Details: Connor Kish and Bob Shippee will speak about legislation still in play in the General Assembly and how we can engage
Conner Kish and Bob Shippee with Senator Boysko, Democrat, District 38, a climate champion
in the legislative process. VA Chapter’s Legislative Committee has a careful process where numerous bills are discussed weekly during session, and positions are determined by committee vote on whether to support or not support legislation. Broad categories of VA Chapter Sierra Club include energy issues, climate, transportation, environmental justice, good government, water, toxins, and wildlife. General Assembly Session 2024 began on January 10 and ends on March 9.
Sponsors: Sierra Club York River Group and the Sierra Club Chesapeake Bay Group
We invite our Sierra Club members and friends to attend an exciting and informative program.
Climate Education in Virginia Public Schools
by Ariya Lee & Nethra Purushothaman
With 2023 being the hottest year on record, there has never been a better time for students to learn about climate change in school.
Fridays for Future youth organizers Ariya Lee and Nethra Purushothaman (left to right) speak at the Earth Day 2023 ("End the Era of Fossil Fuels") climate rally
Photo by Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Courtesy of Oxfam
On Jan. 6, 2024, four Virginia high school students testified at the Fairfax County General Assembly Delegation’s Pre-2024 Session Public Hearing about climate education in the state’s public schools. The students referenced New Jersey as the first state in the country to include climate change content into their K-12 grade curriculum, as well as pointing out Virginia’s failing grade in teaching climate change in its public schools.
Virginia’s current science standards address climate change in only grade 6, Life Science (grade 7), Biology (grade 9), High School Earth Science (not required), and High School Environmental Science (not required).
Two environmental literacy bills are entering the Virginia legislature this year. If passed, they would make instructional materials on climate change available to school boards across the state. This would help close the information gap on climate change and provide schools with accurate lesson plans on a topic frequently subject to misinformation. Young people will have to live with the effects of climate change their whole lives, so it is critical they receive adequate education on the issue.
The progress of the bills can be tracked on the Virginia Legislative Information System here:
Please contact your legislators using Who's My Legislator and ask them to support these bills. This is Virginia’s chance to improve its environmental literacy and increase the number of classrooms prioritizing climate education. Getting climate taught in schools is the best way to stop climate change, as it is climate education that will eventually lead to climate action.
Ariya is a 9th grader at Chantilly High School and Nethra is a 9th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School.
The Renovation Wave in Northern Virginia
Robert W. Lazaro Jr., Executive Director, Northern Virginia Regional Commission
reprinted by permission
Northern Virginia is at the forefront of the Renovation Wave in the Commonwealth of Virginia actively pursuing weatherization, energy efficiency and solar projects in an effort to decarbonize its energy resources.
The Commonwealth is committed through the Virginia Clean Economy Act to provide 100% clean energy to the region by 2045. Further, the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act provide additional catalyst to support more efforts to decarbonize. As was recently reported in the New York Times, U.S. carbon emissions fell in 2023.
The region's local governments are leading by example following through in the adoption of resiliency and/or sustainability plans to help reduce their energy use. Several localities have built and opened net-zero school facilities, converted street lights to LED technology, have invested in electric public transit buses, purchased electric vehicles, supported the Solarize NoVA program, have become SolSmart certified and undertaken other measures to lead the way.
We have new opportunities for volunteers in the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. See nine ideas here to find some that are a fit for you. Local volunteering for the environment helps you and your community by:
Cutting down on emissions by traveling close to home
Giving you a sense of belonging in your own community
Opening you socially to more people in your area
Supporting local projects and people
Teaching you more about your community and other ways to help.
The personal connections you can gain from volunteering locally canopen you up to a wide range of advantages.
Not only will you make new friends but you’ll also be able to develop relationships in the long-term for as long as you live in the area. You learn more about what’s going on in your area, like events, groups and clubs, and more.
For the GFG weekly environmental events email, join thelistserv here and select subscribe (or unsubscribe).
The MeetUp group for Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (SCPRO) is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. The group organizes hikes and other events in Virginia, DC and Maryland. No Sierra Club membership is necessary to participate. SCPRO welcomes all people on a variety of outdoor adventures, nature walks, conservation outings, and exploration of our natural and regional history. Join SCPRO MeetUp here
Power for the People Virginia
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia.
