April 2021 Great Falls Group Cascade |
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Significant Events Calendar
April 2 - FACS Sustainability Champion Award nominations due
April 5 - Volunteer Action for the Environment
April 10 - Loudoun Native Plant Sale
April 14 - Cascade Newsletter Review
April 17 - Earth Day at Blake Lane Park
April 22 - Earth Day 2021
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Have something you'd like to say? Send comments or questions to the editor.
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From the Chair
GFG Is Reorganizing
GFG is starting to change its organizational structure due to an expansion in its membership and its territory. The new structure will give more visibility to the respective counties and their activities. This is an excellent opportunity for members to get more involved in a new way to make a difference in their local communities.
The Loudoun Community had a significant success when the Goose Creek intense development proposal was reintroduced and denied by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. Please read the article below on Goose Creek for more information.
Please answer our poll at the end of the newsletter by selecting your favorite article.
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Volunteer Action for the Environment |
Virtual Meeting
WHEN: Monday, April 5, at 5-6:15 pm
WHERE: Zoom link sent after RSVP
DETAILS: We will have three short presentations and then you will choose a breakout room to discuss and collaborate on one issue. Scott Peterson from Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions will talk about zero waste and why Fairfax County should join the movement. Next, Jolene Mafnas from Food & Water Watch will discuss the fight to stop an unneeded gas pipeline and how local governments can procure clean power. Our third speaker, Mike Christensen from Quiet Clean Nova, will talk about banning polluting gas-powered leaf blowers. Come join us and be part of the solution.
SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Great Falls Group
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Great Falls Group General Area |
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Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries. For some Earth Day 2021 events/activities and Restore Our Earth campaigns, see https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/.
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Source: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/ |
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Surprise: The Biggest Source of Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
Is measuring the carbon produced at a power plant the best way to monitor emissions? A team of scientists recently took a different approach to estimating carbon dioxide: Instead of considering only the pollution emitted at the end of the line
when the fossil fuel is actually burned, the researchers considered all phases: mining, transport, refining, and burning.
Their study identified the worst emissions offenders, and the results were surprising: oil and gas pipelines. The researchers noted that the companies enabling greenhouse gases emissions are most at risk of climate mitigation lawsuits.
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Source: https://eos.org/articles/the-surprising-source-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions?fbclid=IwAR1eHU-QHCurlNIM_J6KuNAziLchG6o7cmVc2WOgV-7ScAD-V3GQ60qNj28 |
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Power for the People Virginia |
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia.
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FACS: Nominate a Sustainability Champion by April 2 |
The Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS) is looking for nominations for its FACS 2021 Sustainability Champion Awards. This year’s theme is Plan, Restore, Thrive. Nominations are due by Friday, April 2. Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, and the Awards program will take place Wednesday, June 2 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.
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Brood X 17-year cicadas will emerge in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District between mid-May and early June, depending on when the weather warms up.
Adult cicadas do not cause serious plant damage from their feeding activities but do damage plants as the result of their behavior of cutting small slits in the plant they use for places to deposit their eggs.
Nymphs use their piercing mouthparts to puncture the roots and suck up the fluids located in the plant’s xylem. The xylem is the part of the plant that functions to transport moisture and nutrients from the roots to the plant’s leaves.
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Source: https://www.wymt.com/ |
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CECAP Prioritizing Energy Strategies and Processing Public Input |
GFG members who are working on Fairfax County’s Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) report new progress in the past month. An impressive 2,651 responses were received from CECAP’s recent public survey. The energy CECAP working group discussed initial results from the survey and comments, which are being analyzed now. They prioritized the strategies and actions highlighted in CECAP’s December and January brainstorming sessions. Numerous documents are now available to shape the working group's recommendations for the final CECAP report. In particular, the county will prioritize increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy to meet its greenhouse gas goals. Public education efforts will continue into April with the release of five on-demand webinars covering a variety of relevant topics.
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zMOD Update
So what is zMOD? It’s Fairfax County’s just-completed Zoning Ordinance Modernization
Project. zMOD began as one exercise to clean up the zoning ordinances, but it ends as a product considerably expanded in scope and impact. The nearly 700-page zMOD document passed the Board of Supervisors by a vote of 7–3.
GFG members have mixed feelings about the result. Some pluses: new provisions for electric vehicle charging, as well as home and utility-scale solar energy systems. Possible minuses: efforts to streamline approvals for some home businesses, such as barbershops and beauty parlors, that are on septic and private wells and that discharge harmful chemicals. GFG members also voiced concerns about lead provisions and how medical waste affects septic systems. Finally, they emphasized the need to better protect floodplains and to make land use decisions that encourage higher density near transit facilities, not in car-dependent parts of the county.
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Justice Park Still at Risk of Losing Acreage |
GFG has been closely following a proposal to pave two acres of Justice Park to accommodate parking for a planned expansion of Justice High School (formerly Stuart HS). By turning to adjacent parkland to solve the school's increased parking requirements, the county will be adding considerable impervious surface, reduce usable recreational space and will be undermining its own plans for the park.
Nearby communities are Ravenwood, Ravenwood Park, Culmore, Lafayette Park Condos, Munson Hill Apartments, Sleepy Hollow, Walters Woods and Lake Barcroft. If you live in the Justice Park area, consider reaching out to your elected officials. Construction is planned to begin this fall.
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Fairfax Peak Ski Resort Project Advances |
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the next phase for the former Lorton landfill off of I-95 to become a 1,700-foot ski slope.
The Sierra Club has expressed concern over the environmental impact, the noise and air pollution generated by 400,000 annual visitors, the large increase in impermeable surfaces, energy usage, public transit, and the impact on wildlife and natural plants. These concerns have not been fully addressed.
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Source: https://wjla.com/news/local/northern-virginia-ski-resort-fairfax-peak |
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Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers |
The sounds of spring -- birds chirping, the pitter-patter of rain, the roar of the ubiquitous leaf blower. For years, blowing leaves and grass clippings has been a four-season activity. But the cost of ridding ourselves of this errant vegetation is pretty high.
The noise levels generated by gas-powered leaf blowers (GLBs) are sometimes high enough to cause permanent hearing damage, and lead to other health problems.
The two-stroke engine GLBs also employ old-fashioned technology that has virtually no emissions controls, contributing to climate change.
A new group, Quiet Clean Nova, seeking to ban GLBs, is looking for new members. Please consider joining them. You can visit their website at quietcleannova.wordpress.com or contact them at qcnova1@gmail.com
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Update on Invasive Plant Action |
It is good news that the resolution for a year-long study on the sale and use of invasive plants in Virginia has passed. The study's recommendations will be ready in December 2021.
VA's work group on the invasive plant study will be undertaken by VA's Department of Conservation (DCR) and the VA Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and will include many other organizations.
Sierra Club members can report invasive plants using the app from Mid-Atlantic Early Detection Network.
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Earth Day at Blake Lane Park |
The SaveBlakeLane crew is hosting a small Earth Day Celebration in Blake Lane Park on Saturday, April 17, from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Activities include tree planting, invasive plant removal through IMA and a nature walk with naturalist and native plant specialist Laura Beatty. There will be an information table on environmental issues.
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Green Breakfast: Watershed Management |
On Saturday, March 13, Mr. Shannon Curtis, Chief of Fairfax County’s Watershed Assessment Branch, gave a presentation on their program at the Green Breakfast.
He discussed the watersheds in Fairfax County, the legacy of progressive efforts to protect water quality, and several of the ongoing water quality monitoring programs (including what the data is telling us) and some of the ways it is being used to protect and improve our environment.
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Loudoun citizens, including Sierra Club members, participated in getting the Loudoun Board of Supervisors to deny the Goose Creek Overlook application on March 16. This application was a proposal to build 238 townhouses and multifamily units in a dense development on the banks of Goose Creek.
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Source: https://www.pecva.org/region/loudoun/development-traffic/goose-creek-overlook-proposed-rezoning/ |
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Independent Hill Small Area Plan Approved |
With a 5-3 split vote, the Prince William Board of Supervisors approved the Independent Hill Small Area Plan, which includes removing forty acres from the Rural Crescent. This vote has set the stage for incompatible industrial blight next to our National Parks. We know from recent articles that this is just the first step. Even if you don’t care about our National Parks, you should care about your own access to clean water.
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An 800-acre data center campus, dubbed the “PWC Digital Gateway,” is under discussion for a string of properties in Prince William County’s “rural crescent” on land bordering the Manassas National Battlefield Park. - PW Times
photo courtesy /Roger Snyder
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Vote for Sierra Club Board of Directors |
Please take this opportunity to exercise one of the most important rights of your membership and vote for the Sierra Club Board of Directors. It will take only a few moments of your time, but the impact to our organization, our mission and our planet will be far reaching.
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Could Your Community Environmental Issue Benefit from a Letter to the Editor? |
Letters to the editor (LTEs) raise public awareness on issues. Often the editorial page, with its LTEs, is the most read section of the paper. Elected officials ask their staff to read LTEs to learn what issues are important to their constituents. Could your community benefit from an LTE in either a local or Richmond paper? Let the GFG LTE Writers Group know and they will help you . Please contact Linda Brown.
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Checking and Updating Your Sierra Club Contact and Membership Information
Are you not getting your Sierra Club communications -- or maybe you're getting too much? Or do you just want to see if your membership information is correct? Go to My Account on the Sierra Club National website to address these issues and, if needed, update your info.
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Cascade Newsletter Review |
Virtual Meeting
WHAT: Cascade readership feedback
When: Wed., April 14 at 7:30pm
WHERE: Zoom link after RSVP
DETAILS: Are you interested in improving our Cascade newsletter in terms of articles, format, length, frequency, distribution date, or other features? Everything will be on the table for discussion.
We have been interested in getting feedback from our readers to find out what articles you are interested in, what else would you like to see, and what format you prefer, to increase readership. Please RSVP for the Zoom link or if you can't attend, send your comments to Catherine
SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Great Falls Group
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Which one of the following articles did you like best?
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Volunteer Action for the Environment
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The Surprising Source of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Power for the People Virginia
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Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
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Earth Day at Blake Lane Park
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Sierra Club
Climate and Energy
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Ways to Stay in Touch with GFG |
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Send comments or questions to the editor.
Thank you!
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