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NC Outings Calendar

Oct 10 - 12
Navigation Basecamp at Mt. Rogers - An Educational Outings from the NC/VA Chapters of the Sierra Club
Learn backcountry navigation from the Sierra Club!

Oct 10
We're Planning Our Fall 2008/Spring 2009 Outing with Other Chapters
Expression of Interest: We're making plans for Fall 2008/Spring 2009 Trips and interested in your feedback

Oct 11
Adopt-A-Trail Service Outing

Oct 17 - 19
Hog Camp Gap Car Camping, Amherst, VA

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Issue in Focus: Net Metering

Solar Panels on your roof - sell back that excess power! Did you know you can help solve our energy needs and reduce your power bill by selling electricity back to the grid? Well, in some states you can. But not so much in North Carolina, which received a failing grade for policies discouraging individuals and small business participation in solving our energy needs. That could be about to change. Next week, the NC Utilities Commission will hold public hearings on the state's so-called “net metering policies” - one in Raleigh, one in Charlotte. For more info on net metering, click here.

Charlotte meeting | October 2 | 7:00pm
Mecklenburg County Courthouse [google map link]
Courtroom 6350, 832 4th St

Raleigh meeting | September 30 | 7:00pm
Dobbs Building [google map link]
Commission Hearing Room 2115, 430 N. Salisbury St.

Please email Mike Spradlin in the Chapter office if you plan to attend. With our friends over at the NC Sustainable Energy Association, we'll provide you with talking points and background info.

Mt. Island Lake - In Trouble

As part of the Catawba River, Mountain Island Lake will share in the difficulties of what American Rivers named "the most endangered river in the US." While the lake's eastern side is protected, much of the western side and numerous tributaries that feed it remain unprotected and vulnerable to deforestation, encroaching suburbia, and lack of foresight.

The Central Piedmont group of the Sierra Club, Central Piedmont Community College, American Forests, and Mecklenburg County will gather activists and students to clean up the McDowell Creek watershed during the nationwide 'Big Sweep' series of events. After, the groups will reconvene and plant several hundred trees to help filter groundwater and create a contiguous buffer to protect the drinking water supply of half a million people.

On Saturday, Oct 4, join the Central Piedmont Group at the Latta Plantation Nature Reserve and 'sweep' the trails, the Mt. Island Lake shoreline, and even ride a boat - or bring your own - to clean the island of Mountain Island Lake.

And on Saturday, Nov 22, we will plant a large number of trees to help protect this endangered watershed. A picnic lunch will follow. Please join the Central Piedmont group at any or all of these events and help clean up one of North Carolina's most important water sources.

Footnotes Online

Sign up now for the semi-monthly email newsletter of the NC Sierra Club. With Footnotes Online, you can look forward to legislative updates, current issues, volunteer and group highlights, news clips, and info on upcoming outings. Each issue will contain useful tidbits you might not have known about the chapter, our groups, or our activities. Want to contribute? We encourage our groups and volunteers to submit info on current happenings around the state. And don't worry; the print version of Footnotes will still arrive in your mailbox twice a year.

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