State and National Newsflash
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Editorial comment - we note that early December and January news has been dominated by the news of Biden’s cabinet selections, senatorial runoff elections in Georgia, and the brief takeover of the U.S. Capitol building by an “insurrectionist” mob on the following day. Nevertheless, there are environmental and social justice news items that deserve our attention.
 1,000 foot stack at TVA's Widows Creek site (covered with dust and soot) after demolition (image by TVA)
"Final 1,000-foot stack implosion at Widows Creek moves project nearer to completion." This coal-fired power plant in northern Alabama, just 27 miles southwest of Chattanooga, was one of the four eastern TVA plants that contributed to the haze, acid deposition, and ozone issues at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The other 3 plants are in eastern TN and have been either controlled, retired, or converted to natural gas. Check out the (emblematic) video from TVA. It will boost your spirits! December 3 TVA Press Release.
How a University of Tennessee epidemiologist became an unlikely hero to coal ash workers. The expert, Dr. Paul Terry, recounts how he was shocked when asked in a phone call from an attorney on behalf of coal ash cleanup workers, whether coal ash is "safe to breathe." His reply, of course, was that it was not. The context was that workers said that TVA and Jacobs engineering had misled them about the dangers of their exposure to coal ash during the cleanup. In part thanks to Dr. Terry's subsequent 2018 court testimony before a jury, a federal judge ruled that Jacobs Engineering had breached its duty to protect the workers. Terry is now considered a hero by the families and survivors of the cleanup job. December marked the 12th anniversary of the 2008 spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County. It remains the nation’s largest environmental disaster and took laborers more than seven years to clean up. Dec 17, Jaimie Satterfield, Knoxville News Sentinel.
"Biden’s pick to head US environment agency heartens scientists." The choice of Michael Regan is said to symbolize the commitments of the Biden administration to his climate agenda. Veteran environmental regulator Regan will lead the Environmental Protection Agency, joining a team of experienced climate appointees. (Biden has already chosen former Secretary of State John Kerry as special presidential envoy for climate.) December 18, Jeff Tollefson, Nature.
"Supporters of Kingston coal ash cleanup workers vow to keep fighting for worker safety.” Over 70 people gathered in the second memorial service devoted to those former coal ash cleanup workers who have died or been sickened as a result of cleaning up TVA's Kingston Power Plant coal ash spill of December 2008. "The event had been weeks in the planning by a wide range of community organizations, including Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment, the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, Jobs with Justice and the Interfaith Worker Justice, who have rallied behind the workers . . .” December 21, Jamie Satterfield, Knoxville News Sentinel.
East Tennessee Foundation and the University of Tennessee Medical Center will provide complimentary medical service to Kingston Coal Ash workers.Thanks largely to the efforts of a retired TVA Vice President and Assistant General Manager John Stewart and his wife Nancy, East Tennessee Foundation and the University of Tennessee Medical Center have joined forces “to provide complimentary evaluation, diagnosis and treatment planning for workers who participated in the cleanup of the historic spill." December 22, Jamie Satterfield, Knoxville News Sentinel.
Related article - Kingston Workers Project launched by ET Foundation, UT Hospital. December 29, The Oak Ridger.
Memphis City Magazine features an article on former Sierra Club environmental justice organizer and Memphian Rita Harris. Harris retired from the Sierra Club in 2017 after nearly 20 years of service. and now serves on the Board of Directors. A native of Memphis, Harris served on the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council from 1996-2001. In 2011, she received the Sierra Club’s Virginia Ferguson Award, named after the Sierra Club’s first paid employee and given to a staffer “who has demonstrated consistent and exemplary service to the Sierra Club.” This article from an extensive interview with Harris emphasizes in her own words the history of her involvement as a pioneer in the social justice movement. January 2021, Alex Greene, Memphis Magazine.
Related article - Harris’ background with the Sierra Club is described in a November 2017 Sierra Club posting.
TN Sierra National Forests Committee Accomplishments for 2020 (Davis Mounger, Chair)
Summary by Judy Eckert
How many of you can say you met all your goals for 2020? Well the TN Sierra National Forests Committee can. They were hard at work through all of 2020 to protect our national forests. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, they continued their work to study, protect and preserve Tennessee’s national forests. The Committee:
• Saved the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area from salvage logging based on unsound claims of a supposed "oak decline" resulting from typical late winter frostbite on budding trees. The Committee performed field visits and documented the “damage” to the forest and after publicizing their findings as the result of a late frost, the talk of emergency actions by the Forest Service was dropped. Let’s hear it for watchdogging!
• Monitored timber projects in Cherokee National Forest – many of the Forest Service’s attempted “forest restoration” logging projects can be controversial and have unintended consequences, leaving the land barren, filled with scrub or with erosion issues. The Committee again performed field studies and provided detailed analysis of their findings to help prevent ill-advised logging and burning.
• Found an uncommon old growth forest community. While exploring some potential old growth forest stands in Cherokee National Forest they found a black cherry-hickory-white oak forest community that has never been inventoried. More on this in 2021.
• Promoted rare and underrepresented Forest Communities - The Little Toqua parcel, an area of 557 acres, is a recovering second-growth forest that includes a very rare lowland table mountain pine-blackjack oak community. They surveyed this area after the Forest Service announced its probable purchase from private ownership and prepared a report of the survey for the agency. Transitional Ridge-and-Valley communities like Little Toqua have been often little-studied. With the Forest Service stretched thin, Committee members are happy to help in bringing more attention to these lesser-known forest communities.
• Actively opposed the changes underway regarding how national forests are managed and the public’s right to have a voice on that management. Tennessee and Georgia chapters stood out from the pack to protect our National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rights.
Click here for Davis Mounger’s complete summary of the Committee’s accomplishments with additional links to studies and reports.
"Buttigieg Promises to Undo Racist Freeway Policies." The nominee for Secretary of Transportation says "Black and brown neighborhoods have been disproportionately divided by highway projects or left isolated by the lack of adequate transit." January 3, Diana Ionescu, Planetizen.
 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Hillebrand/USFWS)
Another nail in the coffin of Big Oil? "Oil drillers shrug off Trump's U.S. Arctic wildlife refuge auction." The auction netted only $14.4M instead of the expected $1.8 billion! According to the article, "The sale . . . marked a rejection by the oil and gas industry of one of President Donald Trump’s signature efforts to expand fossil fuel and mineral development in the United States and to Alaskan officials’ decades-long effort to open up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)." Biden has promised to protect the area by banning oil and gas leasing on federal lands. January 6, Nichola Groom and Yereth Rosen, Reuters.
"Analysis: Thin Democratic control of Senate offers Biden chance for steps on climate.” The good news is that having a majority in the senate will enhance prospects for confirmation of important cabinet positions such as Michael Regan for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and "moderate" proposals on various policy issues. But the article points out that the 60-vote rule for passing most legislation will still be a formidable obstacle on more controversial bills such as carbon-pricing. Also noted is that the EPA has been weakened by a thinning of ranks and other measures during the Trump administration. January 7, Timothy Gardner and Valerie Volcovici, Reuters.
What's ahead for coal-fired electric power? Key points: 30,000 megawatts of coal fired power to be removed from the nation's grid over the next 10 years, and coal is now contributing less than 20% of the nation's electricity; solar generation has increased significantly (including solar operations in Tennessee and Alabama); plans for new gas plants have declined (though TVA still has too much); social justice issues will play a key role in future electric power decisions; and recent election results portend a much-increased emphasis on clean power. January 8, Jonathan Levenshus, Sierra Club.
Just another year of record-setting climate catastrophes. 2020 set the record for the most events (22) that exceeded the $1 billion benchmark. $95 BILLION in total estimated damages! 2020 was the fourth highest total dollar level of climate damages since 1980. This 2020 total doubled the average annual cost over the last 41 years. Monica Garrett, January 9, CNN.
Senators Hawley (Missouri) and Cruz (Texas) face calls to resign. Even though the attempt by some republicans to negate the elections results failed by a wide margin, the false elections victory claimed by Trump and his supporters drew broad criticism as an "enabling" factor that fueled the attack on the Capitol. Senators Cruz and Hawley, in particular were said to be "complicit in the big lie."
January 10, Martin Pengelly and Richard Luscombe, The Guardian.
What was Trump thinking? - big business backs away from funding Republicans. “This is spreading like wildfire,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, of Yale University. The list of companies includes Marriott, American Express, AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, Dow, American Airlines and others. Professor Sonnenfeld is further quoted: “The U.S. business community has interests fully in alignment with the American public and not with Trump’s autocratic bigoted wing of the GOP.” Some companies have targeted House and Senate members who supported Trump's claims of election fraud. January 11, Josh Boak, Brian Slodysko and Tom Krisher, Associated Press.
"House Democrats plan to vote Wednesday to impeach Trump." The charge is simply "incitement of insurrection," noting his speech to the rioters just prior to their assault on the Capitol, as well to the series of false claims of election fraud. January 11, Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Phil Mattingly, CNN.
Update: The impeachment vote passed 232-197 with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats.
United States Medal of Freedom
Football great turns down Medal of Freedom. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Coach, cites the U.S. Capitol riot in turning down the "honor." January 12, BBC.
Read about other events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.
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