For over 120 years the Sierra Club has been America’s best-known environmental advocate. The Angeles Chapter, nearly 40,000 strong, is the largest and most influential of the 63 Sierra Club chapters nationwide.
With so many threats to the environment in 2015, simply preserving the gifts of nature isn’t enough. “Business as usual” is not sustainable. Failing to change doesn’t mean things will go on as before -- because they can’t. Change is urgent, and you can help.
Your voice and financial support will help Make Change Happen!
Here are just a few challenges we face in 2015:
- Adopt Clean Energy -- Thanks to neighbors like you in Los Angeles and Orange Counties,our rooftop solar program is among the largest in the nation. It’s part of a big picture. We’re backing Governor Brown’s call for half the state’s energy to come from renewables by 2030 – up from the current goal of one-third clean energy by 2020. Big Oil has made clear it will fight to prevent this change. Join us to Make Change Happen!
- Protecting Public Lands -- The Chapter worked for years to gain national recognition of the San Gabriel Mountains as a special place. We were invited to the kickoff last year when President Obama created the National Monument. This sets the stage for National Park status. But current boundaries exclude about half of the superb places in the San Gabriels. We must fight to change this before current borders are locked in. Join the fight to speak up about your favorite places in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains, the Pacific Coast and wetlands, regional parks, and remaining open space at risk of unwise development. Your donation and your voice will help protect dozens of critical open spaces that remain in Southern California.
- Environmental Education -- John Muir realized that to know nature is to love nature. That’s a big part of why he founded the Sierra Club. Today, the average amount of time young people spend experiencing nature has fallen to record lows. Your help is urgently needed as the Angeles Chapter launches a greatly expanded program to get city kids into urban parks and regional open space. They’ll have a great experience that can make them become the environmental advocates of the future. Be part of the work. Volunteer your time and talent in this effort.
- Fair Regulation -- We worked hard to shut down the defective and dangerous San Onofre nuclear power plant in 2013. With your support we can stay on the front lines and urge the California Public Utilities Commission to hold corporate shareholders accountable for the cost of shutting down the plant a decade early. The reason is defective technology, and that’s the responsibility of utility managers and owners. More than $3 billion in charges are at stake. Unless there’s change, ratepayers will bear the full hit. Keeping abreast of the case and speaking out takes time and effort that depend on your donations.
- Raising Consciousness -- The biggest change of all needs to be in personal values, and this can’t happen without your voice. In her book "This Changes Everything," Naomi Klein argues climate change can’t be stopped unless corporations are reined in. For that to happen, we must change from a consumer society that buys things to a sustainable society that rediscovers “the best things in life are free.” The gifts of nature and healthy living are high on that list of “best things.” Every message from the Chapter to the region encourages this shift in values. Add your voice and amplify the message.
The Angeles Chapter has an impact on important public decisions because you and your fellow members show up at rallies, testify at public hearings, and write letters -- into the thousands -- to elected officials facing crucial decisions.
The Sierra Club is a volunteer organization. Without volunteers we would be invisible. We invite you to volunteer your time, talent and treasure. Be part of the work!
As the saying goes, “Be the change you seek.” Thanks to your gifts of time, talent and financial support for the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, you can Make Change Happen! Please give as generously as you can today
P. S. Without your support, every issue covered here would be at risk.