climate change Archives

“Merchants of Doubt” screening at the Orange Peel

Join the Sierra Club of WNC, the Orange Peel and MountainTrue for a screening of the climate change documentary “Merchants of Doubt” on Thursday, August 13.

Created and directed by Academy Award nominee and creator of the film, “Food, Inc,” Robert Kenner, the film “Merchants of Doubt” is a look at how the “climate change denier” industry has found such success.

The documentary, based on the book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, is an inside look at how public opinion is formed in this country, how spin doctors and media manipulators get people to ignore science at their own peril.

“Merchants of Doubt” will be shown at the Orange Peel in Downtown Asheville on Thursday August 13th at 7:30.

Doors open at 7pm. This will be a fully seated event, open to all ages. Entry is free, but a $5 donation is suggested to support the event’s co-sponsor organizations, Mountain True and Sierra Club of WNC.

MountainTrue board chairman goes to D.C., advocates for the environment

MountainTrue Board Chairman Peter Krull at the White House for a meeting with the Council for Environmental Quality

Our Board Chairman Peter Krull at the White House for a meeting with the Council for Environmental Quality

MountainTrue board chairman goes to D.C., advocates for the environment

During the last week of April, MountainTrue Board Chairman Peter Krull was in Washington, D.C., advocating for a number of environmental and climate change policies. The trip was sponsored by E2, Environmental Entrepreneurs, which is part of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). MountainTrue has worked with E2 in the past to get entrepreneurs more involved with environmental policy. While in D.C., Peter and his team met with members of the administration, including the Undersecretaries of Transportation and Agriculture, and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality. They also had meetings with nine Senate offices, including staff from North Carolina Sens. Tillis and Burr. They met with five House offices, including staff from Rep. Mark Meadows’ office. Peter’s group had multiple objectives for their meetings: — To demonstrate to legislators and the administration the importance of marrying economic and environmental interests — To establish relationships with legislators on both sides of the aisle And to discuss our policy agenda, which includes: — The importance of incentives and renewable energy tax credits — Clean energy financing opportunities — Climate Change legislation and rules — The EPA Clean Power Plan — A Transportation Bill that is financially and environmentally sustainable — Continued support for the military’s research into renewable energy MountainTrue is very proud to have Peter on our team, advocating for our environment in Western North Carolina — and in the halls of Washington, D.C.

Meeting with Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, and his staff.

9/21: Join The People’s Climate March in NYC!

This is an invitation to change everything.

In September, world leaders are coming to New York City for a UN summit on the climate crisis. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement to dramatically reduce global warming pollution.

With our future on the line and the whole world watching, we’ll take a stand to bend the course of history. We’ll take to the streets to demand the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.

Click here for details about the People’s Climate March schedule of events.

To change everything, we need everyone on board. Sunday, Sept. 21 in New York City. Join us.

Reserve a seat on the bus from WNC to NYC for the march HERE.

For more information, you may contact Debby Genz by emailing: dgenz@skyrunner.net.

Local activists to testify at EPA’s historic hearings on power plant emissions

[Charlotte Sierra Club]

Some 1,600 expected to speak at hearings across the country

ASHEVILLE—On June 2, President Obama and the EPA announced the first-ever carbon pollution limits on all existing power plants. It’s the most important climate action of his presidency, because power plants are America’s single largest source of extreme-weather intensifying, public-health threatening carbon pollution.

The EPA has scheduled four public hearings across the country—in Pittsburgh, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta—to give people the opportunity to give oral testimony on the new carbon standards.

On July 29, concerned citizens from Western North Carolina will travel to Atlanta to give formal comments supporting the EPA’s proposed carbon pollution limits at the hearing in the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center.

A busload of area activists will leave Asheville at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday from Earth Fare in the Westgate Shopping Center. A press conference, rally and a march will be held in Atlanta outside the hearings. The bus will return to Asheville by midnight.

“We need to tell the EPA that limiting carbon from power plants is the fastest way to tackle climate disruption,” said Anna Jane Joyner, campaign coordinator with Western North Carolina Alliance. “The coal-fired power plant in Asheville is the largest single contributor to climate disruption in our mountains, releasing carbon dioxide into the air every year equivalent to 500,000 cars on the road. This is not just an environmental problem, it’s a public health issue and it’s an economic issue.”

The EPA says it anticipates hearing oral comments from about 1,600 people.

Anyone interested in getting a seat on the bus from Asheville to Atlanta should go to:

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/bus-to-the-epa-carbon-protections-hearing-tickets-12239930963.

The cost is $10, plus a small processing fee.

People also can comment on the EPA’s proposal online or by email, fax or letter. EPA says it considers all comments equally, no matter how they are submitted.

The comment period on the proposed carbon pollution limits rule is open until Oct. 16.

Complete information on the various ways to comment can be found at:

http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/how-comment-clean-power-plan-proposed-rule