from BlueRidgeNow.com
by James Shea on 3/17/10
Henderson County residents can dispose of expired medication at four Ingles locations Saturday.
Operation Medicine Drop takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Howard Gap Road and Highland Lake Road Ingles in Hendersonville, as well as the Fletcher and Etowah locations. Traditionally, old medication is flushed down the toilet or placed in a trash can. A recent study found that 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals are flushed by health care facilities alone each year. Law enforcement does not want the drugs deposited in the trash, fearing they will be stolen, and medication that is flushed ends up in rivers and streams, which can harm aquatic life.
Save the date! Friday, Feb 26 a Community Climate Change Update presented by WNCA BC Chapter in tandem with Asheville Green Drinks.
On October 24, hundreds of concerned citizens joined together in Pack Square to stand up for a global commitment to an effective international climate deal. A few weeks later, negotiators, scientists, and leaders from around the world convened together in Copenhagen to try and make this deal.
Among this group, were half a dozen amazing Asheville climate scientists and educators; and three of them will be joining us Fri Feb 26 at BoBo Gallery to talk about their perspectives on the events and outcomes of Copenhagen, what it means for the global process, and what it means for us locally. And then, to really bring it home, Michael Leahey of the AB HUB Sustainability Task Force will present the local climate action plan project his group is working to bring to Asheville and Buncombe County - and we'll dialog on how the community can help move this forward. You're not going to want to miss this.
Our distinguished panelists include...
Ned Gardiner, NOAA Climate Scientist
David McConville, of Elumenati, delivered immersive climate educational programming on behalf of 350.org
Ellie Johnston, Represented world youth in Copenhagen
Micheal Leahey, AB HUB Sustainability Task Force
Please join us Friday Feb 26, 6pm at BoBo Gallery for this special community conversation presented by WNCA BC Chapter and Asheville Green Drinks.
Hartwell Carson, water quality expert for the Western North Carolina Alliance, will be Mountain Wild's guest speaker as the group discusses the current state of the French Broad River, its challenges and opportunities. He also will discuss many current issues and changes in the water quality community.
We invite anyone with an interest in our most precious resource to join us for this informative and interactive gathering. Time will be allotted after Hartwell's address to investigate specific areas of interest among those present. 
Click icon to see the flyer about this exciting meeting.
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Place: WNC Nature Center Classroom
75 Gashes Creek Rd, Asheville
WNCA and thousands of North Carolina consumers got the message to the NC Utilities Commission that Duke Energy did not need its proposed 12.6 percent rate increase. In public hearings throughout the region, the message was heard loud and clear that if Duke would forego the re-building of the coal-burning Cliffside Power Plant, the huge rate increase the company wanted wouldn't be necessary. Thus the Commission gave the energy giant just a 7 percent increase for 2010 and another 7 percent in 2011. Still too much, but our voices were heard. Click here to read the testimony from Julie Mayfield, WNCA executive director, at the public hearing in Franklin last September. Also visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22_asi5_mjQ to view the actual testimony.
WNCA Executive Director Julie Mayfield and Steering Committee Chair DJ Gerken, along with the Land-of-Sky Regional Council staff and its many other partners who have been working on the Linking Lands and Communities project, invite residents of Western North Carolina to attend a community Open House to learn about the project and its products. This event will also provide citizens an opportunity to make additional comments about the project. The open houses take place from November 4 through 20 in Marshall, Brevard and Asheville.
STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR MOUNTAINS!
Voice your concerns at the Corridor K public hearing to be held Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Graham County Community Bldg., 196 Knight St, in Robbinsville. We need numbers. We need YOU to be there to show your opposition to DOT, the media, and elected officials. Your presence is crucial in changing the destructive direction of this project.
The Western North Carolina Alliance's evening with America’s best known conservationist John Muir was a big success. Following up on a major public television special by Ken Burns (The National Parks: America's Best Idea), more than 100 people gathered October 8 at the Crest Pavilion in Asheville to hear once more about the passion of protecting nature in a world consumed by the love of money.
Founder of the Sierra Club, leading naturalist, dedicated mountaineer and wilderness explorer, author, philosopher, and story-teller, Muir is also credited by many Americans as the architect of our National Park system. World famous Lee Stetson became John Muir for an enthralled audience that was also treated to magnificent views, beverages and hor d'oeuvres.
John Muir and his legacy influenced the preservation of our country’s natural environment far beyond what most of us can imagine.
Read more to see all the wonderful sponsors who made this night possible:
The Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA) was recognized statewide
for its “exemplary performance in innovation” and awarded $10,000 from the Blue
Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation at the North Carolina
Environmental Network’s Annual Conference last week in Raleigh.
