Save
the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers Again
– Film Presentation – Submit comments NOW!
Saturday July 11, 1 p.m., Discovery
Center, 4750 Troost, Kansas City, MO
Cost: Free
The Jacks Fork and Current Rivers are a national treasure
that include 134 miles of clear cool water fed by beautiful springs,
numerous caves, huge bluffs, diverse wildlife and a variety of
recreational opportunities. The natural, scenic, primitive and
cultural values of this area have earned a place in the hearts
of fisherman, canoeists, and conservationists.
Read
more...
Please
signup to help
with our 2009 lemonade fundraiser
Go here to sign up to
volunteer for a shift at the 2009 lemonade stand fundraiser Sept.
4-7!
Plastic
Bags are Killing Us
by Katharine Mieszkowski
On a foggy Tuesday
morning, kids out of school for summer break are learning to sail
on the waters of Lake Merritt. A great egret hunts for fish, while
dozens of cormorants perch, drying their wings. But we’re not
here to bird-watch or go boating. Twice a week volunteers with the
Lake Merritt Institute gather on these shores of the nation’s
oldest national wildlife refuge to fish trash out of the water, and
one of their prime targets is plastic bags. Armed with gloves and
nets with long handles, like the kind you’d use to fish leaves
out of a backyard swimming pool, we take to the shores to seek our
watery prey. Dr.
Richard Bailey, executive director of the institute, is most concerned
about the bags that get waterlogged and sink to the bottom. “We
have a lot of animals that live on the bottom: shrimp, shellfish,
sponges,” he says. “It’s like you’re eating
at your dinner table and somebody comes along and throws a plastic
tarp over your dinner table and you.” Read
more...
Preaching
to the Choir
by George Baggett
all photos by Derek Simons, University News, UMKC
|
As part of this
year’s Robert F. Kennedy symposium at UMKC, Robert F Kennedy
Jr. spoke to a packed crowd March 11, at Royall Hall. Those
fortunate enough to attend heard Kennedy’s take on a plethora
of energy and environmental issues. Kennedy spoke for nearly
two hours, giving a complex assessment of the way things are, delving
into a future where America will become energy independent and grow
green as the way out of our economic hole. Limbaughites
might suggest he is a dreamer, but not true. RFK is investing in
complex methods of conserving energy and saving the environment.
He is challenging dependence on oil, backing up what he says with
examples of smart technology that were being developed around the
world during the era of the Bush administration when our leaders
hobbled our future by ignoring and discounting these viable options.
He concludes that we have been offered false choices—poverty
or a clean environment—propaganda sponsored by the oil industry.
Read more...
Missouri
Wilderness Campaign Update
by Eileen McManus, THB ExCom
Between 1976 and 1984 Congress passed four separate bills designating
seven wilderness areas in the Mark Twain National Forest in
Missouri: Hercules Glades, Bell Mountain, Rockpile Mountain, Devil's Backbone,
Piney Creek, Paddy Creek and the Irish Wilderness. Wilderness conservation
efforts on behalf of these areas were coordinated through the Missouri
Wilderness Coalition, or MWC, which included all the major
conservation organizations in the state. At that time MWC also
identified seven additional areas which were designated
for administrative protections as “Sensitive Areas”:
Lower Rock Creek, Big Spring, North Fork, Smith Creek, Spring Creek,
Swan Creek, and Van East Mountain.
Read more...
Climate
On The Edge, Ordinary People Need To Get A Move On
by John Kurmann
In the late
summer of 2006 C.E., Dr. James Hansen, the head of the NASA Goddard
Institute for Space Studies and one of the leading climate researchers
in the world, warned us that “we have a very brief window
of opportunity to deal with climate change...no longer than a decade,
at the most.”
It seems to
me that the need to act has only become more urgent since then.
When Hansen spoke those words, he was arguing that we needed to
keep carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere to 475
parts per million or below. In the spring of 2008, though, Hansen
wrote the following in a commentary on a scientific paper he coauthored
titled “Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?”
Read more...
A
Call to Action to Protect Hidden Valley
by Doris Sherrick
Sunday, September
21 was a perfect day to spend a couple of hours enjoying the beauty
and solitude of Hidden Valley Natural Area. A small group of dedicated
honeysuckle whackers not only enjoyed the beauty of Hidden Valley
that day but also took great delight in whacking the invasive devil
plant, bush honeysuckle, that is such a threat to that lovely place.
For those who
may not know, bush honeysuckle was introduced into this country
from Asia beginning in the late 1800s to be used as an ornamental
in lawns. But, because it produces large quantities of fruit that
are eaten and, therefore, distributed by birds, this plant did not
remain in the lawns where it was planted but spread into many other
habitats. Bush honeysuckle leafs out earlier in spring and retains
its leaves longer than the other plants. This means that the sunlight
the early spring flowering plants must have does not reach the forest
floor and, as a result, they simply die out. Read
more...
Recognizing
Faith Communities Taking Environmental Action
All Souls Unitarian Universalist
and Village Presbyterian Churches
by Patty Brown, THB ExCom
 Patty
Brown, Frank Drinkwine, Terry Wiggins, and Reverend Jim Eller
accepting the Faith in Action award on June 19 presented by
Melissa Hope.
photo by Jerry Rees |
The Sierra Club
has proudly released its first ever report on this subject, entitled
“Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet,”
which highlights one exceptional faith-based environmental initiative
from each of the fifty states, and illustrates a growing trend.
Almost all of the major religions have teachings and traditions
that address how humans should relate to the natural world. These
are now being revived to bring new energy and vision to the environmental
movement.
Read more...
At
War With The World: Derrick Jensen’s
Now This War Has Two Sides
by
William Gresham
Among those who
have read the works of Derrick Jensen (including A Language Older
Than Words, The Culture Of Make Believe, and, most recently
[with artist Stephanie McMillan], the graphic novel As The World
Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial), many have
had the opportunity to see and hear him in person. It is not overstating
the case to call what Jensen does performance. Jensen’s newest
release is a recording of the talk he’s been doing, more-or-less,
since the publication of Endgame in 2006. This recording
was made live in Vancouver, BC (the liner notes indicate “fills
from various other shows”).
Read more...
Kansas
City to St. Louis – More travel options than you think
Travelers between Kansas City and St. Louis typically think of two
choices -- drive or fly. But there are other options. Amtrak, Greyhound,
and Megabus can get you across the state in as little as 4 hours and
15 minutes. There's no discount on a round-trip ticket, so feel free
to "mix and match" -- for example, go by Megabus and return
by Amtrak. We've compiled a schedule and other info about the the
three carriers for your convenience. Make your next trip more earth-friendly.
Read
more...
Changes
in Store for Hidden Valley Natural Area
by Doris Sherrick
 Demonstrating
the building of a debris dam to control erosion.
Photo by Jimmi Lossing |
Exploring, enjoying and protecting Hidden Valley Natural Area (HVNA)
will become easier in the future as new hiking and accessible trails
are constructed, erosion control features are put in place, and work
to eliminate invasive exotic species continues.
Read
more... Environmental,
Community Groups Announce Important Energy Agreement with Major
Utility
March
20, 2007 Sierra
Club, Kansas City Power & Light and Concerned Citizens of Platte
County Put Forward Agreement to Reduce Emissions, Spur Clean Energy
Development
(Kansas City,
Mo.) — In a groundbreaking agreement that can serve as a model
for environmental groups and utilities working together, the Sierra
Club, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), and the Concerned
Citizens of Platte County (CCPC) have agreed on a set of initiatives
to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce other emissions for the
Kansas City-based utility. Under the agreement announced today,
KCP&L agrees to pursue offsets for all of the global warming
emissions associated with its new plant through significant investments
in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and cut pollution from
its existing plants in order to improve air quality in the Greater
Kansas City metro area. The agreement proposes other investments
in clean energy, significant decreases in emissions and resolves
four appeals pending between the Sierra Club, CCPC, and KCP&L.
Full implementation of the terms of the agreement will necessitate
approval from the appropriate authorities, as some of the initiatives
in this agreement require either enabling legislative policy or
regulatory approval. Read
more...
KCP&L’s
Dirty Air Permit Challenged!
April
2006
Sierra Club in favor of Smart Energy Solutions
The Missouri Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club has challenged the
PSD permit issued to Kansas City Power and Light (KCPL) to build
an 850 megawatt coal-fired power plant—known as Iatan II—30
miles northwest of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The air permit
is called a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit
in the language of the Clean Air Act. It controls the amount of
pollutants allowed to be emitted such as those which cause smog,
acid rain, cardiac health problems, and mercury. State regulations
curtail the emissions, but still allow large amounts in the permit.
Read
more...
Peak
Oil, the Chamber, and a Regional Energy Strategy
April
2006
Matt Simmons, oil industry investment advisor and author
(Twilight in the Desert: the Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World
Economy) spoke on February 21 to an audience of about 150 at a luncheon
sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Read
more...
|
|
