Read up on this issue. Tell your friends and neighbors. We’ll be working on this through out 2012 and 2013. Stay tuned…

In Harm’s Way: Coal Ash-Contaminated Sites

Take Action: Keep the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Focused on Safety

President Obama has nominated, and the Senate has been asked to confirm, the appointment of Kristine Svinicki to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a second term. Unfortunately, Svinicki has already spent five years on the NRC voting to make life easy for the nuclear industry. Svinicki voted to reject new, tighter safety measures for radioactive leaks that could have given a higher level of protection to both the public and the environment. The commission needs members who will put safety first, and Svinicki’s record proves she will not.

Tell your senator to support nuclear safety by opposing Kristine Svinicki’s nomination.

Take Action: Make the Call for Clean Transportation

The transportation bill must pass in order to replace expiring legislation for roads and jobs. Unfortunately, right-wing House of Representative negotiators are trying to hold it hostage in order to force through approval of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline and block any protections against toxic coal ash.

Congress is negotiating the final language this week — call your senator today to say that you support a clean transportation bill!

Click below to download and share this great info….

 BikeMonth_Factsheet_0512

We know that you can do it!

All the best!

Sierra Club Executive Committee member Christine Lisiewski has a goal – to hike 28.2 miles to raise $2,500 for children cancer research. She’s been in training for weeks. Will you consider urging her on with a donation? Any amount would help.

www.Ultimatehike.org/charlotte2012/christinelisiewski

Here’s a note from Christine:

As an outdoor enthusiast and adventurer, I have climbed many peaks and tackled intense terrain before, but the Ultimate Hike will test me both physically and mentally. My goal is to raise $2500 and then hike 28.2 miles. It is a tremendous commitment, but what I will go through for this hike is nothing compared to what children like Carter have to go through every day.

I hope you will consider supporting my Ultimate Hike with a financial donation. Your support and encouragement means the world to me, and it means even more to kids like Carter and their families. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Sincerely yours,

Christine Lisiewski

Go, Christine, Go!

It’s going to be a great day of fun, music, food, education, and more, tomorrow at Charlotte Clean and Green!

Make your first stop the Sierra Club Both #55 (near the Captain Jack Statue) to say hello, talk about upcoming events and conservation issues. If you haven’t been to a meeting lately or attended an outing, we’d love to chat.

Check out the Charlotte Clean and Green website for directions, free parking information, free class schedule and the full list of events.

See you tomorrow!

See the best in green products, local services and ideas to help save money and conserve natural resources

FREE classes on bike safety, growing native plants, practical and inexpensive ways to go green, residential solar, composting and much more

Local beer garden and fresh local food

FREE e-recycling of computers, printers, scanners, cell phones and more

Cool cars – easy plug-in electrics, hybrids and more

Urban gardening and market

Kid’s arts and crafts

Live music and entertainers

Check out the Charlotte Clean and Green website for directions, free parking information, free class schedule and the full list of events.

“Every person in this country who cares about democracy should care about this work.” – Ed Schultz

Mark your calendar for May 23^rd because this is a program that you don’t want to miss! In addition to conservation, outings, green events and other updates, we have a great two part program.

Ken Brame, chair of the Sierra Club National Political Committee, will speak about the importance of the upcoming elections at the national, state and local level.  His talk will include tips on fundraising and how best to provide support for candidates. Brame is a resident of Asheville, NC.

The club will also screen Koch Brothers Exposed: the Film, a Brave New Foundation production by Robert Greenwald. The 90 minute documentary exposes the Koch Industries’ KochPAC campaign contributions and the various entities the brothers have endowed to spread their anti-regulatory message. For more information about the film, visit http://www.kochbrothersexposed.com/.

The meeting will be held in the Mahlon Adams Pavilion at Freedom Park, our usual location at 2435 Cumberland Avenue, Charlotte.  Pizza will be served at a social time beginning at 6:30 p.m.  The meeting begins at 7.  The meeting is free and open to the public and you do not have to be a member to attend. For more information or to RSVP for refreshments contact sierraclub.centpiedchair@gmail.com.

P.S. Bring a friend or two for a fun and informative eveneing. See you there!

Sustain Charlotte Encourages Green in the Queen City

The nonprofit’s First Annual Community Sustainability Awards recognized 70 Charlotteans who are keeping the city green. Twelve people from that esteemed group received awards in categories including air quality, food and social equity. About 200 attended the event, which was sponsored by Wells Fargo & Co., UNC Charlotte and Packard Place, among others. Tickets were open to students, nonprofits and the organization’s members and nonmembers. Sustain Charlotte’s board of directors, volunteers and members voted for the winners. Learn More

Sustain Charlotte: Shifting the Region’s Focus on its Future

“Tree loss is one symptom when a community is not thinking sustainably,” Binns said. He began to look into policy choices that led to short-term thinking, air quality changes and shifts in vehicle miles traveled. The numbers were not good and were headed in the wrong direction. It was then that the sketches of Sustain Charlotte began to appear. Learn More

Sustain Charlotte Asked to Present to Charlotte City Council’s Environment Committee

City Council’s environment committee — led by new council member John Autry — heard presentations Monday from Shannon Binns, executive director of Sustain Charlotte, and Helene Hilger, director of the Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center at UNC Charlotte. Binns walked the group through how other cities crafted policies for limiting the environmental impact of government functions. Learn More

ALA Report: Charlotte’s Air is Cleaner, But Still Gets an ‘F’

The Charlotte metropolitan area’s smog problem places it 18th worst among U.S. cities, the American Lung Association said in its annual rankings, improving from 10th worst the past two years. The ranking is for ozone, or smog, an invisible gas that in the Charlotte area comes from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and industrial emissions.  Learn More

Environmental Prep: Teaching the Next Generation to Take the Lead

Brian Kasher is being recognized as a Champion of Change for his innovative energy priorities and sustainable living practices making a greener community a possibility in any American city or town.The key strategy and tactic number one of the CMS going green initiative is engagement of all stakeholders.Through collaboration and teamwork the CharMeck region continues to make strides in environmental protections and improvement. Learn More

Meck’s State of Environment Report Online

Mecklenburg County staff has updated their biennial environmental report with a shorter, color-coded version that’s now online. It’s worth a read by anyone interested in the air we breathe, the water we rely on and the land under us. Learn More

NC Poll Finds Support for Renewable Energy

North Carolina residents overwhelmingly support renewable energy, including legislation that would let independent power generators sell directly to customers. The poll found strongest support for solar energy, at 89 percent, natural gas at 84 percent, and offshore wind energy at 76 percent. Support for nuclear power came in at 57 percent and for coal-fired electricity at 56 percent, with 32 percent opposed to both. Learn More

Charlotte Ranked 17th Among Top 25 US Cities for Energy Star Buildings

The Charlotte-area saw 130 buildings achieve Energy Star certification last year for a total of 25.1 million square feet of floor space. EPA estimates the building owners and tenants here will save an estimated $14.7 million in aggregated energy costs as a result of greening the properties. Learn More

On Earth Day, Anne Springs Close Greenway Shares Expansion Plans

It’s not a path, but 2,100 acres of forest, trails and lakes on a tract shaped like a horse’s head. The greenway will expand its summer day camps, open an outdoors adventure center and add a full-time naturalist to lead hikes. Trail signs will be updated. Learn More

LYNX Blue Line Extension Project Celebrates Major Move Forward With Dedicated State Funding

The State Full Funding Grant Agreement will provide 25 percent of the funding for the LYNX Blue Line Extension from Center City Charlotte to the UNC Charlotte campus. The 9.4-mile alignment would run from Uptown Charlotte to the UNC Charlotte campus and include 11 light rail stations and four parking facilities. Construction of the $1.16 billion BLE Project is scheduled to begin fall 2013 with operational service expected in 2017. Learn More

New Habitats for Fish and Osprey at Lake Norman

The nonprofit N.C. Wildlife Federation led the initiatives in an ongoing effort to build habitat for wildlife, both fish and birds of prey.The boulders are intended for catfish, spotted and largemouth bass and other prized catches at the bottom of North Carolina’s largest lake. Learn More

Mrytle Beach Woman Lives Life of Less Stuff

Cynthia Swanson Powell decided she was going to try not to buy anything new if it could be found used.“It’s not like I’m changing the world or anything,” she said. “But I’m changing it for me in a way because I’m proud of myself for thinking about things and for being able to do it.” Learn More

Upcoming Events

May 10
Green Drinks Charlotte

5:30-8:30pm @ Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel (235 N. Tryon St.) Where Charlotte’s environmentally minded individuals, businesses and non-profits meet to network and work together to make a difference in the world. Featuring light app’s sourced from sustainable farms, drink specials, and validated parking in the Dunhill Hotel parking garage (enter from Sixth Street). The guest speaker will be Charlotte Clean and Green. Check It Out
May 11
Hats Off to Parks! Luncheon

11:30am – 1:00pm @ Freedom Park (1900 E. Blvd). All proceeds from this 2nd Annual fundraiser organized by Partners for Parks will go towards improvements at Clarks Creek Nature Preserve.  Check It Out

May 15
New South for the New Southerner: Eating Local

5:30pm @ Levine Museum of the New South (20 E. 7th St.) Learn about local food and farming, in history and today! Eating local – it’s an idea rooted in history whose time has come again. Cassie Parsons of Grateful Growers Farm/Harvest Moon Grill and County Extension Agent Kristin Davis talk about the locavore farming/eating movement in the Charlotte region. Hosted by Levine Museum historian Dr. Tom Hanchett. Free for Museum members, $10 for non-members. Includes program, wine and a Southern buffet dinner from Mert’s Heart & Soul. Reservtions required. RSVP by calling 704.333.1887 ext. 501 or rsvp@museumofthenewsouth.org
May 19
5th Annual Charlotte Clean & Green Festival

10-4pm @ Little Sugar Creek Greenway (4th Street Entrance) They’re partnering with Mecklenburg Park and Recreation to host the FREE festival and are excited about the new space and opportunities it brings! They’ll be expanding our Hands-on Learning Tent, offering more children activities, excellent local food and many fabulous vendors will be on hand to introduce you to local and sustainable products and businesses. Check It Out

May 23
Sierra Club Meeting

6:30-8:30pm @ Mahlon Adams Pavilion at Freedom Park. The program is free and open to the public and you do not have to be a member to attend. Free parking is available. Check it Out

The list counts the number of transactions each bank had with the dirtiest coal-burning utility companies and the largest mountaintop removal mining companies between January 2010 and March 2012. Bank of America was found to be the number one worst bank for financing of coal with 44 transactions. JP Morgan Chase was number 2 with 42 transactions, followed by Citi with 40 transactions, Morgan Stanley with 33 transactions, and Wells Fargo with 26 transactions.

Read the Sierra Club press release below and click on the link to read the full report. If your bank is on the list, let them know that you oppose this policy. Chose a bank or credit union that does not support some of the major polluters in the US. Tell your friends and neighbors. Join others in letting these banks know that they will be held accountable for these policies. For additional information, see the Sierra Club Policy on Civil Disobience.

P.S. You just might have heard or read about the May 9th Bank of America, a.k.a. “Bank of Coal” shareholder meeting. There are 3 marches starting at 8:00 AM which will begin at 3 different locations and then join together to march to the shareholders meeting:

Occupy Charlotte, other Occupiers, labor activists, and others in the march are leaving from 600 E Trade St.

“Worker’s Rights! Corporations Out of Politics: Pay Your Taxes Not Your Lobbyists!” [The other marches are “Housing Justice Now!” — leaving from the Bank of America at N Tryon and 9th St.

“Stop Funding Coal and the Militarization of Our Communities!” — leaving from The Green (the park across the street from the Duke Energy building)

For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2012

Contacts:
RAN: Kerul Dyer: 415-866-0005, kdyer@ran.org
Sierra Club: Eitan Bencuya, 202-495-3047, eitan.bencuya@sierraclub.org

US Banks Risk Public Health and Climate by Financing Coal

RAN and Sierra Club Detail the “Filthy Five” Banks in third annual “Coal Finance Report Card”

Washington, D.C. – Today Rainforest Action Network and the Sierra Club released the Coal Finance Report Card 2012, their third annual ranking of the largest financiers of mountaintop removal coal mining and coal-fired power plants.

The report (PDF) looks at the stated policies for mountaintop removal and coal financing from each of the largest US Banks and assigns a letter grade to how well they uphold these policies based on investments, transactions and ownership of coal mining and coal burning utility companies.

Summary of bank coal policy grades:

In addition, this year’s report debuts the “Filthy Five” — the top 5 largest financiers of the US coal industry. The list counts the number of transactions each bank had with the dirtiest coal-burning utility companies and the largest mountaintop removal mining companies between January 2010 and March 2012. Bank of America was found to be the number one worst bank for financing of coal with 44 transactions. JP Morgan Chase was number 2 with 42 transactions, followed by Citi with 40 transactions, Morgan Stanley with 33 transactions, and Wells Fargo with 26 transactions.

“The largest banks in the country, including Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo, received failing grades today as the lead financiers of the coal industry. These banks are the ATMs for a dirty industry that is bad for health and bad for business,” said Amanda Starbuck, Director of Rainforest Action Network’s Energy and Finance Program. “Coal is the ultimate subprime investment for the climate. We cannot solve climate change if banks continue to prop up this risky and outdated industry. When it comes to protecting our air and drinking water, the health of our communities, and our climate we don’t grade on a curve.”

The report sheds light on how banks with household names are complicit in polluting our air and destroying our natural resources. Mountaintop removal mining is a destructive process where mining companies blow the tops off mountains to reach a seam of coal. This practice has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of mountaintops and forests by 2020. In addition, the mining practice destroys Appalachian communities, the health of coalfield residents and any hope for positive economic growth.

Meanwhile, not only is coal burning responsible for one third of US carbon emissions — the main contributor to climate disruption — but it is also making us sick. Coal pollution is responsible for 13,000 premature deaths every year, more than $100 billion in annual health costs and over 200,000 asthma attacks annually. Pollution from coal-fired power plants leads to smog, which can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing difficulties and can make conditions like bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma worse or even fatal. Today two out of every five U.S. families live in places with unsafe air.

“These banks are financing a coal industry that is threatening our health, our mountains, and the future of our planet,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Protecting the health and safety of our families is everyone’s responsibility — including those that fund destructive and dangerous coal mining and burning. We hope this report card helps draw attention and scrutiny to those who are bankrolling some of the biggest polluters in our country.”

Through this report, RAN and the Sierra Club point to where banks are failing as energy and climate leaders. However, both organizations maintain a strong commitment to work with the companies so they may adopt and implement meaningful policies on coal.

To view the full report please visit: http://ran.org/coal-finance-reportcard-2012

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Rainforest Action Network runs hard-hitting campaigns to break North America’s fossil fuels addiction, protect endangered forests and Indigenous rights, and stop destructive investments around the world through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. For more information, please visit: www.ran.org

The Sierra Club is the largest grassroots environmental organization in the country, with over 1.4 million members and supporters. For more information about the Beyond Coal campaign, visit www.beyondcoal.org .