May 2020 Great Falls Group Cascade
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Significant Events Calendar
May 4
- S
ubmit comments to SCC on Header Improvement Project (see article in this Cascade)
May 9
- 4th Annual Mother's Day Climate Rally, Virtual Edition
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On March 30, 2020, Virginia Governor Northam issued a statewide
Stay at Home order
to protect the health and safety of Virginians and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Consequently, our next scheduled Task Force meeting on April 29th was cancelled.
The County notes that, nonetheless, the intention is for the CECAP process to continue moving forward as close to original timeline as possible. To that end, a new process was developed to proceed with the items on the March Task Force meeting virtually.
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General Assembly Success!
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Following last November’s election, the General Assembly passed an unprecedented number of bills that give environmentalists in Virginia reason to smile. At the top of this year’s burgeoning list of legislative victories is the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
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Power for the People Virginia
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Recent blog posts by Ivy Main on energy- related matters in Virginia.
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Fairfax Board Adopts Broad Powers During COVID-19
At their April 14 meeting, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved an emergency ordinance that allows it to conduct a wide range of public business during the COVID-19 emergency. At the same meeting, Fairfax County approved three land use rezonings, including a controversial residential development near Dulles Airport. GFG and many other groups submitted letters asking that the emergency "uncodified ordinance" be scaled back. So far, the county has not agreed to scale back its overly broad emergency powers.
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Moving Transportation Forward in Northern Virginia
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More than 90 people attended “Moving Transportation Forward in Northern Virginia,” a webinar co-sponsored by the Virginia Sierra Club and VSC NAACP. The webinar focused on advancing clean and healthy transportation solutions, including electric vehicles, transportation equity, transit-oriented development, state transportation policy and affordable housing.
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FERC Unjustly Tramples on the Rights of Private Landowners
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Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, released preliminary investigative findings on April 28 showing that the natural gas pipeline approval process used by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unjustly tramples on the rights of private landowners.
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Richard Averitt, landowner, VA
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Header Improvment Project Would Bring Significant Changes to Northern Virginia
During Food & Water Watch Virginia’s April 13th Community Webinar on Prince William and Fauquier Counties’ Fracked Gas Projects, the Virginia Organizer went over the significant changes the state-wide Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) Header Improvement Project would bring to Northern Virginia. These changes include roughly nine miles of new 30” pipelines called the Transco Interconnect and Quantico Parallel pipelines along with a 25 acre compressor station proposed for Nokesville. Presenters discussed signficant health and economic impacts of the Header Improvement Project. Submit comments to SCC on HIP by May 4th, see link below for details.
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Webinar Sees Health Dangers, Dim Future for Fracking in Virginia
On April 20, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter and Virginia Pipeline Resisters co-hosted an informational webinar on potential impacts to Central Virginia from the Virginia Natural Gas "Header Improvement Project." The webinar, viewable at
this link
, discussed potential impacts to communities along the route, existing fossil fuel infrastructure in the region, and the specific environmental impacts that could occur to the Chickahominy River. Comments to the State Corporation Commission were due by April 28, 2020; and a public hearing will be held on May 12, at the SCC and broadcasted virtually.
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Explore the Plastics Problem with Two New Programs
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Two fascinating PBS programs,
Plastics Wars
and
The Plastic Problem
reveal the monumental
challenges with plastic -- and some solutions. Available online, these programs explore the need to rein in plastic overspending and overuse; to reduce plastic waste and pollution; and to develop more environmentally friendly materials to replace plastic.
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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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4th Annual Mother’s Day Climate Rally, Virtual Edition
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Featuring some of the biggest names in climate action: Wenonah Hauter, Bill McKibben, & Alexandria Villaseñor & her mom Kristin Hogue
WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 3-4 pm (one day before Mother’s Day)
or
on the Facebook event:
DETAILS: Join us for the 4th annual Mother's Day Climate Rally -- the virtual edition. Though we can't meet in person this year, our goal remains the same. We're rallying for the planet, clean energy, a healthy climate, and a healthy future.
17 SPONSORS
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April 22, 2020 was the
50
th
anniversary of Earth Day
.
To celebrate, the supporters of Earth Day held a three day webinar April 22-24. You can still view information at the website for Earth Day 50, at the above link.
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Image source: Earthday.org
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Aggressive Climate Action Could Save the World $145 Trillion
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Image Source: Yale Climate Connections
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Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that evaluates climate solutions nations could deploy to reach the point where greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere begin to decline (the threshold of carbon “drawdown”).
To get to drawdown, we will need to phase out fossil fuels and strengthen the natural sinks that absorb carbon.
The new Drawdown Review considers two potential pathways. Scenario 1 envisions drawdown is reached in the mid-2060s. Scenario 2 is more ambitious, by achieving carbon drawdown in the mid-2040s. In the more aggressive Scenario 2, global economic savings are $145 trillion.
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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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Ways to Stay in Touch with GFG
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Send comments or questions to the
editor
.
Thank you!
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