By Susan Lawrence
With this fall's elections at the state and federal levels, we have many opportunities to support candidates who will act to protect our environment- candidates who will say no to the crisis mentality used to justify devastating cuts to environmental programs and inaction on critical environmental legislation due to the slow economy and government deficits. In the state Senate, we need many more senators who have the courage to vote on a nonpartisan basis for the environment. Instead, year after year the Assembly, alone, passes essential legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, foster renewable energy and accomplish other high-priority conservation goals. Only rarely does the Senate break its partisan gridlock to vote for priority legislation such as green jobs through housing retrofits and a moratorium on new gas drilling permits for hydrofracking.
For this fall's elections, please take an active role. Make phone calls, leaflet neighborhoods, speak at public forums, donate to campaigns, and vote. Don't let the nay-saying, do-nothing candidates win. Recognize and support those candidates who will fight for our environment and ask others to do so.
Strategic planning for victory
Our Atlantic Chapter activists and small staff work hard to educate public officials, other stakeholders and the public about our positions on conservation issues, legislation, regulations, and public funding. We need to persevere to achieve key outcomes, such as the closure of dirty coal-fired power plants. This means that our Sierra Club leaders - both at the Chapter and Group level - need to use the tools of strategic planning on a regular basis.
The national Club's board of directors has approved a priority framework, the Climate Recovery Partnership campaigns, focused on curbing greenhouse gas emissions and coping with associated change, while protecting our precious natural resources. (Go to http://Clubhouse.SierraClub.org for information.) Since we are a non-profit organization with hundreds of activists, there is a tendency at the Atlantic Chapter and Group levels for each of us to do our 'own thing' without always seeing the big picture and getting the most 'bang for the buck.' Strategic planning can enable us to more wisely use our resources and accomplish our objectives. We will gain strength through more opportunities for meaningful engagement of our members. As grassroots activists, we not only need to look way ahead to identify major issues and strategize about how to work on them, but we also need to be ready to hit the ground running when quick action is needed.
One of our major initiatives over the last few years is to protect our natural resources from fracking- tens of thousands of natural gas wells. Thanks to the power of our grassroots activism, the natural gas rush has been slowed, allowing debate and a regulatory review to take place. A year ago, who would have predicted that the state Senate would overwhelmingly vote for a moratorium on drilling? Our Gas Drilling Task Force, chaired by Rachel Treichler (working with staffer Roger Downs and about 50 members), has been a major force for making a difference on this issue.
Donating for Chapter victories
Your generous donations directly to the Atlantic Chapter are critical to making our victories happen. In 2010, the national Sierra Club made deep cuts in funds shared with chapters from members' dues and other sources, and the cuts will continue for the foreseeable future. In response, the Chapter Executive Committee approved a 2010 budget reducing expenses in many areas, including conservation and administration, while sharing funds with the regional Groups. The ExCom decided to use up to $100,000 of our rainy-day reserves to keep the Atlantic Chapter operating on a bare bones level. It decided to fill a longtime vacant staff position in our Albany office, bringing the total Chapter staff to 2 1/2 and to continue printing and mailing the Sierra Atlantic four times annually to members. We are making great strides in quickly informing our members about key issues and ways to take action at low costs. The Chapter is using more on-line media tools (new website, Convio and Action Alert e-mails). We are working to use more social media tools to provide instant information to and among members. Somehow with a much smaller staff than the other major environmental organizations in New York, coupled with hundreds of dedicated grassroots volunteers, the Atlantic Chapter accomplishes a lot each year. To keep doing this, without using up our rainy day reserves within the next few years, the Atlantic Chapter needs to raise about $100,000 more a year than we do now with our March Appeal letter to all members and our year-end appeal letter to generous past donors. Your donations to the Atlantic Chapter at any time of the year are most welcome. If you donate directly to the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, this gives the Chapter the flexibility to use the funds for staff and activist lobbying, administrative costs, and efforts to elect pro-environmental public officials. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to the Sierra Club Foundation specifyingAtlantic Chapter on the memo line, which will direct your donation to our conservation and litigation work.
I have been writing columns emphasizing the Chapter's need for greatly increased donations. I wish that this was not necessary. But to accomplish our many priorities- including protecting natural resources from gas drilling, enacting legislation to place caps on greenhouse gas emissions, fostering renewable energy and energy conservation and efficiency, greatly reducing our hazardous and solid waste, and protecting critical habitat areas we sorely need generous donations. Thank you for any amount you can donate to enable our dedicated volunteers and staff to accomplish our environmental victories.