by Carla Klein, Ozark Chapter Director
As we begin a challenging legislative session, the Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club is providing a new way for members to help protect Missouri’s natural resources. With control of the House and Senate in the hands of less than environmentally friendly leadership it is more critical than ever that we be able to activate our members quickly when critical issues arise that require immediate action. The Missouri Legislative Action Alert listserv will be an effective tool to help us accomplish this.
In today’s hectic lifestyle we are often bombarded by several demands on our time. Environmentalists have been particularly busy trying to keep up with the Bush Administration’s onslaught on environmental protections. State issues such as the “No Stricter than Federal” legislation (which we soundly defeated last year) limiting Missouri’s ability to determine protections for our state take on new and even more paramount importance. It is easy to feel discouraged and overwhelmed during these difficult times and to doubt how much influence we can have on the legislative process. That is when we need to remind ourselves that our strength as Sierra Club members is in our numbers. When we take collective action to hold our legislators responsible to their constituents we will continue to be successful.
The purpose of the Missouri Legislative Action Alert listserv is to empower activists to quickly identify action needed. Alerts will be extremely limited; this is a one-way service so you will only receive notices sent out from the Ozark Chapter office on key state issues that are at a critical voting juncture. Included in the alert will be a short summary of the problem, the Bill information, what action is needed, and how to contact key legislators.
This list serve is not a replacement for the Green Report; we will continue to send out our more in-depth reports via regular mail throughout the legislative session.
Please e-mail Ozark Chapter Coordinator Terri Folsom at terri.folsom@sierraclub.org if you are interested in signing on to this quick and easy way to help us protect Missouri’s environment. If you have questions or would like to receive more information on the Green Report or to learn more about how you can get involved in the legislative process, please e-mail Terri or call our office at 1-800-628-5333.