acres of wetlands, and the legislation targets about 430,000 of these acres, including about 90,000 in Middle Tennessee." Read more by Caroline Eggers - WPLN - Feb. 15, 2024. Or Listen (5:25 minutes) for more detailed story.
The rise of crypto mines in the South [Tennessee] raises concerns for the electric grid, rates. "For cryptocurrency trading to happen, massive amounts of data have to be stored and transmitted. That process is called crypto mining, and it requires a lot of power...Crypto mines are popping up all over the U.S., especially since China and some other countries have restricted mining. Now they're setting up in states with low rates and no regulation, like Tennessee." Read more by Melanie Faizer - WUOT - Feb. 23, 2024.
LISTEN: Explore the Arctic Circle in latest Sierra Club podcast "Let's Take It Outside." The Gwich'in people call the Arctic Refuge "the sacred place where life begins" – but what happens when a corporation wants to rip it open and drill for oil? In the latest episode, titled "The Sacred Place," Sierra Club speaks with a Gwich'in elder who's been fighting to protect her home from the threat of oil and gas extraction for decades. Check it out here.
Biden-Harris Administration announces over $124 million for Tennessee drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure upgrades as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. "The funding is part of the over $50 billion investment in water infrastructure upgrades from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – the largest such investment in American history." Read more from EPA's press release - Feb. 23, 2024.
The Appalachian trail, pictured on a hazy day in the Great Smoky Mountains, is designated by the white blaze marking on the tree trunk. Photo credit: Jaimie Matzko, Biodiversity Program Specialist, Discover Life in America.
Health & Justice
A Tennessee congressman is drafting a TVA accountability reform bill. "Rep. Steve Cohen, D-TN announced his intention during an informal 'hearing' on the utility last week. The bill would address TVA for its lack of public participation, accountability and transparency, such as how it calculates and publicizes the estimated costs of new energy sources or potential for sources like demand response programs and
wind energy
. 'They have no process for meaningful public input and Tennessee citizens — and all customers in the Valley for that matter — are being left out of the process,' Cohen said in video remarks." Read more by Caroline Eggers - WPLN - Jan. 30, 2024.
Expert weighs in on risks after truck carrying low-level radioactive waste catches fire on I-40. "A semi-truck carrying low-level radioactive waste that caught fire on Interstate 40 Monday [Feb. 5] afternoon could have had serious health and environmental impacts depending on what kind of material it was, according to an expert...According to the Nashville Fire Department, the radioactive waste was “isolated to its packaging” during the fire, and no readings found any level of hazards present...'Nuclear waste is a huge issue; a huge problem, and really that’s why we need to stop making more of it with our TVA reactors, and all reactors. We need to go to renewable energy,' said Don Safer."
Read more by Tori Gessner - WPLN - Feb 5, 2024.
U of M trying to get climate money to communities that need it most. "The University of Memphis School of Public Health is part of a federal effort to get 40% of new climate money into underserved communities. Hundreds of billions of dollars in clean-energy tax credits are available because of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the single largest federal investment in the climate in U.S. history, and significant funds are also available through the 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But some members of communities who have been disproportionately impacted by pollution and disinvestment are concerned their neighborhoods won’t see a fair share of those funds."
Read more by Keely Brewer - Daily Memphian - Feb. 14, 2024.
SEEED Roof Repair Fundraiser. Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED) is a nonprofit in East Knoxville that is currently raising funds for an urgent roof repair on their community hub building. SEEED "combines career readiness skills with hands-on experiences and community engagement for young adults who have aged out of youth programs. SEEED is providing multiple pathways out of poverty, including career readiness, home ownership, resource provision, and food sovereignty." Help them reach their goal of $12,000!
Learn more and donate here.
SEEED members and supporters are pictured at their Solar Home Groundbreaking on Earth Day 2021. Photo credit: Todd Waterman.
Fundraising Corner with Mac Post
The annual Tennessee Chapter’s March Appeal fundraising letter will arrive in your mailbox in early March. It outlines several of the Chapter’s priorities for the year. They include:
Keeping the pressure on the Tennessee Valley Authority to increase the amount of electricity produced by renewable energy rather than replacing retiring coal plants with fossil gas facilities.
Advancing legislation that moves Tennessee toward a truly circular economy by keeping packaging waste out of our landfills and environment. We’ve worked to craft and push the Tennessee Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, proposed legislation to shift most of the cost for managing packaging waste to the companies that create it;
Preventing the weakening of wetland protections that would result in the loss of thousands of acres of beautiful carbon-storing wetlands in Tennessee; and
Promoting smart alternate forms of transportation to reduce the impact of fossil fuel-guzzling automobiles and trucks.
To accomplish these we need for you to pitch in and help fund our activities to achieve our goals! To save expense we send this letter only to members that have contributed something, beyond their membership dues, in the past 3 years. You can still donate if you don’t get a letter or don’t want to wait. Donate now using the secure online Chapter web form here!
Every day, the Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter is called upon to defend the right everyone has to clean air, clean water and the recreation, health and prosperity that come with them. Please donate now to strengthen our fight for the Tennessee environment. When you give to the Tennessee Chapter, 100 percent of your donation stays in Tennessee so we can build the movement and win!
March Events
Statewide environmental events listed chronologically.
Do you have an event you'd like publicized?
Send it to Enews.sierratn@gmail.com.
March 1st - “Let Justice Roll Down”: Faith and Environmental Fairness. This free lecture at First Unitarian Church of Memphis will feature guest speaker Rev. Dr. Patricia K. Tull, environmental theologian and author of Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible, and the Ecological Crisis.
March 2nd from 10 am - 3 pm: Healing a World of Wounds. This free workshop at First Unitarian Church of Memphis will be led by Rev. Dr. Patricia K. Tull. "In this workshop we will discuss what we as individuals, families, and congregations can say and do to promote environmental and human healing."
March 16th is Tennessee Tree Day 2024! Tennessee Tree Day is the largest community tree-planting project of its kind in America. "You and other Tennessee residents will collectively pick up and plant more than 100,000 native tree seedlings in all 95 Tennessee counties during the weekend of March 16th. The trees are yours to plant on your own property and will enhance our environment and communities for generations to come!" Sign up for a tree here. Trees must be bought and paid for by March 4th.
Tree pick-up is March 15-16 at Audubon Acres in Chattanooga. Volunteers are needed March 14-16 to help label and sort trees. Contact jwhitehorn@chattaudubon.org if interested in volunteering.
March 23rd from 10 am - 1 pm. Climate Justice Town Hall Meeting: The Mental Health Impacts of Environmental Pollution and Degradation. This event will be held at the Tennessee Justice Center in Nashville. This town hall is meant to "illuminate the relationship between our environment and mental well-being and provide valuable insights for addressing these pressing concerns." Learn more here.
April 1-7th is Food Waste Prevention Week! Tennessee State University is sponsoring an event on April 1st at TSU in Nashville (or via zoom). The food system generates 30% of all greenhouse gases. The online webinar will be 6:40-7:30 CT, or an in-person cooking demo and tasting 6:30-8:30 pm, led by Linda Breggin of Vanderbilt who will help us learn what policies will reduce food waste while chefs demonstrate creative techniques to turn "Waste to Taste.” Register here to attend.
April 21-23rd - The 4th annual Great Smokies Eco-Adventure hosted by Discover Life in America (DLiA) and A Walk in the Woods
Guide Service. This exciting fundraising event features “glamping” (glamorous camping), gourmet food and drink, as well as guided nature hikes in the Smokies—including an excursion on the Appalachian Trail. Held near Gatlinburg, all proceeds from this event support DLiA’s mission to conduct biodiversity research in Smoky Mountains National Park.
More info here. Tickets ($950) are limited and registration closes on April 1st or until all tickets are sold.
SAVE THE DATE: TN Chapter Spring Retreat at Fall Creek Falls State Park will be May 3 - 5th. Mark your calendars! This retreat will focus on fun, connecting, outdoor adventures, and an interesting program. Details are being finalized at this time. The Early Bird registration offers a discount for dorm style lodging, 2 breakfasts, and Saturday dinner. Don’t miss it!
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
In the wild, the Eastern redbud is often an understory tree, and in landscaping, it's often planted as an ornamental tree. It tolerates full sun to part shade. Photo by Mike Goad via Pixabay.
The Eastern redbud is a medium-sized deciduous tree that is native to eastern North America. Its distinctive purple-pink blooms appear in early spring, before its leaves turn green. Once leaves arrive, they are large and heart-shaped.
Cercis, the genus name, comes from the Greek word kerkis, meaning weaver's shuttle, which refers to the shape of the seed pod resembling a weaver's shuttle, moving back and forth on a loom.
Redbud flowers, buds, and seeds are actually edible. The Eastern redbud is sometimes called the Spicewood tree, because in parts of Appalachia, its green branches were used to flavor wild game.
The Eastern redbud is the state tree of Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of Maimee Lee Robinson Browne (1881-1963). There was some pushback and initial confusion about the classification of the Eastern redbud (in relation to the European redbud). After the dust settled, it officially became the state tree in 1971 (source: Oklahoma Historical Society).
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