March 2018 Newsletter

OUR NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in the Ho-Chunk Three Rivers House NEW LOCATION: COMMUNITY ROOM OF THE PEOPLE'S FOOD CO-OP, 315 5TH AVENUE SOUTH  From Copper to Conservation in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park with Margot Higgins, PhD  Margot Higgins is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s
Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Program and is currently an associate lecturer in the Environmental Studies Program at UWL. She has lived and conducted research in Wrangell-St.Elias Park for the last decade. This area was and is home to the
Ahtna, Upper Tanana, Eyak, and Tlingit people. US Army exploration and mapping of the area which identified gold and copper deposits led to a mining rush that lasted for nearly forty years. In 1971, passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act led to a study of future use of the area. President Jimmy Carter declared the area a National Monument
in 1978 and in 1980, it became the largest national park in the country.

The meeting will also include updates on recent state and local Sierra Club activities and refreshments. Everyone is welcome to attend. You need not be a Sierra Club member.

THIRD ANNUAL CLIMATE ACTION FESTIVAL

WHO: Those who want to fight climate change
WHEN: Saturday, March 3
WHERE: First Congregational Church, Losey & Main

Hosted by Coulee Region Climate Alliance, the Third Annual Climate Action Festival will give you hands on immediate ways you can reduce your carbon footprint while learning how local groups are working to make positive changes to lifestyles, transportation, food, waste, and advocacy. Groups include Coulee Region Sierra Club, Hillview Urban Agricultural Center, Full Circle Supply, and the Bike Federation of Wisconsin. Each organization will have information and suggested actions available.

Workshops, beginning at 1:30,  will include information about sustainable landscaping, the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 program, living sustainably, alternate transportation options, and easy DIY home weatherization. Light refreshments will also be available.

The event is FREE and open to all. There will also be a drawing for prizes - including the books Drawdown and Climate Changed. For more information:  tinyurl.com/LAXCAF2018 or tinyurl.com/laxcaf2018nofb .

Clean Cars Campaign Stops in La Crosse:  On February 22, the Clean Cars Campaign, a national movement to educate about and push for strong fuel efficiency standards, stopped in La Crosse. The lunch time press conference at La Crosse’s City Hall called attention  to indications that the Trump administration may roll back current fuel efficiency standards.

Coulee Region Group board member Avery Van Gaard kicked off the remarks with a reminder that we are facing an increasingly dire future if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically. Noting that emissions are highest from the US transportation sector, Avery tied current strong standards to important climate efforts. She also mentioned John Muir Chapter and Coulee Region group work on transportation equity issues. While everyone saves money with strong standards, the effects are greater for low- and middle-income families.

Sustainable La Crosse Commission chair Mike Giese and La Crosse County Health Department director Jen Rombalski talked about the economic and health impacts of clean car standards.

Mayor Tim Kabat, who recently joined hundreds of other United States mayors calling on Donald Trump to keep the national Clean Power Plan, discussed the effects La Crosse and its citizens are seeing from global warming including flooding and infrastructure damages. 

Environmental Education Grants:  Thanks to an annual grant from the Paul E. Stry Foundation to the Coulee Region Sierra Club, we are able to offer environmental education grants to Coulee Region educators. For 2018, two programs have been chosen to receive funds: the Sparta School Forest and the St. Rose Catholic School in Cuba City. We look forward to reading about their school projects in the fall. Grant applications are usually available early in December for the following spring term with information districuted through the CESA office and Coulee Region Sierra Club online sites.

Coulee Region Teams:  CRSC members have started two specific teams to work on issues of particular interest in our area. The Ready for 100 Team will work on supporting La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat in his Ready for 100 commitment to transition the city from fossil fuels to renewable energy by a specific date and provide support, resources, and guidance for other Coulee Region group members wishing to encourage their community to sign the R4100 pledge.

The Coulee Region group Water Team connects with the John Muir Chapter team on water quality issues including Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and other pollution issues that threaten the health and welfare of citizens and wildlife.

If you would like to join either group, please email us at crsierraclub at gmail dot com.

Local Energy Future conference on March 2 in Dodgeville:  On Friday, March 2, several groups, including the Coulee Region Sierra Club, will sponsor a conference about working toward a local energy future. The Dodgeville event begins at 1 p.m. and includes workshops, panel discussions, networking and education about local solutions to meet energy needs, flaws in the high voltage power line permitting process, and environmental and health impacts of transmission expansion.

Programming will allow utility customers to understand utilities’ capital expansion emphasis that competes with cheaper, more sustainable solutions. The conference is scheduled to allow lawmakers to attend.Please contact your state representatives and ask them to attend or view the event as it is live streamed. For a flyer and detailed schedule, please visit http://tinyurl.com/stopchc32conf

Frances Moore Lappe in La Crosse March 5:  On Monday evening, March 5, Frances Moore Lappe will speak at Viterbo University’s Fine Arts Center. Sponsored by La Crosse United to Amend, Lappe will speak about “Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and
Connection for the America We Want.” This event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing in the lobby. More details may be found at http://tinyurl.com/fmlinlax3518

Resources for Sustainability:  Businesses, non profits, adnd individuals wishing to reduce their carbon footprints may find help from local and state organizations.

March 7 is the deadline for the MPower program sponsored by the Sustainability Institute. at Western Technical College. The MPower program guides and supports businesses in assessing their current practices and making changes that save money and energy. For more details, see http://sustaininstitute.com/mpower/

The Solar for Good program, sponsored by RENEW Wisconsin provides advice, support, partnerships, and grants for non-profits and faith communities who want to install solar panels on their facilities. More details at https://www.renewwisconsin.org/solarforgood/

Focus on Energy provides rebates and free stuff for residential households in participating utilities’ territories. Homeowners may, for example, order $40 worth of free energy saving items. Find more at https://focusonenergy.com/residential

UW-Extension has published the Solar Energy Financing Guide for Municipalities, Tribal Governments, Schools and ohers. Read it at http://erc.cals.wisc.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/14/files/2017/04/SolarEnergyFinancing.pdf

Use Google’s Project Sunroof site (google.com/get/sunroof) to check your address for solar potential. You may also enter a zip code to see how much solar power is sitting untapped right in the middle of your community and work with us to encourage local leaders to tap it!

VOTE!  On Tuesday, April 3, Wisconsin voters will choose a new Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. This is a very important election for those concerned about everything from industrial agriculture to air and water quality to wetlands protection to motorized vehicles on state park trails.

In many Wisconsin municipalities, the “absentee in person” option allows voters to cast absentee ballots in their clerk’s office beginning Monday, March 19 This is useful for those who have a heavy schedule or may find it hard to travel to their polling place on election day. Contact your municipal clerk for details and hours.

You may register or update registration online (or start the process)  up to 20 days before an election. You may register in your clerk’s office most other times and at the polls on election day. More details about registration, voting, clerk’s hours, absentee in person voting and more may be found at myvote.wi.gov.

Clean Cars Campaign event RESCHEDULED

We have decided to POSTPONE the Clean Cars Campaign press conference because of ice and hazardous travel  predictions. The event will take place instead at 1:30 pm this Thursday, February 22^nd, at City Hall. Due to the inclement weather we felt this was the best move to ensure everyone’s safety.

Coming soon!

Tomorrow (Thursday), Michael Vickerman of ReNew Wisconsin will do a presentation before the La Crosse Sustainability Commission on municipalities partnering with utilities to install solar on government buildings. This is a very exciting development. The Sustainable La Crosse Commission meetings are open to the public. If you are available on Thursday (tomorrow) between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. you are encouraged to attend! The Commission will also discuss possible goals for 2018 in the area of alternative (to the single occupant fossil fueled vehicle) transportation and waste management. The meetings are held in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 400 La Crosse Street.

On Saturday, the Coulee Region Sierra Club co-sponsors, with the Citizens Climate Lobby of La Crosse and the La Crosse Public Library, Coulee Region Climate Change Stories beginning at 1 p.m. in the library auditorium (basement). Here's a link to the Facebook event.

Zombie bill alert

From John Muir Chapter:

A zombie has risen.  SB 789 is identical to SB 660 from last session.  This bill would allow any riparian on a navigable water affected by a man-made impoundment to dredge up to 50 cubic yards of material without any permit at all.   There is a hearing now on the bill this Thursday at 10 am in the Capitol room 201 Southeast.

If any of you can make it to the hearing and at least register against the bill, that would help. Read the Sierra Club's statement.

Coming events - YOUR PARTICIPATION REQUESTED!

First - WE NEED YOU! to TAKE A STAND FOR CLEAN CARS! On TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, the Clean Cars Campaign will hold a press event at La Crosse City Hall at 11:30 a.m. The event will publicize the importance of maintaining strong fuel efficiency standards in the United States where the transportation sector is responsible for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions. The Trump administration is considering rolling back these important standards. Weakening the standards will have a negative impact on our state's environment and economy as well as the household budgets of most Wisconsin citizens. (Read more about why this is important in our February newsletter and at the Clean Cars Campaign page.) IF YOU CAN COME TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT AND HOLD A SIGN (provided) and STAND FOR CLEAN CARS, please come to La Crosse City Hall at 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, February 20. We need a good crowd to show how important this issue is. If you plan to attend, please complete this form so we can have an idea of our numbers. Questions? Please email crsierraclub at gmail.

Next, on Saturday, Feburary 17, the Coulee Region Sierra Club, Citizens Climate Lobby - La Crosse, and the La Crosse Public Library, are sponsoring  Coulee Region Climate Change Stories - how climate change is affecting real people's lives - beginning at 1 p.m. at the La Crosse Public Library.  If you might be interested in hosting a similar event in your community, please email crsierraclub at gmail and we can connect you with event organizers.


Also, remember - the spring primary is on February 20, but  in many municipalities, you may vote ABSENTEE IN PERSON from NOW through Friday, February 16. Contact your clerk for details. There is an important WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT PRIMARY on the ballot and there may be local primaries, too, if needed. Here's is one of many recent issues where the make up of our state's supreme court can help or hurt efforts to protect the environment, reduce use of fossil fuels, end dangerous and polluting industrial practices. Please inform yourself and vote. For details about how and where to vote, what's on your ballot and more, visit myvote.wi.gov.

Supreme court candidates:  Tim Burns, Rebecca Dallett, and Michael Screnock. You may also want to check on the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's Follow the Money campaign finance database.

February 2018 Newsletter

Clean Cars Campaign in La Crosse in February  The Clean Cars Campaign will hold a press event in La Crosse this February to bring attention to the Trump administration’s plan to roll back CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. We will post information about the event (date, time, location) when details are finalized. If you can attend and show support for maintaining tough
mearningful standards, please do. Organizers will discuss the benefits of clean car standards and recognize those groups and politicians who have helped forward higher standards. Several local leaders will attend along with environmentalists and citizens interested in sustainability.

Current targets for light duty vehicles, established in 2011, require 2021 models to average at least 41 miles per gallon and 2025 models to average 49.7 mpg. Not only do these standards help reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions (which now make up the majority of emissions produced in the United States) but higher efficiency standards mean cost savings for drivers. The Union of Concerned Scientists has a fact sheet on environmental and economic benefits of strong fuel efficiency standards at www.ucsusa.org/state-mpg-benefits.

The Clean Cars Campaign is co-sponsored by several national organizations including the Sierra Club. For more information please visit cleancarscampaign.org.

February 3 Progresstival     The Coulee Region Sierra Club will join dozens of other organizations working on issues of sustainability, equity, fairnes, and future vision at the 2018 Progresstival.

The event at the Concordia Ballroom, 1129 La Crosse Street, will begin at 2 p.m. with an “activist fair,” where organizations will share their programs, initiatives, and needs. Learn how to join, help, and push a variety of issues. New this year, mini-workshops will help attendees learn about the organizing volunteers, local issues, and reasons to get involved.

Keynote speaker, Paul Cienfuegos, will talk about the importance of People Power. As a national leader and in the Community Rights movement, Cienfuegos believes “we the people” must exercise our right to pass laws to protect our communities’ health and welfare. (Cienfuegos will also present an Intro to Community Rights workshop on Sunday, Feb. 4 - see tinyurl.com/crwkshp02042018)

The event is open to all. Donations at the door will help pay for the event. After 5 p.m. those wishing to keep networking will meet at The Brickhouse (pub food available). See https://tinyurl.com/Progresstival2018

2018 Grant Recipients     Congratulations to our two Environmental Education grant recipients for the 2018 school year - St. Rose Catholic School in Cuba City and Sparta Area School District School
Forest program! We look forward to hearing about your projects this summer and fall. These Coulee Region Sierra Club environmental education grants are made possible by a grant from the Paul E. Stry Foundation. Thanks to that organization for allowing the Coulee Region Sierra Club to help spread knowledge and love of nature.

Help us include EVERYONE     We are still seeking Coulee Region Sierra Club members who can help keep our club informed about actions, events, issues, and opportunities around the region. Can you email a report about an upcoming program in your area? Could you send some photos of an event?
Would you like to write a column about environmental issues in your community? We are also looking for opportunities to connect members from all around the region. If you can help, please email crsierraclub at gmail.

Next meeting - Tuesday, March 27     Our next Coulee Region Sierra Club meeting will feature a talk on From Copper to Conservation in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park by Margot Higgins. Margot has lived and conducted research in Wrangell-St.Elias Park for the last decade. Having graduated from the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Program at UC Berkeley in 2015, she is currently a lecturer in the Environmental Studies Program at UWL. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us!

Climate Action Fair March 3     Now more than ever, every individual needs to take action for a healthy climate future. At the March 3 Climate Action Fair, hosted by the Coulee Region Climate Alliance, information will be available about ways individuals can make positive changes in their own lives and homes and in their work places and communities. The event will take place at the First Congregational Church, Losey Blvd and Main Street in La Crosse from 1 to 4 p.m.

More than 200 attend industrial ag conference     The Coulee Region Sierra Club was happy to join with many other state and regional organizations to sponsor an important conference on the increasing industrialization of rural Wisconsin. The January 20 event in Boscobel was attended by more than 200 people. As keynote speaker, Dr. John Ikerd pointed out, replacing family farms and small businesses with poorly regulated industries that handle toxic waste brings the problems previously associated with inner cities to rural CAFO communities.

Many perspectives and ideas were offered by speakers and conference attendees in hopes that people educating themselves, their neighbors, and their elected officials can defend against the negative impact of this rural colonization by multinational industries.

The John Muir Chapter Sierra Club Water Team will include CAFOs in their work for 2018. Last year’s JMC Sierra Club white paper on CAFOs is available online at tinyurl.com/jmsccafos.

If you missed the conference or would like to learn more about the issues, you can find links to video of the event, speakers’ contact information and event organizers at the event page: https://tinyurl.com/Jan20-DriftlessAg,

Vote starting February 5     The first statewide elections of 2018 will be held on Tuesday, February 20. On the ballot will be three contenders for a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. The top two vote getters in this primary will advance to the April 3 general election. In addition, county, municipal, and other local primaries will be decided.

It is now possible for many Wisconsin voters to register or begin or change their voter registration online. And, in most municipalities, voters may cast “absentee in person” ballots at their clerk’s office starting on Monday, February 5 where they can also register if needed. Absentee in person voting is available in most La Crosse municipalities Monday through Friday until Friday, February 16. Hours vary - contact your clerk for details.

Full information about voting including how to and where to register, where to vote, and what’s on your ballot is available online at http://myvote.wi.gov. This site will also tell you what documents you need to provide when registering to vote. If you don’t use the internet, please call your municipal clerk.

Voters will need to provide some form of approved ID when they vote absentee in person or at the polls on February 20. For most, that’s a Wisconsin driver’s license or Wisconsin ID card, but there are
several other approved documents. For a full list, visit bringit.wi.gov. Note - if you do not have a driver’s license, you may get a FREE state photo ID card for voting at the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Bringit.wi.gov tells how.

Sierra Club Actions     Courts Deny Federal Agency’s Hail Mary on Fracked Gas Pipeline - Sabal Trail Pipeline May be Shut Down On January 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a request from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to revisit a case
that established greenhouse gas emissions as a crucial component of analyzing the impacts of gas pipelines. The landmark decision from last year forced FERC to consider the future environmental effects of burning gas when deciding whether or not to approve the construction of gas pipelines. This ruling could mean that the Sabal Trail Pipeline must cease operations until a thorough and
complete review of its overall impact is completed.

Sierra Club joins suit against Trump’s plan to shrink national monuments In December, the Sierra Club joined several other environmental groups to sue Donald Trump claiming that he does not have the authority to reduce the size of national monuments. A separate suit was filed by five Native American tribes. However, the Trump proclamation takes effect on February 2 and at 6 a.m. on that date, private citizens and companies will be allowed to stake claims for hard rock mining. Many outlets report that the move to shrink the monuments came after lobbying by uranium mining companies. A new ANTIQUITIES Act was introduced in the US Senate on January 30 to re-protect these unique treasures.