Brunswick Environmental Action Team
BEAT was happy to be invited to the 2022 Oak Island Earth Day Festival, April 2022. Thank you Oak Island for allowing us to share ideas about how we can continue to work together to thrive while peacefully making use of the life sustaining energy that our Earth provides for us every day - To optimize our ongoing survival and a deeply shared happy and healthy existence.
BEAT received an email from: Melissa Edmonds <medmonds@selcnc.org> of the Southern Environmental Law Center on September 9, 2022 at 12:32:50 PM EDT. The subject of the email was Offshore Drilling Comment Opportunity. BEAT leadership would like to share this message with you here. The text that follows is the body of the message in its entirety.
Hi all,
I hope this note finds you well! You are receiving this email because you have previously been involved in SELC’s campaign to fight offshore drilling, by signing onto our comment letters to oppose drilling in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. I am writing now to alert you of another important comment opportunity on the issue of offshore drilling in these regions.
SELC is currently preparing comments on the Biden administration’s Proposed Five Year Plan for offshore drilling, which removes all Atlantic Planning Areas from consideration, yet still proposes to hold lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico. Comments are due Oct. 6. As usual, our comments will be focused on the Gulf and the Southeast; we plan to thank BOEM for listening to the voices of the East Coast by removing the Atlantic, and further urge no new leasing in the Gulf of Mexico because of the continued harm from offshore drilling on Gulf communities and natural resources and on climate change.
SELC supports responsible offshore wind development as a critically important piece in the necessary clean energy transition to address the climate crisis, but we do not support provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act that tie future offshore wind leasing to continued oil and gas leasing. We are planning to make this distinction in our comments, but please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns with this approach.
If you are potentially interested in signing on and have input as we draft, please let me know ASAP, as we are working on drafting the comments now. We will circulate a draft on Sept. 23, accept feedback through Sept. 28, and take final sign-ons through Oct. 5.
Thank you all for being valued partners in this important issue, we look forward to your continued support throughout this fight!
Melissa L. Edmonds (Whaling) (she/her)
Science & Policy Analyst
Southern Environmental Law Center
601 West Rosemary Street, Suite 220
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Office (919) 391-4099
Mobile (919) 623-5003
Dear visitor, below is a message BEAT received from "Emily Donovan via ActionNetwork.org" <info@email.actionnetwork.org>
The subject of her message regards
URGENT ACTION REQUIRED:
Say: "No More Chemours!"
BEAT received this message on: September 10, 2022 at 12:36:12 PM EDT
Her message is shared here in its entiretity.
Friends,
It's time to mobilize like never before. Chemours just announced they want to EXPAND their toxic PFAS production in NC. We don’t feel they’ve earned this right–especially when they’ve failed to deliver on the most basic promises to our community.
We believe the majority of control measures taken, so far, are because Chemours was legally forced to comply via a 2019 consent order established by our friends at Cape Fear River Watch. However, it’s important to remember, consent orders are only as good as they are being enforced. Sadly, strong enforcement of the Chemours consent order has taken constant pressure from dedicated folks like you, who are determined to hold both DEQ and Chemours’ feet to the fire.
Here’s a quick summary of how Chemours has “helped” us:
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They've been dragging their feet on establishing toxicity studies required by the 2019 consent order.
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They have made private well owners wait 6 months with no replacement water.
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They refuse to meet the needs of commissioners in Cumberland County and are now being sued.
Chemours has not earned the right to expand in NC and we are counting on you to help them get the message. Chemours is hosting a public information session at Leland Cultural Arts Center, Wednesday, September 21st from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. Click here to RSVP We’ll send you talking points in the next two weeks to help you feel prepared.
In the meantime, please share our event link on social media and with your fellow neighbors. Media will be present at this meeting, so it’s vital that we show a united front against Chemours. We cannot allow them to add another drop of their poison to our water.
With gratitude,
Emily Donovan, cofounder
Clean Cape Fear
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE BEAT LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR the Brunswick County NAACP’s proposed Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Multi-Use Greenway/Blueway Trail, Brunswick County, North Carolina
FYI: An Informative PDF about PFAS as it Relates to Brunswick County in 2020 - by Eugene Rozenbaoum of LG Chem
Helping BEAT
Stay Informed
Keep informed about environmental issues in your area and throughout Brunswick County. Good sources of information are:
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The Brunswick Beacon
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Your local government’s website (check the contact page on this site for its address)
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation website (www.nccoast.org)
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Coastal Review Online - the online publication of the North Carolina Coastal Federation
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Attend speakers, films, and other local events that provide information
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The BEAT facebook page
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This BEAT website!
Be an Advocate
The natural environment needs your voice! Talking to friends, acquaintances, and neighbors about the importance of protecting our environment is one of the most important things that any of us can do. Most communities have at least some people who seem to spend most of their time thinking about ways that they can make money by harming the environment. They are often very focused, have friends among decision-makers, and will stop at nothing. If those of us who love and care about the environment don't speak on its behalf, who will?
If you are willing, share your values and thoughts with local and state elected officials. Often, their position on issues can be influenced if they see that many people in the community really support or oppose a particular decision or policy. Personal contact is great, but so is a phone call, an e-mail message, or even a tweet.
ADVOCATE
Join/Volunteer
There are many wonderful organizations throughout Brunswick County that promote conservation of the natural environment. Some are general interest groups and some focus on particular aspects of the environment, but all appreciate members and can use more volunteers! The more who join, and the more who volunteer, the more that can be done and the more influence we can have. For example, BEAT would love to have you as a member, a volunteer, and a participant or attendee at our events. We want you!
Want to join BEAT? Click here for a membership form:
Membership Dues: When you become a member of BEAT, your dues are used carefully and conscientiously to support activities and events that support our mission to educate, elevate awareness, and help advocate for responsible and caring environmental decision making. As a non-profit organization, your membership dues to BEAT are tax deductible.
Gift Memberships: Giving a gift membership to someone who is interested in the natural environment and in protecting the environment and our coastal areas can be a thoughtful and meaningful gift. As a non-profit organization, your gift membership dues to BEAT are tax deductible.
Student Memberships: BEAT realizes the up-and-coming generations are extremely important in educating, elevating awareness, and advocating for our natural environment. We enthusiastically accept secondary and college students in our membership and offer a reduced membership fee for them.
Donate/Contribute
Donations/contributions: Your tax-deductible donation to BEAT provides important financial support for our work in helping to protect our natural environment here in Brunswick County and ensuring that we live in a healthy and beautiful community. Donations support our mission to educate, elevate awareness, and help advocate for responsible and caring environmental decision making.
Click here to donate:
Your membership dues, gift memberships, and donations are used efficiently by BEAT. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. All of the money that comes in is
used to sponsor environmentally-related activities and events.