Inspiration in a Time of Despair
This letter was emailed from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune to all active Sierra Club members who opt for receiving emails (contact membership@sierraclub.org to inquire about your account). We thought it was worth sharing and hope it will offer words of hope, strength and determination after the recent political election.
There's no way right now to ease the shock and dismay of what we're facing today.
Our movement had important wins last night, but those are overshadowed by the specter of a Trump presidency and a Congress still under the control of the fossil fuel industry.
What we do now — how we respond to this shocking turn of events — will determine how catastrophic this will be for our environment and our communities.
The very first thing we must do is make sure President Obama does everything he can over the next 71 days to protect our progress on climate action and environmental safeguards.
Send an urgent message to President Obama right now urging him to take swift action before Donald Trump takes office.
Sadness. Anger. Disgust. — We're all feeling a complicated mix of emotions right now. We've fought hard over the last eight years to make real progress on climate, environmental protections, and so many important issues. And yet the forces that did everything they could to obstruct that progress are now in a position to take us backwards. Now the question is: what do we do next?
Hope. Strength. Determination. — We will fight and we will resist, but we will not cower in a defensive posture for the next four years. We've fought against long odds many times before — and won. Remember that our Beyond Coal coalition defeated one coal plant proposal after another — during the Bush presidency. And though Trump-McConnell-Ryan is a poisonous combination, they can't stop regulators and local governments from choosing clean energy when it's the cheapest and smartest option. They can't stop cities from going to 100-percent clean energy. They can't stop the private sector that wants to be part of the climate solution, not the problem. They can't stop millions of people from exploring and protecting our precious public lands. We'll have to adjust many of our strategies, but we won't allow our progress on climate and clean energy to be stopped.
We can't afford to give up or waver from our conviction to fight for climate action and against corporate polluters. Take action right now to urge President Obama to do everything in his power to preserve key environmental protections.
This is our moment to refuse to give up. Our resolve is not diminished by the momentary victory of cynicism over hope, hate over compassion, and lies over truth. We have no intention of standing down or succumbing to hopelessness. We can, we must, and we will win this fight.
In the months and years ahead, we will redouble our campaign to fight the fossil fuel industry, and to make sure that our climate and communities are protected from corporate polluters. We will work with you make sure that dangerous fossil fuel projects continue to be challenged in courtrooms, town halls, and on the streets. What's clear is that cities, towns, and states will be the leaders on climate and environmental protection for now.
Send an urgent message to President Obama to urge him to use the next 70 days taking decisive action to protect our environment. Go to www.sierraclub.org and look for ACT NOW on the right side of the home page to send your comments directly.
Onward, and take care of each other,
Michael Brune
Sierra Club Executive Director
P.S. To fight back, we'll need to build an even bigger movement. Forward this message to five of your friends and family and let them know how they can help protect our environment from Donald Trump and his polluter allies. Or spread the word on social media.