January 2010
41 posts
High Speed Rail Finally Coming to the US: A Look... →
Click on the link above for the national story. I posted earlier about the public hearings on high speed rail in Virginia (hopefully you submitted your comments online). Of course, what we heard more recently from the Obama administration is that there is some money for the DC to Richmond connection, but not so much for other routes in the state.
'Great Recession' Plus High Corn Prices Are... →
More on Solar Panels Boosting Haiti Relief Efforts →
Disaster recovery is yet another strong argument for distributed solar power as opposed to centralized coal plants.
US Trade Group Wants Stanky, Formaldehyde-Laced... →
Watch“This is Our Moment” For Clean Energy Legislation
NYT: S.E.C. Says Companies Should Disclose... →
James River Green Building Council’s Green Spaces... →
Clean Energy Reform Still Has Huge Bipartisan... →
I believe this includes Virginia- now, what is the General Assembly doing about it?
Bike Education Program Triples Cycling Rates in... →
Environment Virginia: Extreme Murkowski Action...
Release from Environment Virginia:
For Immediate Release: January 21, 2010 Contact: J.R. Tolbert, 706-594-5487 (cell), jrtolbert@environmentvirginia.org *Extreme Murkowski Action Would Block Clean Air Act Protections* Washington, DC – Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced a resolution today disapproving of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s December 2009 scientific finding that...
Call for Volunteers to Plant Trees in Byrd Park
From City of Richmond release:
For Immediate Release January 21, 2010 Media Contacts: Tesha Davis – (804) 646-3998 Christy Everson – (804) 646-5944 Help needed to plant trees at Byrd Park’s Vita Course If you enjoy using the Vita Course in Byrd Park, consider giving back by helping to plant new trees around the course. Volunteers will gather at 9 a.m. on Jan. 23 to help plant 20 new trees...
Walks on Slave Trail during Black History Month
From City of Richmond release:
For Immediate Release January 21, 2010 Media Contacts: Tesha Davis – (804) 646-3998 Christy Everson – (804) 646-5944 Department offers walks on Slave Trail during Black History Month The Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will offer guided walks on Richmond’s Slave Trail each Saturday during February, Black History Month. This emotional...
Appalachian Coal Set For Big Decline, Protests &... →
Community SOLAR gardens! →
New SC Director Michael Brune!
Please click here to help the Sierra Club welcome our new executive director, Michael Brune.
Click here to read Treehugger.com’s take on this.
Congratulations to Carl Pope for the completion of his tenure and his help with the transition in leadership.
Gardeners for the Bay - upcoming workshops
Hello! We have two great upcoming workshops I would like to share with you! One is a Winter Gardening Workshop this weekend and the other involves growing underwater Bay grasses with us in our Grasses for the Masses program! Winter Gardening Workshop Join CBF as we host a Winter Gardening Workshop with the Backyard Farmers! Waiting for the frost to thaw and weather to warm up so you can get back...
U of R Helps Afghan Wildlife
Earlier this evening I was able to get to the University of Richmond campus and hear a presentation on efforts to identify and preserve wildlife in Afghanistan. I am too tired to describe all of it, but you may want to read an earlier article on U of R students’ efforts that appeared in the Times Dispatch (click here).
Here’s an excerpt:
The gazelle and elm made Afghanistan’s...
General Membership Meeting This Wednesday: A...
NOTE: 3d Wednesday - this month ONLY
January 20, 2010 Time: 7:00 pm Program: A Journey to South Africa Speakers: Ralph and Cricket White Location: Science Musuem of Virginia - Discovery Room, 2500 West Broad Street Richmond Virginia. Ralph White, City Naturalist and Manager of the James River Park System, and his wife Cricket, a leader in the Richmond-based Hope In the Cities...
This MLK Day, Sign Up to Volunteer for the Cannon...
Information for Volunteers
“Debris or NOT Debris”
Cannon Creek Greenway
Ravine and Roadside Clean-up
(A Community Improvement and Environmental Project)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Description Group, organization, and individual volunteers will remove
of Project paper, bottles, cans, old tires, and other debris from the
...
Will Algae Oils Replace Virginia's Menhaden... →
Please read the entire article (also linked to title).
Thirteen out of fifteen Atlantic states have banned a Houston-based fish oil company called Omega Protein, from harvesting in their waters. You guessed it; menhaden is one of the ocean’s most omega-rich sources of protein putting it on the most wanted list when it comes to commericial fishing.
Yeah, Virginia still allows commercial...
Opinion: EPA and US Army Corps Forcing Real Change... →
West Virginia’s coal industry reps and the Governor are on their anti-EPA soap boxes, grumbling like tea ‘par-tiers,’ while environmental groups and green bloggers are complaining that EPA and the Corps have not done nearly enough, some even offering that coal burning should be banned outright. That leaves an opening for Agency permit writers to do a run up the middle, staying...
Bracing for a Century of Rising Seas →
I am looking forward to hearing what the incoming McDonnell administration will do about this problem.
Reduce the use of plastic bags! -VA Bag Bill HB...
Dear Surfrider Members and Supporters,
It’s your turn to support legislation to reduce the use of disposable shopping bags and improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay, intracoastal, and other Virginia waterways! We need you to contact your legislators to ask them to co-sponsor HB 1115. As you probably know, Washington, DC, recently became the first city in the nation to charge 5 cents...
Green Apartment Renovations on Southside →
Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project-...
Let’s hear some comments! A few to consider: Alternative 2b connects high speed rail between Norfolk and Richmond along 64.-lowest capital and operating costs-most cost effective at $88.88 per rider at 90 mph.-least potential for negative environmental effects of the Build alternatives because improvements would only occur along one route and primarily within that route’s existing...
SCFOJ Benefits From Nickles for Nonprofits at...
NICKLES FOR FALLS OF THE JAMES GROUP – PARTICIPATE AND RECYCLE
by Tamara Smith
For the next 10 weeks the Falls of the James Group is a beneficiary of the “Nickle for nonprofits” fundraising scheme at the Whole Foods Store in the west end. “From my observation we’re racking up wooden nickles like crazy”, according to Tamara Smith, Fundraising Chair. If folks shop at Whole...
Hills and Heights: James River License Plate... →
120 Million Crabs Take to the Streets on Island →
The newly discovered ‘strawberry crab’ post seemed to get a lot of hits, so it makes sense to follow it up with this. Be sure to check out the pictures, including the ‘crab bridge’.
48% of Fast Food Soda Fountains Contain Bacteria... →
Seems like the reasons to not eat at fast food restaurants just keep on piling up. We’ve heard all about the unseemly practices that go into obtaining their meats and innumerable other horrors. But now, let’s look at the quality of the soda fountains—another staple of the fast food experience. A recent study has revealed that a full 48% of soda fountains at fast food...
Save on Amtrak And See Terra Cotta Warriors
TRAVEL AMTRAK VIRGINIA NORTHEAST REGIONAL SERVICE TO SEE THE TERRA COTTA WARRIORS AT THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MUSEUM Save 25 percent through March 17 on trips to Washington, D.C.
RICHMOND & WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. ...
FOJ Website Update for January 010
FOJ website Update for January 010 has been posted by our webmaster, Blinknewmedia. If you’re looking for party pictures of our holiday event, please check out the COLOR January 010 Newsletter in addition to those posted in Issues.
http://virginia.sierraclub.org/foj/
Sierra Club Green Home: Woodstoves and Pellet... →
With a wood pellet mill in Tappahannock where you can buy wholesale, I hope more Richmonders consider installing pellet stoves.
Endangered Bluefin Tuna Fetches Record Price at... →
Atlantic & Med. Bluefin Gone in Three Years At current fishing rates, estimates show that bluefin stocks in the Atlantic and Mediterranean could collapse entirely within the next few years. Conservation groups are pushing for a ban on trade in bluefin from these areas to allow the fish to recovery, something to be taken up at the next CITES meeting in a few months’ time.
New Strawberry Crab Discovered Off Coast of Taiwan →
For some reason, I cannot get enough of these oceanic wildlife stories…
Weird Research: Genetically Altering Tobacco For... →
Largest Freshwater Fish in the World Now Facing... →
Mystery: Thousands of Dead Octopuses Wash Up on... →
Problems with Postal Delivery of Fall Line
Some members have not yet received the January 010 issue of the Fall Line that should have been delivered to you prior to 31 December 09. If you are an active member of the Falls of the James Group, have not opted out of receipt of the paper newsletter, and have not received your copy, please advise: erthshr@comcast.net with your Name, mailing address for a copy to be mailed you.
If you choose...
TD: UR students research Afghan wildlife to aid... →
This article dovetails with announcement that Johnson of the Wildlife Conservation Society will be speaking at University of Richmond on Jan. 19. More details on the speaking engagement by clicking here.
How to green your eating habits →