The heat was on, but it did not stop our eager volunteers from coming out to support and rally for Clean Energy!  On Monday, August 10th, local Sierrans held a beach party to welcome our senators back home for the month and to tell them we need a strong clean energy jobs bill.

Armed with clipboards, beach balls, and umbrellas we gathered approximately a dozen volunteers outside Senator Jim Webb’s office in Virginia Beach from 12:00-1:00.

‘Spring into Fall’–10th Annual Community Gardening Festival

Presented by Virginia Beach Master Gardeners on Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:00 a.m. –3:00 p.m.  Free Admission and Parking

Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center. 1444 Diamond Springs Road, Virginia Beach
(From I-64 take Exit 282 to Northampton Blvd. Turn left on Diamond Springs Road, then look for posted signs)

Speakers
10:30 a.m.
Herbs –Harvesting, drying and storage
Cynthia Wyskiewicz, Extension Agent, Portsmouth

11:30 a.m.
Camellias –Year round beauty
Mike Andruczyk, Extension Agent, Chesapeake

12:30 p.m.
Turf Grasses for Hampton Roads
Jim Orband, Extension Agent, York County

1:30 p.m.
Sustainable Landscaping Practices and Tour
Laurie Fox, Horticulture Associate, HRAREC

• Proper mulching and composting will be demonstrated. The Plant Clinic and Tree Stewardswill also be available to diagnose plant and tree problems and answer your gardening questions.
• Tours and demonstrations there willbe a silent auction, bake saleand our Master Gardener plant sale.
• Tours of the Display Gardens and Arboretumoffer landscaping ideas and show what plants are hardy in the Hampton Roads area. The Arboretum tour will give homeowners the opportunity to view fully grown trees that are appropriate for suburban yards. Master Gardeners will be available in the Gardens and Arboretum to answer your gardening questions.
• Garden Societies will have information displays and will also be selling plants,books, and garden related items. Included will be Virginia Beach Audubon Society, Butterfly Society of Virginia, Herb Society of America –Tidewater Unit, Hampton Roads Iris Society, South Hampton Roads Chapter of the VA Native Plant Society and the Tidewater Orchid Society.
• We will be joined by the Virginia Horticulture Foundation, Council of Garden Clubs of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach Beautification Commission, Back Bay Restoration Foundationand LynnhavenRiver NOW.
• Master Gardeners from Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth will join us and will be providing displays and demonstrations during this event.

For more information visit the website www.vbmg.orgor contact
Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Beach Office (757) 3854769

From the AP:

North Carolina citizens have a chance to comment on their perceptions of the risk from a rise in sea level and what to do about it.

The state Division of Coastal Management said the online poll will help identify perceptions held by the public as it develops a policy on the issue.

Tancred Miller is the primary author of the survey and says the state is seeking everyone’s perception regardless of their knowledge about the topic or whether they believe it.

The survey is here at www.nccoastalmanagement.net. Curious as to the questions, I took the survey - of course identifying myself as a resident of Virginia Beach and the Sierra Club as my affiliate organization. The survey is on the flip. What’s interesting is the items suggested as possible adaptations and mitigation. I wonder how well a survey such as this would go over in Virginia.

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Video by ILoveMountains.org. From Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter Director, Sierra Club:

We need your help!

Will you take a few minutes right now to contact Governor Kaine and urge him to use his executive authority to allow community voices to be heard and to STOP the mountaintop removal strip mining that will destroy Ison Rock Ridge in Wise County, Va?

Ison Rock Ridge extends from Black Mountain on the Virginia/ Kentucky border and runs southeast toward the Town of Appalachia. A&G Coal Corp. wants to destroy 1,200+ acres of this mountain that borders several communities and hundreds of homes, putting lives at risk and impairing ecosystems for generations to come. Despite federal action intended to block this proposed mine, we have reason to believe that state agencies still intend to allow the destruction of Ison Rock Ridge, with only minor changes to the scope of the permit.

With the deadline looming, we need your help to call on Governor Kaine to be a real leader and urge him to allow community voices to be heard and to STOP the mine.

This message is going out across the Commonwealth today and is part of a coordinated effort to pressure the Governor to take action. Sierra Club, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and our allies are working hard on this two-year long struggle to protect Ison Rock Ridge from total destruction.

Ison Rock is the last ridge of Black Mountain in Virginia that hasn’t been totally decimated by mountaintop removal strip mining–and for good reason. Along its flanks lie several communities, home to hundreds of people. Because of this, and the cumulative impact of other strip mines in the area, the EPA took action earlier this year by directing the US Army Corps of Engineers to suspend the federal permit required to create valley fills.

This action attracted national media attention, but it’s not enough to save this mountain. The mining company now wants to go forward with a revised mining plan, and that application is currently pending before the state agency.

Please, send a message to Governor Kaine urging him to take action to protect our friends in Wise County!

This is very disturbing news and certainly something to consider as we in Hampton Roads consider adding pollutants from the massive Surry coal plant to our already deteriorating air quality mix.

The Surry coal plant will add 950 tons of nitrogen pollution, 118 pounds of mercury pollution and 14.6 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution to the air above our Hampton Roads area every year. This is the equivalent of adding nearly 3 million new cars to the road every single year in terms of increased air pollution levels.

Click here to learn more about what you can do to help us fight the Surry coal plant.

If you live in/near Virginia Beach, please consider joining the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee at their breakfast meeting this Saturday, July 25, 9:00am at Mom’s Kitchen, 3501 Holland Road. Speaking on the subject of the Surry coal plant will be Dr. Christine Llewellyn from the Williamsburg Climate Action Network.

We will meet at the Virginia Beach Central Library Parking Lot on Saturday, July 25th at 9:00 am near the Virginia Beach Blvd side of the parking lot. We will drive the hour to Newport News Park. The hike is about 7 total miles, however, there is also a 3 mile option for anyone who would like to come out for just a portion of the hike. For those wishing to remain for the entire 7 miles, we should return to the library by 2:00 p.m.

At 8,000 plus acres Newport News Park is the largest municipal park east of the Mississippi. With a unique combination of water and land habitats a wide variety of plants and animals may be seen, along with several civil war fortresses that remain in the park. We will have several good locations to stop for a light snack or lunch.

To sign up please visit: http://www.meetup.com/CbSierraClub/calendar/10576890/
If you have questions please email Chris at cbryan1101@aol.com

Our own Fred Adams was honored today by Mayor Will Sessoms for his many years of service to the Virginia Beach community. Until recently, Fred served for many years as the Chairman of Sierra Club’s Chesapeake Bay group and serves on the City’s Bikeways and Trails Advisory Committee. He previously served on their Open Space Subcommittee of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Fred summed up his work in two words. “Smart growth”, he cheered at today’s presentation. Fred also commended the Mayor on his commitment to light rail in Virginia Beach. Headway into making our VB community more walkable and bikeable are certainly thanks to all of Fred’s hard work and determination.

Happy trails, Fred!

Over three dozen elected officials, local and state government officials from fifteen Hampton Roads local governments, and representatives from area environmental organizations gathered for the Hampton Roads Climate Leadership Workshop - VML Go Green Government Challenge on Thursday June 25 at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton, VA. (See partial list of attendees on the flip.)

The workshop was sponsored by the newly formed Hampton Roads Cool Communities Coalition (HRCCC). The goal of the worshop was to help local governments move forward in measuring and reducing both municipal and community carbon footprints.

“We want cities to measure because you can’t conserve what you don’t measure,” said Randie Trestrail, who along with Ken Ricklin serve as co-chairs of the coalition. “Recognizing the seriousness of the situation and wanting to contribute to the solutions to climate change, HRCCC was formed by a group of fully engaged citizens eager to help support their local communities in their efforts to reduce GHG emissions”, she added.

Speakers included Dr. Diana Christopolous from the hugely successful Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition; Joe Lerch, director of the Virginia Municipal League’s Go Green Government program; and Glen Besa, Virginia chapter director of the Sierra Club.

More from today’s Daily Press’ article “Cool coalition works to lower local emissions”…

Diana Christopulos, chair of the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, spoke to the group about how Roanoke officials measured emissions of both municipal government operations and the entire community. University graduate-student interns with academic supervision gathered the data and used software to calculate how much carbon dioxide and other ozone-depleting gases were generated from homes, businesses, industry, traffic and other sources. From there, Roanoke made a goal to stop increasing emissions by 2010 and to have a 10 percent reduction every five years thereafter through 2050.

Christopulos stressed the need for local governments to be leaders in reducing emissions to be a role model for the community. She also talked about ways local governments to cut back on greenhouse gases: conserving by having municipal vehicles take fewer trips, for example. Buying energy-efficient vehicles, appliances and lighting helps too, she said.

“One way to get started is to do the Go Green Virginia challenge,” Christopulos said.

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In a letter addressed to each member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the League of Conservation Voters announced its decision to not endorse anyone voting against the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act.

“In light of the tremendous importance of this legislation, LCV has made the unprecedented decision that we will not endorse any member of the House of Representatives in the 2010 election cycle who votes against final passage of this historic bill”, writes LCV President Gene Karpinski.

Click here to view pdf of letter.

Wonder how much of an impact that will have on Virginia’s congressional delegation…