2022 Winter

2022 Winter

Get Sierra free in your mailbox or on your device with your Sierra Club membership

Current Issue: 2024 Fall

All Issues

Aerial photo of a large stretch of border wall cutting through scrubby desert landscape.

Feature

Desert Ruins

In the US-Mexico borderlands, Customs and Border Protection continues to harm the desert wilderness

By Adam Federman

December 12, 2022

Departments

Illustration shows a woman handing a seedling to a young girl. Behind them is a large blue and green globe/Earth.

Editor’s Desk

Can We Have Our Clean Energy and the Environment Too?

Developing the minerals and metals for the clean energy economy will come with trade-offs

By Lindsey Botts

December 14, 2022

From the Top

How a Climate Bill Became Law

Grassroots power was key to passage of the Inflation Reduction Act

By Shruti Bhatnagar

December 14, 2022

Notes from Here & There

A School Bus That Doesn't Poison the Children

West Virginia isn't big on clean energy, but children's health isn't up for debate

By Judith Lewis Mernit

December 18, 2022

The organs from condor #818 are in plastic bags hanging on a styrofoam block labeled "The Diggler."

Notes from Here & There

Condor CSI

When a condor dies in California, Tabitha Viner pulls on her necropsy gloves and gets to work

By Juliet Grable

December 28, 2022

Aerial view shows the roofs of homes and buildings submerged in brown floodwaters in Jackson, Kentucky.

Notes from Here & There

What the Flood Took, What It Left Behind

Last summer's flood in Kentucky upended a way of life

By Austyn Gaffney

December 15, 2022

Eyewitness

On Finding a Way Through the Wilderness

Middle age is a chance to reorient yourself

By Claire Boyles

December 19, 2022

Steve Myers wears a knit cap and smiles at the camera.

Field Trip

The Great Plains Trail Is a Work in Progress

Behind one rambler's plans for a long-distance trail in the middle of the country

Text and photographs by Jacqueline Kehoe

January 5, 2023

Photo illustration shows two hands coming together in front of a solar eclipse and a galaxy.

Critic’s Notebook

In Octavia Butler's World, Anything Is Possible

"Kindred" endures on paper and now on TV

By Lynell George

December 12, 2022

Illustration of house with ground source heat pump.

Stress Test

How Does a Heat Pump Actually Work?

This humble technology reduces home emissions. Here's how it works.

By Paul Rauber

January 6, 2023

A pink roseate spoonbill is descending from the air against a black background.

Critter

Behold the Roseate Spoonbill, a Deeply Weird Bird

The roseate spoonbill is nature's predilection for garishness come to fruition

By J. Drew Lanham

January 9, 2023

Illustration shows a megaphone and various food, clothes, and floss.

Material World

PFAS Are Everywhere. We Need Systems Change to Fix That.

Here's what you need to know and how to avoid these toxic chemicals

By Jessian Choy

December 26, 2022

Illustration of Katherine Ray wearing a hat and smiling at the camera.

Changemaker

Bye-Bye, Trapping on Public Land in New Mexico

Mary Katherine Ray helped outlaw traps in her state

Adapted from an interview by Lindsey Botts

January 1, 2023

Close-up of Vatnajökull, with mist covering its top and chunky ice at its base.

Photo

Ice, Capped

An Icelandic glacier is awesome—and melting away

January 4, 2023

Front book cover of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

Books

A Search for "How Far the Light Reaches"

Sabrina Imbler's new book draws profound connections between the wonders of life

By Tatum McConnell

January 7, 2023

Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis

Books

In Praise of Bogs

Annie Proulx's nonfiction turn lifts up the wonders of swampy places

By Jen Rose Smith

January 7, 2023

Front book cover of Cheap Land Colorado.

Books

You Can Buy Cheap Land in Colorado, but There's a Catch

"Cheap Land Colorado" is a deeply reported guide to living in an age-old land scam

By Heather Smith

January 7, 2023

Poem

Above Ground

A poem by Clint Smith

By Clint Smith

December 25, 2022

Poem

Certain Outlines Can Only Be Imagined

A poem by Asa Drake

By Asa Drake

December 25, 2022

Poem

Monarch

A poem by Sasha LaPointe

By Sasha LaPointe

December 25, 2022

A montage of Sierra Club signs: Environmental Justice, because everyone deserves a clean environment; Keep the Frack Out of My Water; Sierra Club for Gender Equity; No Drilling Where We're Living; People's Climate March; Protect Our Communities.

The Lookout

Sierra Club at 130

A roundup of important news and updates from Sierra Club campaigns and chapters across the country

By Lindsey Botts and Paul Rauber

December 17, 2022

Alexi Grousis squats down in the middle of some train tracks. He has a metal hook tool and is holding up what looks like an old turtle shell.

Treehugger

"We Out Here" Showcases People of Color in the Science Community

Zookeeper Alexi Grousis uses his podcast and social media to reach new audiences

By Annie Roth

January 8, 2023

2022 Winter

Desert Ruins

Departments

Can We Have Our Clean Energy and the Environment Too?

How a Climate Bill Became Law

A School Bus That Doesn't Poison the Children

Condor CSI

What the Flood Took, What It Left Behind

On Finding a Way Through the Wilderness

The Great Plains Trail Is a Work in Progress

In Octavia Butler's World, Anything Is Possible

How Does a Heat Pump Actually Work?

Behold the Roseate Spoonbill, a Deeply Weird Bird

PFAS Are Everywhere. We Need Systems Change to Fix That.

Bye-Bye, Trapping on Public Land in New Mexico

Ice, Capped

A Search for "How Far the Light Reaches"

In Praise of Bogs

You Can Buy Cheap Land in Colorado, but There's a Catch

Above Ground

Certain Outlines Can Only Be Imagined

Monarch

Sierra Club at 130

"We Out Here" Showcases People of Color in the Science Community

The Sierra Club

SIERRA Magazine

About Sierra