Tuesday, July 9, 2024

July newsletter

 

AUGUST 3-4: KID FRIENDLY CANOE TRIP ON THE BLACK RIVER     The very popular kid-friendly overnight canoe-camping trip  on the Black River (Irving to North Bend) is  back! This longstanding annual trip is open to families with kids and to the young-at-heart. Trip leaders will take it slower, stop to play/swim, and explore along the way. Hike up a little waterfall, sleep on a sandbar, and engage in creative outdoor play. This year’s trip will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 3 and end at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 4 (Times are tentative).
Participants must provide their own boat(s), gear, drinking water, and food. All camping gear, food, and water must fit in your boat(s). Each individual or family group is expected to be able to set up their camp and provide their own meals on the trip. The cost to participate is FREE.
This is an EASY level (moving water with camping) trip, but each boat must be able to navigate a nine to ten mile stretch of river each day. There are no rapids on this stretch. Everyone must wear a good-fitting PFD (life jacket) whenever they are on the water. A carpool shuttle option will be available right before the trip starts, and right after the trip concludes. (Carpool transportation is at the sole risk of the participants.) All registered trip participants will be notified if the trip is canceled. Participants MUST pre-register with the trip leaders, Carol and Kevin Olson, by emailing olsonfam44@rucls.net or calling 608-963-2688 or 608-963-2678. 

LINE 5 COMMENTS     If you missed the Sierra Club’s  Line 5 comment workshop in La Crosse on June 25, you still have time to write and submit comments to the Army Corps of Engineers about Enbridge Energy’s plans to continue moving oil through northern Wisconsin.

Right now, a dangerous pipeline threatens the water, sustainability, and livelihoods of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, trespassing on their land and ignoring their sovereignty. Now, Enbridge is trying to expand that pipeline and operate it for years to come, putting at risk the water, fish, plants and animals, humans, and so much more, with the threat of an oil spill. The Biden Administration is taking comments on Enbridge's proposal and they need to hear about the dangers of the pipeline and the need to deny permits for the reroute. Comments are due by August 4.

Learn more about the issue and how to submit comments at https://www.sierraclub.org/wisconsin/blog/2024/06/your-comment-needed-stop-line-5
For a deeper look at the issue, you can now stream or buy the new documentary BAD RIVER at https://www.badriverfilm.com/order. This link also provides information about hosting a community screening.

JUNE 1 TRANSIT 2 TRAILS     While the rain on June 1 kept us from our intended hike,  it did not dampen the spirits and will of eight Sierra Club friends and members to take a hike. Transit to Trails events are part of a national Sierra Club initiative to highlight recreational and natural areas that are available by public transportation or need better transit options to be accessible for all.

With a last minute substitution due to wet conditions at the planned site, we welcomed Cassie Steiner-Bouxa, Senior Campaign Coordinator with the Wisconsin Sierra Club, as our trip leader. Most of us met at the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility (MTU) Grand River Station Transit Center in downtown La Crosse to catch a regular MTU route. A couple of participants hopped on the bus as it passed closer to their homes. Our substitute site, the Hass Tract Trail near La Crosse County’s Hillview Health Care Center, proved to be perfect for conditions as the forested sections helped shield hikers from the occasional light drizzle. This location also offered a less strenuous alternative–the trails at Chad Erickson Memorial Park. A donation by Kwik Trip, arranged by CRSC board member Carol Miller, resulted in fruit and cookie snacks for hikers. Participants regrouped at Chad Erickson park to walk the few blocks back to the bus stop and our trip back to the Transit Center. Following the trip, a few hikers had lunch at Pickermans, right across from the Transit Center, to discuss the event and upcoming Sierra Club programs. We hope to host or co-sponsor more Transit to Trails events, including a hike on the La Crosse River Conservancy trail, our original destination.
Learn more about this important initiative, at https://www.sierraclub.org/outdoors-all/transit-trails

JUNE 5 CLEAN ENERGY RALLY     A group of Sierra Club clean energy advocates and Rural Electric Co-op members gathered in front of the La Crosse Center on June 5 as Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) held its annual meeting inside. The group encouraged meeting attendees to ask DPC to move away from fossil fuels and ask questions about  plans to move ahead with construction of a fossil gas facility, Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), in Superior, Wisconsin. They also want DPC and its member co-ops to be more transparent and democratic in their decision-making and operations. Sierra Club and co-op members spoke to these issues during a press event. You can read more about the issues  in the Sierra Club’s press release (https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2024/06/coalition-demands-dairyland-power-cancels-plans-ntec) and view local media coverage at these links:

 CRSC POTLUCK     Members and friends of the Coulee Region Sierra Club gathered at the amazing Goose Island County Park on June 18 to talk, plan, network, and eat delicious food. The weather was mild, the river was beautiful, and the conversations were intense! Thanks to those who attended and contributed!

JULY 16 HIGHWAY CLEANUP     Join Sierra Club friends as we clean up l along “our” stretch of River Valley Drive on Tuesday, July 16. We’ll meet  at 6 p.m. at the pumping station just west of the Gillette Street and River Valley Drive stop light to get bags, gloves, and vests and work for about an hour. After the cleanup, there’s an optional gathering at Rudy’s on La Crosse Street. 

AUGUST 13 PARTISAN PRIMARY     An important statewide elections is coming up on August 13. Please make sure you read up on the candidates and issues and are registered to vote! Visit https://myvote.wi.gov for more information.

RECs AND CLEAN ENERGY     Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs) were established during the Franklin Roosevelt administration to bring electricity to rural residents across the country. In the 1930s, most rural homes were without electricity making life difficult and discouraging business development and other economic opportunities in these areas. Even after incentives were authorized, investor-owned utilities weren’t interested in expanding to rural areas, so the federal government turned to farmer cooperatives to move the process forward.

Cooperative principles, laid out by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844, aimed to give the power of decision-making and equitable financial benefits to co-op members rather than outside investors or individuals who have less interest in the services provided than the profits generated.

Modern RECs are supposed to be governed by these cooperative principles: open and voluntary membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training, and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.

Unfortunately, many REC members have found co-op boards to be unresponsive to new conditions such as the climate crisis, undemocratic in practice, and, apparently,  in some cases, uninterested in playing a role in moving forward with cheaper, cleaner, climate-friendly renewable energy.

There are many aspects to these issues which we hope to cover over the rest of the year. The June 5 Clean Energy rally aimed to highlight the lack of democratic control and lack of concern for community.

Another area of concern is lack of support for owner-member renewable energy installations. While some RECs are  investing in community solar gardens and battery storage, many are also) actively discouraging individuals from installing their own grid-tied systems. Here is a report from a Riverland Energy Cooperative member. 

Riverland Energy Co-op (serving Buffalo,Trempealeau and portions of La Crosse counties) just announced new rates and policies that will completely discourage any members from acquiring new solar energy systems on their homes or properties within the REC system. 

Many studies have shown that solar customers have a positive impact on local utility finances because they reduce electricity demand and, therefore, the tremendous expense of adding capacity. In simple terms, the excess energy provided back into the REC grid from solar customers goes directly to supplying our neighbors demand and, most often, during the exact times of day when demand is the highest.

Up until now, Riverland has used net metering, the fairest rate system, that allows members to calculate their potential payback period for a solar system and encourages new solar production by members. Net metering enables customers who generate electricity from their own solar systems to receive a full value bill credit for any energy they export to the grid. Now, Riverland has announced hugely regressive new solar rules and rates, supposedly in the interest of fairness. They will no longer support net metering and plan a minimal payback for the energy solar customers provide into the system. 

The very worst part is the new demand charge. While Riverland proposes to reduce peak demand, it now considers solar output as a demand on their system and will charge a “bidirectional demand fee” of $1 per kW based also on the largest solar output, not just on consumption. This misguided policy is grossly unfair to their existing solar members and will also greatly reduce any fiscal reason for members to install new solar systems.

Wisconsin needs all the clean solar power we can generate to help combat climate change and these regressive policies will move us in exactly the wrong direction. If you are a Riverland member, I urge you to contact the manager and your board representative and ask them to completely reconsider this new direction.

Riverland board members and the management team (but no contact information) are listed here: https://www.riverlandenergy.com. Please email CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call 608-3158-2693 for more information.

This 2015 article by the Energy and Policy Institute (https://energyandpolicy.org/edison-electric-institute-campaign-against-distributed-solar) documents the utility industry’s campaign to block home solar. “The rapid growth and emergence of solar energy in the electricity market along with net metering policies have caused investor-owned utility companies and their trade association, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), to create a strategic campaign to prevent distributed rooftop solar energy from gaining more share of the market. … Documents show the detailed plan to convince regulators, lawmakers, and consumers that distributed rooftop solar is unfair to other rate-payers.” 

Co-ops are supposed to benefit their members. We need to counter disinformation among members and elected officials. Next month we’ll have ideas for taking action to promote clean energy in your REC.

MORE JULY EVENTS     


 

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