Get Outdoors

At the core of some environmental groups is the belief that in order to protect natural resources, people need to experience them first hand. Only through direct experience can one learn to fully appreciate the quote from Henry David Thoreau: “In wilderness is preservation of the world.”

That is the reason that organizations such as the Sierra Club sponsor over 20,000 “outings” every year to local, regional and international destinations of importance and beauty. In Illinois, outings leaders guide trips every week. The public is invited to hike, bike, ski, canoe and kayak, watch birds, and many other activities. Leaders also conduct service projects to repair damage to nature and support the conservation efforts of local, state and federal governments saving these organizations lots of money.

I am honored to serve as the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club’s Outings Chair. In that volunteer role I oversee the outings programs across the state of Illinois. To find an outing adventure anywhere in Illinois visit here.

The Sierra Club is especially well known for the quality of its 350 “national outings” held every year since 1901 at locations from Tennessee to Tibet. These trips introduce people, some of which have never experienced wilderness, to the miracles of nature. I also chair the Midwest section of the Sierra Club's national outings program and have the opportunity to lead 2-3 week-long trips a year. There will be one national trip in the Shawnee National Forest of southern Illinois this year. I will be leading three others elsewhere:

• Service on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway; Wisconsin and Minnesota
• Ozarks Trail Building on the Buffalo National River, Arkansas
• Giants of Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Get off the couch. Explore the planet, enjoy and protect it. Get outdoors!

Sierra Club Radio

Did you know the Sierra Club has a weekly radio show?

Hosted by Orli Cotel, Sierra Club Radio broadcasts for a half hour every Saturday at 3:30 pm on the Quake Radio (960 am) in San Francisco. But of course, it's 2007, and you can listen to the show anytime from anywhere -- on your computer, your iPod, maybe even your phone.

Highlights of last week's show included an interview with author Bill McKibben on his walk across Vermont to draw attention to global warming, tips on green house-cleaning, commentary of Bush's State of the Union speech from the Club's Executive Director Carl Pope, and the impacts of tourism on Antarctica.

There's a new podcast every week, and you can download or listen to it at http://www.sierraclub.org/radio.

Think Globally, Act Locally

How does a city impact global warming? It could just proceed with the status quo and witness the sustainability of the local economy decline, the environment become degraded, and its citizens become impoverished. Alternatively, the community leaders could bravely embrace the challenge to “think globally, act locally.”

As a splendid example of local government initiative, one need only look to Springfield, Illinois for a daring plan to create smart energy solutions.

When you drive into Springfield, one can’t help but notice the two giant smokestacks owned by the municipal utility, City Water Light and Power, belching soot, smog, and mercury pollution into the city and surround region.

As a part of an agreement that the Sierra Club brokered with the EPA, Illinois Governor’s office and the City, the utility will close its oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plant and replace it with a new coal plant subject to the most stringent soot, smog, and mercury pollution limits in the nation. The new plant will emit 99 percent less sulfur dioxide than the existing power plant.

The new plant coupled with investments in wind power and an ambitious energy efficiency program constitutes the first enforceable agreement in the nation by any city or utility to significantly reduce its global warming pollution. The part of the agreement that is most likely to turn heads around the country, however, are the measures addressing global warming - the most ambitious in the nation for a utility.

The plan calls for the City to cut its global warming pollution by 25 percent below its 2005 levels by 2012, the equivalent of removing 103,000 automobiles off of our highways. Towards that end, Springfield plans tap into wind power and providing investments in new infrastructure that will double the wind energy capacity of Illinois. "This deal is a huge step forward for smart energy solutions and a first in the effort to curb global warming," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. "Not only do Springfield residents benefit from cleaner air and water and new ways to save money on their energy bills, but other communities can use this agreement as a model for their own energy and global warming strategies," added Pope.“

As part of the plan, Springfield will also conduct a comprehensive energy efficiency audit and invest $4 million over the next decade - a tenfold increase - in efficiency programs and incentives for ratepayers. The agreement also formalizes a role for local citizens to help the City direct investments in additional conservation and energy efficiency measures, including a special program targeted to help low-income and elderly residents. Overall, the landmark energy agreement would do the following:

* Replace the City’s Lakeside coal plant, one of the dirtiest coal plants in the nation, with the cleanest coal-fired power plant in the nation.

* Cut mercury emissions from its existing and new coal plants by 90 percent by 2009 (the most stringent requirement in the nation).

* Cut overall sulfur dioxide emissions from its existing and new coal plants by 75 percent by 2012 (the lowest SO2 pollution limit in the Midwest).

* Meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocol by cutting the City’s global warming pollution by 25 percent (600,000 tons annually) below its 2005 levels by 2012, the most stringent global warming reduction commitment by any utility in the U.S. It's the equivalent of removing 103,000 automobiles off of our highways.

* Double Illinois’ installed wind capacity by adding a record 120 megawatt of new wind turbines. This includes 60 MW to power the State’s Springfield office buildings, including the State Capitol -- this represents one of the largest investments by any state in clean energy.

* Boost the City’s investment in energy efficiency funding ten-fold to a record $4 million over the next decade.

* Establish an internship program for college students to work on clean energy projects.

What did it take to accomplish this turn about in Springfield’s future? Local leadership.

Where will that leadership come from in southern Illinois?