People
People
We can - and we must - create a world where everyone can exercise their human right to clean air, fresh water, public access to nature, and a stable climate.
Our Vision
The Sierra Club Military Outdoors team | Photo courtesy Lornett Vestal
To change everything, we need everyone
As we navigate the overlapping crises of climate change, species extinction, racial and economic injustice, and the erosion of our democratic institutions, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance a bold and transformational agenda.
These multiple crises are connected – they are symptoms of a system that is harming the majority while a few at the very top take home huge profits. Instead of addressing each challenge separately, we aim to tackle them together. By investing in clean energy we can fight climate change, rectify long-standing racial and economic inequalities, and create good green jobs in the process.
We can make the outdoors more accessible for families of all backgrounds, so that everyone can benefit from the healing forces of nature. We can make sure our energy systems are more reliable and affordable, and make public transportation available to more communities. And if we join together, we can clean up our air and water so that all of us can breathe more easily.
In the United States, approximately 68% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal fired power plant, and race is the most determining factor in living near sources of pollution.
The Threat
Havasupai Tribal members protest at Pinyon Plain | Photo courtesy Ed Moss)
Everyone deserves clean water and breathable air
Pollution, systemic racism, sexism, and a rigged economy that benefits those at the very top have combined to rob millions of people of their fundamental right to safety and security. As our movement grows more powerful in elevating demands for climate and environmental justice, the fossil fuel industry spends more money to bankroll politicians who sabotage our democracy, make climate change worse, and gut environmental protections.
23.9M
75%
of toxic sites in communities of color
Threats from Environmental Racism
For many communities, access to basic necessities is compromised by discrimination. Decades of redlining, racist zoning practices, and economic inequality have disproportionately put people of color and low-income neighborhoods near pollution. For too long, corporations have been allowed to dump toxins into our air and water, intentionally targeting the communities they think can’t fight back. Pollution, systemic racism, sexism and a rigged economy that benefits those at the very top have combined to rob millions of people of their fundamental right to safety and security.
Victory!
The New American Climate Corps Will Put Young People to Work to Address Global Warming
This initiative will provide job opportunities for young people in a variety of climate-focused fields including installing solar panels, building trails, and performing ecological restoration work. It will create about 20,000 career-path jobs in its first year.
What We Are Doing
Photo courtesy Tim Cywinski
Our country has overcome enormous challenges before, and we can do it again. Across race, background and zip code, all of us want our families to be able to drink clean water, breathe safe air, and live in healthy communities. Most Americans want this for our neighbors too, no matter what they look like or where they come from.
We need to unite with people from all walks of life to fight for our future, just like we came together to win progress on things like voting rights, gender equality, and environmental protections in the past.
Sierra Club partners with groups across the country on projects like protecting sacred Indigenous sites and rebuilding communities devastated by pollution and climate disasters.
We are also committed to getting more people outside. Connection to nature is a human right, but right now 100 million people – including 28 million children – cannot safely walk to a park or green space from their home. Studies show that just 20 minutes spent in a local park helps kids concentrate better in school, but people of color and low-income families in cities across the U.S. are significantly less likely to live near a park, trailhead, or green space.
Spending time outdoors has enormous benefits for our mental and physical health, and connects us to the lands, waters, and wildlife all around us. We are working towards a future where all people can enjoy and explore our precious planet that we are working so hard to protect.
You Can Help Sierra Club Provide Equal Access to the Outdoors
We’re working for outdoor equity in Los Angeles, bringing back urban camping in Detroit, and connecting veterans who are single mothers with the outdoors in New York City.
