Grow Solar La Crosse

Reminder, the next Solar Power Hour (information session for Grow Solar La Crosse) will be held on Tuesday, June 30 and it's hosted by the Coulee Region Sierra Club. Sign up for the 6/30 3 p.m. session through this link: tinyurl.com/CRSC-SolarLaX

If you can't attend that one, find the full schedule of information sessions and lots more information at GrowSolar.org/LaCrosse.

And, if you aren't able to participate by installing your own solar system, you'll be able to contribute to help local nonprofits (Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Boys and Girls Club) and schools in La Crosse install solar.

Governor's Climate Task Force

Climate Task Force Hearings

Last year, Governor Evers issued an Executive Order to commit the state to going to 100% clean energy and created a Task Force on Climate Change to create the plan to get there.  Now the Task Force is hosting five hearings to get input on the plan.  Click below to sign up to attend a hearing to call for a bold, ambitious plan to stop climate change.  Hearings will be online:

Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Saturday, June 27, 2020, 12:00 - 2:00 PM
Tuesday, July 7, 2020, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Thursday, July 9, 2020, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Get more information about the Climate Task Force at https://climatechange.wi.gov/Pages/Home.aspx

June Newsletter

Sierra Club Statement on the Murder of George Floyd

Wednesday, May 27, 2020     Contact: Lina Francis, lina.francis@sierraclub.org

Minneapolis, MN -- Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune and Kamau Wilkins, the Executive Committee Chair of the Sierra Club's Minnesota Chapter, issued the following statement on the murder of George Floyd. Over the course of the last 4 weeks, the Sierra Club has also issued statements condemning police brutality and the violent, racist killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. In July of 2019, the Sierra Club joined forces with a coalition of environmental justice and national environmental groups to release a just and equitable national climate platform that centers racial, climate and environmental justice to improve the public health and well-being of all communities.

“We all deserve to thrive in safe communities, yet the inhumane, daily assaults on Black and Brown people directly threaten our ability to maintain a healthy planet. The cruel, public lynching of George Floyd is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  We cannot expect to come together to protect the planet if racism continues to tear us apart.

“The Sierra Club is committed to confronting the inequality embedded into our society that has allowed these tragedies to persist. If we want to create communities that are truly safe, just and equitable, we must continue fighting for the humanity and the dignity of all people.“

======================

On Wednesday, June 17 at 11 a.m., the  national Sierra Club will host an online forum, Solidarity and Racial Justice,  to discuss the intersectionality between the environmental and racial justice movements, and the mutual aid work happening to support Black communities. Chris Novaton, Training Coordinator of Sierra Student Coalition will lead the discussion. Sign up for the event at tinyurl.com/SCSolidarity

You can’t have climate change without sacrifice zones, and you can’t have sacrifice zones without disposable people, and you can't have disposable people without racism.  - from Racism is Killing the Planet by Hop Hopkins [www.sierraclub.org/sierra/racism-killing-planet] 

June 30: Virtual Meeting   We will try an online meeting on Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. Hear from members around the region and learn what the state Sierra Club is doing to prepare for the very important presidential and state and local elections in the fall. Anyone in the Coulee Region group is welcome to join. Details have not yet been finalized but will be emailed (or given by phone) to those who sign up on this form: tinyurl.com/CRSC-630meeting. If you would like to report on an environmental project or initiative in your community, use this link, too. If you are not online, please call 608-315-2693 and leave a message. We’ll contact you with the phone number to call to participate in this online meeting. We will use a platform that will allow people to join with their computer, tablet, smart phone, or “dumb” phone. 

Toni Morrison said it best, in a 1975 speech: “The very serious function of racism … is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.” As a marine biologist and policy nerd, building community around climate solutions is my life’s work. But I’m also a black person in the United States of America. I work on one existential crisis, but these days I can’t concentrate because of another. - from I’m a Black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet. Stopping climate change is hard enough, but racism only makes it harder by  Ayana Elizabeth Johnson [www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/03/im-black-climate-scientist-racism-derails-our-efforts-save-planet]

SOLAR SUMMER IN LA CROSSE    

Grow Solar La Crosse   Residents of La Crosse County may learn about a new solar panel group buy program being offered this year through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. An online Solar Power Hour will be hosted by the Coulee Region Sierra Club from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. A solar group buy program offers:

•  information and education about group buy process
•  free, no-obligation solar site assessments and estimates for costs and savings
•  discounts on solar panels (the more participants, the greater the discounts) for those who move forward
•  professional installation and system education.

To sign up for the June 30 presentation, please go to tinyurl.com/CRSC-SolarLaX. If this time doesn’t work for you, find other sessions at growsolarlacrosse.org 

Solar on La Crosse Schools (SOLS) is a new group forming to work with the La Crosse School District and parents, students, educators, and residents of the city to press for putting clean renewable energy on school property. The group is just getting started and is currently mapping out its plan and strategy. If you are interested in being connected and helping with this effort, please call 608-315-2693 and leave a message..

The City of La Crosse will begin installing solar panels on some public buildings this summer. 

Two La Crosse County School Districts are installing solar this summer thanks to the Solar on Schools program offered by the Couillard Foundation. West Salem Middle and Hamilton Elementary in La Crosse are each installing solar panels through this program this year. visit www.couillardsolarfoundation.org/solar-on-schools for more information. 

Citizen Action of Wisconsin is working to help Wisconsin homeowners save money on utility bills, reduce carbon emissions, increase the value of their homes, and build green sector jobs across the state.  Their green bank partners offer homeowners financing for energy efficient upgrades such as new insulation, air sealing, new windows/doors, new HVAC units, and solar panels.  This program is a very important first step in building a better, greener economy in Wisconsin. They hope to upgrade 100 homes before the end of the year with 25 currently in process.  Learn more at https://secure.everyaction.com/2KONh-lotUOmscFkKV5kAw2

The City of La Crosse offers housing rehabilitation and renovation assistance which can be used to upgrade a home’s energy efficiency. Reducing energy needs is a first step in transitioning to renewable energy. Visit www.cityoflacrosse.org/your-government/departments/community-development-and-housing/housing-rehabilitation to learn more about the program and eligibility.

Even today there are places where there are rules, that might be for legitimate reasons (it’s not, like, Jim Crow segregation) but they still sort of send a message about who belongs and who doesn’t. ... I’m thinking of this pool just up the street in D.C. .. It’s a public pool and there’s this big sign out in front that basically says what you can and can’t wear. And one of the things you can’t wear to the pool is jeans shorts. I get that there’s a reason for that, right. If you’re wearing your jeans all day, you can’t go into the pool with them. But, if you ever go to a pool in southern California, lots of Latino kids are in the pool wearing their jeans shorts. So, if you see a sign like that, it’s kind of saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t really for you.’ - from Code Switch Podcast, Episode 2: Being 'Outdoorsy' When You're Black Or Brown [www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/06/08/480932447/the-code-switch-podcast-episode-2-made-for-you-and-me]

PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES
Viroqua Plastic Free is kicking off a summer letter writing campaign to stores, local organizations, manufacturers of products, and producers of plastic to encourage their use of recyclable and sustainable products instead. Visit viroquaplasticfree.org for simple instructions, sample letters, and facts about plastic pollution.

GROW La Crosse and Local Food Group encouraged people to start garden seedlings this spring. More than 600 bedding plants were handed out at school lunch stops and community gardens in May. GROW also supervises volunteers at several school gardens  over the summer. The City of La Crosse has set up four new Community Victory Gardens around the city. Volunteers plant and maintain with weekly produce giveaways planned through fall. These projects will increase availability of healthy and accessible food for city residents and improve community resilience.

The Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT) is hosting a series of webinars to discuss state transportation challenges and ideas. On Thursday, June 18, a webinar on The Last Mile Challenge will look at gaps in communities’ transit systems. Register (free) at tinyurl.com/CMRT-LastMile. On Thursday, July 9, the topic will be Transportation and Racial Justice. Register at tinyurl.com/CMRT-RacialJustice. Both webinars will begin at 6:30 p.m.  

“Dudley Edmondson has long had to deal with people calling the police on him while out in nature. As a black birdwatcher and professional nature photographer, his presence with a camera can arouse suspicion among white people. He has had people accuse him of being drunk, or on drugs, or taking photos of people's homes in order to come back later and rob them.” - from The realities of being a Black bird-watcher by Eric Levenson   [www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/us/birdwatching-black-christian-cooper/index.html]

STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS ALLIANCE   Crawford  Stewardship  Project has launched the  Stewardship Business Alliance;  a  network  of  farmers,  businesses,  entrepreneurs,   and   job creators united in stewarding  water, soil, and  a  healthy  environment. “The  foundation  of  a  diverse  rural  economy  is  a  sustain-able  and  profitable  relationship with our eco-systems and  the natural world.” If  your  business  is  interested in being  a  part  of  this  initial  phase;  please reach out to Eli Mandel, 608-632-4213,  or emandel@crawfordstewardship.org,  

It seems that almost anywhere researchers look, there is more evidence of deep racial disparities in exposure to environmental hazards. In fact, the idea of environmental justice—or the degree to which people are treated equally and meaningfully involved in the creation of the human environment—was crystallized in the 1980s with the aid of a landmark study illustrating wide disparities in the siting of facilities for the disposal of hazardous waste. Leaders in the environmental justice movement have posited—in places as prestigious and rigorous as United Nations publications and numerous peer-reviewed journals—that environmental racism exists as the inverse of environmental justice, when environmental risks are allocated disproportionately along the lines of race, often without the input of the affected communities of color. - from Trump's EPA Concludes Environmental Racism Is Real by Vann R. Newkirk II [www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-trump-administration-finds-that-environmental-racism-is-real/554315] 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Contact: 

Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org

Washington, DC -- Last night, peaceful protesters outside the White House were violently attacked for demanding that Black lives matter. Last year, the Sierra Club joined with a coalition of environmental justice and national environmental groups to release a just and equitable national climate platform that centers racial, climate, and environmental justice. And in the past month, the Sierra Club has issued statements condemning police brutality and the violent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd as our community continues its efforts to grow to meet this moment.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement: 

"Protesters across the country are marching to affirm the humanity of Black people and expose the racism and hatred embedded into a system that relies on Black inferiority. Yesterday, we witnessed the Commander in Chief issue an assault on our First Amendment rights, but this attack is only a fraction of the pain and trauma that Black people have endured since the founding of this country. 

“Donald Trump declared he would arm the military to prevent peaceful protests, yet he failed to arm frontline workers to combat COVID-19. He boasts of upholding law and order, but fails to demand law and order when white supremacists employ militarized intimidation tactics. And in the midst of civil unrest, he poses in front of historic places of worship, but fails to comprehend the golden rule. 

“We can't fulfill our mission to ‘enlist humanity’ to protect the planet while racism continues to divide us. There can be no climate justice without an end to the anti-Blackness and white supremacy that empowers polluters to create environmental sacrifice zones.

“Our collective humanity is deeply connected and racism in our society is a direct threat to our environmental progress. The Sierra Club refuses to idly stand by as our Black and Brown neighbors and friends are murdered by racist policing.”

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

More From This Press Contact: 

Jonathon Berman

Related Press Releases: 

environmental law program

Comfort in Solitude

Carly is finishing up her service learning project with one more article for our Sierra Club community and a set of photos from a spring trip which we'll post next week. We thank Carly and Marcus for their work on highlighting Sierra Club nature and environmental issues for our blog and newsletter this semester!

"Comfort in solitude” : UWL community reminds students to seek time in nature

For some students and professors at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, social distancing means staying in, but others have found it has brought them out to nature instead. 

Nature journal - photo by Carly Rundle-Borchert

Environmental studies professor Alysa Remsburg told The Racquet Press that her time in nature has increased since the start of quarantine and online classes. “My mental health is most challenged by the stress of parenting and teaching a very social only child who wants my attention all the time,” said Remsburg. “Heading into nature is a win-win for both me and my kid. He gets to explore new places and new physical challenges. I gain the restorative effects of taking in nature and the satisfaction of sneaking in lessons about trees, insects, birds, and wildflowers.”

Remsburg and her son have been hiking, biking, geocaching, collecting rocks and pine cones for nature art, and exploring along streams. “We’ve also done lots of walks around the neighborhood when my son asked for lessons about plants in order to avoid his other schoolwork,” she said.

Remsburg recommended nature as a coping mechanism, especially during a time of increased isolation and feelings of depression. “Therapists recommend this,” she said, “using our brains and our senses in different ways is great for mental health.”

Kayleigh Colhouer is a political science major with legal studies minor at UWL. Colhouer said, “When I am overwhelmed with emotion I find peace in nature. Whether it’s biking, fishing, or walking, the outdoors calms me. While our current circumstances are not ideal, this time has given me the opportunity to slow down, breathe, and reflect on life. Nature has allowed me to find comfort in solitude.”

UWL student Sierra Wilcox is a Spanish major and recreation management minor. Wilcox walks, hikes, longboards, slacklines, goes boating, and plays frisbee golf. 

“My time in nature has increased because it is still open unlike everything else. It’s also a nice escape and helps to get me moving,” said Wilcox. “Being outside makes me feel happier and more productive at the end of the day, sunlight helps, movement makes us happy, and fresh air is good for the soul.”

If you are still in La Crosse and want to spend time in nature, some places you can check out are Myrick Park, Grandad Bluffs, the La Crosse River Marsh, or Riverside Park. Remember to still practice social distancing, even in nature, if you are spending time with people you do not live with.

May Newsletter

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state Safer at Home travel and meeting restrictions, all in-person Sierra Club activites are suspended until further notice. We encourage Sierra Club members to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe by staying home as much as possible. More details at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm

THANK YOU TRANSIT WORKERS!  On April 16, National Get on Board/Sound the Horn Day, members of the Coulee Region Sierra Club joined with transit advocates across the country to express support and appreciation for public transportation programs, staff, and drivers. We appreciate public transit programs in our region including the Municipal Transiut Utility in La Crosse and Onalaska, the Onalaska Holmen West Salem  Shared Ride Taxi, and the Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit (SMRT) program. 

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING US!  April’s John Muir Chapter Sierra Club fundraiser has ended. The Coulee Region Sierra Club raised $804 from 16 donors and will keep $402 to help fund our environmental education grants. Thanks to everyone who participated. Even though the formal fundraiser has ended, you are welcome to help fund this important grant any time! Email us to learn how. crsierraclub@gmail.com 

MAY 9 JOIN THE PLAN TO WIN  You're invited to a special virtual event on Saturday, May 9, at 4 p.m. where we'll launch our 2020 strategy to protect our environment by defeating Donald Trump. In the 2020 election, voters will determine whether we act on climate change before it’s too late. In addition to winning a new president, we will focus on electing environmental champions to state and local offices, protecting our House majority, and winning the Senate. The COVID-19 pandemic has only underscored the urgency of our work to unseat Trump. Sign up at tinyurl.com/scplantowin 

FILM - DARK WATERS - MAY 27  John Muir Chapter will host an online virtual screening of the new film DARK WATERS at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27. Details are still being finalized. We will post the link to the screening and online discussion at sierraclub.org/wisconsin/coulee and cr-sierra.blogspot.com as soon as it’s available.

DARK WATERS tells the shocking and heroic story of an attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who risks his career and family to uncover a dark secret hidden by one of the world’s largest corporations and to bring justice to a community dangerously exposed for decades to deadly chemicals. See the trailer and read more at the film’s web site - www.focusfeatures.com/dark-waters 

SPECIAL ELECTION ON MAY 12  Help Sierra Club-endorsed  candidate Tricia Zunker win the May 12 special election for the 7th Congressional District! Tricia is a Justice on the Supreme Court of the Ho-Chunk Nation and President of the  Wausau School Board. She would be Wisconsin’s first Native American member of Congress. Sign up to make GOTV calls at tinyurl.com/call4tricia. Read more and donate at triciaforwisconsin.com and read the Sierra Club endorsement at tinyurl.com/jmc-zunker. 

HIGH CAPACITY WELL PERMITS  On Friday, May 1, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sent a letter to DNR Secretary Preston Cole rescinding  an opinion issued by the former Attorney General that prohibited the DNR from considering the envirionmental impacts of high capacity wells in permitting. Read the letter here: tinyurl.com/050120hcwltr

UPPER MISSISSIPPI CRITICAL  The advocacy group American Rivers has named the Upper Mississippi River as the nation’s “most endangered river of 2020.” The group warns that communities along the upper Mississippi are not prepared to deal with more frequent flooding caused by  climate change. “These risks are greatly exacerbated by two centuries of shortsighted floodplain--and watershed--development decisions that are cutting the river off from hundreds of thousands of acres of its floodplain, dangerously constricting the upper Mississippi, and degrading vital fish and wildlife habitat.” More at endangeredrivers.americanrivers.org/upper-mississippi-river-2020 

NEW CAFO PERMIT REQUESTED  Last December, the Crawford County Board of Super-visors passed a one year moratorium on CAFO permits to give time to study possible threats to the water, health, and safety of county residents posed by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. On March 27, Roth Feeder Pigs applied for a Water Discharge Elimination Permit from the DNR for a planned new Marietta Township (Crawford County) facility for 7,000 hogs. The facility plans to store nearly 7 million gallons of manure.

Meanwhile, coronavirus outbreaks at meat processing facilities have disrupted hog operations and may mean animals will be euthanized. President Trump is now requiring meat processing facilities to remain open even as the number of coronavirus cases among workers continues to rise.

BOOK CLUB REMINDER  Our Coulee Region Sierra Club book club continues ONLINE with Dahr Jamail’s award-winning book, The End of Ice. We’ll continue with this book through May and accept your suggestions for our next book.. Join us at tinyurl.com/crscbookclub 

SWIGG STUDY UPDATE  MADISON — The Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology Study of Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties is halfway through its second phase to identify fecal sources of contamination in private wells. The study began in late 2018 with the goal of assessing the quality of drinking water sources from private wells in southwest Wisconsin and determining the probable sources of any contamination found.

The latest phase of the study found fecal contamination in 27 of the 34 private wells sampled. In November 2019, these 34 wells were selected at random after earlier sampling in this study found them to be contaminated with coliform bacteria or with levels of nitrate above the drinking water standard.

The three County Conservation Departments are thankful for the continued participation of the area residents in the study.   “Without their permission to access their wells, we wouldn’t be able to continue collecting valuable data for the SWIGG Study.”, said Grant County Conservation, Sanitation, and Zoning Administrator Lynda Schweikert.

The SWIGG scientists analyzed the samples for specific viruses and bacteria that indicate fecal contamination from human wastewater or livestock manure. Not all of these viruses and bacteria are capable of causing illness.

They found evidence of both human and livestock sources for the contamination, including manure from cattle and swine. In 16 of the 34 sampled wells the scientists found pathogens associated with gastrointestinal illness in humans. However, researchers have not calculated the health risk for these results, which vary based on the specific pathogen, its concentration, and the health of the person that drinks the water.

The SWIGG study has been designed to sample water in all four seasons of the year since contaminant abundance can vary seasonally. The percentage of wells that test positive is also expected to differ as weather and land use change over time. Read more at fyi.extension.wisc.edu/news/2020/04/15/swigg-study-update/.



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Action Alert!

Take action: Tell Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin that stimulus money needs to go towards helping families and workers -- not lining the pockets of oil executives.

The fossil fuel industry has been chomping at the bit to seize the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to solve their pre-existing financial woes - and to no one’s surprise,  Donald Trump and his administration are racing to help them do it. At a time when the federal government can’t seem to get it together to help nurses and doctors get the basic protective gear they need, this is deeply infuriating. 

Changes to the Main Street Lending Program announced today by the Fed mirror precisely those lobbied for by the fossil fuel industry and its cheerleaders in Congress. This lending program, funded at least in part by money allocated under the CARES Act, is designed to help financially sound small businesses recover from the COVID-19-induced economic crisis. What it wasn’t intended to do? Bail out an industry that has been facing decreasing returns and increasing debt for more than the past decade.

The Sierra Club and our partners, along with Congressional Democrats, have been raising the alarm bells in recent weeks about the potential for the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to misuse American taxpayers’ relief funding on failing fossil fuel companies. We have said from the start that relieving the long-standing debt burden of fossil fuel companies would only be throwing good money after bad, while doing nothing to help protect workers and communities.

Read more at https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2020/04/fossil-fuel-industry-gets-its-wishlist-federal-loan-program-changes