EVENT: Heroes of Our Time May 6th

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Al Bergstein

The Northwest Toxic Communities coalition is proud to present our annual Summit 

 “Heroes of Our Time”

Hear the challenges they have faced along the way to success

Saturday May 6  –  9 AM – 3 PMJoin us virtually to celebrate Dr. David Carpenter, public health champion for communities v. Monsanto Attorney Marc Zemel on the Spokane River PCB cleanup against the USEPA Attorney 

Charlie Tebbutt, author and public advocate for cleaning up CAFOs

RSVP here: https://nwtoxiccommunities.org/event/annual-summit-2023-heroes-of-our-time/  (And see an enlarged flyer)

Option:  If the RSVP Google.doc link above does not work for you; email me your name and email address:  darlenes@olympus.net

The URL to the meeting will be released Friday, May 5.

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Upcoming Climate Action Events

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Want to actually do something to help move the needle on climate change? Here’s one thing you can get involved with.

Olympic Climate Action and Carbon Washington are sponsoring three local events in support of Initiative 732, for a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax, featuring the Initiative’s principal author, Yoram Bauman

Carbon Washington is a grassroots campaign seeking to put Initiative 732 on the 2016 ballot. I-732 would institute a revenue-neutral carbon tax in Washington State, using revenue from a tax on fossil fuels to reduce existing taxes. There would be a full percentage point reduction in the sales tax, a fully-funded Working Families Tax Rebate, and an effective elimination of the B&O tax for manufacturers. If passed, this policy would be the strongest carbon price in the nation and would be the most significant improvement in the fairness of Washington’s tax code since the 1977 sales tax exemption on groceries.

Carbon Washington is working primarily through volunteers to collect 315,000 signatures from April-December of 2015. They have endorsements from organizations and individuals such as Citizens Climate Lobby, Seattle Business Magazine, former King County Executive Ron Sims, former County Commissioner Mike Doherty, and Port Commissioner Jim Hallett.

Yoram Bauman, Carbon Washington founder and executive committee member and

I-732’s principal author, is the world’s only stand-up Ph.D. economist.  He knows how to tackle heavy subjects in a light-hearted way and is coming to Port Angeles at the invitation of Olympic Climate Action.

Thursday, July 30, 1:05 PM:  KONP’s Todd Ortloff interviews Yoram Bauman.  AM 1450 and FM 101.7

  • Yoram will explain the rationale for I-732 and preview his Aug. 2 evening performance and Aug. 3 Chamber of Commerce appearance.

Sunday, August 2, 6:30 – 8:30 PM:  “Climate Change–It’s No Joke:  An Evening of Fun, Fossil-Fuel Fungibility, and Fundraising with Yoram Bauman.” Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, 401 E. First St. in Port Angeles.  All are invited at no charge, though the event is intended as a fundraiser.

  • Yoram will explain in a light-hearted way why economics is so basically funny and why I-732 is so important to our future and our community. Q&A, signature-gatherer signups, and fundraising are also on the agenda.  Light refreshments and socializing at 6:30, and then Yoram will try to knock carbon pollution out of the park at 7.

Monday, August 3, 12 – 1 PM:  “Why a Carbon Tax Would Be Good for Our Local Community—Let Us Count the Ways.” Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Meeting, Red Lion Hotel banquet room, 221 N. Lincoln in Port Angeles.

  • Those wanting to learn more about climate policy options in Washington state, and how those options can impact our local community, can attend this talk by Yoram. Chamber lunch rules apply; attendees must buy lunch for $15 or drinks-only for $3.

Olympic Climate Action

Contact:  Bob Sextro, (360) 683-7643, robert.sextro@noblis.org

Carbon Washington

Contact:  Yoram Bauman, (206) 351-5719, yoram@carbonwa.org

 

 

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Who we are:  Olympic Climate Action is a group of local concerned citizens working for a safe, prosperous, sustainable future for residents of the Olympic Peninsula by addressing the threat of climate change. By sharing the best available science, OCA hopes to raise awareness of the challenges “climate chaos” poses for our community, as well as options for mitigation and action. Join us at olyclimate.org.

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Event: Golden Paintbrush: Back from the Brink May 11th 7PM

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Joe Arnett, rare plant botanist for the Washington Natural Heritage Program, and his botanist predecessor, Florence Caplow, will tell the story of Golden paintbrush and the sometimes-controversial process of its recovery. What does it take to rescue an iconic native plant species from extinction? Golden paintbrush once thrived on rocky shorelines and in prairie remnants from Vancouver Island to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. But by 1997 its numbers had dwindled to only a dozen small, scattered populations, and it was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Since then, intensive efforts have gone into restoring the species throughout its historical range. Current estimates peg golden paintbrush numbers at more than 185,000 flowering plants inhabit—a success story by any measure. Sponsored by the JLT Natural History Society. More info here.

 

Monday, May 11, at 7:00 pm

Quimper UU Fellowship

 

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A webinar on Ocean Acidification by the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Al Bergstein

On Wed, Jan 21, 2015 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM PST NOAA kicks off their 2015 Webinar series with a webinar called “Sharing Ocean Acidification Resources for Communicators and Educators”  it is a walk through of data and online resources to help teach Ocean Acidification.

This new webinar series provides ocean acidification communication tools to formal & informal educators, and stakeholders across the country. One of its primary goals is to promote a more integrated and effective ocean acidification education community by sharing ocean acidification education and communication activities virtually.

With awareness of and access to these resources, the ocean acidification education and communication community will be able to utilize and continue to create cutting edge communication tools that incorporate current scientific and communication research.

http://oceanacidification.noaa.gov/AreasofFocus/EducationOutreach/SOARCEWebinarSeries/Registration.aspx

 

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Event: How Do Our Hazardous Waste Site Cleanups Compare?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Thursday, November 20, 2014

6:30 PM   The Landing Mall – Second Floor

115E.Railroad Avenue     Port Angeles WA

           HOW DO OUR HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE CLEANUPS COMPARE?

Dr. Peter L. deFur will be in Port Angeles on Thursday, November 20 to give a presentation comparing cleanup sites on which he is working in USEPA Region 10 — Rayonier-Port Angeles Harbor, Seattle Duwamish River and Portland Harbor.

He will cover the contaminants at each site, compare cleanup options and plans for each site, cover alternative cleanup methods available to be used on particular contaminants, and compare agency support of the citizen groups at the different sites.

These cleanups are overseen by the WA State Department of Ecology and/or the USEPA.  In WA State, these cleanups are part of the Puget Sound Partnership Cleanup Initiative.  The Rayonier-Port Angeles Harbor and the Duwamish River are  Ecology priority cleanup sites.

Dr. Peter L. deFur is president and owner of the consulting firm Environmental Stewardship Concepts, LLC, based in Henrico VA.  and an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond VA.   Dr. deFur has research and practical experience in the areas of ecological risk assessment, environmental regulations and policies, and toxicology.

Dr. deFur received his B.S. and M.A. degrees in Biology from the College of William and Mary, in Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Calgary, Alberta.  He has held faculty positions at George Mason University and Southeastern Louisiana University before joining the staff of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in Washington, DC.  In 1996, deFur formed an independent private consulting firm, Environmental Stewardship Concepts, LLC, and accepted a part-time position at VCU.

Dr. deFur has extensive experience in human health risk assessment and ecological risk assessment regulations, guidance and policy. He served on the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council (NAS/NRC )Risk Characterization Committee that prepared Understanding Risk, on several subsequent study committees and served on the NRC Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology from 1996 to 1999. He presently serves on the/NRC/NAS committee on Uranium Mining in Virginia. He served on a number of scientific reviews of EPA ecological and human health risk assessments, including the Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment, the assessment for the WTI incinerator in Ohio and EPA’s Ecological Risk Assessment Guidelines. Dr. deFur was a member of each of the three federal advisory committees for EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Program. Dr. deFur was chair of the peer review of EPA’s Dioxin Reassessment in 2000.

Contact:

—

Darlene Schanfald

Project Coordinator

Rayonier –  Port Angeles Harbor Hazardous Waste Cleanup Project

Olympic Environmental Council Coalition

PO Box 2664

Sequim WA  98382

360-681-7565

darlenes@olympus.net

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Upcoming activist opportunties

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Al Bergstein

If you are keen on wanting to get involved in environmental protection of the Olympic Peninsula, here’s some ways to make your voice heard. From Benjamin Greuel, of the Sierra Club. Good opportunities if you are not participating in some of this weeks  Jefferson County activities listed elsewhere on the site.

Over the last number of months, the Sierra Club, Olympics Park Associates, Olympic Forest Coalition and partner organizations have
been working to articulate a conservation vision for the Olympic Peninsula. We are now in a position to gather your input on a variety of ways to permanently protect our pristine Peninsula watersheds. Tim McNulty of the Olympic Park Associates asked me to forward you an invitation to attend a Wild Olympics Activist Workshop in your area to hear about how you can get involved in a new exciting campaign to protect our beloved forests and rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.

Please RSVP to join us at one of the following Wild Olympics Activist

Workshops:
PORT ANGELES
What:  Wild Olympics Activist Workshop – Port Angeles
Where:  Port Angeles Library – Ray Carver Room (2210 South Peabody St. –
Port Angeles, WA 98362)
When:  Wednesday, September 9thth – 7:00-8:30pm

PORT HADLOCK
What:  Wild Olympics Activist Workshop – Port Hadlock Featuring Author, Poet
Tim McNulty
Where:  Jefferson County Library (620 Cedar Avenue – Port Hadlock 98339)
When:  Thursday, September 10th – 7:00-8:30pm

SEQUIM
What:  Wild Olympics Activist Workshop – Sequim Featuring Author, Poet Tim
McNulty
Where:  Dungeness River Audubon Center, Railroad Bridge Park (2151 West
Hendrickson Road – Sequim, WA 98382)
When:  Friday, September 11thth – 7:00-8:30pm

Please contact Ben Greuel at 206-378-0114 x 319 or ben@wildolympics.org with any questions and to RSVP.

Benjamin Greuel – Public Lands Organizer – Sierra Club
ben.greuel@sierraclub.org

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News from Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Al Bergstein

Passing it along. Note that they would like you to subscribe to their Google Calendar.

Several of OCNMS’s management plan review working groups are planning meetings for August and September. The Spills working group will be holding its first meeting on Aug. 12 and the Living Resources Conservation working group will hold its first meeting on Aug. 21. For details, visit our on-line calendar at http://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/protection/mpr/welcome.html. In order not to flood your inboxes, from now on we will not send notifications out about individual working group meetings, but we will post all the details on the calendar. We are also in the process of planning three day-long workshops for three priority topics: maritime heritage, ocean literacy and socioeconomic values of resources in the Sanctuary. These public workshops will take place this fall and we will send out notification once all three have been scheduled. If you are interested in a particular working group/workshop and would like to get on its individual distribution list, please contact us at ocnmsmanagementplan@noaa.gov or 360.457.6622 x28. For more information, email us at ocnmsmanagementplan@noaa.gov or call 360-457-6622 ext. 28. To subscribe or unsubscribe from this listserv send an email to ocnmsmanagementplan@noaa.gov with the request in the subject line.

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Event-Jefferson Land Trust Picnic – 8/15 12:30 to 3:30

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Al Bergstein

Meet at North Beach Park Picnic Shelter. Progress report will be given on Quimper Wildlife Corridor. Questions to 379-9501 or email at jlt at saveland.org (replace the at with @).

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Black Point opposition to meet and eat

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Al Bergstein
  • The Brinnon Group will meet July 24 at 6 pm at the Timber House in Quilcene.
  • We will eat and socialize from 6 to 7.
  • From 7 to 8 we will meet.
  • Contact Barbara at brinningroup@gmail.com for more details.
  • Web site is brinnongroup.org

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Environmental Lobbying Day 2009!

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Al Bergstein

 

Over 20 people showed up from the Olympic Peninsula to take part in Environmental Lobbying Day 2009. Part of the group from Port Townsend at Environmental Lobbying Day 2009

Part of the group from Port Townsend at Environmental Lobbying Day 2009

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