September 26, 1-5 p.m. ASK ME ABOUT MY EV: A National Drive Electric Week Event
at Copeland Park in La Crosse (Oktoberfest Shelter) In their latest
report on the climate crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change warned that we have a relatively short window of opportunity to
make major changes in our fossil fuel-based systems. UN Secretary
General, Antonio Guterres, who calls the report Code Red for Humanity,
says, “This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels
before they destroy our planet.” Electric vehicles are available and
affordable now. What are we waiting for?
National Drive Electric
Week will sponsor hundreds of events around the country to give people
the chance to see electric vehicles and talk with their owners and
dealers about them. Learn how to choose an EV, get the truth about
charging and “range anxiety,” learn about utility incentives, and more.
The event is free and open to the public, rain or shine. If you are the
owner of a plug-in electric vehicle (bicycle to car), please consider
bringing and showing your vehicle. To register as a participant,
attendee, or volunteer, please visit the event site:
tinyurl.com/DriveEVLaX. National Drive Electric Week is presented by
Plug-In America, Sierra Club, and the Electric Auto Association.
Register to volunteer, participate, or attend at tinyurl.com/DriveEVLaX
September 28, 6 p.m. ONLINE Film and Discussion: FAMILY (by the Global Indigenous Council) RSVP: tinyurl.com/WISC-FamilyFilm Join
with fellow Sierra Club members from around the state in viewing the
film, FAMILY, by the Global Indigenous Council, that highlights the deep
connection Indigenous Nations share with wolves, and the major threats
currently facing imperiled populations in the lower 48 states. Following
the film, a panel will discuss updates on work to protect Wisconsin
wolves. The world is facing a mass extinction and biodiversity crisis.
Wolves need us now.
FAMILY is an appeal to reverse the Trump
administration’s removal of the wolf from the Endangered Species list.
Retaining the de-listing contradicts President Biden’s January 2021
“Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation
Relationship.”
This is the first in the Wisconsin Sierra Club’s
Environmental Justice series that will examine issues of accessibility,
health, and environmental injustice. For more information on the series,
visit the event site at tinyurl.com/WISC-EnvJusticeSeries
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION GRANTS AND AWARDS
For spring 2022, CRSC will offer grants of up to $200 each for
environmental education projects to schools or community organizations
involving young people at the elementary and middle school level within
the CRSC region: Crawford, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland,
Trempealeau, and Vernon counties.
Applications may be completed
online, emailed or mailed. The deadline for applications is December 10,
2021. For more information, visit sierraclub.org/wisconsin/coulee/Education or tinyurl.com/CRSC-Students
The
Coulee Region Sierra Club also seeks to promote environmental
stewardship through enduring, fair, and equitable action. Protection of
air, water, land, wildlife habitats, and the climate is a primary goal.
New for 2021-2022, CRSC will recognize the achievements of and award
$150 to a high school senior who demonstrates leadership, action, and
environmental stewardship, and who understands the importance of civic
engagement in protecting our environment.
Eligible students are
those graduating from high school in 2022 who reside in the CRSC region:
Crawford, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau, and
Vernon counties. The application includes essays and submission of a
portfolio. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2022 with the
award to be given by the end of April, 2022. For more information, visit sierraclub.org/wisconsin/coulee/Education or tinyurl.com/CRSC-Students
Funding
for these environmental grants and awards is possible thanks to an
annual grant from the Paul E. Stry Foundation, shared dues from Sierra
Club memberships, and donations made by community members. To learn more
about donating, please email CRSierraClub@gmail.com.
SIERRA CLUB CALENDARS
Sales of Sierra Club calendars help support our environmental education
grants. Wall and engagement calendars for 2022 are available. Call
Maureen Kinney, 608-784-5678, or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com.
Engagement calendars are $16 and wall calendars cost $15. Find other
Sierra Club merchandise, including apparel, gifts, things for kids,
cards, and outdoor items at store.sierraclub.org/storefront.aspx
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Now through November: Regional community read of the book Waking Up White - book chats and related programs. www.laxwakingupwhite.com/waking-up-white-regional-read.html
Saturday, September 11: Karst Exploration, Eagle Cave, Blue River (near Boscobel) from 1 to 4:30 p.m. www.crawfordstewardship.org
Saturday, September 18: Jackson County Pace & Pedal, Wazee Lake Recreation Area, Jackson County. www.jacksoninaction.org/pace-and-pedal
Saturday, September 18: Botany & Beer - Hogback Prairie hike in Gays Mills at 10 a.m. Get more details at the calendar, www.crawfordstewardship.org, or email hike@botanyandbeer.com,
Tuesday,
September 21: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific
Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer book
discussion. 6 p.m. online. RSVP www.fspa.org/event/braiding-sweetgrass-book-discussion-zoom
Saturday, September 25: Evening Sky Prairie Walk, 7 p.m., Tunnelville Cliffs State Natural Area, Vernon County. mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events/evening-sky-prairie-walk
JOBS, JUSTICE, CLIMATE!
On Thursday, August 26, members of the Coulee Region Sierra Club,
Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Conservation Voters gathered
at Western Technical College to urge U.S. Representative Ron Kind and
other elected leaders to ACT NOW on Climate.
Kids and adults made
a banner and wrote personal messages for Rep. Kind before the 1 p.m.
press event which featured local citizens who spoke in support of strong
climate action.
Speakers included La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds
who noted that the city needs strong policy and financial support from
the federal government in order to maintain its ongoing commitments and
address increasingly expensive and extensive problems caused by climate
change. He also noted that La Crosse is moving forward on its own and
highlighted the upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant which,
once completed, will completely power itself and eventually provide
power to help charge La Crosse’s coming electric buses.
Casey
Meehan, Director of Sustainability and Resilience at Western Technical
College noted, “I’m proud of what Western’s done, but like everyone else
we need to be doing more. We need to be doing a lot more, and to do
more our communities need more support from our elected officials in
order to mitigate and adapt to the crisis that we’re up against here.
And we need that support now.”
Abby Siakpere, a University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse student said, “Some of the world’s leading climate
change scientists have now confirmed that humans are making irreversible
changes to our planet, and extreme weather will only become more
severe. They have made it clear that the time is now, when we must act
urgently to avoid the worst possible consequences.”
Following the press event, participants carried their banner and messages to the King Street office of Representative Kind.
View news reports about the event at www.news8000.com/activists-hold-art-gathering-for-climate-action/ and wxow.com/2021/08/26/wisconsin-conservation-voters-have-a-message-for-rep-ron-kind/
INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
The Wisconsin Sierra Club is recruiting for the fall 2021 project aide
and internship program. These volunteer positions are entirely remote
and can be filled by anyone in the state. Anyone may apply; college
students may be able to earn course credit. Explore a non-profit
environmental career or get more hands-on experience with grassroots
organizing and activism, including working with Sierra Club teams,
digital communication, administration, finance, and legislative and
electoral initiatives. PA's work four to nine hours per week. Scheduling
and hours are flexible. Learn more at tinyurl.com/WISC-PAs
On
August 16, Sierra Magazine published an article by James Steinbauer
about the need for a climate-focused reconcilliation bill. Here are
important excerpts; you are encouraged to read the entire article at www.sierraclub.org/sierra/livable-future-rests-congress-passing-climate-focused-reconciliation-bill
Last
week, just one day after a major United Nations scientific report
concluded that human activity has locked the planet in an intensifying
climate crisis for at least the next 30 years, the US Senate passed a
bipartisan infrastructure bill aimed, in part, at combating climate
change. The bill is more than just a day late and many, many dollars
short.
[M]any of the ambitious ideas that Biden proposed to cut
the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change were whittled down
to ensure the bill got enough votes from Republicans. Biden wanted $100
billion to modernize the nation’s electricity grid. He got $73 billion.
He wanted $15 billion to construct a network of 500,000 electric vehicle
charging stations. He got $7.5 billion. He wanted $378 billion to
upgrade buildings to be more sustainable. He got a little over $5
billion. Two of the most meaningful policies for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions—a clean energy standard that would require power companies to
replace fossil fuels with renewable sources such as solar, wind, and
hydropower, and clean energy tax credits—were left out entirely.
“Limiting
global warming to 1.5 degrees is within reach, but it requires really
transformational change. The bipartisan bill is not transformational,”
Jillian Neuberger, the legislative engagement associate for the World
Resources Institute, told Sierra. “It will make some of the improvements
to the grid that are necessary for the green energy transition, but the
most important thing is that we actually get green energy on that grid.
We need a climate bill that incentivizes renewables.”
Democrats
hope to pass both provisions—and more—in a second $3.5 trillion
infrastructure bill. Last Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats took the
first step down that path, voting to approve a budget blueprint that
allows them to shield the larger bill from a Republican filibuster under
the Senate’s complicated budget reconciliation process.
In its
current formulation, the second, more robust legislative package would
create a new Clean Electricity Payment Program that would incentivize
power companies to increase their renewable sources of energy. (This is
essentially a clean energy standard designed to meet the strict rules
that govern budget reconciliation.) It would impose fees on methane and
carbon polluters, provide new consumer rebates to help electrify and
weatherize homes, and electrify the federal vehicle fleet and buildings.
It would also create a New Deal–style Civilian Climate Corps that would
put Americans to work building climate-resilient infra-structure,
reducing carbon emissions through renewable energy and conservation
projects, and helping communities recover from climate disasters.
If
the reconciliation bill is passed, Democrats say it would put the
United States on track to meet Biden’s commitment to halve greenhouse
gas emissions and create an 80 percent clean energy grid by 2030.
“We
have a really small window here, both legislatively and in the context
of global warming, to do something,” Marcela Mulholland, the political
director for Data for Progress, told Sierra. “We’re one #MeToo scandal
or car accident from losing our majority. It’s critical that we make the
most of this time while we have it.”
The budget resolution is
only the outline of a bill—not a bill itself. And it still faces
significant hurdles to make it out of the Senate. Hours after providing a
key vote to approve the budget blueprint, Senator Joe Manchin of West
Virginia, a moderate Democrat, issued a statement declaring that he has
“serious concerns” about the impact of the budget’s price tag on “our
children and grandchildren.”
Climate-action advocates say that the cost of inaction is even higher.
“We
need to think about the impact that not passing a climate bill will
have for future generations—and, let’s not kid ourselves, this current
generation,” Neuberger said. “We’ll be leaving a lot of opportunities on
the table. The opportunity to create good jobs. The opportunity to
clean our air. The opportunity to make a lot of things more affordable.
The loss of not taking those opportunities will be felt for a very long
time.”
