BP Memorial Events that Sierra Club in Louisiana is supporting and participating in:

Wednesday April 20, 2011 in New Orleans, LA

7-8 am Sunrise Gathering, Memorial Service with faith leaders and representatives from the Mayors office, Amphitheatre Across from Jackson Square Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Press conference at 10 am at Gulf Coast Leadership Summit, Release of Weeks Bay Principles

7:00 pm House of Blues benefit concert with Brad Pitt, Kevin Kostner, name musicians

http://www.harmony-for-health.org/events_hob.htm

Wednesday April 20, 2011 on Grande Isle

Memorial of the 1st Anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion--Day 1

Grounds of the Grand Isle Medical Clinic 108 Willow Ln Grand Isle, LA 70358

Corner of La. 1 and Willow Lane, Grand Isle, LA, 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm

• Fishless Fry and Shrimpless Boil – Refreshments available throughout the day.

• Children’s Oil Spill Art Exhibit
• Music and Poetry Reading

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=109972452413727

Tuesday through Thursday, April 19 – 21, 2011 Gulf Coast Leadership Summit

Hilton New Orleans Riverside, 2 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70140. Presentations, panels and exhibits about the effects of the BP Oil Disaster on the Gulf Coast. Free and open to the public.

http://gulfcoastleadershipsummit.com/

Saturday, April 23 · 10:00am - 9:00pm

The Resurrection of the Gulf: A Day of Action and Hope

Pirate Island Daiquiri, La Hwy. 1, Grand Isle, LA

• Music

• Easter Tarball Hunt (Beach Cleanups)

• Chili Dogs, White beans and rice will be served. Vegetarian selections will also be available. Refreshments available throughout the day. Please consider donating at the serving tables.

• Children’s Bounce House (ages 10 and under)

• Bake Sale, Book Sale, “Repurposed Treasures” Yard Sale – all proceeds to help Island residents in need.

• Food/care package drive to benefit the citizens of Grand Isle, La.

Items needed: canned foods, boxed foods, childrens Tylenol, Motrin, cold medicines, toothpaste, razors, soap, gift cards, gas cards, toilet paper, paper towels, feminine care items, wound dressings, etc.

• “Planting Hope” - Native Vegetation and Tree Donation Drive

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186526578047827&ref=ts

Youth Leaders Travel to DC for Power Shift

Bringing to Capitol Hill a message of longstanding history of injustice in Louisiana

As the anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster approaches, nearly a hundred young people—ranging in ages from 13 to over 30, and hailing from Grand Isle to Grambling—are getting ready for a long trip ahead of them. They are going to Washington, DC April 15-18, to join ten thousand other young leaders at Power Shift 2011, a national convergence of young leaders working to restore our democracy and build a clean energy economy across the United States.

"Louisiana is dying a slow death from social and environmental injustices,” says Matt Wyatt, LSU student and steering committee member for the Youth Alliance of Louisiana Leaders. “Power Shift gives us the chance to build the next generation of environmental leaders to keep our coast, climate, and culture alive."

At Power Shift 2011, they will participate in a series of political and grassroots campaign organizing trainings, hear from top leaders like EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, interact with citizens on the front lines of oil, coal, and nuclear pollution, and meet with other youth leaders from around the country. The conference will culminate with a rally outside the White House and a full day of lobby visits on Monday, April 18th.

“Louisiana youth are awake,” says Devin Martin, a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Power Shift coordinator for the Louisiana Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We know that our dependence on offshore drilling creates a dysfunctional democracy and is not an economic strategy for our future. From nuclear meltdowns to mountaintop removal coal mining to the ongoing disaster in the Gulf, we are constantly reminded of why young people are passionate to create a sustainable clean energy future and restore government to ‘We the People’.”

For more information, visit www.PowerShift2011.org.

Contact:

Devin Martin, Sierra Club PowerShift Coordinator

devin.martin@sierraclub.org

985-209-5454

Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program Update

One of the most successful strategies for protecting surface water quality has been the adoption of streams and watersheds by interested volunteer groups. In November of 2009 Cajuns for Bayou Teche held a fundraiser and a volunteer cleanup day that was successful in pulling many boatloads of trash out of the bayou. Volunteers from nonprofit organizations and businesses pitched in to do the dirty work and everyone felt like it was a day well spent. The event also served as the starting point for a project in which Cajuns for Bayou Teche, Acadiana RC&D, and Sierra Club Delta Chapter would work together to start a volunteer based water quality monitoring program on the Bayou called Water Sentinals.

Funding support from the three organizations was combined to purchase sampling kits for basic surface water quality monitoring. Local and guest instructors from the Sierra Club conducted two water quality monitoring workshops to train volunteers to perform water sampling and analysis, and reporting of results. Five volunteer sampling teams were formed and they have successfully monitored water quality at five different locations along the Bayou.

The sampling teams run tests at the five locations on the same date to establish a continuous profile of water quality. The tests are for temperature, pH, conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen and Nitrates. Additional field observations made at the time of each sampling further complete the picture. We discuss in the workshops the meaning of each of these parameters and what they show us over time. Three coordinated sampling dates in May, August and November of 2010 have provided a good initial set of data representing Bayou Tech water quality. We plan to continue monitoring four times per year for as many sampling locations as possible. In time we hope to add a test for E. coli that will provide information on bacteriological contamination in the water, and add observations of streambed small organisms. Our next training workshop for volunteers will be on May 12, 6:00 to 8:30 pm in New Iberia at the Parks and Recreation Oak Room, which is located at 300 Parkview Drive.

Bayou Teche Water Sentinals is looking for interested persons to serve as volunteers to monitor additional sampling locations along the Bayou. We work on a small budget of donated funds to buy sampling and safety equipment so we are always looking for funding help to keep the program going. Water Sentinals program coordinator time is volunteered by Woody Martin, the writer of this article. Persons interested in participating as a volunteer or helping with funding support can contact me at hrmartin2sc@gmail.com or 337-298-8380. Big thanks go to Blake Couvillion of Cajuns for Bayou Teche and to Kristen Kordecki of Acadiana RC&D for their participation and support of the program.

Louisiana Public Service Commission recently passed order

This is a synopsis of the recently passed order per the La PCS in regards to the renewable portfolio standard. RPS

1. The Docket no. is R-28271. The history and findings can be accessed on the LPCS web site in the docket tab.
2. The order was officially filed on July 10,2010. It will go into effect after a 90 day review period which will allow for the development of the implementation process.
3. The driving force has been the issue that several States have developed RPS programs and the anticipation that there would be Federal legislation in some regard.
4. The original attempt to develop such in La. begin in 2005 which resulted in the “Geaux Green” program.
5. With the change in the Fed. administration and passage of the Waxman/Markey legislation, the LPCS began the process again in May 2009 which entailed the establishment of a task force.
6. Following a series of meeting and inputs, the staff recommended that a “Pilot” program be established on June 15, 2010 which the LPCS adopted with unanimous consent.
7. The goals are, “allow the Commission to accomplish its stated policy goals of: providing additional resources that result in reliable and economical long-term electric supply; diversification of La. fuel mix; greater energy security through the use of indigenous resources; encouraging private investment; improving air quality; developing additional in-state renewable resources; ; and encouraging job creation and job retention while avoiding the uncertainty associated with the cost impacts of a long term policy decision in an uncertain economic and political climate.”
8. As set out the “Pilot” program consist of two components, A. Research Component and B. RFP component.

1. Research component - These will be small scale research/evaluation of renewable energy projects of either self-build and/or affiliated entities limited to no larger than 30MW for the entire component.
Affiliated entities may enter into 3 yr. contracts with utilities at standard cost plus $30 per MWH.
2. RFP component- each jurisdictional utility will be required to conduct RFPs. The total capacity will be 350 MW based on an utility base load. Contracts will be for less than 20 years. Terms will be developed subject to PSC approval.
An exception will be an utility that is undertaking a bio-fuel co firing. Terms and conditions are detailed.

A list of defined renewable resources are listed which may be revised.
At present there are 16 resource. The most significant are those based on bio-mass and combined heat and power. Other listed are methane, fuel cells, geothermal, water sources, solar, waste to heat and wind.
A review process is designed. At the conclusion of the “Pilot” program, approx. 2013. At such time it will be a goals-based or mandatory.
Related items: There are separate dockets that will address energy efficiency, integrated resource planning, net metering and other policies so related.
Comments: Generally favorable to the program. After extensive input primarily from forestry interests, bio-mass is identified as a significant source of renewable resources for La. as is the case for the southeast States. A market based mechanism, feed in tariff, was introduced and a modified version can be found in the adopted order.
In light of the current status of Federal legislation on energy policy, the program of the LPSC is light years ahead.

The possibility of economic impact on the agriculture interests will be enhanced.

Frank Neelis, Delta Chapter Energy Chair

Sierra Club Cancun Update 12-9-10

Sierra Club Cancun Update
12-9-10
By Justin Guay

Sierra Club Cancun Team
With a 36 member delegation, and thanks to volunteer participation and leadership, the Sierra Club has enjoyed a strong showing in Cancun that has helped to elevate our presence with colleagues, negotiators, and institutions on the global level. The Sierra Club delegation has met every other day to coordinate our efforts and inform staff and volunteers by bringing in speakers on critical issues. Notable speakers have included John Lynchberry from Birdlife International, Elizabeth May from the Green Party of Canada, as well as staff from WWF Mexico, and the Many Strong Voices Project. The Sierra Club International team would like to extend a special thanks to Fred Heutte, Glen Besa, Tyla Matteson, Allison Chin, Joseph Manning, Jim Dougherty and many others for their help in coordinating these meetings and overall Sierra Club efforts.


Heads in the Sand
The Sierra Club delegation has been busy building the momentum, and pressure needed to ensure that our politicians and leaders live up to international responsibilities and infuse positive momentum into the climate change negotiations here in Cancun. This past Friday led by Jim Dougherty, the Sierra Club and the Sierra Student Coalition teamed up with Bill McKibben of 350.org, and the Center on Biological Diversity to call on world leaders to get their heads out of the sand. An event aimed at calling attention to the danger climate change poses and the need for concerted global action. The event enjoyed worldwide coverage.
Coverage
· Reuters, LA Times, BBC, NPR, Washington Post, The Australian, The Hindu, Edmonton Journal, Euro news, Straights Times, SF Gate, Signon San Deigo News, Herald Online, and many more…
SSC Work & China-US Youth Climate Exchange
When our delegation wasn’t calling the world’s attention to the talks, the Sierra Student Coalition was busy pulling together rapid response calls back to US politicians, writing post cards to delegates, and organizing media events on the US/Chinese energy race. Perhaps the most impressive was the international bridges the SSC built through the China-US Youth Climate Exchange. The spirit of cooperation and understanding the event engendered between students from China and the U.S. was summed up well by Chen Yingao, a graduate student from Peking University, "Before Cancun, I didn't have a lot of experience communicating with American youth. The past five days have provided me a totally new view of the United States."
· A Reuters video segment on China-US Youth Climate Exchange

Policy Advocacy
As the talks moved into the second week Sierra Club staff ramped up efforts to break the death grip fossil fuel interests have on international climate politics by exposing coal for the dirty 19th century fuel that it is. We have focused most heavily on a strong push for the World Bank to clean up its energy lending including holding a side event, placing numerous articles, and making sure the Bank staff in Cancun knew we were watching them with the help of “Bank trackers”. We have supplemented these efforts with a strong administrative advocacy push to ensure the United States plays a constructive role in moving the ball forward on key issues such as Adaptation, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), Technology Transfer, Transparency, and Climate Finance.

Sierra Club United Nations Side Event: World Bank Climate and Energy Finance
The Sierra Club side event shone a much needed light on the World Bank’s coal lending at the global stage. The all star panel mediated by Stephen Kretzman of Oil Change International was made up of Sierra Club international allies from a broad swath of important emerging economies. Siziwe Khanyile from the South African NGO groundwork - who played an instrumental role in fighting the recent Medupi coal loan - spoke of the terrible impact Medupi has had on the health and livelihoods of affected communities. Srinivas Krishnaswamy from Vasudha Foundation India spoke about the importance of ensuring energy access for the poor – something large scale coal plants fail to deliver time and again. And Yoke Ling Chee from Third World Network spoke about the Bank’s destructive legacy, the need for it to clean up its act, and how future climate finance should be structured to ensure a positive outcome for developing countries. The event represented a strong step forward for our international work as it solidifies ties with South African and Indian colleagues which we have been building over the past year. We plan to continue working with and supporting our allies in their fight to protect communities facing destructive fossil fuel projects.

Bank Tracking
When staff wasn’t organizing public events for policy makers we were teaming up with the Bank Information Center, Oil Change International and various other NGOs to “track the bank”. This initiative was meant to keep up much needed pressure and make sure the Bank knew civil society was watching them. The highlight of these efforts came with Sierra Club Staff member Nicole Ghio posing as an employee handing out documents for a side event on World Bank lending and Climate Finance. She personally handed the World Bank Director of Environment Warren Evans a copy of our factsheet highlighting the Bank’s destructive coal lending and detailing our demands for revised energy lending (read all about it in her bank tracking blog below).

U.S. Administration Advocacy
Finally, our international climate program director and policy staff are pushing hard for progress on a climate fund that can help build a 21st century economy. This has included direct and frequent discussions with top U.S. negotiators and State Department officials to push them to agree to progress in critical areas – not block efforts in search of a “balanced outcome. In addition, we have contributed to coordinated efforts with other US NGOs through USCAN as well as international colleagues through CAN international to publicly pressure them with ECO articles and Fossil nominations.

ECO NGO Newsletter and Bunkers
Last but certainly not least we enjoyed a strong presence in the Climate Action Network International. CAN-I is a very influential grouping of NGOs which publishes a daily NGO newsletter – ECO - widely read by delegates and coordinates working groups on key issues as well as advocacy and media efforts at these negotiations. Fred Heutte led the Sierra Club charge as ECO editor helping us to get timely articles printed on key topics, working with a variety of working groups including the notorious LULUCF, as well as serving as an ambassador for the Club. At the same time Art Williams lead the very important work of the Bunkers Working Group (Aviation and Maritime Fuel). Art was instrumental in setting up meetings with delegates, coordinating advocacy, and pushing hard for a positive outcome on the Bunkers issue in Cancun.

Coverage · Sierra Club Cancun World Bank Side Event
· Coal articles: Coal’s low carbon pitch, World Bank and Coal
· ECO articles: coal in the CDM, The World Bank’s addiction to coal, the problematic role the US is playing in negotiations *to be posted (thanks to the tireless efforts of ECO editor and Sierra Club lead volunteer Fred Heutte)
· Blog’s: Evolution in Cancun, Bank Tracking Blog, Tree Hugger summary of Sierra Club activities in Cancun by Sarah Hodgdon, and many many more on the Sierra Club Delegation Blog
· World Bank Climate Finance Coal Action Alert

Status of the Negotiations
All of this brings us to an update on the talks themselves. Despite leading efforts to call out the US on their high risk strategy of a “balanced outcome” the administration continues to refuse to allow progress in areas ripe for agreement including reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), Technology Transfer, and the creation of a Global Climate Fund. Top U.S. negotiator Todd Stern has continually reiterated the fact that a deal is to be had here in Cancun, yet despite positive overtures from the Chinese and the Indians on the all important transparency issue, the US continues to hold up progress. With only one day left it is impossible to say what the outcome of the negotiations will be but we will continue to push for steps forward - particularly on REDD and a global climate fund - that will shore up the fragile state of the talks and help the world to move forward in the fight against climate change.
The other key dynamic at play in Cancun is the fate of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). At the beginning of the talks the Japanese made official statements that they would not be seeking a second commitment period which has opened the door for other bad actors (including Canada and Russia) to join in the killing of this legally binding international protocol. As of now the fate of the KP is highly uncertain with many developing countries lobbying hard for its extension and many developed countries seeking an early exit.

Ultimately, Cancun could very well determine the fate of international negotiations. Without clear progress the talks may drift for years to come with key parties seeking other venues for cooperation. It is important that we understand that even without a new binding treaty or continuation of the KP the United Nations plays a critically important role as a global platform that brings the world together in the fight against climate change. The tough decisions we must face going forward are the nature of its role and how we can leverage the UNFCCC to ensure that we are fighting climate change and fossil fuel interests as aggressively as the science demands.

Justin Guay
International Climate Program, Sierra Club
+1 202.664.6460
Skype: guayguay2

Dispersants in Your Seafood?

		Dear Friend, Tell the EPA to regulate toxic oil dispersants! Though the oil from the BP Macondo well stopped flowing in late July, the effects of the disaster continue to affect communities across the coast. Not only has oil penetrated our coast, but questions remain regarding the impacts chemical oil dispersants have on our waters and our seafood. Send a message to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson telling her to regulate toxic oil dispersants! At present, approximately 1.84 million gallons of chemical dispersants have been dumped into Gulf waters, all with little knowledge or research on the chemicals' toxic impacts. Regulations guiding how and where dispersants can be used are based solely on their effectiveness at breaking up oil not on any scientific standards of safe use. Tell the EPA to set standards for dispersants that protect public health and the environment! The EPA needs to amend regulations on dispersants and require more extensive and robust toxicity testing, establish criteria that define the safe use of dispersants' chemical substances, and require full public disclosure of each dispersant’s ingredients. Please write EPA Administrator Jackson and urge her to create regulations for dispersants that prioritize safeguarding our environment and communities. Thank you for all that you do for the Gulf. In Solidarity, Jordan Macha Gulf Coast Field Organizer jordan.macha@sierraclub.org 504.861.4837 P.S. After you take action, please forward this message to your friends and family! If you do not wish to receive future emails like this, click here to be removed from this type of email contact.