Current Situation

Due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation, we are sensitive to our constituents during this challenging crisis. . . .

Revised COVID-19 pandemic situation extends moratorium on gatherings to July 4, 2021. Sierra Club in-person events have been cancelled or postponed, and the cancellations extend to July 4, 2021. Some group and chapter business meetings that have been restructured for online participation will take place. The work goes on! Most group and chapter business meetings have been restructured for online participation.
Cancelled Events (at least through July 4, 2021):
Harvey Broome Group Outings
Face-to-Face Harvey Broome Group Program Meetings
Events not cancelled:
Online (via Zoom) Harvey Broome Group ExCom meetings

virtual online program meetings (see info below)

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“Virtual” April 2021 Program: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 7:00-8:30 PM

What: Hiking the Backcountry of Southern Utah by Roger Jenkins

When: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 7:00-8:30 PM

Where: Virtual via Zoom. Please RSVP through this Campfire Event Link. You will receive information on how to connect to this program and be notified via email if there are any changes.

Southern Utah is noted for its unique geology, as it is riddled with canyons like no other place on earth.  In this presentation, Roger Jenkins, creator of the web site TwoHikers.org, will discuss backpacking and day hiking opportunities both inside and outside the Colorado Plateau’s six National Parks, including his “Top Five” lists.  A published photographer, Roger will share some of his favorite photos, and some interesting “lessons learned” over four decades of hiking in this amazing terrain.


Photo courtesy of Roger Jenkins

Note: Consult the HBG website Calendar for updates to our calendar. Questions regarding HBG events should be addressed to HBG Chair Jerry Thornton (gatwilcat@aol.com).

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HBG and Local Issues & Business

Good Jobs for All Rally (photo by Todd Waterman)

Sunrise Movement Good Jobs for All Rally

Related article: Proposed $50M motorsports park abandoning Oak Ridge for 'more attractive' community. Brenna McDermott, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 6.

HBG Political Committee Update

The Political Committee has begun work on this year's Knoxville City Council elections. We have identified the candidates running and are doing research on their positions/goals; we are starting to put together a candidate questionnaire which will be sent to all candidates. Based on the above, we will then determine whom if any of the candidates we plan to endorse. Keep in mind the Primary election will be held on August 31, and the general election will be held on November 2. We continue to work with the local community in Claxton and Anderson County, our allies SOCM and Appalachian Voices, and the Kingston Coal Ash Survivors group to pressure TVA to responsibly dispose of the coal ash accumulations at the Bull Run Fossil Plant site. The power plant is scheduled to be shut down in 2023, and we want to ensure that both the community and the coal ash workers are protected from the toxic materials contained in the ash. The Political Committee is also partnering with SEEED and SACE for two fabulous Earth Day events (details in the Events & Actions section below).

Map of HBG members aged 35 and under (left) and 65 and over (maps by Joanne Logan)

The Harvey Broome Group has a total membership of around 2,200. As of November 2020, just 78 of those members identified as 35 or under, many of them clustered geographically in the Knoxville area. 1,268 HBG members, or over 50% of our membership, identified as 65 or over. Now that we have this information, how can we use it?


Screenshot from the Musical Documentary: TVA Coal Ash Spill on YouTube (image credit Scrappy Time Music)

WATCH: TVA Coal Ash Spill Musical Documentary
Jay Clark & the Tennessee Tree Beavers created this deeply moving musical documentary to bring awareness to the plight of the Kingston coal ash workers. This powerful tribute features wrenchingly powerful original songs, personal stories, and HBG’s own Maggie Longmire. If you missed the original event, broadcast “live” from Knoxville’s historic Laurel Theater on April 16th, or if you want to see it again, watch it on YouTube.

Related article: REMEMBERING THE FLOOD: Rockford songwriter Jay Clark stands up for Kingston coal ash workers. Steve Wildsmith, The Daily Times (Maryville, TN), April 14.
 

They also include their suggestions for “assistance” for those in need, and how those of us in better circumstances can assist those in need via “Project Help."
 
For utility companies in other counties and municipalities in Tennessee, e.g., Alcoa, LaFollete, Lenoir City, Maryville, Clinton, and more, links to pandemic response policies can be found here.

Federally Funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
This federal program provides federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with: home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs.

Read about other local events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

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Virtual Events

SEEED Green Home Groundbreaking
April 22 @ 1:00 PM ET
1122 Texas Ave, Knoxville, TN 37921

Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED) will break ground the first of what it hopes will be many affordable, solar homes for low-income owners. In building these homes, Stan Johnson and SEEED will create future career opportunities for at-risk youth by training them for green remodeling and construction jobs, while also lifting low-income renters out of poverty, rebuilding and strengthening their neighborhoods - and saving the planet in the process. Enthusiastic partner organizations include Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club (HBG), Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), and Sunrise Movement Knoxville. For more information, see the April Harvey Broome Group Newsletter. Can’t attend in person? Watch on Facebook Live.

Manhattan Project National Historical Park Stakeholder Engagement Community Meetings
April 22 @ 5:30 PM ET

The National Park Service (NPS) wants to hear from the public as we prepare an interpretive plan for future programming, exhibits, and media at Manhattan Project National Historical Park (Manhattan Project NHP) that will capture a wide array of experiences and perspectives. Individuals interested in attending the Oak Ridge community meeting can register at this link.


Title screenshot, US Dept. of Energy YouTube video

Virtual Earth Week EV Ride & Drive with Leilani Münter
April 24 @ 1:00 PM ET

Celebrate Earth Week together with race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter in the driver's seat of an electric vehicle! Join Leilani, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and Natural Resources Defense Council for an Earth Week webinar where she will take us through the paces in her Tesla S electric vehicle and explain why she's an advocate for electric transportation powered by clean energy. Following the virtual ride, Leilani will answer live questions posed by viewers. Register here.

EPA Environmental Justice and Systemic Racism Speaker Series: Featuring the Climate Safe Neighborhood Partnership
May 5 @ 12:00 PM ET

Redlining data was key to Groundwork Trusts’ community organizing efforts to secure climate provisions in Richmond, Virginia’s master plan, green infrastructure in Elizabeth, NJ, and other public policy advances. Linking evidence of structural racism to current environmental conditions provides a powerful tool for communities working for transformative change. Learn about the Climate Safe Neighborhoods Partnership and how youth in two of Groundwork’s Trusts, Groundwork Hudson Valley and Groundwork Richmond, VA, and in other places are leading the way in working closely with residents and stakeholders to organize, mobilize, and effect systems change to make communities more resilient to extreme heat and flooding. Register Here.


TDEC estimates administrating Primacy will cost Tennessee taxpayers $871,000 a year, a small fraction of its potential environmental cost.

Don’t subsidize a dying, dirty industry. Tell your Representative vote no on Coal Primacy SB742/HB90!

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering making citizens pay to prop up the collapsing coal industry while weakening environmental protections. This coal industry-backed bill would deal a significant blow to regulations protecting communities near coal mines. This bill will also allow and greatly expand mountaintop removal coal mining in TN.
Take Action Today!

Byhalia Pipeline Petition: NO OIL IN OUR SOIL

“We are Memphians and people who care about the end of ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM. Our future, our water, our air, and our land are at risk of contamination by Valero, Plains All American and their Byhalia Pipeline.The 49 mile Byhalia Connection pipeline is a THREAT to our community that is being permitted to happen by the silence of people in power and the rushed permitting process of the NWP12 waiver. Will you stand with us to use our power to fight this pipeline and protect future generations from environmental racism? Sign this petition to ask the leaders in Memphis and in Tennessee to stop this Byhalia Pipeline. No oil in our soil!” Sign the Petition Here!

State and National Newsflash

*** Note to readers about accessing these articles

VIDEO: Earth Day 2021 - Restore Our Earth
Beautiful images of Earth set to a lovely piano soundtrack and featuring facts about Earth day. Watch on YouTube.

Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation 2020 Annual Report
This official report includes updates on air quality, electric buses, tornado response, and using GIS to create “smart parks.”

How to Build Back Better: A Plan for Economic Renewal. Sierra Club website.
“With a bold economic renewal plan based on the THRIVE Agenda, Congress could provide family-sustaining jobs for over 15 million people for the next 10 years – enough to essentially end the unemployment crisis – while countering systemic racism, supporting clean air and public health, and cutting climate pollution nearly in half.  Click on the links to check out the jobs this plan would create, broken down by race, gender, wage, benefits, union access, and sector.” Read the report here.

Google's New Timelapse Shows 37 Years of Climate Change Anywhere on Earth, Including Your Neighborhood. Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, April 15.
The Timelapse tool from Google Earth allows users to view landscape-scale change over time, from 1984 to today. The images reveal five major themes: forest change, urban growth, warming temperatures, sources of energy, and fragile beauty. “To use Timelapse, you can either visit g.co/Timelapse directly or click on the Ship's Wheel icon in Google Earth, then select Timelapse.”

Executives Call for Deep Emission Cuts to Combat Climate Change.
Lisa Friedman, New York Times, April 13.
“More than 300 businesses, including Google, McDonalds and Walmart, are pushing the Biden administration to nearly double the United States’ target for cuts to planet-warming emissions ahead of an April 22 global summit on climate change. In a letter to President Biden released on Tuesday morning [April 13], chief executive officers from some of the nation’s largest companies will call on the administration to set a new Paris Agreement goal of slashing the nation’s carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming emissions at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.’ I think this signals a major shift in the corporate community’s understanding of the urgency of climate change as a systemic financial risk,’ said Anne Kelly, vice president for government affairs at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres, which organized the letter.”

How a Memphis City Council ordinance aims to halt a part of the Byhalia crude oil pipeline build.
Micaela A. Watts, Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 9.
“An ordinance representing Memphis City Council's best shot at halting construction of a section of a crude oil pipeline that would snake underground through South Memphis properties will be up for a final vote April 20. The ordinance, drafted in response to the proposed Byhalia Connection pipeline, has drawn concerns from council members about a potential legal showdown between Memphis City Council and Plains All American, the Texas-based pipeline operator. Litigation concerns aside, the substitute resolution passed unanimously in committee before moving on to the full council. If approved, the ordinance would give city council oversight of approving construction of new infrastructure, including pipelines and subterranean storage of hazardous materials, that poses an environmental risk to the city's drinking water.”

Related Article: With council vote, Memphis decides to get bids on its electricity supply, a key step to leaving TVA. Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 6.
“The vote, which seemed improbable just a few months ago, is a watershed moment for Memphis and Shelby County. The bidding, and the responses from the private sector that it generates, are the final pieces of information Memphis needs so the city can decide whether it is worth it to leave TVA for cheaper electricity elsewhere or continue the 80-plus year partnership. The decision to stay or leave TVA has been described by members of the council, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland,  and others as among the most important decisions that the city would make over the next few decades.”

New Legislation to Ensure Safe Disposal of Toxic Coal Ash Introduced in Congress: Coal ash is linked to serious health problems and threatens drinking water supplies.
Val Holford, EarthJustice website, April 8.
“WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Steve Cohen [D, TN-09] introduced the Ensuring Safe Disposal of Coal Ash Act, building upon Energy and Commerce leaders’ CLEAN Future Act coal ash language to tackle the second largest source of industrial waste in the United States and its disproportionate impact on underserved communities.”

OPINION: There's another pandemic under our noses, and it kills 8.7m people a year: While COVID ravaged across the world, air pollution killed about three times as many people. We must fight the climate crisis with the same urgency with which we confronted coronavirus.
Rebecca Solnit, The Guardian, April 2.
“It is undeniably horrific that more than 2.8 million people have died of Covid-19 in the past 15 months. In roughly the same period, however, more than three times as many likely died of air pollution. This should disturb us for two reasons. One is the sheer number of air pollution deaths – 8.7 million a year, according to a recent study – and another is how invisible those deaths are, how accepted, how unquestioned.”

The impact of green investors: Sustainable investing faces up to the skeptics.
The Economist, March 27.
The economist set out to estimate the effectiveness of Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), a global sustainable investor engagement organization with the goal of pushing large polluters to cut emissions. They assessed the climate commitments of firms on the CA100+ list in comparison to similar companies that are not targeted by CA100+’s advocacy efforts. The companies CA100+ has targeted are more likely to have stronger climate commitments, but only slightly, raising doubts about the effectiveness of this type of investor engagement to bring about meaningful change.
 
Read about other events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

*** A democracy with informed citizens requires the professionalism that we have historically expected of credible news sources. Most “local" newspapers today are asking folks who access their online news stories to purchase a subscription to their paper. This is understandable generally, and reminds us that we should do our part to pay for the resources that result in publication of local news. Those of us who use summaries of published print news, as we do, are no exception, and we ask the same of our readers. However, we also believe that a person who only wants to see an occasional article published in a newspaper should not be required to subscribe. So if you believe that you are in the latter category - only an occasional reader - you may be able to read an article without a subscription if you "browse anonymously" or clear your browser cache before activating a link to an article. This may help you avoid many "pay walls" at these news sources (some sources restrict access even with anonymous settings). Another approach is to search for alternate source on the particular news item. But we recommend that our readers who find themselves accessing an online news source on a regular basis subscribe to an online version of the paper, which is generally much cheaper than a  print version.

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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