The Birmingham Chapter of the Sierra Club is seeking to re-energize its membership! We need you! Changing times and increasing printing costs have caused us to cease the offering of a printed newsletter, and this changeover has left many members “not knowing where we went.” We are very much still here, and feel that our methods of communication need to be honed. We would also like to return to a club with regular meetings, more diverse outings, and an increased voice in our area’s most pressing environmental issues (and there are many).
Why do we need to re-energize? The Cahaba River is the most biologically diverse river of its size on the North American continent. For those needing to hear that again, yes we’re including the United States, Canada, and Mexico! This statement alone should be enough to cause most Alabamians to glow with pride. There are over 130 species of fish in the Cahaba, helping Alabama to its #1 ranking among all 50 states in aquatic biodiversity. How can a system this fragile and worthwhile survive right in the middle of the 48th largest metropolitan area in the country?
The answer to this question is one to which there are no simple answers. We feel that conservation, preservation, and greater input to community leaders would be a good starting place. However, we can’t have input without a united voice. There are very specific issues across the counties included within the Cahaba group that we feel fit directly into the Sierra Club’s key goals of:
• Safeguarding communities and promoting local/natural foods
• Promoting green cars, fuels, and transportation
• Moving to clean energy sources and limiting greenhouse emissions
• Creating resilient habitats where plants, animals, and people thrive
• Moving beyond coal
With 1.2 million residents in the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman metropolitan area, this area represents approximately 25% of Alabama’s population. The Cahaba Group is perfectly in line with these statistics, having 29% of the Alabama Chapter’s membership. We cannot sit back and rest, but must instead become active again! Since 1892, the Sierra Club has been working to protect communities, wild places, and the planet itself. How can you help? We need the following:
• Those willing to step up to leadership positions
• Those willing to become trained as outings leaders
• Those willing to share ideas for programs and presentations
• Those willing to share their homes for meetings, gatherings, wine and cheese parties, etc.
• Those willing to pledge to work for a safe and healthy community in which to live
Contact Cahaba Group Chair Jay Hudson,
jay_hudson@bellsouth.net. We’re anxiously waiting to get the Cahaba Group back to the status of “most active” Sierra Club group in the state! We can’t do it without
YOU!
