Happy June!

Hey, few and farspread loyal readers. Welcome to June!
Been busy, and then sick, but I'm on the mend and trying to re-allocate my time between work, workwork, and play.

Got a few links for ya'll today, a cool new website from the Sierra Club, and the other is TheGreenWorkplace.com

Both offer endless suggestions and discussion about ways to be greener. If you have Facebook you can look up "The Green Workplace" in their search engine and become a fan, so you can get new posts directly on your homepage.

The Sierra Club's Climate Crossroads is a new social networking site where you can meet other like-minded greenies, learn about activism opportunities, and even trade vegan recipes.

Damn, for an antisocial misanthrope I sure plug social networking a lot! But hey, if it helps the planet...
Ta for now, friends, and hope is see you online!

Unofficial Climate Awareness Day

That's right. I'm making up my own environmental holidays now. Unofficial ones, of course. So today is my Unofficial Climate Awareness Day, because I just so happen to have a couple of climate change issues to share with you.

Earlier today I made a comment on the Environmental Defense Fund's Facebook posting of THIS great satirical look at a future after the effects of global warming.

I then checked my email and signed a petition for Defenders of Wildlife to urge congress to protect animals threatened by global warming, such as polar bears, pika, and Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep.

Next I went to the Sierra Club website where I can log a public comment concerning global warming and the coal and oil industries.

Now I eagerly await the slew of identical form letters from Roscoe Bartlette telling me he can't help me because he's an idiot - I mean because I'm not in his district. But I am. Idiot.

Mattawoman Creek Maryland's Most Polluted?

Hey, Maryland and Virginia Sierra Club Members, not to mention any friends I have at American Rivers! Here's the skinny right from the horse's (That'd be the Sierra Club) mouth:

Dear Members of the Maryland Sierra Club,

Spring and summer are in the air! As temperatures reached in the 90's this weekend I'm sure all of us thought about our favorite spot by the water. Everyone has that special creek where the water is refreshing and the swimming and fishing are perfect. Unfortunately, one of those gems that is a favorite to many Maryland residents is in jeopardy.

Mattawoman Creek, one of the most productive tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay is in danger. Charles County officials have requested permits to construct a four lane, 6.5 mile highway, the Cross County Connector - extension, that would plow across the full width of the sensitive Mattawoman Creek watershed.

Where do things stand?

Before the highway can be built, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) must decide by June 1st whether or not to issue a permit. According to the Southern Maryland Newspaper, MDE has "indicated that they are prepared to deny the permit." (http://www.somdnews.com/stories/04222009/indytop94347_32253.shtml)

Mattawoman Creek is so threatened by this road, that it has been recognized by American Rivers as the FOURTH MOST ENDANGERED RIVER IN THE COUNTRY!

WE as a state can stand up for Mattawoman Creek and urge MDE to deny a permit to build the Cross County Connector. If Maryland is for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, let's be sure not to pollute one of the remaining healthy tributaries.

ACT NOW: Please, email Secretary Shari Wilson today at stwilson@mde.state.md.us (or call 410-537-3084) and share this message (in your own words is best):

Subject: Deny wetland permits for the Cross County Connector extension. Save Mattawoman Creek.

"Please deny permits for the proposed Cross County Connector extension in Charles County which threatens the Mattawoman Creek. The Mattawoman Creek is the healthiest fish nursery in the Chesapeake Bay because it is protected by surrounding forests and wetlands. This highway proposal would destroy the Mattawoman Creek by increasing traffic, development, and pavement in its watershed. Finally, if transportation is really needed, let's build smarter, with public transportation like a light rail link to Waldorf.

"Your name

Your address (especially town and zip code!)

Be sure to give your town and zip code when writing!

The Secretary needs to understand both the breadth of concern (if you are nonlocal) and the depth of local opposition (if you are local).

So that we can keep track of the amount of pressure MDE is getting on this issue, PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU CALL OR EMAIL MDE. Hopefully, come June 1st we'll all have something to celebrate! Please see below opportunities to join us at Mattawoman Creek for a canoe trip, hike, or invasive plant removal to see with your own eyes just how wonderful a place it is. Hope to see you at the creek!

Alana Wase
Conservation Program Coordinator

***Want to do more?
Visit this site: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.mattawoman07apr07,0,3072403.story , print out the newspaper article and mail in a copy to Governor O'Malley (Office of the Governor, State House, 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401) with the same message, urging that Maryland deliver its promise on cleaning up the Bay and therefore, DENYING a permit to destroy non-tidal wetlands.

***Want to see the Mattawoman Creek for yourself? Join us at one of these upcoming outings: Mattawoman Creek Canoe/Kayak Trip Saturday May 2nd at 9am to attend, you MUST RSVP for more details visit: http://www.maryland.sierraclub.org/events/e103.asp

Chapman Forest Invasive Removal Sunday May 3rd at 10am http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0005.asp#Calender

Mattawoman Wildland Family Walk Saturday May 16th at 1pm, you MUST RSVP for more details visit: http://www.maryland.sierraclub.org/events/e100.asp

***For more information about the Mattawoman Watershed: http://mattawomanwatershedsociety.org

Just for locals! Catoctin Group of the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club Catoctin Group invites you this Saturday to join us at the Waste Not! Expo & ZeroWaste Festival.
Communities across the country are successfully recycling and choosing alternatives to landfills and incinerators. Frederick & Carroll counties face a $527 million dollar incinerator which could pollute the air we breathe with toxins and discourage recycling. San Francisco has reached 70% recycling of all waste. Join us at this exciting event to learn how Frederick and Carroll counties can do it too.
Waste Not! Expo
Saturday March 28th 9:00-2:00pm
9:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Frederick High School Auditorium
650 Carroll Pkwy Frederick, MD 21701
www.wastenotfrederick.org/index.html
Speakers: Eric Lombardi - Executive Director of Eco-Cycle, Inc. Brenda Platt - The Institute for Local Self-Reliance Rod Muir - Sierra Club National Waste Diversion Campaigner
Vendors & Information Tables, Music, Kids activities, Child care available for 2 years and over
Sponsors: Catoctin Group/Sierra Club, e-End USA, Reliable Recycling, Cafe Nola, Standard Solar, Jason and Pouv Judd, Maryland Heartland Sustainable Living Fair, ArrowBio, Frederick Magazine, Lolo Productions

Planet Forward: A chance to share YOUR thoughts

Sierra Club newsletter:

Planet Forward

Do you have your own thoughts about what America's energy future should look like? A new PBS special called Planet Forward is looking for your ideas in the form of videos, photo essays, commentaries, songs, and salsa recipes (ok, we made up that last one). When the special airs on April 15 (one week before Earth Day), the best submissions will be part of the program.

So if you're feeling creative and/or opinionated, check out the submission guidelines at planetforward.org. Your contribution could be seen on prime-time TV.

Say no to Coal. Even clean coal!

From the Sierra Club:

Are you in on the truth?

Tens of thousands of people have learned the truth about coal through our new website and online video at CoalIsNotTheAnswer.org. Despite the coal industry’s $40 million slick advertising campaign to mask the harmful and polluting nature of coal fired power plants, we are just not falling for it.

Now it’s time to take the truth about coal to the masses. We are launching a public awareness campaign to rebut the coal industry’s misleading claims. And we need your help.

Click here to come up with a new slogan for coal. One that tells the truth.

The best entries will be used on our ‘truth truck’ that will a carry a mobile billboard around D.C. and straight to the coal industry’s headquarters. (Don't worry, we've made sure our campaign is carbon neutral, which is more than we can say about the coal industry!)

Hundreds of comments have flooded in to the website from people telling their own story about coal. Here are a few of the most powerful:

Cathy in Ohio: I worked for a respiratory doctor and we would get coal miners in our office for treatment with black lung disease, emphysema. Poor souls had worked all their lives and basically gave their lives to that miserable coal mine. Their families felt helpless because it was the only job they knew and they worked and suffered. My utility bill was horribly expensive and they burned coal for our power and we paid dearly. There's got to be a better way for all involved.

Bill in Wyoming: I live in Wyoming, and we are coal country, and I live and breathe coal, but I do agree we have many, many options, so who will take that leap into the future? So instead of mining coal, we can get good jobs building wind turbines, solar panels, and set up incentives for research and development in alternative renewable energy sources. We can do it!

John in West Virginia: I grew up with coal in WV. For people who like to continue breathing, coal is not an answer. The strip miners are also polluting the beautiful state of my birth, making it impossible for people to live anywhere near their mining operations. Coal is part of the problem, and no part of the solution.

Real people, telling real stories about how coal affects their lives and communities. Let’s make sure that these are the types of messages that get out to the public, not the misleading sound bites the coal industry uses to mask the truth.

Submit your slogan today and let the country know what you really think of coal.

Thanks for all you do to protect the planet.

Bruce Nilles
National Director, Sierra Club Coal Campaign

I have long been on the anti-coal bandwagon, first for the health and saftey hazards of coal mining for miners, and now for the health and viability of our planet, and our economy. If you've ever been in coal country (WV, PA, etc) you've probably seen the damage done by coal mining. Slag heaps, and acres of countryside left unliveable because underground seaming (removing layers of coal from between layers of rock) has left the surface unstable and prone to caving in.

I still see no good reason why we should continue to kill workers in polluting coal mines to fuel polluting coal power plants, when we have so many better options available to us.

For more information about the evils of coal mining, visit the Stop Mountaintop Removal campaign.

The border wall: the truth about what we're keeping out

Someone please enlighten me if I'm missing something, but I'm really not getting how the proposed Border Wall is supposed to keep illegal immigrants out. Read some of the completely off-topic comments about the wall on the Sierra Club's blog.
How many times have we seen news clips showing illegals simply climbing over such obstacles before? Now show me a news clip of an endangered ocelot climbing over the wall, and I'll think about giving you my blessing to build it. The plain truth is, the wall isn't going to keep them out. In fact, its quite likely that the added obstacle will only create MORE environmental damage as they try to find other ways around/under/over. Historically, walls have been a grand gesture with often enough little actual effect. But that's just talking about humans.
I hate to break it to all of you, but humans aren't really my issue. In fact, I don't even really LIKE us.
Unlike a lot of people who are reading the Sierra Club blog, I'm not focusing my concern on my job (and I happen to work in an industry fairly well inundated with illegals) , or our country's economy (that's a whole other issue!) but on what the Sierra Club is SUPPOSED to be about: The land and the animals. Conservation. As they say "Explore, enjoy, and PROTECT the planet."
It is true that illegal aliens crossing the desert often leave trash behind. Big problem, right? So lets build a big stupid ugly wall around our entire country to keep them out, that'll solve it! Not. If you Arizonans are so concerned about this trash HERE is an idea for you: Why don't you and your local Sierra Club Chapter organize a clean up day? Now I'm not saying that solves the problem, but it certainly does help, instead of sitting there at your computer bitching about garbage and the economy. When is the last time you picked up an empty soda can you found on the side of the road, honestly?

Protect Cloud's Herd: Tell the BLM how you feel about wild horse removal

The end of the year brings many opportunities for you to help wild horses and burros. Write to the BLM about their plans concerning the Pryor Mountain wild horse herd, made famous by filmmaker Ginger Kathrens and the beautiful stallion Cloud.
Last year 7000 wild horses were removed from public lands, with plans to remove 4000 more in the next year. If I'm doing the math right (which might be doubtful) that's nearly half the wild horse population still roaming public lands. It is my belief that wild horses should A) remain wild and B) any necessary roundups should be put off until not only holding but TRAINING and REHOMING facilities can be built to cope with the influx of untrained and often unmanagable wild horses into a world already full of unwanted animals. There are more wild horses in holding facilities across the country than there are roaming the wild.
Another animal which has been let down by laws put into place to protect them is the wild burro of Big Bend State Park, Texas. Park employees have been shooting the animals, a practice apparently sanctioned by the Sierra Club (Sierra Club, por que?) in order to make room for the introduction of Big-Horn Sheep, a species which would increase big game hunting revenues.
If you would like to make your thoughts on any of these subjects heard, go to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign website and click the links to email officials.