HBG May Program
Tuesday, May 14, 7:00pm, Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike.
WHAT: A Day Hike with a French Hiking Club in the Alps near Grindelwald, Switzerland
Roy Euvrard retired in January 2007 and moved to the town of Hericourt, France. Hericourt is located between the Jura and Vosges Mountains and near where four of his great-grandparents were born. He joined a French Hiking Club that took day hikes in the area every week. In July 2008 the Club chartered a bus and went to the Alps near the town of Grindelwald, Switzerland. They took a gondola to near the top of a mountain and hiked along a ridge. The weather was beautiful. The photos don't do it justice. The wild flowers were magnificent. I can only imagine what the cheese from the flower fed cows would taste like.
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Newsflash
Advice to incoming TVA CEO - clean up TVA’s act: "An open letter to TVA's new CEO: You need to be the leader your predecessor was not, here's how” (The Tennessean, Published 7:00 a.m. CT April 14, 2019) See it at: http://bit.ly/2IhRqLD.
BIG "Ready for 100” news: "Chicago Becomes the Largest City in the Country Committed to 100 Percent Clean Energy" - Sierra Club Illinois and Sierra Club Ready for 100 campaign were instrumental in Chicago's commitment to 100% clean energy. Read Sierra Club press release at: http://bit.ly/2VKWpYq.
EPA Finds Oak Ridge Landfill Plans Insufficient to Protect Environment. The 2.2-million-cubic yard landfill would be located in Bear Creek Valley. (Exchange Monitor, April 9, 2019). See it here: http://bit.ly/2UcgKUQ.
How about those landfills in your “back yard”? The recent Decatur County experience is chilling! "Looming at the dead end of 'Landfill Lane' in the small western Tennessee community of Bath Springs sits a vast mound of dirt-covered waste generating a toxic ooze.” (Nashville Tennessean, April 13, 2019) See at: http://bit.ly/2UhAnLf
Thought-provoking piece by a noted environmentalist and writer on response to carbon in the atmosphere gives impetus to wilderness movement: "The greatest potential [for removing carbon from the atmosphere] identified so far – as so much land can be used this way – is in protecting and restoring natural forests and allowing native trees to repopulate deforested land." Read entire article by George Monbiot at: http://bit.ly/2Xa5v16.
TVA President &CEO steps down. See News Sentinel article: http://bit.ly/2GkDC0A.
"Kelsey [State Senator, 31st Senatorial district] calls for TVA to expedite Allen Fossil Plant coal ash removal.” (Daily Memphian, March 19, 2019) See it at: http://bit.ly/2VGNlU9.
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Anderson County Rising
Anderson County Rising
By Todd Waterman, HBG
About 55 people turned out for April 2nd’s Claxton Community Bull Run Closure Meeting near Oak Ridge, about half of them concerned, unhappy, or angry nearby residents. The rest - many also concerned, unhappy, or angry - were invited experts, environmentalists, and six Anderson County Commissioners. Ben Pounds reported for The Oak Ridger, and Hunter Joyce for WBIR’s 11 O'clock News.
The meeting culminated weeks of organizing and canvassing by members of Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM), Sierra Club, and Appalachian Voices, with the goal of empowering community members most impacted by TVA’s announced decision to shut down the plant by 2023. SOCM's Adam Hughes led both the planning and the meeting. Sierra Club members turned out in force, including long-time Bull Run neighbor Mac Post.
Many locals had lived their lives beneath Bull Run’s rain of carcinogenic particulates. One blamed TVA for his stage 4 cancer. Some had lost their homes to Bull Run’s expanding coal ash fields. Now they wanted justice. Seemingly all were adamant that TVA clean up its coal ash, safely demolish the plant, and restore the economically vital site. And experts and officials said they’ll help them get justice.
Adam wrapped up with next steps: another meeting in a month, ongoing emails, TVA’s comment link for the Draft 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), and invitations to the upcoming meeting on the night of the IRP comment deadline, April 8, of the fired-up Anderson County Commission Intergovernmental Committee. At that meeting, Commissioners unsuccessfully asked TVA for a 90-day extension of the comment period.
On April 4 Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel reported Bull Run's fly ash dust has been blowing across the Claxton playground from the dry fly ash pile adjacent to it, and that many Bull Run contract workers are unprotected. She categorically demolished TVA’s denials. We’re providing reporters like her documents and experts like Amanda Garcia, Sid Jones, Axel Ringe, and Brian Paddock. And we’ll invite a few of those angry Bull Run residents to talk to the media, giving coal’s victims a powerful, public voice.
Anderson County knows how to organize. We proved it resisting DOE’s Oak Ridge Hazardous Waste Landfill proposal - which has for now been blocked by both the EPA and TDEC.
So join us when we all meet again, tentatively on Tuesday, May 7, 6 pm - 8 pm, at Claxton Community Center. Bring your friends. That’s how we grow our auspicious start into a powerfully united and influential community organization!
Photos: Facebook Meeting Album
This photo from the Coal's Poisonous Legacy report shows Bull Run's wet coal ash ponds 300 yards upstream from The West Knox Utility District drinking water intake.
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Please sign the
Ready for 100 Petition
“Ready for 100” is a nationwide Sierra Club initiative to get U.S. Cities to commit to 100% renewable energy sources by 2050. If you’re not familiar with the initiative, check here: https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100.
Harvey Broome Group’s Ready for 100 initiative has collected 332 petitions that support deployment of solar energy locally. The goals of this initiative are to promote clean energy, environmental justice and energy efficiency by gaining support from the City of Knoxville government. If you are interested in supporting these goals, please sign the petition, which you can download from: https://bit.ly/2FhlzrI.
Please return your signed petition to: janatclimatechange@gmail.com.
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"Knoxville's Energy & Sustainability Initiative" with Erin Gill
For over a decade, the City of Knoxville has worked to make Knoxville a greener, more sustainable city – one where the economy, environment, and community can thrive today and in the future. Erin Gill, Director of the City’s Office of Sustainability, will discuss the City’s past and current sustainability efforts, as well as share perspective about new, longer-term City sustainability goals. Her presentation will include an overview of the City’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory and highlight how emissions have changed over time.
Ms. Gill was appointed to the Office of Sustainability by Mayor Madeline Rogero in 2013. She serves on the 2019 TVA Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Working Group and is a former co-chair of the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network. Join her for a discussion about how Knoxville emerged as a regional and national sustainability leader and how the community can deepen its progress toward a dramatically lower-carbon future.
This will be a joint public meeting of the Harvey Broome Group and their hosts Greater Knoxville Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL).
When: Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 7 PM
Where: 3131 Morris Ave, Knoxville, TN 37909, USA
Speaker Erin Gill
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Sing for the Climate
Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light and friends are organizing a June 29 (2-5 pm) concert at the Tennessee Amphitheater at World’s Fair Park. Singer-Songwriter Maggie Longmire is booking musicians for this free concert. It’ll be good: Maggie organized Louie Bluie for years. The objective is to create momentum for a forum within which a growing number of community groups may work together “to move through the challenges of climate change." More details may be found at http://climateknoxville.org. Organizations that wish to table and/or help sponsor the event are invited to contact Louise Gorenflo, climateknox@gmail.com. (More info to come in our May & June newsletters.)
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Other Events
Todd Waterman maintains a google doc that has the latest information and events related to climate activism.
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HBG/Chapter Events
Spring Chapter Retreat, May 3-5, 2019, Fall Creek Falls State Park
Put it on your calendar! Our Quarterly Chapter Retreats are a great way to get to know people from across the state that share a common goal of exploring, enjoying and protecting our environment. It’s also a great opportunity to learn the about conservation issues in Tennessee. See details here: https://bit.ly/2X5PjyF.
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HELP THE HARVEY BROOME GROUP
PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT
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Can't donate now? Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards. Kroger donates a portion of what you spend to the Harvey Broome Group as long as you designate HBG as your preferred charity.
Here's how:
1. Go to the Kroger Community Rewards web page
2. Register (or Sign In if you already have an account.)
3. Enroll in Community Rewards (or Edit if you're already enrolled.)
4. Enter HBG's Community Rewards Number 27874.
That's it. Swipe your Kroger Card when you shop and know that you're helping protect your environment.
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Who We Are
Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization -- with more than two million members and supporters. Our successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, we've made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.
The Harvey Broome Group (HBG) is one of five Sierra Club Groups within the Tennessee Chapter. HBG is based in Knoxville and serves 18 surrounding counties. HBG's namesake, Harvey Broome, was a Knoxvillian who was a founding member of the Wilderness Society and played a key role in the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Visit our website.
Join HBG.
Donate.(click the Donate button on the HBG home page)
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