What a summer it’s been for Sierra Club members and supporters! From New Orleans to Rochester, New York, from San Francisco to Richmond, Virginia, and everywhere in between we made our message loud and clear to Congress: We must pass a transformative $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that centers climate, economic, and racial justice.
Thousands of Sierra Club volunteers organized and attended over 120 events in key districts across the country. They lobbied their members of Congress, met up with neighbors and friends in parks, backyards, and Zoom rooms to take action together -- many for the first time! -- to fight for our vision of a better future.
What does this future we're fighting for look like?
- An economy running on 100 percent clean energy. Millions employed with good-paying jobs.
- Reliable public transit in every community, with electric buses, high-speed rail, and a national network of bike lanes and electric vehicles charging stations
- Replaced toxic lead pipes bringing clean drinking water to all.
- Electrified and efficient buildings that ensure clean air in our homes, hospitals, and schools.
- Our beautiful natural landscapes protected, accessible, and able to be responsibly enjoyed by all.
Here are a few highlights from these recent events:
In Louisiana, on the heels of Hurricane Ida, Delta Chapter Executive Committee member Angelle Bradford put together a Zoom storytelling and action event with coalition partner Earthworks. Bradford held it via video chat because of the hurricane’s aftermath and because she wanted to make sure that people statewide could attend. More than 45 people tuned in for the event.
“I was grateful for the community and the space to hear their stories after Ida. They ranged from folks who were stranded in their cars after the storm, to elderly and poor left without resources in the heat,” said Bradford, who herself had evacuated to Baton Rouge during Ida. “We wanted to hear people’s stories, their hurricane experience, and turn it into writing for elected officials. We want the members of Congress to get actual emails from our people, not form letters.”
Bradford said that members of the group tweeted at their elected officials, signed up to join virtual meetings with them, and sent their offices emails about the urgency of climate action.
Photo courtesy of Lee Williams.
In Richmond, Virginia, environmentalists rallied with the Richmond Trade Unions to ask Senator Mark Warner to support a more ambitious infrastructure plan for a just transition. “As we transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy we must ensure climate, jobs, and justice legislation for our workers and communities,” said Sierra Club activist Lee Williams.
Photo courtesy of Jane Felice.
In San Francisco, Sierra Club members and supporters joined Jewish climate action group Dayenu for a gathering outside Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office. The group called on the senator to hear the call “for climate justice, for ending fossil fuel subsidies, and supporting massive investments in climate, jobs and justice,” said Sierra Club activist Jane Felice.
Photo courtesy of David Alicea.
In Rochester, New York, more than 80 community members rallied to call on their members of Congress to “seal the deal” on a strong reconciliation bill that would help address the climate crisis and racial and economic injustice.
And now we’re in the final stretch. We must ensure this budget reconciliation bill-- with unprecedented investments in jobs, justice, and climate -- gets across the finish line. Congress is returning to work this week to finalize the details, and then they plan to pass it by the end of September.
This means we have only a few weeks left to demand our representatives pass a bill at the scope and scale of the crises we face. Our communities deserve nothing less than $3.5 trillion to move us toward a livable future for all of us.