Welcome to the Sierra Club San Gorgonio Chapter

 

Tuesday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. "A Fierce Green Fire"

Speaker:  Documentary Film

 

The San Gorgonio Chapter meeting May 7 will feature the sweeping, award-winning documentary of the modern environmental movement A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet.  It is a full-length feature film and is now in theatrical release.  Because of its length, only about the first half of the film will be shown at the chapter meeting May 7, which starts at 7:30 PM at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, near the California St. exit from Interstate 10.

     There will be an opportunity to see the entire film on Thursday evening, May 9, at the Sierra Club office in downtown Riverside.  Space is limited at the chapter office and those who wish to attend the Thursday showing should RSVP to Ladd Seekins at (909) 800-3911 or ladd.g.seekins@gmail.com.

     A Fierce Green Fire is the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. Directed and written by Mark Kitchell, Academy Award-nominated director of Berkeley in the Sixties, and narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2012, has won acclaim at festivals around the world, and this year begins theatrical release as well as educational distribution and use by environmental groups and grassroots activists.

     Inspired by the book of the same name by Philip Shabecoff and informed by advisors like Edward O. Wilson, A Fierce Green Fire chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century and one of the keys to the 21st. It brings together all the major parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds.

     The film unfolds in five acts, each with a central story and character:

·        1David Brower and the Sierra Club’s battle to halt dams in the Grand Canyon

·        2Lois Gibbs and Love Canal residents’ struggle against 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals

·        3Paul Watson and Greenpeace’s campaigns to save whales and baby harp seals

·        4Chico Mendes and Brazilian rubber tappers’ fight to save the Amazon rainforest

·        5Bill McKibben and the 25-year effort to address the impossible issue – climate change

     Surrounding these main stories are strands like environmental justice, going back to the land, and movements of the global south such as Chipko in India and Wangari Maathai in Kenya. Vivid archival film brings it all back. Insightful interviews shed light on the events and what they mean. The film offers a deeper view of environmentalism as civilization change, bringing our industrial society into sustainable balance with nature.

     Featured in the film are:

·        the incomparable Lois Gibbs, still fighting for all the Loises

·        Paul "I work for whales" Watson

·        Bill McKibben, author, activist and founder of 350.org

·        leaders like David Brower, Chico Mendes and Wangari Matthai captured on archival film

·        Paul Hawken, Stewart Brand and other alternative ecology visionaries

·        Carl Pope and John Adams, longtime heads of the Sierra Club and NRDC

·        Martin Litton, at 92 still thundering about how you’ve got to have "hatred in your heart"

     Bob Bullard, environmental justice advocate, closes the film on a universal note, saying, "There’s no Hispanic air. There’s no African-American air. There’s air! And if you breathe air—and most people I know do breathe air—then I would consider you an environmentalist."

 

 

    

  Programs begin at 7:30 p.m.  San Bernardino County Museum 

 

   

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Sierra Club Solar Homes Program

 

As the cost of rooftop solar decreases, more and more homeowners can economically benefit from “Going Solar”.  Getting a quote is free and without obligation.  When is the last time you looked to see if solar is right for you?

 

The Sierra Club is helping members accomplish this with a new program aimed at catalyzing widespreaddeployment of clean energy: the Solar HomesCampaign.

 

Through an innovative partnership with Sungevity, aleading national solar service provider, the Club is ableto offer its members and supporters an affordable wayto get solar on their rooftops. For every home that goessolar through this program, Sungevity will give $750 tothe chapter for clean energy work and other efforts.

 

Previously, in order to get solar panels on your homeyou would have to conduct extensive research, hunt forrebates, obtain a permit, and be prepared to fork out  perhaps $20,000. That was before the one-stop solar shop.

 

Residential solar companies like Sungevity are nowoffering a “solar service” for people who can’t affordto pay the up-front costs to put panels on their roofs.  Sungevity will install the panels for no up-front cost,and also handle all maintenance and service. Thehomeowner pays for clean energy with a small monthlybill—which may be less than the household’s currentenergy bill.

 

Of course you have the option of outright purchase of a rooftop solar system as well as a prepaid lease where you keep the leasing advantages and save on carrying costs.

 

“In order to end our dependence on dirty energy, weneed as many Americans as possible to switch to cleanenergy like rooftop solar. This is a high priority for theSierra Club. We are urging all of our members andsupporters in California to work with Sungevity tofind out if solar is right for them. Every home that goessolar gets us one step closer to our goal of a clean energyeconomy,” said Sierra Club Executive Director MichaelBrune about the program.

 

It’s a win-win-win. An average Sungevity customersaves 15% on their electricity costs by going solar. TheSan Gorgonio Chapter will raise money for importantcampaignsand more solar will replace coal as SierraClub members cut their carbon footprints and collectivelyhelp to scale this key clean energy solution.

 

To take the first step and get a quote for solar, click on the Solar Evaluation link at the top.   Once you do, Sungevity will contact you to discusswhether solar is right for you. In a short time, they cangive you a really good idea about how much it mightsave you.  As always, you are encouraged to do adequate comparison shopping for your solar solution.

 

San Gorgonio Outings Calendar APRIL - JUNE 2013

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