Opinion: Reclaimed wastewater is a real solution. "After the Christmas 2022 rolling blackouts and another water crisis, Protect Our Aquifer resurrected the campaign for TVA to use recycled wastewater in 2023...It is a real solution to protect the quantity as well as quality of our drinking water and to serve as an economic-development tool for other industries with environmental commitments. We have to realize that quality and quantity are connected. Federal groundwater law doesn’t acknowledge that, but science does." Read more by Sarah Houston, Guest Columnist - Daily Memphian - June 12, 2024.
They told us the ash was safe: An interview with Kingston coal ash worker Tommy Johnson. The late Kingston coal ash cleanup worker Tommy Johnson tells the story of his work on the 2008 Kingston coal ash spill and the health effects he struggled with after he and other workers were denied protective equipment during the years-long cleanup. The footage was recorded in 2022 and Tommy passed away in early 2023. You can find more information about the coal ash spill and ways to support workers at RememberKingston.org. Watch the
interview on YouTube (10 minutes) made by our allies at Appalachian Voices.
Sign your name to support Chattanooga's campaign to become a National Park City. "The Chattanooga National Park City campaign is a community-driven effort to celebrate, elevate, and conserve the people, places, civic spirit, and cultures that make Chattanooga and the Tennessee River Valley so unique and irreplaceable. The goal is for Chattanooga to earn the status of the first National Park City in North America by 2025." Signatures are needed to support this effort! Anyone can sign; you don't have to live in Chattanooga.
Environmentalists gathered outside the TVA Listening Session on May 8, 2024 in Nashville to protest proposed gas pipelines. Photo: Todd Waterman.
Environmental Updates
ACTION ALERT: Stop dangerous LNG gas exports once and for all! To protect our families and future from climate disasters, we must stop using and exporting all fossil fuels. Yet the oil and gas industry is fighting to expand liquefied "natural" gas (LNG) facilities across the Gulf South. These new gas exports would be disastrous for our health and climate and raise energy prices for American families. Take action now!
REI and Intuit join forces to launch massive solar farm: 'We're proud to help usher in new-to-the-world solar energy'. "Outdoor wear specialist REI and financial tech platform Intuit have joined forces with decarbonization company Clearloop to launch a massive solar farm" in White Pine, Tennessee. The White Pine Solar Farm has a 2.8 megawatt defined conditions (MWdc) capacity. "Clearloop says that over its total lifetime, the project will stop more than
162 million pounds of carbon pollution from entering Earth's atmosphere and will be able to power around 400 homes every year." Read more by Wes Stenzel - MSN.com - June 15, 2024.
For the endangered Nashville crayfish, its rebound is both good and bad news. Over the past ten years, there has been a steady and possibly increasing population of crayfish. This is good news, so "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the Nashville crayfish from the endangered species list in 2019, and that proposal is still being considered...But some biologists argue
the Nashville crayfish still needs protection because species with very small ranges are more vulnerable to extinction, for a variety of reasons." Read more by Travis Loller and Kristen Hall - AP News - June 19, 2024.
A biologist prepares to measure the length of a Nashville crayfish (Faxonius shoupi). Public domain photo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2021). According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, "the Nashville crayfish is found only within the 27-mile natural refuge of Mill Creek and its tributaries on the edge of the most populous, and fastest-growing, city in the state of Tennessee."
Health & Justice
National report ranks Tennessee 36th in child well-being, spotlights learning loss and chronic absenteeism. For the fourth straight year, Tennessee ranked 36th in overall child well-being, "according to the 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing recent data on how kids across the country are faring." The Data Book ranked Tennessee 32nd in education, 38th in health, and 39th in family and community factors. Read more from the Sycamore Institute about the report, as well as an
analysis of the most recent U.S. census data.
Town Hall on climate change and racial equity. "Tavis Smiley and KBLA Radio hosted a summit on climate change and racial justice with civil rights activists, environmental policy advocates, and local officials at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. They discussed the intersection of climate change and racial justice, climate impacts on low income and communities of color, the role of transportation, and the green energy transition. Participants included Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D),
Sierra Club President Ben Jealous
, 2024 presidential candidate Cornel West (I), and Robert Bullard, who is considered the 'father' of the environmental justice movement." Watch clips or the full video (3 hours) on C-Span.org.
How to get plastic out of your kitchen. "With a little ingenuity and a lot of flexibility, it’s possible to find substitutes for the plastics that are leaching into our food and bodies and clogging our oceans. Plastics have been taking over American kitchens since Earl Tupper introduced his plastic storage containers in 1947." Don’t stress about removing all plastic all at once: Doing something is better than nothing. Here's a list of ideas to get you started. By Larissa Zimberoff - Sierra Magazine - June 3, 2024.
Waste bin in a field with mountainous background, overflowing with garbage and recyclable items. Image by RitaE via
Pixabay.
2024 Youth Climate Art Contest
By Todd Waterman
Citizens Climate Lobby of Knoxville's 2024 Youth Climate Art Contest Awards Ceremony on May 5th featured a record number of submissions, a young band and singer, food, and a painting station for kids. Harvey Broome Group (HBG) set up a table at the event, and had again donated $500 in prize money.
For the first time, 3D entries were invited – and this year the First Place entries for both the Middle School contest and the High School contest were sculptural. For both contests, First, Second, and Third Place ribbons, medals, and checks, plus several Honorable Mention ribbons and checks, went to some obviously happy, empowered, and grateful students.
2024 CCL Youth Climate Art Contest First Place-winning entries: on the left, a reimagined Future Shock book by Jonathan Garcia Cisneros of Lenoir City High School, and on the right, a sculpted sunflower by Alicia Watson of Mead Middle School.
Cryptocurrencies and Climate Change Casualties
By John Nolt
There’s a lot not to like about cryptocurrencies. For one thing, they make it easy to conceal financial crimes. But they also have detrimental long-term effects on the environment. Cryptocurrency “mines” (data centers, really) pull enormous quantities of power from the electrical grid. Thus they are attracted to states like Tennessee where electric power is relatively cheap. This forces TVA and other utilities to plan new fossil-fueled power plants or extend the lifetimes of old ones to meet the demand.
If these plans are carried through, we will blow through greenhouse gas emissions targets and global heating will intensify dangerously. The predictable result is increased human casualties (injuries, illnesses, displacements, and deaths) and rapidly accelerated degradation of nature.
John Nolt, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at UT Knoxville specializing in environmental ethics, on which he has authored several books. Photo credit: Todd Waterman.
Fundraising Corner with Mac Post
Donate Your Vehicle Today!
Clean out your garage or back yard and help out the environment by making a significant contribution to our vehicle donation program.
Your donation can be directed to the Tennessee Chapter and go towards our efforts to protect and improve the natural environment of our local region. We make the process of donating your old car or unused vehicle both simple and easy. Plus, you may even qualify for a tax deduction.
Just call: 844-6-SIERRA (844-674-3772) or visit SCFCH.careasy.org and fill out our Online form.
July Events
Statewide environmental events listed chronologically.
Do you have an event you'd like publicized?
Send it to Enews.sierratn@gmail.com.
The Plastic Free Foundation is hosting Plastic Free July, beginning July 1st, to raise awareness about alternatives to plastic. Challenge yourself to implement one or two small changes! Learn more here. In Chattanooga, local nonprofit green|spaces will be participating in Plastic Free July.
Every first Wednesday - Middle TN Group (MTG) is reviving its monthly Sierra & Suds meet and greet! Starting in July, it will be every first Wednesday from 6 - 8:00 pm at Fat Bottom Brewery (800 44th Ave N). Every pint raised raises $1 for the Middle Tennessee Group, which is Sierra Club’s boots on the ground working local, critical environmental issues. Come hang out!
July 9, 6:30-8:30 PM - HBG evening stroll along the Third Creek Greenway. We'll meet at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church for food and drinks before heading down to the greenway a short distance away. We'll bring gloves and litter grabbers (bring your own if you have them) to beautify Knoxville's first greenway along the way!
July 11, 6:30 PM Central - Middle TN Group (MTG) Monthly Gathering. Come at 5:20 for an optional hike, or 6:30 for light refreshments, connecting with new and old friends, and hearing about action opportunities. Meet at Radnor Lake State Park Visitor Center.
August 20-23 - Tennessee Sustainability Conference 2024. This annual conference will be held at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and is a partnership between three organizations: The Tennessee Recycling Coalition, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Tennessee Environmental Conference. Details and registration at Tennessee Sustainability Conference 2024.
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Sunburst (Hypericum frondosum)
“The flowers of Golden St. John's Wort are unique compared to its other Hypericum cousins because the flowers' numerous stamens are densely clustered and form a lovely little tufted cushion in the center of each flower“ (JC Raulston Arboretum, NC State University). Photo:
Alan Cressler, via Wildflower Center Digital Library.
Also known as Golden St. John’s wort, or cedarglade St. John’s wort, this deciduous shrub blooms in June-July and grows up to four feet tall.
Hypericum frondosum is native to central and southeastern U.S. It has bright yellow blooms which each have 5 petals, and the bark is thin, and sometimes peels off. The leaves of this species are blueish-green, providing a nice contrast to the flowers.
Hypericum frondosum prefers full to partial sun and is fairly drought tolerant. This plant thrives in rocky settings, limestone glades, or barrens. In landscapes it is good for hedging, foundations, and in small groups.
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