Wildlands Are Your Lands

Woody Guthrie put it best when he sang, "This land is your land." Until, that is, someone steals it from you. And from the redwood forests to the New York island, that's exactly what could happen if we don't stop an extreme bill in Congress that would essentially turn over 50 million acres of publicly owned wildlands to oil, gas, and mining companies for drilling, mining, logging, road construction, and other destructive development.

Wilderness that represents the historical, geological, and ecological diversity of the United States, from iconic red rock canyons in Utah to ancient temperate rainforests in Alaska to scenic mountains in New Mexico, could be lost forever. Here's a slideshow of just some of the places at risk:



Introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, this bill (H.R. 1581) would eliminate protection for wilderness study areas and Forest Service roadless areas -- exactly the kind of healthy, undisturbed lands that provide and safeguard clean air and water resources, supply habitat for plants and animals, and offer Americans a place to get outdoors and kayak, camp, fish, or hike. That's one reason why people in the outdoor recreation industry -- which, by the way, supports nearly 6.5 million jobs and contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy -- are among the biggest opponents of this public lands giveaway.

No one deserves the gut punch of coming home to discover that they've been burglarized. But if this "Great American Giveaway" bill becomes law, then every single American will be the victim of a brazen theft that's just as heartless. Woody was right. It's your land. Not ExxonMobil's. Not Peabody Coal's. Not Koch Industries'. These lands are our lands. Tell your member of Congress that we need to keep it that way. 

Time to Move -- Beyond Fossil Fuels

One of the scariest things you’ll see in the news today is the false notion that Americans must choose between jobs and healthy people. Corporate polluters and their allies refuse to face the facts -- that burning fossil fuels is making us sick, strangling our economy, and fueling climate disruption.

A healthy economy requires healthy people, clean air, and clean water. By putting the interests of American families above those of corporate polluters -- and moving beyond fossil fuels -- our leaders and policymakers can put us on the path to good jobs, economic opportunities, clean air, safe water, and a brighter future for our children.

On Saturday, September 24th, the Sierra Club will team up with 350.org, thousands of activists across the country, and millions of people around the globe for a Moving Planet day of action -- calling for our leaders to move beyond fossil fuels. 

In every nation on earth, and especially in the U.S., people will be in motion -- powering themselves without fossil fuels. On foot, public transit, kayaks and canoes, skateboards, and bikes, people around the globe in every time zone will bring a tough and unmistakable message to our leaders: Time for you to get in motion too.

Here in the U.S., the Sierra Club and 350.org are organizing hundreds of mass actions in cities across the country. In Colorado, cyclists will bike past two dirty coal plants on the way from Boulder to Denver, ending at a massive rally at the statehouse. In Manhattan, bikers will ride from Columbus Circle to the UN building, demanding that the General Assembly take action on climate. And in San Francisco, thousands of Bay Area residents will descend on Market Street using public transit and then march in a parade calling for our leaders to help move us beyond fossil fuels and make strong investments in clean energy.

America and the world cannot afford any more inaction. We can build healthy, thriving communities and create new jobs by moving beyond fossil fuels and investing in clean energy, like wind and solar, that already has created millions of American jobs.

But to turn this vision into reality, we need people across the country to join together and make their voices heard, starting on September 24th, the Moving Planet day of action. We encourage anyone who can to sign up here for an event already planned in your community or to create your own.  It’s time to get America off the dime, unstuck, and on the move.  It starts September 24th.

Michael Brune
Bill McKibben  

Michael Brune is the executive director of the Sierra Club.  Bill McKibben is a co-founder of 350.org.

The Military's Clean-Energy Mission

Someday, in the not-too-distant future, our country will be getting more than half of its power from energy that is safe, secure, and sustainable. We’re not there now, and in fact we have a long way to go in many sectors of the economy. But it’s clear to anyone who is paying attention that the countries that lead in the race to implement clean-energy technologies will be more resilient and more prosperous in the years ahead.

When I studied history in school, and in learning about successful social movements of the 20^th century, I’ve always been fascinated with turning points. What was it that finally helped women’s suffragists to prevail? When was it clear that apartheid would certainly crumble? What will finally “bend the arc of history” to help our country end its dependence on dirty energy?

The U.S. military is likely to play a key role. More than just about any other U.S. organization –- public or private –- the U.S. Armed Forces are pushing the envelope when it comes to clean-energy technologies. That's thanks in part to the leadership of people like Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. His goals include cutting oil use by the Navy's commercial vehicles in half by 2015 and procuring half of its energy from alternative sources by 2020. But it's not just about goals. Results matter even more.

As a recent Sierra magazine article noted, "The Air Force and the Navy are taking the lead in developing biofuels for aircraft (vehicles, ships, and generators are next in line) from nonfood crops such as the camelina seed and algae." Ever wondered how we can get off oil and still fly jet airplanes? The military is already on it, with tough regulations that ban biofuel sources that would displace food crops. At the recent Blue Angels air show in Maryland, the jets were running on 50 percent biofuels.

And just last week, the Department of Energy announced that it was backing plans -- with a loan guarantee -- to put solar panels on as many as 160,000 military-housing rooftops. In the heat of the day, when air conditioners are on high, these solar arrays will collectively produce as much power as a small coal plant.

In August, Army Secretary John M. McHugh said, "We think we've made a great start," referring to the 126 existing Army-led renewable projects. "But to meet our longer-term objectives," he added, "we have to do better." Part of doing better means working with private businesses in the clean-tech industry -- and that means lots of good jobs for civilians.  

The Air Force isn't lagging either. The Los Angeles Air Force Base just announced that it will be "the first federal facility to replace 100 percent of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles." Where will the electricity for those vehicles come from? The base already uses solar power, and it's expanding that infrastructure, too. So they're not just cutting out oil, they're also avoiding dirty energy from coal-fired power.

And in June, the Pentagon unveiled its comprehensive "Operational Energy Strategy," which includes plans to reduce the military's reliance on oil across the board.  The strategy is a giant step forward for an organization that can push Americans toward a clean-energy future.

Are you surprised that the military is taking the lead in adopting clean and renewable energy technologies? I'm not. The military operates in a world where relying on dogma rather than facts can result in casualties. As the Sierra article noted, being forced to rely on dirty, 19th-century fuels like oil puts our soldiers in danger -- and that's something no one wants.

This isn't the first time the military has been on the forefront of change. In 1948, President Truman's Executive Order 9981 paved the way for a desegregated military, six years before the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Now, as then, the military is basing decisions on common sense, not ideology. It's time for the rest of society to catch up.

Let's Race to the Top

President Obama deserves kudos for the plan he put forth last week to put Americans back to work and renew our nation's role as a global leader in innovation.  I was glad to hear him renew his commitments to protecting Americans from toxic mercury pollution, ending subsidies for Big Oil, and building a clean energy economy that works for all Americans. 

The president is right that it's time to "stop the political circus" and act. Whether it's investment in wind and solar power, improving and repairing infrastructure, or building high-speed rail and electric cars, the federal government has an important role to play in putting Americans back to work and protecting the health and safety of families and children.

But Obama's challenge now is to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and its supporters in Congress who are misleading the American public by insisting that regulation kills jobs, and that a clean-energy future isn't viable. That's the "race to the bottom" the president mentioned in his speech.

For instance, the American Petroleum Institute recently claimed that the oil industry could create more than a million jobs over the next decade --  if only the government would open public lands, beaches, oceans -- probably even our bathtubs, if we let them -- to unlimited oil drilling.

This is preposterous. Dumping more money in Big Oil's deep pockets would be great for oil executives but do nothing for the rest of us. A recent report by Democratic staff of the House Natural Resources Committee clarifies Big Oil's role in our fragile economy:

• Despite generating $546 billion in profits between 2005 and 2010, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP combined reduced their U.S. workforce by 11,200 employees.
• Even with these job losses, the top five oil companies paid their senior executives a total of nearly $220 million in 2010.
• Meanwhile, taxpayers will hand out nearly $100 billion in tax breaks and loopholes to oil and gas companies in the coming decades.

Big Oil is taking shots at the green economy because it threatens their unrivaled political and economic power. A report by the Brookings Institute -- which, unlike the API, doesn't exist solely to lobby for the oil industry -- is anything but pessimistic about the green economy's potential for job creation. "Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment" concludes that:

• Today the clean economy employs 2.7 million American workers across a diverse group of industries, which is greater than the number of people employed by the entire fossil fuel industry.
• Clean-tech has produced explosive job gains in the past year, outperforming the national rate of job creation during the recession.
• The clean economy offers more opportunities and better pay (13% higher) for low- and middle-skilled workers than the national economy as a whole.
• The green jobs revolution is at work around the nation -- the South has the largest number of clean economy jobs in total, while the West has the largest share relative to its population.

Our nation is poised to enter an era where we can take it for granted that protecting public health and providing stable and sustainable jobs are one and the same.  The writing's on the wall, which is exactly why Big Oil (seeing a threat to its domination of American economics and politics), has turned its attention (and devoted significant resources)  to trying to stop growth in the clean economy.

In the end, the whole "jobs versus environment/public health" argument is nothing but a rhetorical crutch for polluters.  The sooner we (and the media) call them on their B.S., the sooner we can win the "race to the top" for all Americans.