June 2, 2014
By James Turner, Missouri Chapter Chair
Recently some of us Missouri Sierra Club volunteers attended a day-long Beyond Coal Campaign conference, focused on Missouri’s energy production. The campaign includes our Missouri Chapter staff, three national staffers based in St. Louis, our Energy Chair Henry Robertson, and some of the Club’s specialists based in Chicago, Madison, and San Francisco. Weekly phone conferences keep this team in synch. President Obama’s remaining months are crucial for getting effective regulation of fossil fuels, customer and system efficiencies, and more renewable energy.
Sierra Club members across Missouri are responding effectively to our staff’s guidance about where and when to apply our efforts. The staff is making timely trips to Kansas City, Springfield, and mid-Missouri, along with their local work in eastern Missouri, to advance our protection of air, water, and our moderate climate. Our Chapter and Group Executive Committees are attentive and enthusiastic about this work.
Be optimistic! America’s younger generations recognize that governments and businesses must swiftly evolve toward sustainability. Climate disruption is becoming more and more obvious. The Koch brothers’ credibility is eroding fast, and our work will be vindicated. Let‘s all exert ourselves as opportunities arise, to limit the avoidable damage from outmoded energy policies.