We’re getting outside to enjoy our planet and give back in a 2-day Earth Day celebration! Join us as we clean up our communities on April 22nd, and hike the great outdoors on April 23rd! Check out our Earth Day webpage to learn more and register for events.
FRIDAY, APRIL 22nd We’re getting outside on 4/22 to give back by picking up litter in our communities throughout the state. Join us by gathering friends and family to help clean up your neighborhood, local beach, park, or other areas.Fill out our intake form here to help us track interest and availability. Participants will have the chance to submit a post-event form, share photos of their cleanup and be entered to win a prize from our friends at Patagonia Freeport!
SATURDAY, APRIL 23rd Join us for a hike on 4/23 as we celebrate the great outdoors! These moderately-paced hikes begin at 10am. Click the link below to register for the hike you’d like to attend:
Town Forest, Eliot: Visit York Pond, where the wild and scenic York River begins, and talk about the importance of preserving the River (2 miles)
We look forward to celebrating Earth Day with you! Keep an eye out for more information on our social media pages: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. #SCMaineEarthDay
We’re Hiring!
We’re looking for two people who are passionate about environmental justice to join our team! We are currently hiring for two positions: Grassroots Organizer and Philanthropy Officer.
The Grassroots Organizer will empower communities across Maine to work for climate justice. They will mobilize Sierra Club volunteers for various campaigns including community and climate action, legislative, political, and conservation, in order to grow the Chapter’s grassroots base. Learn more and apply here.
The Philanthropy Officer will be critical to helping our Chapter with its long-term sustainability. They will coordinate the Chapter’s fundraising efforts, work with major gift donors and foundations, and support volunteers in fundraising activities. Learn more and apply here.
Youth Day of Action at the State House!
Across the globe, young people are leading the fight for bold climate action and climate justice.
On April 13th from 10am-1pm, Maine Youth for Climate Justice, MEEA Changemakers, JustME for JustUS, and Maine Youth Action will be hosting a Youth Day of Action at the State House in Augusta. This event will be a day to mobilize and reflect on the state of the Maine Youth for Climate Justice Demands from 2019 and to continue advocating for current youth priorities. It will include a rally, press conference, and other opportunities to engage with youth across the state of Maine. REGISTER HERE.
If you are passionate about justice and want to help cultivate a livable future for youth, join us on April 13th. Transportation and other logistics for youth will be supported by Maine Climate Action Now and other adult allies. When registering, you’ll be able to let us know if you’re attending in-person or virtually and if you’re a young person in need of transportation support. Check out the facebook event for additional information. See you in Augusta!
Do We Have the Tools to Abandon Fossil Fuels?
Want some encouragement in this difficult time? In case you missed it, Phil Coupe, Co-Founder of ReVision Energy, presented a Community Conversation on the rapid transition to clean energy that is happening right now. Many attendees have called it the most uplifting message on climate change they have heard in a very long time. With so many dire messages (which are true), it is motivating to hear what is being done now to address our climate crisis. Did you know that two of Maine's largest oil companies are having solar and electric vehicle chargers installed at their gas stations because they think fossil fuels are ultimately doomed? The transition to clean energy is happening faster than most people realize. Electric snowmobiles, tractors, buses, ferries, cruise ships and planes now make it possible to go to zero emissions across a wide range of previously polluting activities. Plus, solar electricity has become the cheapest form of energy over the past decade, positioning humanity to rapidly accelerate the transition to the better future we know is possible for ourselves and generations to come.
The Legislative session is wrapping up. There’s only a few more weeks in this short session, and we need one more push to get our priority bills over the finish line. Please call your legislators and ask them to support the priority bills on our homepage: www.sierraclub.org/maine
Photo by Cytonn Photography
Sierra Club Endorsements
The 2022 elections are just around the corner! Do you want to know which candidates Sierra Club Maine has endorsed? If so, become a member today! Sierra Club Maine endorses candidates who prioritize environmental and social justice, but we are only able to share endorsement information with members per IRS rules. Not a member? Please join by clicking here!
Photo by Markus Spiske
“No Time to Waste”: Understanding the Most Recent IPCC Climate Report
In February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its new report spelling out the costs and consequences of the climate crisis, including public health, involuntary displacement, food and water insecurity, as well as the potential and daunting limits in adapting to the climate crisis and while keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
The report outlines what frontline communities, activists, and the climate justice movement have known for years: climate change isn’t a future threat, it’s already leaving devastation in its wake, and we must prioritize the ability of frontline communities to adapt to the ongoing crisis. Importantly, the report starkly highlights that the effects of the climate crisis are not being felt evenly across the US or the world. The countries and communities that have contributed the least to creating the problem are the ones feeling the harshest effects of the climate crisis. Notably, the report specifically details that the continent of Africa “has contributed among the least to greenhouse gas emissions” yet is experiencing widespread loss and damage to its biodiversity, water resources, agriculture, and economy.
Currently, the US Congress continues to debate bold legislation that would invest significantly in climate, jobs, and justice, directly addressing the climate effects in the US as well as our outsized contribution to global climate pollution. The report details that the risks to the US and other North American countries have become even more severe and will continue to worsen, yet “addressing these risks have been made more urgent by delays due to misinformation about climate science that has sowed uncertainty, and impeded recognition of risk.”
Volunteer Opportunity of the Month: Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Team
In February of 2022, the Sierra Club Executive Committee approved a three-year Equity, Inclusion and Justice plan for the Chapter. As a part of that work, all staff and Executive Committee members will be doing internal analysis and learning—starting with a book club! In April, we will be reading The Rise of the American Conservation Movement by Dr. Dorceta Taylor. If you’d like to join in on the implementation of the Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Plan, please join us for our next meeting on April 13th, or reach out to Ania Wright: ania.wright@sierraclub.org.
Photo by Diana Light
Green Tip of the Month: Spring Greening
by Michaella Sheridan, Sierra Magazine
By Spring is in the air! Cue the budding flowers, baby animals, and… cleaning products? With all of the harmful chemicals and wasteful purges, spring cleaning has fallen out of whack with all of the other beautiful things going on at this time of year. Let’s rethink how to go about sprucing up our nests with some fresh cleaning and greening ideas.
When it comes to keeping your house sparkling clean, don’t trust the ‘biohazard’ blue mystery liquid to do the job. Instead, opt for all-natural products, or better yet, make your own! It only takes a few simple ingredients to whip up your own laundry and dish soap , and opting out of store-bought products will eliminate the need for wasteful packaging. While you’re not at the store, think of alternatives to paper towels and disposable cleaning tools. Towels, rags, sponges, and mops perform the same tasks, but can easily be washed and reused. Sure, you have to put in a little extra effort, but no one said being an eco-hero would be easy. Continue reading spring greening tips here!
Do you have a green tip that you would like to have included in a future newsletter? Please share it with us here!
Photo by Sally Brophy
The Month Ahead
Here are some of the meetings and events we have coming up. We hope to see you soon!
Please join us for our monthly Local Leads the Way meeting, hosted with A Climate To Thrive! Local Leads the Way meets the first Monday of every month at noon. Each meeting is designed to support local community and climate action teams in their work. In April, we will focus on what equity, climate justice, and multi-solving mean for Maine-based community climate action groups in both theory and practice.
It is a story about mothers fighting to save their children, a story about resistance in the face of impossible odds, and a story about a Sierra Club activist (and Mainer) determined to change the world. Check out Paradise Falls, coming 4/12 from NYT bestselling author Keith O’Brien and attend his virtual event in Portland on 4/21. Learn more here.
Join us by gathering friends and family to help clean up your neighborhood, local beach, park, or other areas. Fill out our intake form here to help us track interest and availability.
Join us for moderately-paced hikes as we celebrate the great outdoors! Click on the link below to register for the hike you’d like to attend. All begin at 10am:
The theme of this year's 3-day event is Collective Power for Climate Justice. Opening night will feature Penobscot community organizer and food sovereignty advocate, Lokotah Sanborn. Saturday and Sunday will include more plenary speakers, facilitated roundtable discussions and workshops.
Sears Island in the Penobscot Bay is the largest undeveloped island off the coast of Maine and perhaps the entire East Coast. Now a sanctuary for wildlife and a quiet walking area, the island has come up in plans for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine. There are alternatives to developing industrial infrastructure on Sears Island. Come on our tour of the island and judge for yourself whether this should remain a pristine wildlife preserve and a quiet recreation area. A member of Friends of Sears Island will guide the tour and introduce us to the wonders of this island.
