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EarthSolidarity!™ Initiatives are endeavors to which anyone can contribute in deed as well as in spirit, that
- minimize waste and environmental impacts
- increase community resilience
- respect and protect ecosystem processes and all forms of life
- contribute to good living conditions for everyone around the globe
- affirm and celebrate our interdependence and interrelatedness in the Web of Life!
Eva Millwood holds Brood X cicadas on her property in South Knoxville in this submitted photo.
We will see a groundswell of East Tennessee 17-year cicadas as the heat comes on.
We have been hearing about it for weeks, online and on TV and in print. After 17 years underground, millions of cicadas are going to climb out of their burrows, shed their juvenile skins, unfurl their wings and fly up into the trees for one last grand jester of panache and reproduction and death. You even read about Brood X cicadas in Hellbender Press.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency posted a recent Instagram photo of a wild turkey jake with a crop stuffed full of cicadas, and there are reports of cicadas emerging en masse in parts of Tennessee. But your local searching self may ask: Where are they?
Insects are largely ectothermic. That means their body temperature comes from the surrounding air, water or ground temperature. The periodical cicadas need a ground temperature of roughly 68 degrees, eight inches deep to become very active. And we really have not had that for a sustained length of time.
Last week seemed to be destined to be the first big week of the emergence of Brood X. Monday started strong but the weather turned unusually cool for early May with daytime highs in the low 60s. Some of the cicadas started to ease out but it was primarily dozens, not hundreds or thousands, and certainly not 1.5 million per occupied acre. And remember, they are not everywhere.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park announces new deputy superintendent
Written by Thomas FraserGreat Smoky Mountains National Park on Monday announced that Alan Sumeriski, a veteran park infrastructure manager in the nation's most-visited national park, will take the helm as deputy superintendent.
“Alan is a well-respected senior leader in the National Park Service with over 30 years of experience in managing some of the most complex operations in the National Park Service and I’m honored to select him as the next deputy superintendent of the Smokies,” Superintendent Cassius Cash said in a press release announcing Sumeriski's new assignment. “As acting deputy superintendent, Alan has consistently provided strong and innovative parkwide leadership to help us meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Sumeriski has served as the heavily visited national park's facilities management chief since 2007. His first assignment was as an engineering equipment operator for park service units in the Washington/Baltimore area.
“Alan provides leadership for over 150 permanent and seasonal staff who care for 384 miles of roads, 146 bridges, 152 historic cemeteries, 27 water and sewer systems, 10 campgrounds, 11 picnic areas, 848 miles of trails, and over 100 historic structures and landscapes,” according to a park release.
Face your fears: It’s time to have a global conversation about spider conservation
Written by John R. Platt
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Susan Cameron searches moss mats for the spruce-fir moss spider in this USFWS photo.
European spidey senses should give us pause across the pond.
This story was originally published by The Revelator.
Despite their enormous ecological values, new research reveals we don’t understand how most arachnid species are faring right now — or do much to protect them.
Spiders need our help, and we may need to overcome our biases and fears to make that happen.
“The feeling that people have towards spiders is not unique,” says Marco Isaia, an arachnologist and associate professor at the University of Turin in Italy. “Nightmares, anxieties and fears are very frequent reactions in ‘normal’ people,” he concedes.
100-year NOAA interactive climate map illustrates changes in temperatures, precip over time
Written by Thomas FraserNYT: NOAA map details US climate change over last century
The map produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that virtually all of the U.S. has higher average temperatures than 100 years ago. The precipitation data shows where rainfall averages have increased (East Tennessee and most of the Appalachian Mountains and their adjacent foothills and valleys) and where they fluctuated beyond average (California and the Southwest). Some of the data predates the regular government weather and climate record-keeping that began 90 years ago.
"Because the normals have been produced since 1930, they also say a lot about the weather over a much longer term. That is, they show how the climate has changed in the United States, as it has across the world, as a result of emissions of heat-trapping gases over more than a century."
Help tip the scales toward environmental justice for all: Here’s how
Written by Appalachian VoicesMake your voice heard for environmental justice
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council is seeking public input on a series of recommendations to the Biden Administration to address environmental justice issues across the United States. Air and water pollution caused by coal mining, toxic coal ash spills, and natural gas pipelines are a few examples of such problems in our region. These issues often impact low-income people and people of color the most, and there is a strong need for communities impacted by fossil fuels to build vibrant, diversified economies.
This is a chance for you to communicate your concerns about how these environmental issues impact disadvantaged communities while important policy decisions are under development!
The council will meet on May 13 to discuss:
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Environmental justice policy recommendations to Congress and the Biden Administration;
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A new Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which will help identify disadvantaged communities and target federal funding;
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Updates to a Clinton-era Executive Order (EO 12898) which directed federal agencies to address environmental justice issues in Black and Brown communities and among low-income populations.
Public comments will be accepted in writing until May 27. To submit a written comment, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Register to attend the meeting or submit your comment today!
Public comments will help to inform the future work of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and they will be incorporated into the record for federal agencies’ consideration.
Wildlife rehabbers return birds to the sky in Chattanooga
Written by Ray Zimmerman
Restoring wings to rise above the Earth again
“I think the most amazing and rewarding thing about raptor rehab is taking a bird that's literally at death's door to a full recovery and then releasing her back to her wild home.” Alix Parks, Wildlife rehabilitator
Alix Parks became a certified wildlife rehabilitator 25 years ago. Her new career was sparked by a class in wildlife rehabilitation at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga taught by Debbie Lipsey.
Parks also counts Lynne McCoy and Katie Cottrell of the Clinch River Raptor Center as early mentors. At first, she prepared food for the animals and worked with any animal brought to her. She is now a certified rehabilitator and has specialized in birds of prey for 16 years.
- wildlife rescue
- chattannoga wildlife rescue
- injured bird
- injured wildlife
- what do i do with injured wildlife
- chatanooga
- university of tennessee at chattanooga
- wildlife rehabilitation
- national wildlife rehabilitators association
- international wildlife rehabilitation council
- happinest wildlife rehabilitation and rescue
- chattanooga zoo
- raptor
- young bird
KCM Knoxville Community Media Engagement Calendar
Knoxville Community Media (KCM)
KCM’s Community Engagement Calendar provides information about both, date-specific events and the regular programs & services provided by nonprofit organizations.
Many people still think it is necessary to have a TV cable connection to watch community TV programs. But that’s old history.
One does not even need to be in the City of Knoxville or anywhere near it, nor have a TV set anymore.
Natural 911: Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad whisks threatened plants to safety
Written by Thomas Fraser
Joy Grissom (left) and Gerry Moll pose for a photograph with their collection of rescued native plants at Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Photos by Anna Lawrence/Hellbender Press
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll: Preserving East Tennessee’s natural heritage with shovels and wheelbarrows
If there’s a massive ecological disturbance in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?
The Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad, of course.
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll spent the past six years identifying, digging, hauling and muscling native East Tennessee plants to salvation from construction, grading and logging sites.
The duo has saved thousands of plants and their communities from certain demise. They have plucked plants to safety from areas ranging from a 170-acre logging operation in Cocke County to relatively small commercial developments in Knox County.
- knoxville native plant rescue squad
- ecology
- habitat
- garden
- plant rescue
- tree rescue
- planting
- knoxville botanical garden and arboretum
- preservation
- east tennessee
- natural heritage
- knox county
- developer
- land owner
- contractor
- forever home
- farmers market
- salvage
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- knox county schools
EPA to announce stricter regulations on HFC emissions
Written by Thomas FraserNYT: EPA plans stricter regulation of HFC emissions
Hydrofluorocarbons were used on an industrial scale to replace ozone layer-destroying chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration, cooling and other applications, but they turned out to be a powerful driver of climate change. Scientists estimate HFCs are 1,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of their cimate-change role.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists continue research into zero-emission refrigerant technologies.
According to Times reporting: “In proposing a new regulation, Michael S. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency aimed to reduce the production and importation of hydrofluorocarbons, which are used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, in the United States by 85 percent over the next 15 years.”
It’s Epic: 7,500-acre Roan Mountain wild land donation largest in North Carolina history
Written by Thomas FraserCItizen Times: Roan Mountain donation will protect vast stretches of forest in Roan Highlands
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney donated 7,500 acres to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, an area described by an Asheville Citizen-Times reporter as “A high-elevation hideaway for birds, bears and salamanders, a massive piece of Western North Carolina’s famous mountains left unmarred, and a refuge for rare species in the face of climate change...
“The property includes the largest American Chestnut restoration project in the country, extensive boulder fields, rich coves, old growth forests, six waterfalls, and a system of rare heath balds,” according to Citizen-Times reporter Karen Chavez.
The land area is at least equivalent to the size of some highland state parks.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon’s budget calls for $30m in environmental-improvement measures
Written by Thomas Fraser
Mayor wants green for green; some otherwise supportive city residents already aren’t pleased with some initiatives.
KNOXVILLE — Mayor Indya Kincannon’s proposed Knoxville 2020-2021 budget commits some $30 million to reduce city climate impacts, expand its use of renewable energy, invest in urban forest preservation and outdoor recreation assets and improve bus and bicycle travel in communities across the city. The budget also provides money for revitalization of the Burlington District, a historic pedestrian center of Black commerce in East Knoxville.
The city’s net budget is $384 million, which includes a $253 million operating fund.
The budget is just a recommendation to City Council at this point.
Nuclear energy update
Sep 13 Noon EST
Current Issues in the Nuclear Field
Richard H “Chip” Lagdon Jr.
Technical Society of Knoxville (TSK)
Zoom Webinar — Free and open to the public — advance registration required
Richard Lagdon is Professor of Practice in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He also is Engineering Manager, Systems Integration and Chief Engineer, Nuclear Operations & Safety with Bechtel National Inc. Reston, VA.
He will review the status of current projects for Natrium and VTR fast reactors, the challenges of advanced reactor licensing and how the development of the Nuclear Licensing Course NE486/586 at UT reckons with these challenges.
He has forty years of progressive nuclear experience managing projects, developing technical policy, interfacing with stakeholders and developing long range plans. He is an accomplished nuclear professional, practiced in engineering, emergency operations, plant startups and conduct of operations while supporting operational goals.
From working as Shift Test Engineer for the reactors of the nuclear Navy to developing life cycle maintenance plans for aircraft carriers, Captain Lagdon’s broad range of assignments over 30 years in the Navy Reserves, earned him the Leo Bilger award for outstanding leadership. The civilian side of his career included a decade as Chief of Nuclear Safety in the U.S. Department of Energy, where he lead nuclear construction reviews for projects totaling more than $15 billion.
While some hope that nuclear energy will end the climate crisis others point out that it will be too expensive and take too long to scale up while climate disasters grow exponentially. What most can agree upon is that the reliable output of existing nuclear plants remains indispensable for the foreseeable future and that maintaining their safety is paramount.
The webinar organized by the Technical Society of Knoxville, which provides Professional Development Hour confirmation to attending professional engineers, is hosted by the Foundation for Global Sustainability (FGS).
FGS facilitates educational events to inform the public and foster better understanding of complex environmental, social and economic issues that impact the resilience of communities and the natural life support systems of planet Earth. Views and opinions expressed by event organizers and participants do not necessarily reflect the views of FGS. FGS neither endorses any product or service mentioned nor warrants for accuracy, completeness or usability of the information.
Technical Society of Knoxville Centennial Celebration
Jun 14 6:30 p.m. EST
The Turning Point: Things were never the same after 1921, when technology was changing the city in several surprising ways
Jack Neely, Executive Director of the Knoxville History Project
Technical Society of Knoxville (TSK)
Charity Banquet at Crowne Plaza for the Charles Edward Ferris Engineering Endowments at University of Tennessee, Knoxville - the public is invited - RSVP by June 8
Ferris was the first Dean of UTK’s College of Engineering.
More details on the event, sponsorships, and reservations
The Technical Society of Knoxville was founded in 1921. It has met over 4,000 times to discuss the application of technology from early Knoxville’s coal smoke and traffic problems to present Knoxville’s transportation air pollution and the impact of electric car technologies.
ORNL scientists fan out to local schools and bring their research home during National Environmental Education Week
Written by Karen Dunlap
Students listen to a presentation from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher during National Environmental Education Week. Courtesy Oak Ridge National LaboratoryScientists link research to students’ lives and communities
(Editor’s note: Karen Dunlap is a public information officer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory).
Esther Parish is one of eight Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists talking to students in nine schools across East Tennessee as part of National Environmental Education Week.
On Monday, she spoke to Cathy Kimball’s fifth-grade class at Lenoir City Middle School.
The discussion covered renewable energy resources, science career paths and how climate change may affect East Tennessee.
Other ORNL scientists, including Debjani Singh, Liz Agee, Shelaine Curd, Spencer Washburn, Colleen Iversen, Keith Kline and Matthew Langholtz are participating in classroom events through April 30.
The national event is organized by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), which celebrates environmental education.
“I think it is important to reach out to young people about environmental science because the choices that our society makes regarding renewable energy resource development and climate-change mitigation will have long-term effects on their environment, health and future quality of life,” Parish said. She is a member of ORNL’s Environmental Science Division and specializes in geography and landscape ecology.
Volunteers remove 15 tons of trash from Tennessee River
Written by Thomas Fraser
This photo provided by Ijams Nature Center is an example of the plethora of weird things removed from the Tennessee River and its tributaries during the annual River Rescue held March 27.
Mattresses, rocking horse and plastic shed among the stranger items retrieved from area waterways
Volunteers removed 31,000 pounds from the Tennessee River and its watersheds on March 27 during the 32nd annual Ijams River Rescue despite a storm system that dropped several inches of heavy rain on the area.
The rain dissuaded some of the 717 volunteers signed up for the river rescue, but nearly 500 people still joined together to collect trash from 32 sites. Their nasty haul included 919 bags of garbage and 82 tires, according to a release from Ijams Nature Center.
The heavy rain actually worked out somewhat in organizers’ favor, as debris and flotsam were flushed from tributaries into the main stem of the river.
“Heavy rain always means more trash because the rising waters wash everything downstream and into the Tennessee River,” Ijams Volunteer Coordinator Madelyn Collins said in the news release. “We are so appreciative to everyone who braved the storms and did the work while they could. It was amazing how much volunteers accomplished in such a short time.”
One lucky participant found a $50 bill; other unusual items removed from the river included a toilet, a recliner, mattresses, a rocking horse, plastic shed and a baby stroller.
“The takeaway from this year’s event—and every other cleanup this community does—is that we need to be more careful about how we dispose of trash and recyclables. If you don’t put it where it belongs, it ends up in our water.”
Tennessee Valley Authority; city of Knoxville Stormwater Engineering; Bio Plumbing, LLC; First Horizon Foundation; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; WestRock CP, LLC; Genera, Inc.; Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union; Waste Connections of Tennessee Inc.; CAC AmeriCorps; and the Water Quality Forum sponsored, supported or participated in the annual cleanup.
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Show your mother some love this Earth Day
There are lots of ways to show your affection for our planet on Thursday, which marks the 51st annual observance of Earth Day.
You can stay at home and plant a tree; donate to your favorite environmental charity; join a virtual event; or clean up your block.
Or, unlike last year, you can join other like-minded individuals at socially-distanced observances and trash cleanups, and even drink some beer and get in a good jog with a purpose.
Here's a sampling of Earth Day celebrations in East Tennessee, some of which will occur Thursday and some of which will stretch into the weekend. If you'd like to include an event, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Hellbender Press editor and publisher Thomas Fraser will join several featured speakers during the Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center Earth Day 2021 Celebration. The virtual event runs from 6-8 p.m. Thursday and will include poetry, music and networking opportunities. You can register here. You can also view the Narrow Ridge Earth Day celebration on its Facebook page.
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Infinite Light Center will host an Earth Day ceremony at First Creek Park in Old North Knoxville at 11 a.m. Thursday, followed by lunch and music. Attendees are asked to bring a musical instrument, folding chair, and an individual lunch. Participants can also bring personal items to include in a mandala made with natural objects found in the park.
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Knoxville skaters and others are invited to come out and clean up the area around the Tyson Park skatepark at 6 p.m. Thursday. A skate session will follow.
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Keep Knoxville Beautiful will host a fun run along Sutherland Avenue to clean up litter along the roadway beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday. Enjoy a brew from Albright Grove Brewing Company after the event.
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Seven Islands State Birding Park will offer a science program for home-school students from 1-3 p.m. Thursday. The program will include basic ecology lessons and crafts. Register here.
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The annual Running for the Bears 5k begins at at 10 p.m. Friday at Nantahala Outdoor Center in Gatlinburg. Proceeds from the race benefit Friends of the Smokies and black bear preservation efforts.
- Greensteps and WaterWays in Chattanooga will host a Citico Creek cleanup from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday.
- Green Steps and North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy organized a cleanup of North Chickamauga Creek from 12 to 3 p.m. Saturday. There are a range of other Earth Day events in the Chattanooga area.
TDOT opens virtual-only Pellissippi Parkway extension comment period for two weeks
Written by Thomas Fraser
$20 million per mile: TDOT opens virtual-only comment on highly controversial roadway
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has opened a virtual-only public comment period for the controversial Pellissippi Parkway extension, which would slice through the remaining rural areas of Blount County and move urban expansion and increased traffic flow ever closer to the Great Smoky Mountains, one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth.
The public comment period began April 15 and will last until April 25. The project has generated controversy and lawsuits for at least two decades, but TDOT decided the comment period should be held virtually for only two weeks because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project encompasses about four miles and will cost nearly $100 million. Opponents of the parkway say the extension is a waste of money and will destroy rural landscapes and wildlife habitat and pollute aquatic resources.
Here's a link to a story about the Pellissippi Parkway extension published in February by Hellbender Press.
According to The Daily Times, which reported the public hearings on April 19:
“'The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the department to look for alternate ways to engage and interact with the public,' TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi said in a video introducing the presentation, framed as a somewhat awkward-to-navigate virtual reality room.”
“It includes a history of the project, a right of way acquisition process overview, a project design summary and a comments and questions section. A digitally generated flyover video of the planned extension shows intricate details of how the road may look once completed.”
According to the TDOT website:
“The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will host a Virtual Design public meeting from April 15, 2021, to April 29, 2021, to gather public input on the proposed project in Blount County on SR-162 Ext. (Pellissippi Parkway), from SR-33 to SR-73 (US-321).”
“The virtual meeting was opened to the public at 8:00 am EST on April 15, 2021 and will close at 10:00 pm EST on April 29, 2021. The website link is:
https://gather.cdmsmith.com/v/v8jkyAVO149.”
The proposed highway would require the acquisition of private property and extend through the Wildwood and Sam Houston areas to an abrupt terminus with East Lamar Alexander Parkway to the west of Walland, which is host to an increasing number of high-dollar hospitality attractions such as Blackberry Farm.
Right-of-way acquisitions could start by the end of the year, according to The Daily Times.
To the east of the proposed parkway's end is Townsend, which bills itself as the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies.”
Hard Knox Wire: Renowned white supremacist killed by accidental headshot in South Knox
Written by JJ Stambaugh
Well-known Knoxville white supremacist and ‘cultured thug’ dies of apparent accidental gunshot wound to head
Originally published by Hard Knox Wire
A Knoxville man who earned widespread notoriety as a leader in the violent white nationalist movement died last week after he was shot in the head in South Knox County.
Spaulding was among eight white supremacists who were arrested in the summer of 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest in Rogersville.
Follow the latest Knoxville crime and justice news from Hard Knox Wire.
Alabama is home to remarkably diverse ecosystems: They face dire threats.
This story was originally published by The Revelator.
When longtime environmental journalist Ben Raines started writing a book about the biodiversity in Alabama, the state had 354 fish species known to science. When he finished writing 10 years later, that number had jumped to 450 thanks to a bounty of new discoveries. Crawfish species leaped from 84 to 97 during the same time.
It’s indicative of a larger trend: Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, but few people know it. And even scientists are still discovering the rich diversity of life that exists there, particularly in the Mobile River basin.
All this newly discovered biodiversity is also gravely at risk from centuries of exploitation, which is what prompted Raines to write his new book, “Saving America’s Amazon.”