Thanks to all the participants, presenters, and organizers for a successful Advocacy Workshop for a Resilient Valley held on January 17 at the Massanetta Springs Conference Center!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When: Saturday, January 17, 2015 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM Where: Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center, 712 Massanetta Springs Rd, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 You are invited by the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) and the Virginia Sierra Club to attend a workshop to share and sharpen the skills we all need to help mobilize our friends and neighbors to influence environmental policies at every level of government. The rising pressures on Virginia and the Valley are two-fold: (1) from the fossil fuel industry dumping CO2 into the atmosphere for free and old-fashioned electrical utilities building pipelines and discouraging wind and solar power, and (2) from the impacts of the climate disruption they cause. We may not feel our climate change as much as other areas but we will certainly feel higher food prices for livestock and for ourselves, a growing influx of people moving from more vulnerable areas, and natural ecosystems increasingly stressed not only by rising temperatures but habitat loss if development isn’t carefully managed. We must be aware of these pressures and be prepared to meet them before they overwhelm all that we value here: the beauty of mountains and streams filled with healthy wildlife and a resilient regional economy, both agricultural and non-farm, based on clean, renewable energy. Agenda items include:
The Big Picture – Our common goals
Messaging and Audience: Having good conversations about the challenges facing us
Introduction to Advocacy: Engaging local public officials
The EPA’s Clean Power Plan–Carbon Reduction Goals for Virginia
Earning Media Attention: How to get local press coverage of your actions and results
Building an Effective Team
Developing Action Plans: Exercises to put into practice what you have learned
Presenters will include Dr. Les Grady of CAAV’s Speakers Bureau and Kate Addleson, Conservation Director for Virginia Sierra Club and state lead for the Climate Action Campaign in Virginia. Lunch (and dinner, if you choose to stay for it) will be provided by Virginia Sierra Club. Dinner will also be held on site starting at 6 pm. Space is limited to 35 participants: pay your $10.00 registration fee now at our EventBrite page to save your place. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet other people working for what you believe in and to become a powerful advocate for a resilient and sustainable future for the Valley. For more information contact Joni Grady, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, contactcaav@gmail.com or 540-209-9198
In early November, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) founder Cathy Strickler and her husband Charlie participated in a week of training, organizing and protesting against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission headquartered in Washington, D.C. This Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) week of action coincided with the arrival of the Great March for Climate Action into D.C.on November 1st.
Below are Cathy’s notes and reflections about her involvement with this week of committed climate work:
Beyond Extreme Energy and Climate March Impressions, October 30- November 7, 2014
Thurs. Oct 30th
Picked up a big U-Haul truck in Washington, D.C., for marchers’ and protestors’ gear. Charlie drove and I followed out to Bethesda’s Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. Heavy traffic, lost once, traumatic, took a couple of curbs, no dents.
Fri. Oct. 31st Off
The Great March for Climate Action finishes in D.C.
Sat. Nov. 1st
Metro early to drive truck back to D.C. but didn’t need to in the end so we marched the last seven miles of the Great Climate March from Bethesda to the White House. Actually fun, good weather, fascinating changing streetscape and people. Rally short and well done. Walked three miles up 16th St. to All Souls Church Unitarian for reception and presentation by Michael Dowd who’s got a smooth spiel to get liberal faith activists more active on Climate Change. He’s done at least one TEDx talk. Then walked to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church for the marchers’ closing ceremony. It, too, was well done with everyone at the end bringing their boots to the front in silence. The stand out for me was the 71-year-old woman, Marian, who was one of four who walked the whole way. The group elected her mayor 3 times. Her speech was from her gut. I can’t remember content. She was tired and going home to Iowa the next day.
Sun. Nov. 2nd
Training all day in D.C. for the actions Monday – Friday. A professional group of three led it. The attendees broke into three affinity groups of about 25 each that would meet and strategize together during the week with each one being responsible for one of the three doors of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters. Steve Yoder got there midday.
Monday, Nov. 3rd
Up at 5 AM, in car by 6, at Union Station at 7:15 and then walked two blocks as a group to FERC. 25 arrested. Processed on site with $50 fine or choice to go to court, 15 days to decide. Steve was one of the ones arrested.
The worst part were the incidents at the daycare center. Background: last July we let parents in with their children but then other employees went in with them. Prior to this action a huge email discussion was held with the decision being made to keep everyone out and to go to the daycare a week in advance with handouts explaining the ‘greater good’ logic of our action and asking the parents to make other arrangements. What actually happened was that parents came anyway. We blocked the gates (a courtyard entrance at the back with wood fence and 2 separate gates), the police inside shoved the gates out, we shoved back, lots of shouting by everyone full of righteous conviction. A mother and baby-in-stroller did get in. There were several more shouting matches but eventually the decision was made to let them in peacefully. I think a lot of damage was done to our group’s message because of this. The rest of the week they were let in. It was extremely stressful; people in our group felt bad. Some, grandparents included, supported the original plan. Other employees got in, too, but I think the symbolic as well as the actual partial shut down was still very effective for those who were aware of it; no mainstream media covered it. Energy and environment media did.
There was a debriefing afterwards at the United Methodist Building but we missed it because we were tasked with getting another U-Haul truck for the art props so we took the metro, got the truck, drove back, loaded it, drove it to a parking garage, metroed back to Union Station in time to tell Tim DeChristopher ‘goodbye’. He was down for the day that included a protest rally outside the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. They gave the Democratic representatives pillows with oil derricks, etc., on them so the politicians would be more comfortable in bed with big oil and gas. Our group then gathered at Union Station to walk back to FERC for a New York City group to do a photo there with them all wearing sunglasses, pointing at FERC, symbolizing shady business.
Charlie, on left, is part of the blockade on FERC headquarters.
Tues. Nov. 4th
Today was a repeat of Monday basically. Charlie was in the blockade and I was handing out information and talking to pedestrians. Two people told me to go home, another said we were doing the right thing, another whispered ‘Bless you’. We left D.C. about noon. We had been asked to be jail support for an action that afternoon for those risking arrest at Solomons Island, MD, so we headed down there. Met up with that group at Starbucks in Lusby for the last minute strategy meeting, about 15 there. Also a bus was chartered from D.C. with all BXE people who were going to have a protest rally outside the Dominion construction site as a diversion to the group entering the property illegally. It all came off better than ever hoped for given the last minute nerves and confusion. A group of six made it to the top of a HUGE pile of dirt and stood with their well-made Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) sign “WE are > Dominion” before they were arrested and carried or led down. Five others were also arrested, two of them photographers. They all were taken to Calvert County Detention Center where we spent the night waiting for their release. A long night but a big room with upholstered chairs. I went prepared with a lot of food. Two other support people were there waiting for their partners. Information from the police was given sincerely, I think, but we got various conflicting information regarding release. They started coming out at 1:30 AM and the last at 7:00 AM. Everyone was great except we had a situation that was somewhat challenging but it worked out okay.
A local supporter with a van took the last four to the Suitland Metro Station at 7AM. Very glad we didn’t have to do that twice (4-passenger Volt) with no sleep except two short naps, it would have taken four hours.
Weds. Nov. 5th Sleep and off.
Thurs. Nov. 6th
Back on schedule. Today was a silent vigil for at least an hour in coordination with Veterans For Peace. It was very effective by all accounts and in its solemnity it was a joy and comfort to think of every CAAV steering committee member and others who I’ve worked with and respect so much and of ALL the things we have accomplished together. Then there was a ‘die in’ with about 12 in the street representing those who have died from causes connected to Climate Change. All except three got up after the second arrest warning but one of the three arrested was an 83-year-old woman who has been a peace activist for years. They were put in paddy wagons but then processed on site and not taken away.
After lunch we had a march around capital hill to protest fast tracking the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The organizer and leader, Margaret Flowers, was really impressive. She and her husband, Kevin Zeese run popularresistance.org; they are very busy, seasoned activists living in Baltimore. The art props were great. Then we all, about 30, walked over to National Public Radio headquarters to protest their cutting back Climate Change reporting staff and taking fossil fuel money resulting in horrible ‘ads’. We all got wet in a hard rain storm but it was okay for me since I had an extra pair of thick socks. Then it was the metro to St. Stephen’s for supper and strategy session.
We had been told the strategy was to have the most arrests on Friday so Charlie and I had decided to wait until then. There weren’t any strategy meetings before we left around 9 PM, instead people were working on a sign to hang off the Union Station parking garage facing FERC and constructing ‘lock down’ equipment. (PVC pipe about 2-3’ that people put their arms in to join in the middle with carabiners hooked onto a rod bolted thru the middle of the pipe) This makes removing blockaders very difficult but blockaders can release themselves at any time.
Friday, Nov. 7th
Same as Monday and Tuesday from our perspective but different for those at the front entrance. We were stationed at the side door and didn’t see any of the action. The lock down was across a garage entrance on the other side of the building. They all, five, were arrested and taken away. Out front a group from fracking areas in Pennsylvania came and had testimonies from those affected; there were a lot of pedestrians who listened, not sure how many. Police had put up tape as a barrier not to cross. One of our leaders came to our door and asked for arrestee volunteers; Charlie went but came back soon saying three had tried to cross the barrier and were very roughly pushed back and down by the police. Earlier two protesters were tased without warning and another accused of assault when no camera was going. That charge was dropped due to the mature handling of the situation by the protestor. Another protestor reacted to hearing of this by being loudly verbally aggressive, then tearful, full of too much frustration, knowledge and heartache from the climate march and week of action.
There was a closing circle ceremony in the street in front of FERC with songs, speeches and ‘mike check’ reading by all of BXE’s demands of FERC (this happened every day), ending with ‘we will be back’. Everybody went to a church on Capitol Hill for lunch and a debriefing. There was a lot of appreciation all the way around for what was accomplished and a strong hope expressed for more actions.
The week was impressive with the numbers, artwork and passion. I sensed more than passion, a deep gut conviction, among some of the marchers who stayed the week. I feel sad that their future holds suffering and struggle and I pay them deepest homage.
The week may have benefited from more follow through with the original organizational plan; but, given the circumstances of stress, energy and time, this was probably an unrealistic expectation. It may have been problematic had there not been the high level of trust between the marchers that allowed faster cooperation and action.
It was a new, needed experience for me with more anger than the mass arrest against the KXL pipeline at the White House in August 2011. The FERC blockade taught me how stressful an action could be, somehow I had not anticipated that. I reacted by somewhat withdrawing and becoming more of an observer, mentally at least. It was interesting that even with very clear direction from the lawyer on Sunday not to push back against police, this was done repeatedly, once to the point of breaking the facing on the wooden gate. I think next time, if there is one, I will be more prepared emotionally. The leadership has stressed that the actions need to be based in love but in reality this is extremely difficult to do.
The seriousness of the issue and future we face calls for a commensurate level of action. This is difficult. Having previous friendships with others on the Walk for our Grandchildren that were at BXE helped and I couldn’t have done it without Charlie’s partnership. We need to build our capacity to have effective actions that create awareness of what is happening and cause people to rethink their involvement in changing the direction of the decisions we made as a society.
After two days and an almost sleepless night on jail support I wrote this stream of consciousness piece (protector is my word for protestor) and dedicate it to anyone who has read this in the hope that having read all this will decrease the scariness of stepping out:
Mother screaming
Protector pushing
Protector sitting
Protector being picked up
Man and woman telling me to go home
Man telling me I’m doing the right thing
Blind woman talking to me and me helping her thru the crowd
People taking the info – maybe 1 in 4
Nice security
Hot-blooded protectors
Old people protecting
Good props
Stress, anxiety
Enjoyment in connecting
Being worn out
Feeling weak
Having hope and satisfaction
Knowing this is where change happens
Seeing the sun go down and come up at the jail
Being inspired
Being relieved
Being alive
The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley hosted a table at the Harrisonburg International Festival on September 27, 2014, in Hillandale Park. We featured a display board with a map and images of climate-related changes being realized by the friends and families of many Harrisonburg residents. We displayed the letter below to Senators Kaine and Warner and Representative Goodlatte and asked for signatures:
Dear Gentlemen:
Nations around the world, many of whom contribute very little CO₂ to the atmosphere, are already suffering from the impacts of human-caused climate change. Many immigrants from these countries live in our Harrisonburg community. We work with them, shop with them, share our lives with them, and so the destruction we read about is not abstract, it has a human face.
A 20-year forecast from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) found that a carbon fee rising $10 per ton each year would add 2.8 million jobs to the economy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions 52 percent below 1990 levels. It is no longer true that we must choose between the environment and the economy; the REMI study shows we can cut carbon emissions and improve our economy at the same time through a revenue-neutral carbon tax that gives the revenue back to households.
We the undersigned call upon the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and President Obama to work together to introduce, promote, and pass legislation that puts a price on carbon pollution and returns revenues directly to the American people.
We owe this action to ourselves, our grandchildren, and to all the people of this small world we share.
Senators Kaine and Warner and Representative Goodlatte were each sent a copy of this letter with some 75 signatures attached as collected at the International Fest.
Wild and Scenic On Tour brings together a selection of short films that tell a story about our planet, our beautiful and precious wild lands, and the people of the communities who love and defend them. They open our eyes and hearts to fantastic experiences in remarkable places. They beckon us towards action, highlight issues, and provide solutions.
There will be 9 different films shown. The show will feature Dying Green. Set in the foothills of the Appalachians, this film explores one man’s vision of using green burials to conserve land. The efforts of small town physician Dr. Billy Campbell have radically changed our understanding of burials in the United States. Dr. Campbell’s dream is to conserve one million acres of land.
Wild Virginia will also be showing Return to the Tepuis. “I hear the most beautiful sound in the world,” says Dr. Bruce Means. Referring to the call of a toad that he and his expedition team – North Face Climber Mark Synnott and National Geographic contributing photographer Joe Riis — travelled to the tops of the Tepuis of South America to find. Means has a hypothesis that he calls a paradigm and this little toad is the missing link. Braving the elements and first time repels into crevices will they find the illusive pebble toad.
Door Prizes and Raffle: There will be a raffle for a framed print of an enormous 1,600 year old redwood tree generously donated by National Geographic photographer, Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols. Everyone who attends will be entered to win door prizes from sponsors.
Discount Memberships: Wild Virginia will be offering special discount memberships at the door.
Wild Virginia is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving wild forest ecosystems in Virginia’s National Forests.
The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley is offering a free drawing for two tickets to the 2014 Wild & Scenic Film Festival!
Saturday, September 13 at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market 8:00AM – 1:00PM.
Saturday, September 13 at the People’s Climate March Pre-Rally: Changing Everything Takes Everyone at Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, 4:00-6:00PM.
Saturday, September 27 at the International Fest, Hillandale Park, 12:00-6:00PM.
One entry per person please.
The drawing will be held at the end of the tabling event at the International Fest. The tickets will be available to the winner at the Film Fest on September 29.
Who’s we? The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, the Sierra Club, the Voluntary Gas Tax group, Occupy Harrisonburg, JMU E.A.R.T.H. Club, New Community Project, EMU Earthkeepers, 350 Central VA, and every single citizen of the Shenandoah Valley who’s concerned about keeping Earth livable for the future.
What are we ready for? To go to New York City on September 21st to join the People’s Climate March, the nation’s largest climate march, to demand bold, political action to address the climate crisis.
Why September 21st? World leaders will be coming to New York City for a United Nations summit to discuss climate change, and thousands of people are coming together to show that our communities are resilient, powerful, and united.
How are we going? By chartered bus, leaving JMU’s Memorial Hall at 3:30 AM the 21st, returning 2:00 AM the 22nd. A long day but worth every minute.
How can I join in? Easy! Just click on this link to the Harrisonburg bus and you’ll be at the right place. Sierra Club and others are helping to make tickets affordable—you’ll never get a better bargain to help you save the planet.
What if I can’t go? Attend these events leading up to the People’s Climate March:
Disruption,350.org‘s new movie that makes a compelling call for bold action that is strong enough to tip the balance. Sunday, September 7, 7-9 PM, ISAT 136 on the JMU campus, and 8-10PM, Common Grounds Coffeehouse, EMU campus.
Click here to reserve your seat on the bus to New York City from JMU Memorial Hall, Harrisonburg!
Hi all,
You may remember that back in February of 2013 we filled two buses to travel from Harrisonburg to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Forward on Climate Rally. While the rally was a great success in that tens of thousands of people showed up on that frigid day, little has been done by the leaders of the world’s great powers to reverse the trajectory of climate change.
Five weeks from now on Sunday, September 21st, another march, which is being dubbed the “largest climate march in history,” takes place in New York City. It is being called the People’s Climate March and it will be held prior to the United Nations Climate Summit. President Obama and many other world leaders will be attending the summit. The climate march is intended to send the message: WE MUST ACT NOW!
Would you like to ride a bus to this event? As was the case with the Washington, D.C. rally, we plan to send some buses from Harrisonburg to NYC. How many people can we turn out? Last time we filled two buses. Could we do it again?
While the actual cost and logistics of the trip are still being worked out, we would like to gauge initial interest among those of you in the community who might be interested in participating. I can promise that the weather will not be as cold as it was at the DC rally. We will, once again, look for sponsors who can help subsidize the cost of the trip and make it affordable for families, students, those with low incomes, and any others who might not be able to afford the cost.
The estimated cost of the trip will be $40-50 per person for the round trip (less than that for those with limited income). The trip will most likely be one very full day of travel and protest as the logistics of organizing overnight housing in NYC would likely be prohibitive. To be clear, WE WILL GO AND COME BACK IN ONE DAY!
Once we make the final arrangements for the trip, I will send out another e-mail that details the specifics. Please email me using the contact form below to let me know if you would like further information. Once we have the cost nailed down, you will be able to reserve a seat on the bus by paying in advance. Please feel free to share this post with friends, family, co-workers or others whom you think might be interested. I look forward to hearing from you!
Press Release, July 18, 2014: Solarize Harrisonburg is Happening!
A local environmental group, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV), is launching a Solarize Harrisonburg program. This program is part of a grass roots effort in the U.S. to increase the use of solar to produce energy and to lower installation and equipment costs through a bulk purchase process. Currently there are such efforts underway in several states and, within VA, in Charlottesville, Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern VA.
CAAV sponsored an initial, interest-gathering meeting on June 2 that was attended by over 100 persons. Subsequently, CAAV decided to sponsor a Solarize Harrisonburg group. Initially, the focus will be on the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County areas. If the interest is there, the group may consider expansion into nearby cities and counties. The Solarize Harrisonburg group has established a web site, www.vasun.org/solarize-virginia/solarize-harrisonburg, and is partnering with the Community Power Network (CPN)/VA Sun to move forward.
A CAAV member, Joy Loving, Rockingham County resident and solar system owner, has agreed to lead the effort initially. In a June 19 Open Forum published in the Daily News-Record, Loving wrote “As a cost conscious consumer and owner of a home powered by solar electricity since October 2012, I welcomed the opportunity to learn about the growing ‘Solarize’ movement. The many questions from other attendees yielded even more useful information. Since the Harrisonburg event took place, I have asked for status updates from several Virginia ‘Solarize’ efforts, and I look forward to better understanding their experiences and results. I believe many people could benefit from knowing more about their renewable energy alternatives, especially solar.”
Info Meeting Solarize Harrisonburg will have a community meeting and solar information session with representatives of (CPN/VA SUN on July 28, 2014. The meeting will take place at 6:00 PM at Massanutten Regional Library, 174 South Main Street, Harrisonburg. CPN works with interested people in a geographic area to initiate formation of a solar cooperative. Once established, CPN can then assist the cooperative with the many aspects (e.g., analytical, financial, technical) that such an effort involves. This purpose of this meeting is to generate interest, describe the process to attendees, get questions answered and begin the necessary organizational tasks.
Joining the Group
Anyone who is interested in going solar or in helping this initiative get underway can fill out the survey on the Solarize Harrisonburg web site. For those who express interest in installing solar, CPN will do a satellite assessment to see if their roof is a good fit for solar. For those offering to help, Solarize Harrisonburg will use the information from the sign up form to begin the process of matching talents/skills to the various areas in which it needs expertise. “Completing the sign up form does not obligate one to install a solar system. But it does make the person part of this exciting local initiative,” said Loving.
She added: “Getting the word out about our local Solarize program is vital. Folks who believe they might be interested should complete the survey and let their friends, neighbors, co workers, homeowners associations, fellow congregants or other potentially interested persons (like area farmers) know about the July 28 meeting and invite them to attend. The whole idea is to lower each person’s costs so the more folks who participate the lower the cost is likely to be!”
A final Solarize Harrisonburg Information Session will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 6 PM atthe Massanutten Regional Library, 174 S. Main St., Harrisonburg. Get your questions answered. Everyone welcome!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Solarize Harrisonburg Information Session Monday, July 28, 6 PM atthe Massanutten Regional Library, 174 S. Main St., Harrisonburg. Everyone welcome!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many thanks to Anya Schoolman, Ivy Main, Tom Benevento, and Richard Baugh for their inspiring presentations, and to everyone who came out to the June 2 forum to start learning about how we can boost solar power in Harrisonburg!
Email contactcaav [at] gmail.com to get on an email list to stay informed about how we may continue organizing to make this happen.
Community Power Network has set up a webpage for our Solarize Harrisonburg efforts through the VASUN citizens network site. Sign up to go solar! Bookmark the site to stay informed about our progress!
Check out some of the conservative cost figures based on Solarize Blacksburg provided by Anya here.
See CAAV steering committee member Joy Loving’s Open Forum opinion piece in the Daily News-Record as published on June 19, 2014: It’s Time to Solarize Homes. Joy has agreed to take the lead for CAAV on next steps for our area solarize effort. She is communicating with Anya Schoolman of Community Power Network and reaching out to interested parties. Contact her to get involved with leadership on this project at jal_1998 [at] yahoo.com.
——————————————————————————————————————
If you’ve been thinking about getting your own rooftop solar panels but have held off because of the high initial cost, the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley may have a solution for you. We will be exploring the pros and cons of neighborhood solar cooperatives and other solar bulk purchase programs at a meeting on Monday, June 2 at the Massanutten Regional Library, 174 S. Main St., Harrisonburg, from 6-7:30 PM. Speakers will include *Dan Conant of the Community Power Network, Ivy Main from Sierra Virginia and Harrisonburg City Council Member Richard Baugh.
By getting together with others in their community to buy large quantities of the panels cooperatively, residents of Blacksburg and Richmond have been able to cut their purchase and installation costs significantly. Groups like the Community Power Network help educate interested buyers about photovoltaic solar panels and do a survey of each home to determine whether the roof is even suitable for solar. Then they help the group navigate both the bidding for lowest price but high quality panels and installation as well as the necessary arrangements with the local electric utility. All contracts are still between the individual and the installer.
To learn more about this powerful (!) opportunity, please join us to see if we can all help Harrisonburg go solar!
Our forum guests:
*Dan Conant is Virginia and West Virginia Program Director for the Community Power Network, a D.C. based non-profit alliance dedicated to making solar energy accessible and affordable for all communities.
Ivy Main is Chair of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club and an educated voice for renewable energy in VA.
Richard Baugh is a practicing attorney who has served the City of Harrisonburg as Council Member since 2008.
Tom Benevento of the New Community Project in Harrisonburg will provide a brief appeal for the consideration of energy efficiency updates to a home when installing solar energy.
*May 31 update: Anya Schoolman, the Executive Director of Community Power Network and founder of the DC SUN solar co-ops, will be our speaker and representative of CPN instead of Dan Conant. From Dan: “Anya’s a real pioneer when it comes to community solar programs (she was just named one of President Obama’s ‘Solar Champions of Change’). …Anya was going to be passing through Harrisonburg on the way to SW VA on Monday … so we thought it would be good for her to give the solar co-op presentation in my stead. Don’t worry–she’s an upgrade over me in any case! She’ll be able to talk about her personal experience forming co-ops all around DC.”
The Harrisonburg Rockingham Interfaith Association (HRIFA) partnered with the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) to sponsor a discussion on climate change on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at the First Presbyterian Church on Court Square in Harrisonburg. Les Grady of CAAV began the program with a short presentation on why climate change matters as an issue for faith communities and for our society. This was followed by conversation among those in attendance. HRIFA president David Miller, pastor, Montezuma Church of the Brethren, worked with Les Grady to arrange the program.
Daily News-Record reporter Candace Sipos covered the event in this article as published in the May 10, 2014, edition of the paper.
“Protecting the South’s Environment through the Power of the Law” is the motto of the Southern Environmental Law Center. SELC is the largest environmental organization in the Southeast, with 60 attorneys working out of nine offices throughout our six states (Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina) and on Capitol Hill. The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley is excited to be bringing Angela Navarro, one of 12 SELC attorneys at the Virginia office in Charlottesville, to our April 29 forum, 5:30—7:00 PM in Ruby’s at Clementine, 153 S. Main St., downtown Harrisonburg.
SELC chooses its work for maximum impact—to set important precedents or to strengthen and enforce far-reaching policy—but it also pursues dozens of site-specific cases and projects to protect places too special to lose, like George Washington National Forest. Angela has particular expertise in two areas of great interest to Harrisonburg/Rockingham County: Energy Efficiency: the cleanest, cheapest energy resource, and Solar Power. CAAV has been working with others in the HR/Green Network to support the city in increasing the energy efficiency of municipal buildings and has often partnered with other groups to get Dominion Power to increase its renewable energy resources and encourage, not discourage consumer solar panel installations. SELC pursues the same goals but in ways that we don’t often get to hear about.
We invite you to join us in Ruby’s to find out how SELC is working to lower Virginia’s carbon emissions and to protect our environment. Come early and enjoy food and drink from the bar, then learn about clean energy and ask questions of an expert.
When: Saturday, January 17, 2015 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM Where: Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center, 712 Massanetta Springs Rd, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 You are invited by the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) and the Virginia Sierra Club to attend a workshop to share and sharpen the skills we all need to help mobilize our friends and neighbors to influence environmental policies at every level of government. The rising pressures on Virginia and the Valley are two-fold: (1) from the fossil fuel industry dumping CO2 into the atmosphere for free and old-fashioned electrical utilities building pipelines and discouraging wind and solar power, and (2) from the impacts of the climate disruption they cause. We may not feel our climate change as much as other areas but we will certainly feel higher food prices for livestock and for ourselves, a growing influx of people moving from more vulnerable areas, and natural ecosystems increasingly stressed not only by rising temperatures but habitat loss if development isn’t carefully managed. We must be aware of these pressures and be prepared to meet them before they overwhelm all that we value here: the beauty of mountains and streams filled with healthy wildlife and a resilient regional economy, both agricultural and non-farm, based on clean, renewable energy. Agenda items include:
