Ready, Set, Grow in Kentucky

This is a guest post from Winny Lin, a Kentucky Sierra Club volunteer

What do you do in a hot and sizzling summer?  Instead of being bored, it is a perfect time to grow some fresh produce, or plant some annuals and perennials. This is exactly what the girls at the Girls’ Inc. and women at the Oasis Spouse Abuse Center in Owensboro, Kentucky, did with the help from Pennyrile Group of Sierra Club.

First, volunteers Winny and Kenny Lin literally knocked on the doors of these two organizations and sold the idea. Second, Aloma Dew, local representative of the Sierra Club, gathered help from the club to find a master gardener to draw a plan, secure donations from members, and get support from the director of the club.

The Owensboro Lowe’s donated six bags of potting soil, three bags of humus, six huge clay pots and two small butterfly bushes.  Donations also helped secure some tomato plants and annuals at a discounted price from the store.  All of it was enough to start off our summer “Go Green” project!

Las Vegas Rallies for Clean Energy

Bright and early Monday morning, hundreds of clean energy and green jobs supporters gathered to rally on the steps of the Cox Pavilion at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus.

The rally was to counter an anti-American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) rally some dirty energy supporters conjured up at Senator Harry Reid's "National Clean Energy Summit 2.0." Speakers at the summit included Vice President Al Gore, T. Boone Pickens, Kathy Zoe, Senator Reid, President Bill Clinton, and many others - all there to support clean domestic renewable energy development. 

Emily Rhodenbaugh, a clean energy organizer for our Nevada chapter, said the Sierra Club joined many other groups for the rally.

"The unlikely coalition included IBEW, Plumbers and Pipefitters, Sheet Metal Workers, Carpenters, Nevada Conservation League, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), OFA 2.0, Democratic Black Caucus, Allied Trades, and many other progressive organizations," she said. "Together it was the power of all those organizations which allowed for our one clear voice to be heard: 'Green Jobs!'

"We broadened our coalition in Nevada, and paved the way for a more sustainable future for our state.  I believe it set a great example of the power the can be built, and it’s been said that this was one of the largest pro-green jobs rally to date that the Sierra Club has put together."

Danny Thompson, head of the AFL-CIO in Nevada, speaks to the clean energy rally.

Congrats, Nevada organizers!

Photos by Emily Rhodenbaugh

Michigan to Granholm: We Want Clean Energy

Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, speaks at the rally.

On July 29, under a beautiful summer day in Lansing, Michigan, more than 500 activists from all corners of the state lent their voices at a rally to a call for a massive investment in clean energy and moving the state beyond coal.

Clean Energy Now, a coalition made up of over 40 environmentalist groups including Sierra Club, organized this Rally for Clean Energy Jobs to support Michigan’s clean energy future – and as a grassroots response to the proposal of new coal plants in Michigan.

The rally speakers and activists in particular took aim at plans in Michigan to build at least six more massive coal plants. At the rally, citizens spoke out for a clean energy economy in Michigan, which will create jobs and bring money into the state, rather than the construction of new coal plants, which will continue to weaken its economy.

Michigan residents want Gov. Jennifer Granholm to get that message loud and clear: No more coal – We want clean energy!

Rally-goers report that the event was not just inspiring, but also a lot of fun – as people listened to great musicians, browsed informational tables from various clean energy industries, used our communications tent to send in comments and letters to Gov. Granholm, signed the clean energy petition, and even threw a few baseballs at dunk tank where folks were dressed up as various dirty energy villains.

The dunk tank featured at the rally.

Michigan Chapter head Anne Woiwode credited a great team of Sierra Club organizers and volunteers for getting such a huge turnout - not to mention all the coalition partners.

"(Thanks to) our fabulous rally planning partners, including Clean Water Action, Progress Michigan, West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Citizens Exploring Clean Energy, Lone Tree Council, Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, the Ecology Center and more. July 29th rolled around as a gorgeous day to gather on the Capitol lawn with 500 of our friends and supporters! 

"Buses were arranged from Traverse City, Bay City, Royal Oak, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids....We had good participation and a sense of engagement and excitement that led people at the end of the day to start asking about next year."

The rally featured clean energy vendors as well.

The rally received great media coverage as well. See some articles here, here and here.

Congrats, Michigan!

Crowd Thanks Luján for ACES Vote

 

Article by guest writer Shannon Goggin.

On July 2^nd, shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), members of the environmental community were celebrating around the country. New Mexico House Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-3-NM) was celebrating too- by holding a Town Hall meeting to get a discussion started about the steps necessary to build a clean energy economy in New Mexico. It also focused on the work that Representative Luján has been doing to promote a clean energy economy and create green jobs.

The Town Hall was attended by nearly 50 citizens, who got together to discuss what they wanted to see happen and talk to Rep. Luján. It was a great success. Rep. Luján thanked Sierra Club several times for our hard work and support in getting ACES passed. Then, Rep. Luján and Sierra Club representatives Molly Brook, Margaret Gray, Michael Casaus, Rep. Luján, Norma McCallan, and Shrayas Jatkar and took this great picture.

 

Representative Luján was a champ on ACES from the outset. He worked with Representatives Waxman (D-30-CA) and Markey (D-7-MA) to be sure that green jobs training was included in the bill, and fought to keep it strong as it worked its way to the House floor. He has consistently fought for positive environmental change, and renewable energy solutions throughout his career. His environmental leadership is a great thing for New Mexico and the United States.

This is just one example of the kinds of mutual recognition of hard work that have been taking place all over the country. If you get a chance, make sure to thank your Representative if they voted for America’s clean energy future! To do that, you can click here to reach your Representative.

 

Missouri Agency Embroiled in 'E. Coli-gate'

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) knew that a top tourist destination was awash in sewage and fecal matter over Memorial Day weekend but didn't tell the public, and its subsequent refusal to release the report is leading to charges of a cover-up.

Lake of the Ozarks, a 55,000-acre reservoir in west-central Missouri with 1,150 miles of shoreline, bills itself as the Midwest's premier lake resort destination. Memorial Day weekend always sees some of the year's biggest crowds.

This May, unusually heavy rains washed dangerous amounts of E. Coli—a reliable indicator of fecal contamination—into the lake just before Memorial Day. DNR, which oversees the Division of Environmental Quality, knew the lake was testing well above safe levels, but chose to keep mum. E. Coli can cause gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections, kidney failure, and neonatal meningitis, among other afflictions. Some strains can be fatal if swallowed.

  

"DNR knew that Lake of the Ozarks was teeming with sewage and E. Coli bacteria over Memorial Day weekend and they sat on the information," says Missourian and Sierra Club Water Sentinels Director Scott Dye, above. "They then refused to share the report for four weeks in spite of citizens asking to see it."

DNR officials say they withheld the information because they were concerned about the effect it would have on tourism. "Business and tourism was a consideration," a DNR spokesperson told Karen Dillon, environmental reporter for the Kansas City Star, who broke the story on July 15. "We didn't want to panic people."

 

Ken Midkiff, above, a longtime Missouri clean water activist and author, told Dillon the DNR's action-or lack thereof-ammounts to polluter protection, not pollution prevention. "All the reasons they gave for not releasing the report have to do with the economy," he said. "The DNR is supposed to protect water quality and the environment."

It was Midkiff who filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office alleging the DNR had violated the state's Sunshine Act. This in turn set of a flurry of media coverage, including an excoriation of DNR's "dangerous" decision by newspaper editorial boards throughout the state.