Announcements
Carol Izant,
the Programs chairperson, began the November meeting with
a reminder regarding the up-coming December program, SEMG's
annual "Merry Meet & Greet," encouraging
everyone present to participate in that evening's pot luck
and slide show. This was followed by a few announcements,
such as SEMG's current need for volunteers at the committee
level (Interested? Contact Carol at 248-352-6137, or e-mail
her at cogknot@yahoo.com).
Ed McArdle introduced himself as Conservation
chair and offered a brief description of the Conservervation
committee and the issues on which they're currently focused.
Chief among these are transportion in Wayne and Oakland
counties, the Detroit incinerator, and mercury legislation.
Tim Killeen, the Political chair, reminded
peolple that Nov. 8 is Election Day and that endorsements
have been finalized. 2006 is right around the corner, and
with it another big election: 33 of the 100 seats in the
U.S. Senate are being contested, as are all of the seats
in the House. Also, the Political Committee will be held
at Jimi's, as usual, on the 17th this month, instead of
the last Thursday of the month.
Jean Gramlich, SEMG Secretary, spoke briefly
on the success of the fall 2005 Lobby Day. Over 100 people
participated, and almost all representatives (or representatives
of representatives) were visited.
Leigh Fifelski, of Oakland County Building
Environmenal Communities (BEC), asked people to call Senator
Levin and ask him to stop dangerous nuclear waste shipments
and storage in the Skull Valley Indian Reservation in Utah.
To take action on this, call Senator Levin’s
office at 202-224-6221 and ask him to support
the House-passed language in the Defense Authorization Act
on the "Utah Test and Training Range" (Subtitle
E of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act
of 2006, H.R. 1815).
Sierra
Summit 2005
Mike Sklar of the
Huron Valley Group and Melissa Damaschke of the BEC spoke
on their experiences regarding last month's Sierra Club's
National Environmental Convention and Exposition in San
Francisco. Speaking at that event were Robert F. Kennedy,
Jr., Al Gore, Arianna Huffington, and Bill Maher. It was
the largest gathering of Sierra Club folk in history.
For more information about the Summit, including speaker
transcripts, visit the Sierra
Summit 2005 Web site.
Sierra
Club 101
So, you're passionate
about the environment, or a specific environmental issue,
and you've decided to take action, to become an activist.
Great! Now what?
There are probably as many ways to answer that question
as President Bush has of slaughtering the English language,
but in the November program, "Sierra Club 101,"
Melissa Damaschke and Leigh Fifelski, staff members of the
Oakland County branch of Sierra Club's Building Environmental
Communities (BEC), provided an excellent primer for new
volunteers with their summary of BEC activities.
One of the great things about the BEC is their ability to
identify and remove the obstacles that prevent people from
becoming environmental activists. Time, for example. Few
people have the time to research, plan, and work on large
environmental projects, such as shutting down toxin-spewing
incinerators, or saving a wetland. Projects of this magnitude
can require a great commitment of time and effort. However,
if you can commit the occasional hour or so here and there
to making telephone calls to prospects about the benefits
of becoming Sierra Club members, or to existing members
about an upcoming event, or to local residents regarding
the need for action on such and such an issue, then you
have the time to be an active environmentalist. The BEC
provides the phone, all the material and information you
need to make an informed call, and a script to prevent your
getting lost or stuck in conversation.
Another way the BEC clears
the path for activists is by organizing a wide variety
of events and activities. True, the most effective
way to influence people is to speak to them directly, by
taking the message to their front door, or contacting them
via the telephone. But what if you're not a "door-to-door"
kind of person? What if you don't like calling people's
homes? What if you're really not that fond of people generally?
Seems the BEC has swept the floor of nearly all excuses
one might use to withhold participation, for there's plenty
of good activist work to go around for even the most bashful,
agoraphobic, or misanthropic among us. You can, for example,
help with a mailing, write a letter to the editor, work
on the BEC newsletter, make a poster, do database entry,
update the scrapbook of issues, etc., etc., etc.
So no more excuses. Visit the BEC
Web site, or call the BEC office at 248-435-5277
and ask Melissa or Leigh how you can get involved.
