Category: what we’re doing

From Ruin to Recovery: a fundraiser to help West Virginians rebuild after the flood of June 23, 2016

Tuesday, August 30
7:00 to 8:30 PM
Pale Fire Brewing Company
The Ice House
217 S. Liberty St., Harrisonburg, VA

News about the West Virginia flood has left the papers and TV but the people whose homes and businesses were wrecked still need your help.  You can learn what they are facing and contribute at the “Ruin to Recovery” fundraiser at Pale Fire Brewing Company Tap Room on Tuesday, August 30, 7:00—8:30PM . The event is sponsored by the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) and Pale Fire Brewing Company.

West Virginia was hit by a tremendous microburst* of rain (the kind of once in a 1000 year storm some are calling a “rain bomb”) back on June 23 when 7 inches of rain fell on parts of WV and nearby Virginia.  As water rushed down the hillsides it took boulders and trees with it, then it gathered in creeks and ran on to fill streams and rivers to capacity and beyond, and finally found itself rushing through farms and villages and towns taking anything in its way on downstream.  Our local area Virginia Search and Rescue team led by Harrisonburg Deputy Fire Chief Mike Brady was called to help and they responded.  When word of the devastation reached Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, we responded with food and clothing and money and enormous sympathy.  Now it is time to rebuild and local groups such as the Great Appalachian Valley Conservation Corps, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park have sent workers to help with that huge task. But rebuilding takes money.

Cathy Strickler, who founded the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley after she and her husband Charlie helped with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, said she knew just how daunting that kind of work can be and thought Harrisonburg could continue to offer not just sympathy but also something more tangible.  Tim Brady, owner of Pale Fire Brewing Company, agreed with her and offered his tap room for the fundraiser. Everyone is invited to join CAAV members for a beer or two while you hear from Chief Brady and see the terrifying conditions his team faced during the flood. Then Zach Foster, Program Director of the Great Appalachian Valley Conservation Corps, who coordinated the local work crews sent in July to Rainelle, WV, will show you the extent of the recovery work still left to be done and where your donations will be used.

All money collected and a portion of beer sales will be donated to WV Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and their Disaster Relief Fund.

  Let us know you can attend through our facebook event page here.

Photo credit for photo of flood in WV used in image at top: Chad Agner/ Gray Television, Inc.

*Correction to “From Ruin to Recovery” announcement: The severe storm that caused the deadly flooding in WV in June was not a microburst. A microburst is a localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm and is usually less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter. Microbursts can cause extensive damage at the surface, and in some instances, can be life-threatening.  It was more likely a Meso-Convective Complex, a large, long-lasting system of strong thunderstorms that persist for more than 6 hours. As our warming atmosphere can hold more and more water, these increase in frequency and severity.  Some writers have started calling them “rain bombs,” a term previously coined for microbursts, hence the confusion. For your astonishment, Google “microburst” but hope you’re never in one!

Joni Grady

From WMRA’s coverage of the event which took place on Monday, June 6, 2016:

Activists who helped bring an end to the Keystone XL pipeline from crossing Nebraska have come to Virginia to help local landowners do the same with Dominion’s Atlantic Coast pipeline. The alliance is staging six protests across Virginia and West Virginia, planting sacred corn along the route of the proposed pipeline. WMRA’s Jessie Knadler attended one event in Stuarts Draft to learn more about these “seeds of resistance.”

Jessie Knadler’s story is here: Planting Seeds of Resistance to Pipeline

Mike Tripp created this video about the event for Staunton’s News Leader; Laura Peters wrote the accompanying story:

For video and story by Mike Tripp and Laura Peters for Staunton’s News Leader, click on the image above taken from the video.

CAAV founder Cathy Strickler and her husband Charlie, both current CAAV steering committee members, attended the Seeds of Resistance ceremonies held in Stuarts Draft and Wingina, Virginia, on Monday, June 6. Cathy shared the photos on this page.

What do people do, when the law prevents them from protecting themselves? This film tells the inspiring story of the small Irish village that stood up to Big Oil. Join the Shenandoah Group of the Sierra Club for a free screening of this award-winning film.

Film: The Pipe
Date: Monday, June 13, 2016
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: JMU Ice House, 127 West Bruce St., Harrisonburg

Afterwards we’ll wander next door to Pale Fire Brewing Co. for discussion.

Co-sponsored by the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley.

 

Click on image at left to see the trailer.

Running time is 1 hour, 23 minutes

 

The Pipe is a thrilling documentary, portraying the story of a community tragically divided, and how they deal with an oil pipe that could bring economic prosperity or destruction of a way of life shared for generations. In a remote corner of the west of Ireland sits Broadhaven Bay. It is the perfect picture postcard, where the high cliffs of Erris Head and the Stags of Broadhaven stand sentry at the mouth of the bay against the mighty Atlantic, as if protecting the delicate golden sands of Glengad beach and the tiny village of Rossport which nestles behind the dunes. However this peaceful tranquility belies the turmoil that lies beneath, and the unique nature of the coastline which has sustained generations of farmers and fishermen, has also delivered to Shell Oil the perfect landfall for the Corrib Gas Pipeline. In the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland, the rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the worlds most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their state for protection, they find that the state has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline ahead of their own rights.

Winner Best Documentary, Foyle Film Festival November 2010. Honourable Mention, IDFA 2010. Winner Best Documentary Galway Film Fleadh, July 2010.

International Premiere, Toronto FF,10th September.
Released on July 2010

 

Free screening of the movie Catching the Sun followed by a panel discussion.

Sunday, May 22, 2016
7:00 PM

Court Square Theater
41 Court Square
Harrisonburg

An unemployed American worker, a Tea Party activist, and a Chinese solar entrepreneur race to lead the clean energy future. But who wins and who loses the battle for power in the 21st century?

Through the stories of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun captures the global race to lead the clean energy future. Over the course of a solar jobs training program, Catching the Sun follows the hope and heartbreak of unemployed American workers seeking jobs in the solar industry.  With countries like China investing in innovative technologies and capitalizing on this trillion-dollar opportunity, Catching the Sun tells the story of the global energy transition from the perspective of workers and entrepreneurs building solutions to income inequality and climate change with their own hands. Their successes and failures speak to one of the biggest questions of our time: will the U.S. actually be able to build a clean energy economy?

Filmed in four countries over the last five years, Catching the Sun is not a gloom and doom climate change film. It focuses on the human stories of real people who are working towards tangible solutions. Solving climate change can unleash innovation and transform an inefficient, polluting energy system into something radically better for our economy.

“A must-see film. An eye-opening look at workers and entrepreneurs on the forefront of the clean energy movement that will transform, and enliven the way you see the future. What is clear is the wonderful opportunity the transition to clean energy represents.”  – MARK RUFFALO

Movie running time: 75 minutes

Click on the image at left to view the trailer.

More about this movie here: http://www.catchingthesun.tv/

The movie screening and discussion are being hosted by the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley with financial assistance from the Harrisonburg Voluntary Gas Tax group and the Shenandoah Group of the Sierra Club.

CAAV members Cathy and Charlie Strickler participated in the Democracy Spring demonstrations in front of the U.S.Capitol on Saturday, April 16, 2016, and Democracy Awakening rallies, marches and demonstrations on Sunday and Monday, April 17 and 18 in central D.C.

Saturday’s demonstrations and mass arrests for acts of civil disobedience were part of a weeks-long effort “protesting the influence of money in politics.” USA Today covered some of this here.

In addition to the top photo of Bruce Lynden and Charlie Strickler holding up signs, Cathy sent us these photos from Saturday:

From Sunday, April 17:

From Monday, April 18:

Report submitted by Bishop Dansby:

Laura and Bishop Dansby attended on April 2, 2016, a meeting of the Fairfax Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions at the Unity of Fairfax Church, Oakton, VA. The Faith Alliance is a working partner of Interfaith Power and Light.

The main part of the program was a panel of John W. Foust, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Pat Hynes, Chairman, Fairfax County School Board; and Brian Moran, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, who also serves as Virginia’s Chief Resilience Officer, charged with leading the effort to prepare Virginia for the current and future effects of climate change. Also in attendance were Catherine M. Hudgins, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who also spoke to the group. In the audience were a number of notable personages, including the individual who drafted the LEED standards for schools.

Pat Hynes said that Fairfax County School has scores of school buildings, and that they have more energy star rated buildings than any county in the nation. They have Eco Schools and Green Flag schools, the highest level of green. They emphasize renovation and stipulate that 1/3 of the renovation budget is for energy efficiency. She discussed they were taking bids on solar systems for their school buildings.

Both Hynes and Foust discussed the energy use Dashboard that allows the public to see online the energy use for each of the buildings in the county. The Federal government committed to 40% reductions in 10 years, and 30% of energy derived from renewable energy. The Faith Alliance says Northern Virginia governments should do no less. Energy dashboards – widely used across the nation – provides a way to measure progress and results in saving taxpayer money. The Energy Dashboard has been approved by Fairfax County as a result of the efforts of the Fairfax Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions under the leadership of Eric Goplerud, past Executive Director.

Brian Moran confirmed that Virginia was implementing the EPA Clean Power Plan. He said a number of efforts to stimulate renewables had been defeated by the republicans, who control the legislature. The Governor has vetoed the legislation that would have given the General Assembly the right to pass on the Clean Power Plan produced by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), as well as the coal industry subsidy, but that it will not be known until April 20 whether those vetoes will be overridden. Apparently, there are some democrats that might vote to override. Further, the General Assembly is now using the budget process to defund the DEQ as to the clean power plan.

When the panel ended, Laura Dansby delivered the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley’s April 2 Action Day petition with 177 signatures to Brian Moran for delivery to the Governor. The petition supported implementation of the Clean Power Plan and renewable energy efforts beyond that.

Eric Goplerud announced that the Fairfax Faith Alliance had been chosen by the Interfaith Power and Light as the most successful faith alliance for climate in the nation, news that he got the day before the conference. The Faith Alliance has members from a large number of churches, but does not require the church itself to pass a resolution or otherwise join.

After the panel, the attendees (about 75) broke into discussion groups. The panel members stayed for the whole program and participated in the discussion groups. Bishop Dansby had an opportunity to tell in his group, which included Brian Moran and Pat Hynes, the story of our effort in Harrisonburg to get a net zero school, and that while that effort has probably resulted in getting a highly energy efficient school, it is likely that solar panels will lose out to other priorities. Bishop suggested that it would be useful for schools to have a state incentive or at least the governor’s imprimatur that schools implement solar systems for political cover for the local school boards.

CAAV Founder Cathy Strickler shares her thoughts on some recent events she attended in Washington, D.C. with her husband Charlie.        

On Thursday, March 24, Charlie and I attended Finding Common Ground on Energy and Environment in America – a Bipartisan Panel and Open Discussion, at the Aspen Institute overlooking Dupont Circle. We had just left Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters where seven people were on the cusp of arrest. One short Metro ride away and we are in front of an elegant spread of fruit, cheese and sweets for the event’s audience.

On the panel are Bob Inglis, Bill Ritter, Jr. (by phone), Theodore Roosevelt IV, and Heather Zichal. (I’m aware of the last two panelists compromised history and/or current statis).  There was general agreement that a carbon tax is needed but that climate change is moving faster than the political process. During Q&A I asked that, given the historical and theoretical evidence and agreement that civil disobedience is a necessity of social change, what would they advise activists to focus on to be most strategic, assuming that they agreed NVCD (NonViolent Civil Disobedience) is needed. I said we had just come from the arrest action at FERC. Theodore Roosevelt IV said we need more actions, people need to be good stewards of their lands and stand to protect them. Heather Zichal said there is no one strategy, that multiple action fronts are needed. Bob Inglis said that change happens when people come together, the civil rights movement became effective when white rabbis and ministers got involved. Afterwards, I spoke with Theodore Roosevelt IV about fracking, he was generally supportive of its development, stating the problem is with leaking infrastructure and admitted that fixing that problem with aging systems under cities is prohibitive. That was the end of that conversation due to the setting.

No one asked me about the FERC action and only one person thanked me for my question.  There was a printed handout of registered attendees, one was Ashleigh Krick, Extern, FERC Office of Administrative Litigation (OAL). I don’t know if she attended.

Friday night we attended the Premier showing of Dispatches from the Gulf at the Washington, D.C. Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) that focused on the science of the BP oil spill. A panel of three of the scientists featured in the film followed with Q&A.  They were asked what do they think of BP’s response to the spill and if their knowledge of the destruction has led them to activism. The first question was totally ignored; the second was responded to with a general comment about how we all need to be involved in policy decisions.

Sunday night we attended the DCEFF showing of Josh Fox’s How to Let Go of the World and Learn to Love What Climate Can’t Change. When he was accepting his award for the best environmental advocacy film of the festival, he mentioned that he had been arrested at FERC on Thursday and asked if anybody in the audience worked at FERC. Someone raised their hand, Josh said “for real?”, they said yes, Josh said he wanted to talk after the screening. (I have no info on follow up). During the Q&A, Josh said that FERC was the most corrupt agency he was aware of. The audience response was silence except for less than a handful applauding.  I can’t remember the context, but he also got off an asides jibe at Bank of America (BOA). There were a few chuckles.Tim de Christopher made the statement that the scariest time for him in jail was when he realized that everybody could adjust to prison and his fear for our society adjusting to a prison of assumed powerlessness. The auditorium was full at $30 a seat and the response to the film enthusiastic. Josh implored the audience to get involved, not to just say “That was a great movie”.

The usefulness of all this to Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) may be non-existent but I just wanted to say it in case there is something there. If there is something, for me anyway, it is the acknowledgement (lip service?) of the legitimacy and necessity of NVDA (NonViolent Direct Action), publicly stated, in a very conservative setting.  I wonder if it is worthwhile to pursue Theodore Roosevelt IV; he is involved with climate groups as is his wife. I’d like to see him write a good piece for the Wall Street Journal. I know this is not BXE’s focus but maybe somebody has a contact that could get involved. It seems like, with more info and encouragement, he could be an effective supporter.

It is also a question in my mind how much the fossil fuel industry, BOA included, control public speech at events like the DCEFF. I wonder if there is any internal, informal discussion of parameters of public statements by the panelists at DCEFF. I wonder how much money BOA gives them.