Sign up for our ‘Ecology of the Southern Appalachian Mountains’ course

This fall, join Western North Carolina Alliance staffers and the College for Seniors (CFS) for a six-week course on the Ecology of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

CFS is a program of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (formerly OLLI), established in 1988. With full access to the resources of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, participation in classes helps members keep mentally and physically fit. CFS draws from members’ experiences and professional expertise as well as from the UNC Asheville and surrounding faculty to offer four terms each year. Courses range from Chaucer to computers, foreign affairs to opera, yoga to history. Held mostly on the UNC Asheville campus, courses are non-credit, with no tests or grades, open to all interested adults. Members collaborate with staff to teach, learn, design curricula and arrange special events.

Our course will explore the uniqueness of the southern Appalachians Mountains, the oldest and most bio-diverse mountains in the world. Each week, a WNCA instructor will present on his/her area of expertise in the classroom and then lead a related field trip the following Saturday. The field trips will be within a 30-minute drive of Asheville.

We will cover the geology, hydrology, climatology, biology and human ecology of our region.

Important Dates & Registration:

Fall term registration is held on Aug. 13.; Fall term dates are Sept. 15-Nov. 7.

Our classes will be Wednesday mornings from 9 – 11 a.m. on the following dates:

Sept. 17 and Sept. 24

Oct. 1, 8, 15, and 22

To register, please click here and scroll about halfway down the page.

July 28: ‘An Evening with filmmaker Paul Bonesteel’

George Masa [wikipedia photo]

The event is a fundraiser for ECO, and will be July 28 at Blue Ridge Community College in the McIntosh Room (Blue Ridge Conference Center, 180 West Campus Drive, Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock).

Time and Cost: 

• 6 p.m., July 28: Reception with talk by Bonesteel, catered by Purple Onion restaurant; wine, and Highland Brewing Co., beer, and reserved seating for film — $40 per person
• 7 p.m. July 28: Film showing of “The Mystery of George Masa.” — $15 per person for film only

 Reservations must be received at the ECO office by July 23.

Your check made out to ECO with “Bonesteel Event” in the memo line, will be your reservation.

Include a note with the number in your party, indicating for the reception or film only, and your contact information.  Seating is limited. Mail checks to ECO, 611 N. Church St., Suite 101, Hendersonville, NC  28792.

Call the office at 692-0385 or email eco@eco-wnc.org  if you have questions.

“The Mystery of George Masa” is the story of Masahar Iizuka, aka George Masa, an enigmatic Japanese artist who in the 1920s contributed to the preservation of the Great Smoky Mountains and the creation of the Appalachian Trail with his photography and passion for nature. This heavily researched film was originally released in 2003 on PBS and broadcast again in 2009, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

One critic said, “A mysterious and fascinating story about a passionate artist and his adopted homeland. It will resonate in you for years.”

Bonesteel was born and raised in Hendersonville.  His mother, Georgia, was widely known for her popular show “QuiltingWith Georgia Bonesteel,” which ran for several years on UNC-TV. The family owned Bonesteel Hardware in Hendersonville.  Paul has become a respected documentary filmmaker in his own right.  He produced “The Day Carl Sandburg Died,” a documentary film about Carl Sandburg, who lived and died in Flat Rock. That film has also shown on PBS. His company, Bonesteel Films, is located in downtown Asheville.

“Paul’s passion for capturing in film the Appalachian heritage of nature and history is reflected in this extraordinary documentary,” said Mary Jo Padgett, ECO’s Executive Director. “When I was first introduced to Mr. Masa through this film, I knew I had learned about an important page of local history.  What events led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a World Heritage Site in our own backyard?  This well-done film tells us much we didn’t know.”

This event is underwritten by Holly Spring Nursery to support ECO’s projects and programs.

July 29: Get on the bus to the EPA Carbon Protections hearing in Atlanta!

 

[Charlotte Sierra Club]

On June 2, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a historic plan to cut carbon pollution and stop the worst effects of climate disruption. The Clean Power Plan is our nation’s first major action to cut dangerous carbon pollution from our largest polluters, 30 percent by 2030, and will help spur a clean energy economy that can drive down electricity bills and create hundreds of thousands of dependable jobs.This is the beginning of what could be the biggest climate fight in U.S. history. The proposed plan is already under attack by the fossil fuel industry, whose proponents are mobilizing like never before to send their lobbyists to Washington.

On July 29, EPA will host the first of just four national hearings on the proposed Clean Power Plan in Atlanta.

Let’s show the world that the Southeast is ready for serious action to stop climate disruption!

Asheville Logistics:

Depart Asheville: 5:30 a.m. from Westgate Shopping Center

Arrive ATL:  9 a.m.

Depart ATL: 8 p.m.

Arrive Asheville: no later than 12 a.m.

Public comments will be taken at EPA from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Details here.

Press Conference At Sam Nunn Federal Building at 10 a.m.

Rally for Clean Energy Future at noon in Woodruff Park

March for Climate Justice at 1 p.m. from Woodruff Park to Sam Nunn Federal Building

July 30-31: Fracking documentary screens in Sylva, Asheville

Contacts:

Melissa Troutman, melissa@publicherald.org, 724-388-0464

Katie Hicks, Katie@cwfnc.org, 828-251-1291

Julie Mayfield, Julie@WNCA.org, 828-258-8737

Cross-Country Tour of Fracking Investigation to Use Zero Gasoline

Investigative News Team Screening ‘Triple Divide’ Across U.S.

What do fracking and the car of the future have in common? Residents of the Tar Heel State have the chance to find out at several screenings ofTriple Divide, a documentary about fracking in the Marcellus Shale.

Triple Divide is an 18-month investigation by independent journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, who also co-founded the nonprofit Public Herald based in Pennsylvania.

“Triple Divide is about how water and energy connect us all,” Troutman said.  

“It’s a great time for Western North Carolina residents to learn about the impacts of fracking in other parts of the eastern U.S.,” said Katie Hicks, assistant director of Clean Water for North Carolina, a co-sponsor of the screening in Asheville. “The NC General Assembly just lifted the moratorium on permits for drillers in our state, so permitting could begin as soon as the NC rules are finalized, and hearings on those rules are coming up in August. Plus, the state has budgeted money to test parts of nine counties in Western North Carolina for shale gas potential, so there’s a chance folks in the mountains could be directly impacted.”

“Having the filmmakers here in Asheville is a great opportunity to enhance our community’s dialogue about the risks of fracking in our state,” added Anna Jane Joyner, campaign coordinator at the Western North Carolina Alliance, also a co-sponsor.

An investigation of impacts from fracking in Pennsylvania, Triple Divide has been called “a bombshell that could reverberate across the state.” It will tour across the country June thru November thanks to a grant from the Investigative News Network with support from the Knight Foundation.

The team will cover over 10,000 miles in a Tesla Motors Model S, a long-range, all-electric sedan, and use the company’s nationwide Supercharger system where the electric cars can be quickly recharged for free. The directors aim to cross the U.S. using zero gasoline and emitting zero greenhouse gas pollution.

It screens July 30 at 7 p.m. at Mad Batter in Sylva, and July 31 at  7 p.m. at the Fine Arts Theatre in downtown Asheville, hosted by Clean Water for North Carolina and Western North Carolina Alliance.

According to Pribanic and Troutman, who also co-founded the investigative news nonprofit Public Herald, Triple Divide reveals how one state’s “world-class regulations” fail to protect people, communities, and the environment.

“The public isn’t seeing the full scale of impacts from fracking either because regulators are mismanaging the data or decisions are made based on politics instead of science,” Pribanic said. “The impacts we encountered in Triple Divide are systemic, but we can learn from these experiences so that the stories of those interviewed are not in vain.”

The journalists aim to bring together people on any side of the issue to discuss solutions, such as the #Fileroom project which Public Herald began to help the public track human and environmental health complaints by digitizing and mapping hard-to-get government oil and gas files.

“Pennsylvania has some of the best environmental laws in the country, but they aren’t being enforced,” Troutman said.  “And major problems like the ‘Pressure Bulb’ effect from fracking, which we cover in Triple Divide, aren’t a part of state or federal regulations at all.”

Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo co-narrates the documentary and added his voice to the project after seeing the film just weeks before its release.  Ruffalo’s nonprofit, Water Defense, also investigates water testing and protection measures, and he is a co-founder of The Solutions Project.

Public Herald also seeks solutions to increase its sustainability, which is why the team chose Tesla Motors for its transportation. “Imagine crossing the country without using a single drop of gasoline,” Troutman said.  “Tesla’s model may be a way to lessen the impact of fossil fuels on society and the climate.  We’ll share our review of the experience online, and those who attend screenings will get to check out the car in person.”

Triple Divide’s namesake, the triple continental divide in Pennsylvania, is one of four highly unique watersheds in North America. It’s where three major rivers begin and flow to separate ends of the continent, providing drinking water for millions of people and hundreds of communities downstream.

The filmmakers have screenings in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Montana, and Michigan with stops in between. For a detailed list of screening times and locations, visit http://tripledividefilm.org/screenings.  For video clips see TripleDivideFilm.org.  Also follow @PublicHerald and #TripleDivide.

●       http://vimeo.com/ondemand/tripledivide/63571188

●       Reviews: http://tripledividefilm.org/about/reviews/

●       Photographs and stills from the film: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjE3Tb8F

Aug. 6: “Birds Around the World” presentation by Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson (Photo: birdventures.com)

The Western North Carolina Alliance, Sierra Club and Asheville Green Drinks will present “Birds around the World” with Simon Thompson, world-renowned birding expert, at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 1 Edwin Place (corner of Charlotte Street) in Asheville. The event is free and open to the public.

Originally from Suffolk, England, Thompson has lived in North Carolina for more than 10 years. He has also lived in Lebanon, Kenya, Yemen, and Ghana, where his interest in birds and natural history began.

In addition to traveling extensively in the United States, he spent six months in China studying the crane and bird of prey migration as a member of the British “China Crane Watch” expedition.

As director and originator of Ventures Nature Travel program in Tryon, Thompson has led many birding trips all over the world.

For more information about the Aug. 6 event, email judymattox@sbcglobal.net or call (828) 683-2176.