Footnotes Issue #66: October 31, 2012

  Climate Change Spooks Us

"Romney mocked Obama for promising to 'slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet,' saying 'my promise is to help you and your family.' Hurricane Sandy says you can't do one without the other."

--Mike Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director

I took the Georgia Chapter Director position about a month after the climate bill had failed in the US Senate, summer of 2010. It has been dispiriting to watch the consequences: the U.S. handcuffed at international climate negotiations, and the long and drawn-out public disillusionment has prevented other climate policy solutions from gaining any traction.

Here in Georgia, I felt we didn't need to frame the issues we are working on in the climate context because there are so many other reasons to embrace energy efficiency, clean energy, transportation options and land protection. Benefits include job creation, saving consumers money, lessening the strain on our water resources, and cleaner air, just to name a few.

As we keep friends and family in Sandy’s path in our thoughts and prayers, it is hard not to connect the dots: extreme weather is becoming more frequent and severe all over the planet because we are changing the make-up of the atmosphere in the biggest most dangerous experiment ever.  In Georgia, we have already seen increased flooding and drought, and climatologists warn that sea levels will rise, and diseases will spread.

Recent reports that US carbon emissions are down 7.7% since 2006, and we may well achieve deeper reductions by 2020 than we would have under the climate bill. And we see climate solutions popping up all over the place. In September, all the new electricity that came online was from wind and solar. Other states are setting good examples: Iowa gets 23% of its electricity from wind, which has created 7,000 jobs. Michigan is considering a ballot initiative to get 25% of its energy from renewables by 2025. New Jersey is a leader on solar megawatts installed. We need to make sure the solutions reach the scale that will stabilize the climate, and the Southeast presents the biggest challenge, and also the biggest opportunity.

Bill McKibben, the Bruce Springsteen of the climate movement, is taking his 350.org "Do the Math" show on the road, stopping in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse on Tuesday, November 20th. Come get inspired to take action, and then visit us at the official after-party to join the movement to solve the climate crisis and creating thousands of clean energy jobs for Georgians.

Sierra Club Endorsements

President Barack Obama - click here for more in our voter guide

US Congress - District 4: Hank Johnson, District 5: John Lewis, District 13: David Scott

Public Service Commission - District 3: Steve Oppenheimer, District 5: David Staples

Georgia State Senate - SD 5: Curt Thompson, SD 6: Doug Stoner, SD 15: Ed Harbison, SD 38: Horacena Tate

Georgia State House - HD 12: Barbara Massey Reece, HD 16: Rick Crawford, HD 39: Alisha Thomas Morgan, HD 53: Sheila Jones, HD 58: Simone Bell, HD 59: Margaret Kaiser, HD 75: Yasmin Neal, HD 77: Darryl Jordan, HD 81: Scott Holcomb, HD 86: Michele Henson, HD 93: Dar'shun Kendrick, HD 96: Pete Marin, HD 125: Earnest Smith, HD 132: Carl Von Epps, HD 136: Carolyn Hugley, HD 137: Debbie Buckner, HD 142: Nikki Randall, HD 153: Carol Fullerton, HD 169: Chuck Sims

Sierra Club Meetings

Upcoming Events 

November 2-4 – HemlockFest

HemlockFest is an all-ages, eco-friendly event to save our hemlock trees by minimizing the impact of the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), which is an introduced parasitic insect killing the hemlocks of North Georgia at an alarming rate.  Within the next 15 years, if we can't slow HWA down, our hemlocks may be gone and our forests changed forever. But through the efforts of the Lumpkin Coalition, other non-profit organizations, government agencies, universities, private citizens and YOU, the tide can be turned.  Help save our native forests and preserve our quality-of-life!

November 4 – Hike to Shoal Creek

Join Sierra Club members Katie Klemenchich and Bob Springfield for this educational hike to Shoal Creek in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County. Private companies and the Etowah Water and Sewer Authority in Dawson County want to construct a 2,000-acre reservoir on Shoal Creek in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a 10,000-acre tract of land owned by the City of Atlanta's Airport Authority. The project involves the transfer of 100 million gallons a day out of the Etowah River into Metro Atlanta. This project threatens prime habitat for federally protected fish species and the wildlife management area used by hikers, bikers, horseback riders, hunters, and anglers each year.

November 6 - Sierra Club & Beer

Sierra Club & Beer is back! On election night, we will hear from MARTA CEO Bev Scott and Georgia Conservation Voters' Rob Teilhet about politics and the environment. Play environmental trivia, watch the results. Event is from 7-9pm at the Music Room, 327 Edgewood Ave, upstairs in the Speakeasy after that, $5 suggested donation.

November 11 - Beltline Bike

Join the Sierra Club in a bike ride on the newly opened Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline. The outing will begin at 10th Street and Monroe and we will ride the Eastside Trail 2.25 miles to Irwin Street. We will explore the art along the beltline and ride the 2.25 miles back up to 10th street and Monroe (5.5 miles round trip). This relaxing ride is a great way for the family to get involved with chapter and show your support for the Beltine project. There will be an option to ride for longer than 5.5 miles for those who express an interest. 

Help us keep Georgia's wild places wild.  

Your donation can do so much to help us continue to protect Georgia's environment.

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