We are mourning Debra Jacobson’s passing after her gallant fight this past year with cancer. We also celebrate her life of service to both government and community – and in particular her excellent work as a volunteer with Sierra Club. She was truly a force of nature and a leader in the energy and environmental field.
Debra, a Great Falls Group (GFG) member for the past five years, received the national Sierra Club’s prestigious Volunteer Achievement Award this year. Debra received the award for her environmental vision, energy, expertise, and knowledge, along with her leadership and drive to get things done.
Supervisors Approve CECAP at the September 14 Hearing
On September 14, the full Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted to approve the Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) submitted to the BOS’ Environmental Committee on July 20. The vote to approve was 9 to 0, with one abstention from the Springfield District supervisor. Also, a group of Sierra Club members from the Great Falls Group (GFG) who participated in the CECAP process pulled together a guidance document for the BOS to direct county government on the critical changes that need to occur to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals set forth in the CECAP.
Volunteer Action for the Environment - Zero Waste Initiative
Virtual Meeting WHEN: Monday, Oct 18, 7-8 pm WHERE: Zoom link sent after RSVP DETAILS: For our Zero Waste Initiative, we are focusing on three topics:
Promoting composting
Supporting the implementation of the plastic bag tax
Improving recycling
We will have a guest speaker from Clean Fairfax who will discuss their efforts to keep Fairfax County clean! We will also share updates about actions in the three zero waste topic areas. New and experienced participants are all welcome. Come be part of the solution!
CONTACTS: Evelina Hobson or Haiping Luo at zerowastesierra@gmail.com SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Great Falls Group
Volunteers needed to fll these roles:
Social Media Volunteer
Content Organizer Volunteer
Zero Waste Coordinator for Prince William County
Zero Waste Coordinator for Fauquier County
Zero Waste Coordinator for Loudoun County
Composting Volunteer Coordinator (co-chair)
Fairfax Passed Plastic Bag Tax Ordinance on Sept. 14
On Sept. 14, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the county’s first-ever tax on disposable plastic bags. The five-cent tax is intended to influence consumer behavior by discouraging individuals from using single-use disposable plastic bags, thereby reducing plastic bag pollution in the county and in our local streams, rivers and lakes. The tax will go into effect across the county on January 1, 2022.
Arlington County, the city of Alexandria, the city of Fredericksburg, and the city of Roanoke have also passed an ordinance for a five cent bag tax to go into effect on January 1, 2022.
YOUTH v GOV is the story of America’s youth taking on the world’s most powerful government. Armed with a wealth of evidence, 21 courageous leaders file a ground-breaking lawsuit against the U.S. government, asserting it has willfully acted over six decades to create the climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. If these young people are successful, they will not only make history, they will change the future. To learn more about the film, please visit YOUTH v GOV film website. REGISTRATION This is a FREE event. After you register, you will receive an email with instructions to access your personal link to watch the film. SCHEDULE ONLINE VIEWING PERIOD: From Mon, Nov. 8 at 12 noon until Thur, Nov. 11 at 7pm (EDT).
FILM DISCUSSION: On Thur, Nov 11 at 7:30pm (EDT), join Our Children’s Trust Senior Staff Attorney Nate Bellinger and some of the youth plaintiffs leading groundbreaking climate litigation in the United States to discuss the federal government’s actions causing the climate crisis, how it impacts Virginia, and how you can join or support a new constitutional climate lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia.
350 Fairfax 30-Day Plastic Free Challenge
Challenge yourself to remove or reduce the amount of plastic you consume.
Commit to reducing your use of single use plastics bottles, bags and straws. Better still, refuse them.
Do a personal plastic audit. Keep all the plastic that comes into your home for a week. It is amazing how much comes in and where this plastic comes from. Once you know, you can take steps to reduce it.
Look for our weekly emails after you sign up for the challenge. Each week, we will send you motivational stories, tips and ideas on how to reduce your plastic consumption.
On August 31, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Climate Action Virginia, Sierra Club and Loudoun Climate Project presented a webinar on data centers and energy use. Learn how Virginia has become a world leader in digital communications - and how we can make it a more sustainable practice for the sake of our Commonwealth and our planet!
Here are two ways to watch the recording at your own convenience:
Be sure to respond to the powerful Sierra Club Call to Action by sending a strong message to the Loudoun, Prince William, or Fauquier Boards of Supervisors: http://vasierra.club/dataction They need to hear from MANY residents in counties receiving data center applications. And for any Virginia residents interested in future efforts for statewide action, please complete this survey: http://vasierra.club/datainterest . Please return to this message to complete both actions.
Calling All GFG Members: Be Part of Our Pool of Activists!
As a Great Falls Group (GFG) member, you may be interested in joining in protests, rallies or other environment-related actions. These events are often short, usually held safely in the open air, and always uplifting.
Maybe you can go often, maybe just now and then. But how do you find out when they’re happening? Sometimes they’re organized too late to appear in the Cascade.
To be included in our Calls to Action for these events, you can:
Black American Families Lost Their Land to Justice High School and Justice Park
On September 18, the Great Falls Group participated in an NAACP educational event at Justice Park. Edwin Henderson, founder of the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, gave a talk on the history of Black American families who lived in the area.
The land on which Justice High School and Park exists was originally owned by Black American families, who were forced to leave the land when Fairfax County decided to build the high school, and later the park, on that land. Henderson described how Fairfax County used eminent domain to secure rights to the land. According to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), Justice Park was a consolidation of 12 parcels acquired either by purchase or condemnation in the early 1960's.
More recently, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) tried to use part of Justice Park for a parking lot and to provide the required Floor Area Ratio for Justice High School’s expansion. The FCPS has since backed away from the original plans and the community is waiting to hear how the FCPS will approach the parking and Floor Area Ratio questions. https://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2021/09/fairfax-county- forced-black-families-to.html
Creating a Bluebird Habitat at Reston National Golf Course
Reston National golf course (RNGC) was host to Bluebirds and other wild birds this year. The owner, Scott Plank with War Horses Cities, sought improvements that would benefit Reston's environment and would complement the open space parcels that are owned by the Reston Association.
A team of coordinators and volunteers established the Bluebird trail nesting sites. From April to August, three teams of volunteers for the Virginia Bluebird Society checked 15 new nest boxes at RNGC each week. By July, 58 Bluebird nestlings had hatched. Creating habitat is key to helping wildlife survive and this newly installed Bluebird trail is a great example of providing a home for our feathered friends. If you would like to help volunteer with the birds, contact RNGC General Manager Kris Anderson at krisanderson@kempersports.com.
On Sept 21, the South County Federation hosted an online meeting with Alpine-X, the developer of the proposed indoor ski slope at the Lorton land fill, known as Fairfax Peak. Supervisors Dan Storck and Pat Herrity attended the meeting. A bus tour of the proposed site was held Sat. Sept 25. The project appears to be moving forward with little resistance. John Emery, an Alpine-X representative, discussed the various aspects of the planned theme park. A participant asked several questions about traffic in the area, which she said cannot accommodate the extra traffic on Mordor Drive and 123S as traffic is already bad in that area. Emery assured her the project would generate less traffic than a typical supermarket. A traffic study is still pending. Sierra Club Mt. Vernon Group has expressed concerns over an environmental assessment, number of visitors (over 400,000 annually), extensive impermeable surfaces and storm water runoff, energy usage, public transit, and impact on natural resources, including native plants and wildlife. Alpine-X at Fairfax Peak is due to open 2024/25. If you have concerns about this large project, contact your supervisor at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
A new, (practically) zero-waste store called Trace has just opened at 140 Church Street NW in downtown Vienna. Open Tuesdays through Sundays, Trace already offers laundry goods, personal care items, pet items, giftables, and more, in bulk or in green-style packaging. Once U.S. Department of Agriculture certification arrives (should be soon), customers will also be able to refill their own jars, bottles and bags with bulk grocery items like grains, beans, sweets, and spices, by the ounce or by the pound.
There is little to no plastic packaging to contend with, and store owners work with suppliers to reduce the use of packaging along the distribution chain. Limited online shopping is also available at https://www.tracezerowaste.com/s/shop. What better way to celebrate October’s Plastic Free Challenge?
