#Up4Climate: Sierra Club Volunteers Stand With Senate Climate Champs

                   Senator Markey (D-MA) meeting with constituents and Sierra Club volunteers

Remember the last time you pulled an all-nighter? Whether it was for work or school or family reasons, you know its a lot easier to get things done in the wee hours of the morning when you know you’ve got a little support from your friends.  

Last night, a group of 30 friends of the planet in the U.S. Senate stayed up all night urging action on

Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) meeting with Sierra Club volunteers.

climate disruption. And we wanted to be sure they knew that Sierra Club members and supporters all across the country were standing side by side with them as they fought off fatigue and fought back against the climate crisis.

That’s why Sierra Club staff and volunteers took to Capitol Hill, to bring support for the long night ahead to the offices of Senators Heinrich, Whitehouse, Schatz, Markey, Kaine, Shaheen, and Murphy.

The Senators from the Senate Climate Action Task Force have had enough of the inaction by their colleagues when it comes to acting on climate disruption, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently called “the worst problem facing the world today.”

Senator Schatz (D-HI) meeting with Sierra Club volunteers.

"The cost of Congress' inaction on climate change is too high for our communities, our kids and grandkids, and our economy,” Senator Whitehouse said in a statement. “On Monday we’ll be sending a clear message: it’s time for Congress to wake up and get serious about addressing this issue.”

Senator Reid, along Senators Heinrich, Whitehouse, Schatz, Markey, Kaine, Shaheen, and Murphy, were joined for the 14 hour 36 minute ‘talkathon’ by Senators Durbin, Schumer, Murray, Boxer, Feinstein, Wyden, Nelson, Cantwell, Cardin, Sanders, Klobuchar, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, Merkley, Gillibrand, Franken, Blumenthal, King, Leahy, Warren, Coons, Reed, and Booker.

While we’d love to visit with every Member of Congress to help them arise from their collective slumber

Senator Heinrich (D-NM) meeting with Sierra Club volunteers.

over the climate crisis, we hope that last night’s action by the Senators drove the message home that the time is now to wake up and act on climate.

We had our own cup of joe in hand while we tweeted the action last night. Follow the @SierraClub and the hashtag #Up4Climate for updates. You can see more reactions here.

-- Cindy Carr, Sierra Club Media Team