Sierra Club Falls of the James

Good News! National Parks Getting Funded!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:23:18 -0500

from the National Parks Conservation Association:

I am writing with exciting news about our national parks! With help from national park supporters like you over the past several months, the National Park System has just received a significant increase in funding for 2010. Last week, President Obama signed a $32.2 billion Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for the 2010 fiscal year. In this bill, the National Park Service (NPS) received $2.7 billion—roughly $218 million above the 2009 funding level!

While this bill demonstrates a concerted effort by Congress and the Administration to restore our national treasures in time for the 2016 centennial of the National Park Service, this victory for national parks could not have happened without NPCA supporters like YOU.

Here are some of the highlights from the bill:

NPS Operations received roughly $130 million above last year’s funding level, which fulfills the President’s pledge to increase park operations $100 million above inflation.
The NPS portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund—a fund used to purchase critical lands now on the market for conservation and public recreation—received $126.26 million. This is an increase of $61 million over last year’s level and $28 million above the President’s request.
Public-Private Partnerships, previously known as the Centennial Challenge, was funded at $15 million.
A potentially harmful rider that would have required a public hunt to manage the growing elk population at Theodore Roosevelt National Park was removed. The rider would have overridden longstanding agency-wide policy.
Most importantly, and beyond the numbers, the NPS is now better able to hire more rangers, fill out the authorized boundaries of many parks, enhance its ability to address the impacts of climate change on our national parks, and preserve America’s Everglades, Great Lakes, and other nationally-significant ecosystems.

NPCA works tirelessly to ensure that our National Park System is adequately funded and protected—and especially leading up to 2016. With your support and with the resources and experience we’ve gained from over 90 years in Washington, we will not give up in making America’s best idea even better.

Thank you for your support of NPCA, for the messages you send to your leaders, and for all that you do for our parks. Working together we can, and do, make a positive difference for America’s national parks.

US Pulls the Plug On Copenhagen

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:29:30 -0500

US Pulls the Plug On Copenhagen:

Pitiful.

Philly Beats New York!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:22:28 -0500

Philly Beats New York!:

The Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition reports, based on a US Census survey, that Philadelphia is ranked number one among the ten largest US cities for bicycle commuters per-capita. Per the Census data, 1.6% of Philly commutes are estimated to be by bicycle. Poor New York City came in at 6’th place (0.6%). “Philadelphia also tied for 10th among the country’s 60 largest cities and the second highest percentage among east coast cities (only Washington DC has a higher percentage). Philadelphia’s percentage of commuters who bike is nearly three times the national average of 0.55%.” Look below for the rankings for all ten of the largest US cities.

Philadelphia 1.6% (6th largest city)

San Jose 1.2% (l0th largest city)

Chicago - 1.0% (3rd largest city)

San Diego 0.9% (9th largest city)

Los Angeles - 0.9% (2nd largest city)

New York - 0.6% (1st largest city)

Phoenix - 0.8% (5th largest city)

Houston - 0.4% (4th largest city)

Dallas - 0.1% (8th largest city)

San Antonio - 0.1% (7th largest city)

Science Lesson at Restaurant

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:07:23 -0500

Science Lesson at Restaurant:

I was glad to hear about this event. Hopefully more local restaurants are doing their part to educate their patrons about sustainable fishing practices and seafood.

Solar Lights On The James

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:13 -0500

Solar Lights On The James:

I have mentioned these before, but its nice to see City toot their own horn a bit about them. Hopefully, they will show up soon elsewhere, even on regular City streets. They are being increasingly used all over the world, including Baghdad, so one would hope Richmond would catch on at some point.

Responding to Alex Steffen’s Critique of Transition at WorldChanging

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:57:06 -0500

Responding to Alex Steffen’s Critique of Transition at WorldChanging:

In my personal opinion, this is one of the more interesting deabtes going on right now.

Again, in my personal opinion, I also agree with John Robb’s comments:

I like both men, they are exceptional thinkers. The question they are debating is whether you believe global/national or local action ultimately prevails. The debate might already be settled since Transition Towns presents a viable path towards to mitigating the impact of looming economic collapse and a hyper-concentration of wealth/influence (this gives it strength). Secondly, as the copyright effort above demonstrates (yet again), global solutions are impossible since global governance is firmly in the thrall of parasitic financial interests.

I also think this somewhat relates to Ralph Nader’s (who I might remind you, pretty much founded the Environmental Protection Agency) new book, “Only the SuperRich Can Save Us”.

How does this debate relate to Virginia, to Richmond, to your neighborhood?

Japan, Land of the Rising Grid-Tied Battery

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:34:29 -0500

Japan, Land of the Rising Grid-Tied Battery:

Japan is doing some great stuff on a RESIDENTIAL level with battery storage.

I can’t stress this enough- our over-reliance on cheap (?) fossil fuels is making this country fall further and further behind. Sadly, I don’t expect our new Governor to listen, but I hope I am wrong about him.

36% of World's Flora and Fauna Now Threatened With Extinction

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:12:48 -0500

36% of World's Flora and Fauna Now Threatened With Extinction

Going on Tour? Rent a Green Van- But Where's ZipCar?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:23:00 -0500

Going on Tour? Rent a Green Van- But Where's ZipCar?:

This is what the cool kids are doing. Now where’s the local ZipCar franchise?

Please read my comments:

VCU retail struggles to take hold on Broad St.

Why is Zipcar zipping past Richmond?

Glaciers disappearing from Kilimanjaro

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:28:12 -0500

Glaciers disappearing from Kilimanjaro:

Very sad.

Better Buildings: A Massive Opportunity Disguised as a Meltdown

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:10:55 -0500

Better Buildings: A Massive Opportunity Disguised as a Meltdown

Richmond BizSense: Trading four wheels for two

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:51:47 -0500

Richmond BizSense: Trading four wheels for two

Make 'em build the schools green, as promised

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:23:35 -0500

Make 'em build the schools green, as promised:

Remember in recent years, when the Sierra Club got that pledge from School Board candidates at the Richmond Crusade for Voters candidate forums.

Times DIspatch: Architects’ headquarters gets ‘green’ seal of approval

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:21:00 -0500

Times DIspatch: Architects’ headquarters gets ‘green’ seal of approval:

Hopefully, this will lead to more LEED buildings.

Oxfam America's Southeast U.S. map with Climate Change

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:58:03 -0400

Oxfam America's Southeast U.S. map with Climate Change

This music video may not be everybody’s cup and tea, but...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:49:00 -0400

This music video may not be everybody’s cup and tea, but it will take all sorts of media to raise peoples’ awareness of climate change. Which is why I am very thankful to my friend Kenny (of 804Noise fame) for showing me the link.

Find out more at The Danger Global Warming Project.

Gently Pointing To The Cheap Chicken Problem

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:11:57 -0400

Gently Pointing To The Cheap Chicken Problem:

Recently, some local bloggers went to a Chick-fil-a opening to get some free coupons and then blogged about it. I left a comment that I hope they can appreciate and take in good spirit:

Thats quite a feat. I have heard about events like this and seen some mildly entertaining documentaries about them- “Hands On A Hard Body”, anyone?
But one thing I feel compelled to mention is the environmental problems associated with the cheap chicken that Chick-fil-a and other fast food chains serve. Massive chicken farms in places like Virginia’s Eastern Shore are poisoning the Chesapeake Bay and other bodies of water with stormwater runoff that is full of chicken pee and poop. Its a real problem that is killing the Bay.
I don’t mean to be a total kill joy, and I too enjoy a good chicken sandwich from time to time, but its something that people need to be educated about so that they can lobby their political representatives to fix. The fast food corporations keep the farms as independent agents so that they can wash their hands of it, so to speak, while the farmers claim they have raise massive amounts of chickens to stay competitive and solvent.
In short, I understand and in a sense admire your quest for cheap chicken, but something does need to change overall to save the environment.

I probably should have left a link to the PBS documentary Poisoned Waters too, but like I said, I did not want to be a total kiiljoy either. It’s not easy to point to the environmental dangers of fast food. Chick-fil-a recently sponsored their annual charity dodgeball tournament at the downtown Richmond convention center- part of me wanted to put together a team to either play in it or picket it.

Richard Florida at Creative Places + Spaces Conference

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:49:33 -0400

Richard Florida at Creative Places + Spaces Conference:

Yep, Richmond, VA is no stranger to Florida’s theories.

St. Paul, MN to Reduce Event-Generated Waste 50% in Just 2 Years

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:06:00 -0400

St. Paul, MN to Reduce Event-Generated Waste 50% in Just 2 Years:

As anyone who has attended recent local events knows, this program is needed in Richmond.

Solar Thermal Power For Commercial Rooftops

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:33:40 -0400

Solar Thermal Power For Commercial Rooftops:

Imagine these on the refurbished Diamond. Or how about in Scott’s Addition?

Someone forward this to Ed Eck and the West Cary Street Revitalization Committee.