| Photo by iStockphoto.com/Mario_Hoppmann |
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| | Take Action |
While we shelter in place and care for community health, the Trump administration's plan to lease the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling continues to threaten Indigenous communities, pristine wilderness, and struggling wildlife—not to mention the stability of our climate. All but one of America's biggest banks have committed not to fund any new drilling projects in the Arctic. Bank of America is now the only major US bank that won't rule out funding for Arctic Refuge drilling.
Tell B of A to keep its assets out of the Arctic. |
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| | Sierra Club Board Elections |
Ramón Cruz has been elected as the Sierra Club’s new president, becoming the first Latino to hold that position in the organization’s 128-year history. "I recognize that my term comes during the enormously difficult and unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and the dark days of the Trump administration,” he said. “The challenges we face are daunting, and we must meet them by advocating first and foremost for policies that will protect the most vulnerable among us.”
Find out more about Cruz and his priorities as Sierra Club president.
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| Photo courtesy of Howard Page |
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| | A Tribute |
Longtime Mississippi Sierra Club leader Rose Johnson, who grew up poor in the historically black community of North Gulfport and went on to gain national recognition for her visionary leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, died last month at the age of 73. Described by one close colleague as “a happy and fearless warrior,” Johnson was the first recipient of the Sierra Club’s Robert Bullard Environmental Justice Award.
Read about this remarkable woman.
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| | 30x30 Campaign |
Protecting at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 is increasingly seen as the target we must shoot for if we hope to avert full-on climate catastrophe—and the Sierra Club’s 30x30 campaign is designed to get us there. Our new video lets you know how you can help. Share it and urge your state legislators to curb carbon emissions as though their lives depended on it.
Because they do.
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| Photo courtesy of Karlie Durtz |
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| | Article |
People’s connections to bicycling have strengthened during the pandemic, whether it’s because biking is a source of solace, an essential form of transportation to get to work, do errands, and get groceries, or a fun and easy way to get outdoors with the family. The Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All team asked volunteers and staff from coast to coast an open-ended question:
What does biking mean to you during the pandemic?
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| | Apply |
Want to take your environmental leadership to the next level alongside a group of incredible women leaders? The Accelerator is a partnership between the Sierra Club and Women's Earth Alliance that recognizes the key role women play in responding to the climate crisis. Women’s leadership is more critical than ever as our communities struggle to address challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis.
Learn more and apply now: Applications are being accepted through June 8. |
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| | RSVP |
We cannot just rebuild the unjust, crisis-prone, pre-pandemic economy that already wasn’t working for millions of people. We need a comprehensive government investment program that tackles the overlapping crises of unemployment, public health, inequality, and climate change. We need a government that supports everyday people, not polluters. And you can help make it happen. Join the next installment of our activist training on Wednesday night.
Help us keep the pressure on Congress for a just recovery for all.
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| Photo by Jenn Evelyn-Ann/Unsplash |
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| | Sierra Club Business Partnership |
Thinking of going solar? If you go solar through SunPower, you’ll receive a $1,000 rebate and SunPower will donate $1,000 to the Sierra Club. It's a win for you, the Sierra Club, and the planet. And if you're sheltering at home, SunPower will walk you through the entire process online—from exploration to site assessment to drawing up a contract.
Get started today with a free online solar consultation. |
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| | En Español |
In their zeal to reopen the economy, Trump enablers and self-proclaimed experts are peddling the notion that some lives are disposable if sacrificing them would hasten our economic recovery. One right-wing pundit effused that opening the country’s schools “may only cost us two percent to three percent in terms of total mortality” and proclaimed this to be “a very appetizing opportunity.” This medieval mindset originates at the top—the very top.
With all due respect, Mr. President, no one is disposable. |
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| Photo by iStockphoto.com/Sasiistock |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
While we’re sheltering in place, gardening is a great way for kids to get some fresh air, forge a connection with the earth, and contribute to family meals. “One time I was planting with some elementary school students, and I asked them what they’d like to grow,” says Novella Carpenter, aka The Urban Orchardist. “An adorable little girl’s hand shot up: ‘Is there a meatball plant?’”
Alas, no, but children of all ages can still learn to love gardening. |
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| Photo by AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
With so many cars, trucks, and planes idled, the global oil industry has been plunged into crisis. “Demand destruction” could spell the beginning of the end for the petroleum industry. In some oil fields, drilling has come to a halt.
Was 2019 the peak year for global oil consumption? |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating President Trump's anti-woman foreign policies. Case in point: the “Global Gag Rule,” which prohibits NGOs that receive US health-care funding from providing abortion services, referrals, or counseling, or advocating for the right to choose. Ronald Reagan first implemented the policy in 1984; every subsequent Democratic president has repealed it, and every Republican has restored it. Previous iterations of the gag rule applied only to reproductive and family planning programs.
Now President Trump has expanded the policy several steps further.
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| Photo by iStockphoto.com/flySnow |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
Looking for a good read while sheltering in place? Sierra magazine reviews five newly released works of fiction that address themes ranging from Indigenous rights to the climate crisis to coming of age in an impoverished, xenophobic world.
Check out our Spring fiction picks.
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| | New Podcast |
The latest episode of The Overstory podcast explores what getting outdoors looks like in the age of pandemic, from growing your own vegetables to recreating outdoors while observing social distancing.
Tune in, turn on, listen up.
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| | Team Sierra |
We’re so grateful to everyone who celebrated Earth Day with Team Sierra. Together, 5,651 people raised $118,757 during Earth Month. We celebrated with virtual activities including gardening, drawing classes, and meditation. While this Earth Month looked different than past observances, we were still able to come together as a community to celebrate our planet.
Stay tuned for more Team Sierra virtual events and fundraisers.
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| Photo by iStockphoto.com/MichaelJung |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
Many of us think of walking as simply how we get from one place to another when we're not driving. Shane O'Mara, professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, wants to change that. “Walking makes us more ‘cognitively mobile,’” he writes in his new book, In Praise of Walking. “[It] arises from our deep evolutionary past...
“But it’s our future too.”
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| Sierra Club Outings leader Karen Greif |
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| | Outings |
For over 25 years, Sierra Club Outings leader Karen Greif has run service trips in New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that preserves the remains of an ancestral Puebloan city built nearly 1,000 years ago. Karen calls Chaco Canyon her personal mecca: a place that is both restorative and inspiring. But she wasn't always attached to this remote corner of the Southwest.
Learn about Karen’s journey at Sierra Club Outings.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone and everything, including the Sierra Club. Find out how we are responding so that we can continue the important work of protecting our natural environment and fighting for a just, clean energy future.
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