Monthly Newsletter of the Sierra Club Eastern Missouri Group
May 2015
Eastern Missouri Group Website | Join | Group Leadership
Tuesday, May 19 - Defiance Quarry Expansion Proposal
Attention St. Charles County residents – attend this public meeting about the proposed expansion of the Defiance Quarry! Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30pm at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2310 Technology Drive, O’Fallon, MO. For more information, contact Segolene Renaze at the Sierra Club office, 314-644-1011.
Thursday, May 21, 2015, General Meeting - Global Warming, Climate Change, Population and Environment
7:00 to 8:30 pm at the Sierra Club office, 2818 Sutton Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63143 (map)
The Sierra Club will be hosting a discussion on global warming / climate change as it is today and how the current world demographic shifts may alter what happens in the future. Now for the good news… we will also be discussing how each person can have a huge impact on the environment and make their own lives better at the same time! Dane Kamin and Bryna Gallagher will be leading the presentations and discussions. Dane has trained in Washington, DC with the National Sierra Club Population and Environment Group last year and more recently with Population Connection, also in Washington, DC. Bryna is finishing her thesis on Population to obtain her Master’s Degree in Environmental Science
Saturday, May 30 - Missouri Chapter Executive Committee Meeting
Our next meeting Missouri Chapter Executive Committee Meeting is Saturday May 30 at 1pm at the Prairie Fork Conservation Area in Williamsburg, MO. All members are welcome. http://prairiefork.missouri.edu/
Eureka Area Residents Alert
Many Eureka area citizens have expressed concern about the expansion of Winter Brothers Material Co. sand and gravel mining in the area. Late last year the city blocked rezoning for mine expansion within city limits. But the company has an expansion proposal for the county also which many fear will bring increased traffic, air pollution and loss of natural areas to the region. A hearing on the sand and gravel mine in St Louis county is scheduled for June 8 at the county Planning Commission public meeting at 7pm. This hearing has been rescheduled before so please check the county site to verify date and time. For updated scheduling and more information about this proposal see:
http://www.stlouisco.com/PropertyandRoads/PlanningZoningandSubdivisionInformation
For information about local citizens involved in this issue see: SaveOurHomesEureka.com
Worst Project of the Decade?
The St Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway Corps project is certainly a candidate. The project is complicated but its impacts are clear. It would destroy wetlands, increase flood risk, and cost taxpayers millions.
The project proposes a levee to close the last remaining link between the Mississippi river and its floodplain in MO. Although only a quarter of a mile wide, this opening currently provides enormous benefits for fish, birds and other wildlife, as well as flood risk reduction. Multiple agencies, USFW, MO Dept. of Conservation, EPA, have expressed concerns about the project. Independent economic analysis has concluded that the Corps’ cost benefit evaluation is seriously flawed.
The EPA has a responsibility to review this project and assess its impact via the Clean Water Act. Through that authority the EPA can veto this project, which is what it should do. Contact EPA Region 7 Director, Mark Hague, and ask EPA to veto the St Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway project r7actione@epa.gov
Army Corps Project link: http://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects/StJohnsBayouandNewMadridFloodwayProject
For more information on this issue contact Caroline Pufalt at cpufalt@sbcglobal.net
Trailbuilding Continues
Even as the hiking season comes to a close the Trails Committee wants to remind everyone of some of the events that are coming up this spring.
* June 6th National Trails Day at Hawn State Park.
* Our monthly Trails Committee Meeting.
As you take a hike, take time to reflect on how you can help everyone connect to our environment through better hiking trails. Also remember that someone or some group has to take the time to build and do the trail maintenance. Your help is always needed.
For more information contact:
Paul Stupperich @ 314-429-4352 or lonebuffalo@earthlink.net
Volunteer Treasurer Opportunity
The Eastern Missouri Group of Sierra Club is looking for a volunteer to serve as the group’s treasurer. It’s an important but not a time consuming task. The treasurer works with chapter and national staff to help keep our ongoing bookkeeping in order and file end of year reports. If you are a retired CPA, like working with numbers or just want a new volunteer challenge, please contact us at: emg.sierraclub@earthlink.net
Computer Needed
Do you have a computer to donate to the Sierra Club? The Missouri Chapter is growing, adding more members, interns, and staff. So, we need more computers for the office. Required capacity: at least 4 Megs of RAM, a dual core processor, and 150 GBs of memory.
EMG Outings - Mid May to June
Sierra Club Outings are open to the public. A dollar per person donation is requested. No guns or pets are allowed on trips. Use of audible electronics must be approved by the leader. Participants must sign a liability release. Outings Leaders are volunteers. Outings officially start at the trailhead or river access. Carpooling is encouraged but not the responsibility of the Leader. For more information contact the Leader of a particular Outing or for general information contact Doug Melville, (636) 288-1055 or douglas.k.melville@gmail.com. All are encouraged to check for recent outing additions on our EMG website, emg@missouri.sierraclub.org
Wed, May 20, Paddy Creek Wilderness area, tentative start time 8:00, contact Douglas Melville – 636-288-1055, douglas.k.melville@gmail.com
May 22, Fri: day hike: Contact thisissuzanne@yahoo.com for our Friday hike info.
Fri-Sun May29-31: Irish Wilderness: This trip is one in a series of backpacking trips to explore the wilderness areas of Missouri in 2015. We will backpack the 18 miles loop trail within the wilderness. Derrick Mahoney 785-845-5793 or derrickncindy@gmail.com
May 29, Fri: day hike: Should be lots of warm weather and flowers on our 7-10 mile weekly hike. Contact jleachross@hotmail.com or thisissuzanne@yahoo.com for meeting time and location
May 31, Sun: One day canoe trip. Join us for a family friendly canoe trip on a river in the Meramec Basin. Contact Toni Armstrong and Richard Spener 314-434-2072 for information including meeting time and location.
Jun 3, Wed: Mark Twain S.P. located in Monroe County, Missouri, will be a very scenic hike along the lake of the same name. We will be accessing all of the trails to make for a varied 7 mile hike. Plan to end up at the Mark Twain Birthplace museum to see where Samuel Clemens began his life. Contact Doug Melville, (636) 288-1055 or douglas.k.melville@gmail.com for further information including meeting time and location.
Jun 5, Fri: day hike: Day before National Trails Day weekly hike. Contact margot107@charter.net or jleachross@hotmail.com for meeting time and location.
Jun 6, Sat: Join the Trails Committee at Hawn State Park for National Trails Day. We will be meeting with hikers and backpacker so we can let them let them know the value of hiking trails or you may want to help in a short service project . Hope to see you at Hawn State Park. For more information including time and location, contact Paul Stupperich @ 314-429-4352 lonebuffalo@earthlink.net
Jun 12, Fri: day hike: Join us for a 7-10 mile early hike near the St. Louis area. Contact thisissuzanne@yahoo.com
Jun 14, Sun: Bike Trip - We may do a ride to Edwardsville, IL- or could do a shorter ride if we choose to. Meet at Lacledes Landing Metro Station at noon. For more information contact Tim Pekarek, 314-445-9058
Jun 17, Wed: Mina Sauk Falls Trail with side trip to the Devil's Tollgate for a 5 mile trek in the Saint Francois Mountains. For this trek we begin at the highest point in Missouri at Taum Sauk Mountain and travel down some 400 feet to Mina Sauk Falls which is Missouri's highest waterfall. We will see some great views of the surrounding countryside, several glades and massive vertical rock faces as we traverse the trails. Contact Doug Melville, (636) 288-1055 or douglas.k.melville@gmail.com for further information.
Jun 17, Wed: Deadline for EMG outings from August 15 to October 31. Mark Schuermann, (636) 394-6265, mark_schuermann@sbcglobal.net
Jun 19, Fri: Day hike or bike ride depending on the temps. Contact jleachross@hotmail.com for more info as time gets closer.
Jun 26, Fri: Day hike: Join our weekly group for a summer hike. For more info contact thisissuzanne@yahoo.com
Sierra Club - EMG is now on Meetup.com!
In an effort to reach more people and potentially increase our membership, your Eastern Missouri Group Executive Committee has setup a meetup. The meetup is at: www.meetup.com/SierraClub-EMG. To join the group, just press the red “Join Us” button.
Once you join the group, you will be notified via email of meetings you may be interested in attending. You can also communicate to other members of the Sierra Club-EMG Meetup as well if you would like. You can also recommend future Meetup activities as well. There are probably a few other things you can do on the site, but these are the primary functions available to you as a member of the group.
The vast majority of the meetings will be associated with the Sierra Club, but there may be a few others from other environmental groups included as well. At this time, we are including the educational presentations (primarily given during the monthly meetings), lobbying events by the Sierra Club Missouri Chapter, social events, and all committees except the Outings Committee. Given the large number of events the Outings Committee hosts and the needs of the people who will become meetup members, a separate meetup for this group is planned for the near future.
Check us out on Meet UP!
Dane Kamin, CFA, Population and Environment Chair EMG Sierra Club, Population Connection Volunteer - dane.kamin@gmail.com | 314.822.3943
Greentime TV
The Social Environment: Racism
The social environment, including how we are treated and mistreated by others, is as much a part of our environment as green spaces, rivers and climate change. While whites often find it hard to under-stand this, many black and brown Americas immediately grasp the connection.
Green Time appears in four Missouri areas. See the webpage at greentime.tv. In the St. Louis area it airs at noon on Saturdays on Channel 24-1 and at 8 pm on Mondays on Channel 24-2 on these dates:
· June 6 & 8: “Another Look at Ferguson” How does the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson fit into the history of racism, especially in the St. Louis area? Kathi Corbett-Otto and Johnathan McFarland explore the myth that we are living in a post-racial society. How can we pull together many different human rights movements?
· June 13 & 15: “Ferguson: The Ongoing Struggle” Rasheen Aldridge was appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Ferguson, which he believes has the power to make people feel uncomfortable from the questions it asks. Katie Gore explores what white awareness and activism means for the anti-racism movement. .
· June 20 & 22: “Police Violence in Ferguson ” What happened immediately after Michael Brown was killed on August 9, 2014? What did residents of Canfield Apartments see when they came out of their homes? Kayla Reed, Michael T. McPhearson and Don Fitz discuss why their reactions sparked a movement that spread across the country and then around the world.
· June 27 & 29: “Police Accountability.” Much of Ferguson burned on November 24, 2014, the night of the announcement that Darren Wilson would not be charged for killing Michael Brown. John Chasnoff, Michael T. McPhearson, and Don Fitz discuss how protest organizers attempted to work with police prior to that evening.
June shows include movies by Katie Gore and Katina Parker.
To volunteer to help produce Green Time call 314-727-8554 or email don@greentime.tv
Like us on Facebook
“Like” the Eastern Missouri Group Facebook page – a great tool for keeping up with local Club news and activity!
https://www.facebook.com/EMGConnector
Eastern Missouri Group Outings Calendar
Sierra Club members and non-members are welcome to join Club members on our outings.
Visit the Eastern Missouri Group website for more information about outings, activities, and issues.
Please consider making a donation to the Eastern Missouri Group today!