[insider] Aug 26) Protect the Postal Service, Endangered Species Under Attack, the Latest From Ms. Green, ...[more]

August 26, 2020

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Rincon Group / Our Blogs / Sierra Club's "Insider" Newsletter. . .

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Photo by iStock.com/Bill Oxford | Michael Brune | Want to Protect Our Democracy? Protect the US Postal Service Precisely when we need a smooth-functioning Postal Service the most, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy—an otherwise unqualified Trump megadonor—has been removing mailboxes, eliminating mail-sorting machines, reducing employee overtime hours, and implementing a variety of cost-cutting measures that are delaying mail delivery and limiting the Postal Service’s ability to handle the surge in mail expected on Election Day. "In true Trump administration fashion, he’s working to dismantle a popular institution that’s vital to the functioning of our democracy," says Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.

Photo courtesy of USFWS | Sierra Magazine | The Sacred and the Profane Located 25 miles north of Las Vegas, the Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states. Now the US Air Force wants to expand its bombing range within the refuge by 300,000 acres on lands that have long been held sacred to the Southern Paiute. Read the Las Vegas Paiute Tribal Council’s message to the US Senate and President Trump.

Photo by iStock.com/Walt Snover | Take Action | Endangered Species Under Attack... Again The Trump administration is planning another slash in its “death by a thousand cuts” approach to weakening the Endangered Species Act by going after the habitat that species need to survive and recover. Its latest proposal would limit protections to habitat that could support species now, but not areas that could be restored or will become vital areas for recovery as climate shifts. Tell Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to give threatened and endangered species the space they need to survive.

| Take Action | Bank of America Brings Up the Rear Responding to pressure from Indigenous leaders and climate activists, Goldman Sachs recently became the first major US bank to announce it would no longer drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. JPMorgan Chase soon followed suit, as did Wells Fargo, Citi, and Morgan Stanley, leaving Bank of America as the largest US bank that has refused to stop funding Arctic drilling. Tell Bank of America: Supporting Arctic drilling is bad for the climate, biodiversity, and human rights—and bad for business.

Photo by iStock.com/Elenathewise | Take Action | Roadmap to a Just Recovery Climate crisis. Racial injustice. Global pandemic. Mass unemployment. Our response to these crises will shape our society for decades. The THRIVE Agenda is our road map to a just recovery—a soon-to-be-introduced congressional resolution with a plan to put millions of people back to work building an economy that prioritizes climate, racial justice, and economic justice. Like the Green New Deal, the THRIVE Agenda will help us build a society that fosters justice, not crisis. Ask your members of Congress to become original cosponsors of the THRIVE Agenda by joining Wednesday's mass-launch call.

Illustration by Brian Stauffer | Sierra Magazine | The End of Oil Is Near The COVID-19 pandemic has battered an already struggling oil industry. Whether it survives is up to us, Antonia Juhasz reports in the cover story of the new edition of Sierra magazine. Read about the oil industry's struggle to stay afloat.

Photo by iStock.com/AlexRath | Ms. Green | How Should You Wash Produce During COVID-19? "Hey Ms. Green," asks Kim from Madrid, California. "What is the safest and healthiest way to wash fruits and vegetables in the time of the coronavirus?" Jessian Choy, aka Ms Green, tells you what you need to know before you make that salad.

Photo by iStock.com/Andrei Stanescu | Sierra Magazine | No Comment Department As President Trump himself is fond of saying… “So sad.”

A scene from the explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, August 9, 2020. | Photo by AP Photo/Hussein Malla. | Sierra Magazine | EPA Refuses to Implement Safeguards Against Chemical Disasters The massive ammonium nitrate explosion that devastated Beirut earlier this month has brought renewed attention to the danger of improperly stored chemicals. But Obama-era regulations intended to prevent similar chemical disasters from happening in the United States never went into effect because the Trump EPA first delayed and then rescinded them. Find out why.

Photo by iStock.com/TanyaSid | Sierra Magazine | How to Camp Safely During a Pandemic Whether you plan to car camp with all the amenities of home or set off into the wilderness with just a backpack, here are some ideas for enjoying a safe and enjoyable outdoor adventure under “new normal” circumstances. Eight tips for camping safely during the pandemic.

Sign up and get started! | Photo by iStock.com/Fredrick Thelan | Team Sierra | Big Surreal Virtual Challenge Team Sierra is partnering with the Big Sur Marathon for the first-ever Big Surreal Virtual Challenge. Sign up to raise at least $100 for the Sierra Club and you’ll gain free entry into this month-long running and walking challenge. Earn Team Sierra and Big Sur swag, and put yourself in the running for the grand prize: a national parks pass, good for one year. Learn more and sign up.

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