I joined the Sierra Club over 25 years ago, and recently attended a Susquehanna Group meeting where I met old friends and fellow volunteers, some of whom I consider as close as family. What keeps the Sierra Club strong is this involvement of its members and the friendships we make. At the local and the state levels, we see our joint efforts produce environmental victories. And, if we are so inclined, we can participate at the national level, where one person can also make a difference.
So, in the Sierra Club, the rubber meets the road at the grassroots level. That’s why I’m not panicked by the recent news that the national Club’s former CEO violated our trust by secretly accepting inappropriate corporate donations in support of the Beyond Coal Campaign. (For details, read both articles: 1) Sierra Club Executive Director, Michael Brune's article; 2) Atlantic Chapter Gas Drilling Task Force Co-Chair, Chris Burger's Column)
No corporate money
Let me assure you that the Chapter understands—but does not indulge—the impulse to take the slippery corporate route to fund-raising. Of course, we know how difficult it is to achieve significant victories on a shoestring. For example, we have only two staffers in Albany but it is imperative that we block the frackers from polluting our water and air, and preempting our movement to conserve natural resources and transition to renewables.
Meanwhile, the industry has a slick phalanx of tailored lobbyists towing a campaign re-election war chest around the Capitol. Yet, despite being outgunned for nearly four years, we’ve prevented the frackers from closing the deal in Albany. How? A large, militant grassroots opposition has sprouted all over the state. It gives voice to the kind of irrepressible outrage that scares politicians. You, as a member of the Atlantic Chapter, are part of the opposition, and we’re apparently winning the debate—so far.
Now is a good time to reflect on how the Chapter is different from other grassroots allies and why it’s important to remain united and focused. As Sierrans, we enjoy several advantages:
•Unlike dozens of admirable “frack no” groups, the Chapter is not a single-issue organization. We work on multiple fronts such as promoting clean energy, requiring enforcement of safety measures at nuclear power plants, and stopping pipelines that will threaten natural areas and quicken the use of natural gas. We will still be around after the crisis of the moment shifts direction and/or disappears, thanks to a statewide network of 11 Groups and a governance structure that survives the usual family feuds.
•Each year, the Chapter prioritizes the issues and focuses on a limited number of fronts. The Groups, however, can still pursue more localized issues. That means Sierrans aren’t focused exclusively on what’s happening in Albany or New York City. For example, this issue of the Sierra Atlantic reports that our members are battling “sprawl on steroids” in the Adirondacks, and publishing an impressive study about how to finance solar power across the state.
To enlist help for its local concerns, each Group has access to an excellent Chapter website and the Sierra Atlantic, one of the best Club newsletters nationwide. So if your community is facing a crisis that is too big for one Group to handle alone, the Chapter provides access to information and tens of thousands of dedicated folks for support. And if your community needs a baseline water-testing program, you don’t need to re-invent the wheel – the Chapter has an app for that.
• The Chapter is part of a large national organization with a long and distinguished history. Club membership is the gateway that enables us to find each other in our communities and, while its “brand” has taken a hit recently, the Club will continue to provide new blood for our Groups. National gives our Chapter staying power. And it plays on a larger field, where it can significantly complement the Chapter’s agenda. For example, the Club has just appointed Deb Nardone to coordinate its national natural gas campaign and has set up an online survey to solicit anti-fracking ideas from members nationwide. And it is taking legal action in several states to block the exportation of natural gas. (See article here)
The fracking situation illustrates, if imperfectly, the strength of our grassroots model. In 2008, farmers in Broome County were starting to get excited by word-of-mouth news of the Marcellus Shale. A retired professor, who had done his homework, warned a friend that we were headed for trouble. The gas industry had a bill, supported by the DEC, that would fast track drilling. The urban-based news media was still totally oblivious to what was unfolding. The professor wondered, what can we do to prevent the train wreck?
“I’m a member of the Sierra Club,” replied his friend, a member of the Susquehanna Group. “I’ll call our guy in Albany.” Roger Downs, the Chapter’s legislative liaison, had been on the job for only about a month and was trying to get up to speed on
many issues simultaneously. Roger’s reaction was skeptical initially—it was hard to believe that New York might really have more gas than all of Texas. But soon he was spreading the word to other environmental groups in Albany and strategizing with dedicated “first responders” in the Chapter.
Some colleagues told Roger he would get off on the wrong foot in the Capitol if, as a newbie, he pushed too aggressively against a bill the governor wanted to sign.
But Chapter activists and Roger, who I am proud to report is one of the most respected environmental advocates in Albany, prevailed upon Governor Paterson’s office to consider, at the very least, a moratorium on gas drilling. The rest is history, and it illustrates how the Sierra Club model is supposed to work—from the
grassroots up.
“Bridge fuel”
Unfortunately, the Chapter and National have not always been in full accord regarding fracking and natural gas. National—like most other mainstream environmental groups—has embraced the idea of natural gas as a “bridge fuel” to a renewal future.
Indeed, even Bill McKibben, usually the smartest guy in the room, confesses to error in his assessment of gas. In the March 8 issue of the New York Review of Books, he writes, “...environmental groups are backing away from their earlier support for
gas. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for instance, has grown increasingly critical; Kennedy is not the only one to make this transition. ..in the last year I’ve been joining with others to actively oppose fracking.”
When those who share our values make a mistake, own up to it and want to talk it over, that’s an opportunity to strengthen bonds and look to the future. So our conversation with National about fracking will continue. After all, the Club’s grassroots model isn’t fully realized until members’ voices travel beyond the Chapter level.
One more thing: You will be receiving a letter from me—the Chapter’s March Appeal asking for your support. Please read it. Or, cut to the chase—fill out the form on page 7 right now and help us get the job done.
The Chapter’s volunteers, activists and financial contributors make me proud to be a member the Sierra Club. Together, our commitment determines whether New York gets the environmental protection it deserves. Your support will finance the best
anti-fracking work where it matters most, in Albany.