June 2020 Great Falls Group Cascade
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Significant Events Calendar
June 2 -
Offshore Wind Energy: Training and Educational Opportunities Webinar
June 3
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Green New Deal Virginia Virtual Summit
June 4
- FACS Sustainability Champions Awards Program
June 14
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Sustainable Landscaping Solutions for Faith Communities
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Source: Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
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FACS Sustainability Champions Awards Program June 4
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WHEN: Virtual awards program on Thursday, June 4; 12 pm
WHERE:
Register
for the free online event.
DETAILS: Join the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS) in honoring its 2020 Sustainability Champions, including organizer and advocate Debra Jacobson, J.D., of the Great Falls Group. This third annual awards program highlights the individuals, faith communities, local businesses, and elected officials who have advanced the FACS mission of creating equitable solutions to climate change in Northern Virginia. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay and Fairfax County Public Schools Chair Karen Corbett Sanders will share their vision for climate progress by 2030 during this virtual awards program.
Learn more about the FACS Sustainability Champions.
SPONSOR: Hosted by Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
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Debra Jacobson, Great Falls Group
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Offshore Wind Energy: Training and Educational Opportunities Webinar June 2
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WHEN: Tuesday, June 2; 3:00 - 4:30 pm
WHERE:
RSVP
for this online webinar.
DETAILS: This webinar presents the current and future job training programs and educational opportunities supporting offshore wind development and the skills and certifications necessary to enter this exciting new industry here right now in Virginia. Speakers will outline next steps to include Virginia’s development of a workforce and 100% clean energy plans.
SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Virginia Chapter
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Source: Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
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Deadline Extended to June 8 for Comments Opposing Stealth Pipeline
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Great Falls Group (GFG) members and Sierra Club Virginia staff are working together to oppose a proposed new
under-the-radar fracked gas pipeline
– the Virginia Natural Gas Header Improvement Project (HIP).
GFG members successfully lobbied several local Delegates to sign onto a May 11
letter
calling on Governor Ralph Northam to halt the project. The SCC HIP comment period has been extended to June 8. See the
Toolkit
for information on how to easily submit a comment.
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Photo credit: Daniel Berti, Prince William Times.com
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Note to Our Members: The Great Falls Group May Be Reorganizing
Your Sierra Club group, the Great Falls Group (GFG), is considering reorganizing and renaming itself. What this means for you is that there are opportunities for you to get involved, use your skills, and make your voice heard in your local and regional area.
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Green New Deal Virginia Virtual Summit
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WHEN: Wednesday, June 3; 6-9 pm
WHERE: Online on your computer or device
DETAILS: Want more progress next year in the Virginia General Assembly? Then join in this Wednesday to get inspired by keynote speaker William Barber, III, North Carolina Poor People's Campaign, Climate Reality Project, and other guests. Do something extraordinary. Re-create our entire system for a more just and equitable society for all. More details at registration.
RSVP: Online registration closes at noon on Wednesday, June 3, so be sure to
REGISTER TODAY!
SPONSOR: Green New Deal Virginia Coalition (
facebook
)
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Power for the People Virginia
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Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy- related matters in Virginia.
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Virginia Conservation Network and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters
In April and May, Virginia Conservation Network (VCN) joined with the Virginia League of Conservation Voters (VaLCV) to convene local partners in eight virtual Conservation Community Regional Meetings. From Southwest Virginia to NoVa, VCN partners gathered over Zoom to celebrate a momentous 2020 General Assembly, brainstorm opportunities to work together as regional partners, and launch the 2021 Common Agenda process by soliciting policy suggestions.
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As You Sow
As You Sow is a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group that both persuades and pressures corporations to improve their performance on a broad range of environmental and social measures. They do this by introducing shareholder resolutions and engaging in advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Its “Invest Your Values” tool lets people assess whether their mutual fund investments are tied up in fossil fuels or other problematic industries. Check out the link below for more information.
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges to the planned process and timeline for CECAP. It is the intention of staff to continue working to keep the CECAP process moving along as close to possible on the original CECAP timeline, while being as responsive to the ever-changing restrictions and guidance for public safety.
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Green Hits and Misses in Fairfax County Budget
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The GFG continued its work this year to advocate for a county budget that supports our clean energy, transportation and conservation priorities. Our focus this year was to ensure that the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC) has the staffing it needs to support its growing portfolio of responsibilities to address greenhouse gas reductions, the largest solar purchase power agreement in Virginia (at least 40 MW), energy efficiency in county buildings and more.
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Updates on Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipeline
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The fight against the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines continues as we reach June, which brings potential decisions related to permits, court decisions and analysis of the projects’ financial stability. Both MVP and ACP are without a significant number of federal permits at this time,
and investment firm Morgan Stanley expects the ACP to fail
.
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Voter Turnout Drive
Sierra Independent Action is running a massive voter contact program focusing on the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Through its vast network, the Sierra Club has identified 1.3 million voters in those states who care about the environment, but who are either undecided or vote infrequently. The Sierra Club needs your help to get these voters motivated!
Find out how you can reach voters by writing letters, making phone calls, or sending text messages.
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Absentee Voting
Virginia Conservation Network's Victoria Higgins, Field Manager, provided information on upcoming elections, including information on absentee voting. The deadline to request an absentee ballot for federal posts
—
including several members of the U.S. House of Representatives —
is 5pm on Tuesday, June 16.
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Checking and Updating Your Sierra Club Contact and Membership Information
Are you not getting your Sierra Club communications or getting too much information, or just want to check the information? Then you can address this by going to My Account on the Sierra Club National website and changing your information.
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Composting at Home During COVID-19 Pandemic…and Beyond
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Fairfax County has temporarily eliminated yard waste pickup during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to protect solid waste employees. As a result, you may have accumulated yard waste materials. Also, you may be generating more food scraps due to eating meals at home. This could be an ideal time to start composting.
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GFG Seeks Writers for Letters to the Editor
Great Falls Group wants to increase support for local environmental issues via letters to the editor (LTEs). We’re forming an LTE working group. For more information, contact
Linda Brown
.
Also,
National Sierra Club seeks writers for its Get Out the Vote letter-writing campaign for the November election.
Learn about the campaign
and get instructions on participating. Help defeat Trump!
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Environmental Issue Chairs Needed
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Sierra Club needs your help in working on several environmental issues. This is your chance to help the environment in your local area on an issue that you have an interest in. Possibilities include legal questions, climate, environmental justice, outings, public health, and more.
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COVID-19
As we all deal with a global pandemic with COVID-19, we wanted to let you know
how the Sierra Club is adapting and responding
so we can keep doing the important work of helping our communities, protecting our natural environment and fighting for a just, clean energy future.
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Ways to Stay in Touch with GFG
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Send comments or questions to the
editor
.
Thank you!
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