WHEN: Thu., May 19, 7-8 pm WHERE: Online meeting - register here DETAILS:Over eight million tons of plastic enter the world’s waters every year, the equivalent of a dump truck load of plastic going into the ocean every minute. Plastic litter represents 83 percent of trash on Virginia’s beaches, reports the Virginia Aquarium.
Sarah Kollar, the Ocean Conservancy’s Outreach Manager for the International Coastal Cleanup, will discuss the plastic pollution crisis, the impacts on communities and wildlife, and the role of cleanups as one approach to this global problem. CONTACT: info@fodm.org
SPONSORS: Friends of Dyke Marsh, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, the Friends of Little Hunting Creek, the Four Mile Run Conservancy Foundation, the Friends of Accotink Creek, the Porto Vecchio Condominium and the Sierra Club/Great Falls Group.
Part II of Revisioning Our Relationship to Animals and Food
The Act of Courageous Compassion That Can Heal the World
DETAILS: Drawing on our deep connections with other animals and the natural world, activist and author Joanne Kong, Ph.D., will elaborate on how our dietary choices can have a transformative positive effect on so many aspects of our lives: our health, spirituality, climate change, environmental sustainability and the potential to reach a higher level of collective caring for our fellow residents of this planet. CONTACT: ActForClimateToday@gmail.com SPONSORS: Act for Climate Today! (ACT!), Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax; Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions; 350Fairfax; NOVA Chapter, The Climate Reality Project; Food and Climate Working Group
WHEN: First week in May WHERE: Virtual only (In-person has been cancelled)
DETAILS: SEAS brings students together to amplify youth voice in environmental problem-solving. Student presenters, green/eco teams, and classroom groups share their projects--reducing waste, conserving energy, improving water quality, and preserving natural habitat in their schoolyards and communities. This year, SEAS will continue to be a virtual showcase and activities for all ages in the first week of May.
Ivy Main, Renewable Energy Chair for Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter
Climate Change and Its Effect on Food and Nutrition
Climate change has a significant negative impact on our entire global food system, from production and distribution to retail and consumption.
Extreme weather affects farm production. Ocean acidification causes fisheries to migrate to the poles, reducing food resources in the coastal regions. People may choose highly processed foods, which affects biodiversity and nutrition. Distribution causes carbon emissions through production and transportation, and use of plastics in packaging. In food retail, increasing reliance on refrigeration and distant sourcing causes greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste is a major contributor to green house emssions.
In the accompanying article author P. Pan offers solutions to each of these challenges.
Articles appear in the news daily declaring that our inability to change our behaviors is leading to irreversible, catastrophic damage to our planet.
But we have the power to act locally. What we each do in our daily activities can collectively make a difference. One of these small actions is to begin composting.
The small step of composting our food scraps reduces our carbon footprint while nurturing our environment. Fairfax County Public School’s 2021 initiative to launch food composting in school cafeterias is an important step in teaching our children better food habits.Composting in our schools gives children the opportunity to learn more sustainable practices. This also opens their imaginations to seeking other ways that they can make a difference.
If you are interested in helping with the compost committee, please contact Suzanne Olijar at namaste1@rocketmail.com
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors is considering land use proposals that, if enacted, will transform Prince William County forever. Great Falls Group Sierra Club has grave concerns about these changes and their cumulative impacts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining and improving water quality and protecting our state and federal public lands.
We ask you to contact your local PWC Supervisor and Chair Wheeler as soon as possible to oppose these changes! Click here for contact information.
At risk under a newly-expanded Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District and the Digital Gateway Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan are thousands of acres of farmland slated to become data centers, industrial sites and higher density development.
Keeping the Rural Crescent intact is crucial to the protection of the Occoquan Reservoir Watershed, a key source of the region’s drinking water. Prince William County has the largest share of the Watershed at 40% and the Basin has nearly six times as many people living within its boundaries as was originally recommended.
Fairfax Water, the utility that produces drinking water for over two million Northern Virginians, is so concerned about the impact of these development proposals on water quality, it recently wrote to Prince William County asking to protect the Occoquan Reservoir and its water supply.
Thank you to those Great Falls Group Sierra Club members who recently wrote to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to support more funding for the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) in the FY 2023 Budget. Your voices were heard! The GFGSC supported greater investment in the natural resources side of the FCPA program and increased funding for equity programs. One of very few changes in the proposed budget, the county framed the FCPA markup this way:
"In addition to feedback on the need for tax relief, many residents testified during the budget public hearings about the importance of the county’s parks system. The board has provided significant resources for the Fairfax County Park Authority, and the mark-up package includes an additional $751,954 for new positions and other support for natural resources sustainability efforts. In their budget guidance, the board has also directed staff to work closely with FCPA to develop a 2026 referendum that meets the parks system’s needs and fits within overall county limitations. The budget guidance also provides direction on the use of a $500,000 allocation from the Advertised Budget package for a pilot equity program. Extensive community outreach and consultative support will be utilized to develop and implement the pilot."
WHEN: Sat., May 21; 8 am-1 pm WHERE: Town of Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. SE, Vienna, VA DETAILS: This sale offers a wide variety of native plants from Hill House Farm & Nursery. Come early for best selection. Pre-orders for plants are welcome if placed by Wednesday, May 18. Situated in Castleton, VA, Hill House Farm & Nursery grows native plants for gardens, landscape restoration and habitat creation. CONTACT: Email hillhousenativeplants@ gmail.com with questions or requests.
Virginia Chapter
An Introduction to Energy Justice and Energy Burden
DETAILS : Many households struggle to afford their energy costs each month. Because energy burdens are made worse by more extreme weather events and temperatures, energy burden is a climate change issue in addition to a discrimination issue. In part one of an ongoing series on energy equity, Sharonda Williams Tack, Associate Director of the Healthy Communities Campaign at the Sierra Club, will discuss what energy burden is and what it looks like for many households in Virginia.
SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Virginia Chapter
SC Virginia Chapter Is in Search of Two New Chairs!
Are you looking for a way to contribute to the Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter but aren’t sure what to do? Our Virginia Chapter is looking for two new leaders: theMembership Chair and the Fundraising Chair.
The Chapter Membership Chair works with the membership chairs of the individual groups to share ideas and plan strategies for recruiting new members. The Fundraising Chair works with staff and other volunteers to help plan and coordinate fundraising campaigns and events.
These are two very important positions in the leadership of our chapter that we would like to fill as soon as possible. If you might be interested in volunteering as Membership or Fundraising Chair, please contact either Ralph Grove (ralph.grove@gmail.com) or Kate West (kate.west@sierraclub.org). These positions are open to all Sierra Club members.
