Friends,
Thanks to everyone who came out for our November general meeting last week and especially to Tim Whitehouse and Kevin Bell from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility for their riveting discussion of protection for federal, state, and local environmental whistleblowers.
If you didn’t make it last Thursday, here’s what you missed:
Support Local Youth Climate Leaders!
Wendy Gao and Katie Monacella, two FCPS students who helped plan the DC Climate Strike in September, will be honored at the Board of Supervisors meeting on November 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the Fairfax County Government Center. All are encouraged to attend the Board meeting on Tuesday to show their support for Wendy, Katie, and the youth climate movement writ large. We could not be more proud of our local youth climate leaders!!
And we should note that this important recognition is the result of the tireless effort of 350 Fairfax volunteer Susan Harford—thank you, Susan!
Fossil Free Fairfax
We have more than 3,000 signatures on our Fossil Free Fairfax petition, and we will continue to collect signatures until the new Board of Supervisors begins work in January.
If you want to see Fairfax County commit to reaching 100% renewable energy and to banning new fossil fuel infrastructure, help us collect petition signatures on Saturday, November 23. We will be out at farmers’ markets and libraries across the county from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and then we’ll meet for lunch at the Lost Dog Café to collect signed petitions and celebrate our success.
RSVP for the petition drive here.
Plastic Free Challenge
We wrapped up a hugely successful second annual Plastic Free Challenge last month. Looking for ways to keep your Plastic Free momentum going post-Challenge? Check out our latest blog post.
Earth Friendly Fairfax
In October we launched our Earth Friendly Fairfax campaign to reduce waste at restaurants across Fairfax County (and beyond!), and we have already certified four restaurants as either silver or gold status: Zenola and Blend 111 in Vienna, Flower Child in McLean, and the Elden Street Tea Shop in Herndon.
If you would like to join a team approaching restaurants in your area, email [email protected].
Upcoming Events
Mount Vernon Environment Expo. November 16, 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Whitman Middle School, 2500 Parkers Ln, Alexandria, VA 22306. Supervisor Dan Storck is hosting his 2nd Annual Mount Vernon District Environment Expo: How YOU Can Act on Climate Change. This event will educate and inform local residents on environmental challenges that we face on a daily basis, including ones that are unique to Fairfax County given our proximity to water, our transportation challenges, and recent intense storms. Attendees will leave the expo with simple actions we can take to make an impact on climate change.
Beck Environmental Lecture: Sounding the Alarm. November 19, 6 p.m., Harris Theater, George Mason University, Fairfax Campus, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA. David Wallace-Wells will discuss his travelogue of our near future, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, which brings into stark relief the climate troubles that await—food shortages, refugee emergencies, and other crises that will reshape the globe. And he will offer hope that because we engineered this problem, we must be able to engineer an escape from it.
350 Fairfax End of Year Potluck! December 5, 7:30 to 9 p.m., Blueberry Hill Common House, 9701 Farmside Place, Vienna, VA. Join us for a potluck party! We’ll sit down for a meal, review the year’s successes, and plan for 2020. Please bring a vegetarian/vegan dish to share and your ideas about issues to tackle in the new year. We will provide beverages. RSVP here or on Facebook.
Fairfax County Climate Strike. December 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., location TBD. Our house is on fire—let’s act like it. Join the local Sunrise hub and other youth and adult ally activists for a winter climate strike in Fairfax County. This event is one of dozens across the country that are part of the December 6 US Climate Strikes. More details coming soon.
Stay warm!
Julie
