Club Partners with Veterans in Ascent of Grand Teton to Commemorate 9/11

On September 11, 2011—the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks—the Sierra Club's Military Outdoors program partnered with Veterans Expeditions of Boulder, Colorado, in recruiting and training eight veterans to summit the Grand Teton in Wyoming.

Stacy Bare, Military Families and Veterans Affairs Representative for the Sierra Club, helped train the climbers and accompanied them on the ascent of the Grand Teton. A former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, Bare served in Bosnia and Iraq, and spent time as a civilian explosive ordnance disposal technician in Angola and the Republic of Georgia.

Bare was serving in the Individual Ready Reserve when he was called back to active duty in late 2005. He was the Director of National Programs for Veterans Green Jobs before starting Veterans Expeditions. That's Bare pictured above, and below at center with other members of the Grand Teton expedition. The Grand Teton is the second peak from the right in the background.

Here is Bare's account of the expedition:

The program started four months before the actual climbing event through outreach to the military and veteran community to get them hiking and working towards the summit attempt of the Grand Teton. The team trained all summer in the Colorado high country with Colorado Wilderness Rides and Guides of Boulder, and in Wyoming with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. The training paid off with an efficient team effort on summit day.

This team of veterans had endured the hardships of military service, fought through the struggles of a difficult transition back to civilian life, and climbed with the thoughts of all those who could not join us. The fallen, the broken, the suffering, were all there with us in our hearts.

We climbed for all those who have suffered as a result of 9/11/01. We climbed with post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, prosthetic legs, missing fingers, and broken bodies disabled by roadside bombs. We climbed so that other veterans would be motivated to get off the couch and regain that fire again. We climbed to reverse the negative statistics that plague the veteran community. We climbed to raise our arms on the summit and bring a positive experience to this difficult day in our nation's history.

Coal Ash and Environmental Justice in Oklahoma

Standing in front of a coal ash pit. From left to right: Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter Treasurer Rick Wicker, Chapter Chair Charles Wesner, Stephanie Jordan, Chapter Vice Chair Jody Harlan, Nancy Cain, and Executive Committee Member Rodney Boegel.

By Jody Harlan, Oklahoma Chapter Vice Chair

One way in which we've battled coal ash here in Oklahoma is by tying the message of this destructive practice to environmental justice. The Oklahoma Chapter produced a professional video about the negative health impacts of the coal ash dump site in Bokoshe, Le Flore County, that is causing cases of asthma and cancer.

Bokoshe-In the Air We Breathe from Jar of Grasshoppers on Vimeo.

The video is used at monthly presentations to a class of recycling technicians at a large non-profit organization. The majority of the class members are African Americans who are sometimes inspired by the environmental-justice message to attend monthly Sierra Club group meetings.

There are four to ten people in each class. Everyone is much more interested in what I have to say about the Sierra Club when the video is shown because of the messages included about environmental justice. The video has helped with Sierra Club Oklahoma in connecting with participants in the program who are primarily African American. My presentations are scheduled during the same week as Sierra Club Oklahoma's Cimmaron Group meetings in the western part of the state, to encourage students to attend the meetings.

Coal ash pits look like mountains on naturally flat land.

When reaching out to other groups and giving presentations, video such as this one improve our communication with others who may not have heard of the Sierra Club or to those who might otherwise be bored. The video has spread and several other chapters are showing it.

Have a success story to share? We'd like to hear about it. Go to the Success Stories project on the Sierra Club's Activist Network and let others learn from your experience.

Philadelphia Sierrans Protest Passage of Bill to Weaken EPA

On September 27, activists with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Sierra Club rallied outside Senator Bob Casey's office in downtown Philadelphia to protest passage of the TRAIN Act by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Introduced by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act would undermine the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to curb air pollution and protect public health.

"Our representatives voted in favor of this bill and against protecting our families from dangerous and deadly pollution," Sierra Club organizer William Kramer, below, said at the rally. "We need to tell our Congressmen that American families want clean air and water that is safe to drink."

The Sierra Club and other environmental and health advocacy groups immediately warned that the TRAIN Act will undermine four decades of public health victories thanks to the EPA and landmark protections like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Club Galvanizes Opposition to Tar Sands Pipeline in Lone Star State

 

The State Department held hearings on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline in Austin and Port Arthur, Texas, the last week of September, and Sierra Club activists made their voices heard at both. Above, volunteers at the Austin hearing.

The Keystone XL Pipeline, proposed by TransCanada Corporation, would transport synthetic crude oil from the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The project has met with lawsuits and intense opposition from citizens and a broad range of environmental and public interest groups.

The 1,700-mile pipeline would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies groundwater to eight states, including Texas. The Sierra Club has been working on the tar sands campaign in Texas for over a year, and used last week's hearings to shine a spotlight on the issue and mobilize grassroots opposition from around the state.

Port Arthur has stagnated economically for decades, and more than 25 percent of the mostly minority population lives below the poverty line. But the city, already beset with high rates of cancer and asthma due to toxic air pollution from heavy industry, is home to a large portion of U.S. oil refining capacity, and has recently been gearing up with major refinery and petrochemical plant expansions.

Above, anti-pipeline volunteers in Port Arthur. Below, environmental activist and 2011 Goldman Prize winner Hilton Kelly surveys the scene from his neighborhood in West Port Arthur. For the last decade, Kelly has worked to educate and empower community residents and reduce emissions from the eight petrochemical plants and hazardous waste plants in the area.

Photo by Matthew Turley

"We held our own at the Port Arthur hearing, despite TransCanada supporters being bused in from out of state," says Austin-based Sierra Club organizer Ian Davis, "and we outnumbered the opposition at the Austin hearing."

Residents Protest Clean Energy Shutout at Governors Energy Summit

Virginia residents and clean energy business owners held a rally and press conference on October 4 outside the Southern States Energy Board summit in Alexandria, Va. The rally was organized by the Sierra Club and Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which called on Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to support clean energy development and stronger EPA safeguards for Virginia families.

As the host to some of the South's most influential elected officials at the summit, Governor McDonnell was the opening speaker for a summit entitled Shaping Energy Policy: The Critical Path for States.

"The agenda lacked any discussions on clean energy, energy efficiency, or how proposed EPA protections can benefit Virginians," says Sierra Club organizer Phillip Ellis. "Instead, it solely featured panels on oil and gas development, nuclear energy and claims on how EPA regulations will impact the fossil-fuel industry."

"Governor McDonnell is putting the profits of Big Oil and King Coal before the health of Virginia families," says Sierra Club field organizer Kate Pollard. "With this one-sided agenda on energy policy in meetings and summits predominantly sponsored by dirty energy companies, what else are we to believe?"

Virginia Moving Planet - Fairfax Wants Better Transportation Options

As part of the Moving Planet International Day of Action to move the world beyond dependence on fossil fuels, the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Smart Growth America, Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, Laborers’ International Union of North America, and 350.org held a citizen’s march from Dunn Loring Community Park to Dunn Loring Metro station.

The event promoted the freedom to choose transportation choices other than cars, like public transit and bicycling, in order to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. The rally asked Governor McDonnell to spend some of his $4 billion transportation budget on building bike infrastructure, funding Phase II of the Silver Line Metro expansion, and building the Purple Line.

Speakers included Andy Clarke from Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB), Elisa Ortiz from Smart Growth America, Roger Diedrich from the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Delegate Mark Keam, 35th District, and master of ceremonies Susan Stillman of FABB.

“Hybrid cars are not the solution. Mass transportation is the solution,” said Delegate Mark Keam in a rousing speech encouraging sustainable transit. The rally was a successful way to raise awareness about transportation options in urban areas.

--Katie Nicolato, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Intern

Great Work for the Great Lakes

Italia, second from the right, is a Sierra Club member who heads Rochester ECOs.

When Italia Millan moved to Michigan from Mexico more than 10 years ago, she made sure to pack her environmentalism and bring it with her.

"In Mexico I heard a lot about Greenpeace. They didn't have an office here in Michigan, but they recommended the Sierra Club. My husband and I visited the local group, and we loved it because it was a grassroots group with friendly and dedicated people," she said.

Since moving to Michigan, Italia has made her mark. She recently joined the Sierra Club's Borderlands Team. And, in 2007 she and her husband, Don Hughes, became chair and vice-chair of a Great Lakes Team called Rochester ECOs, which has stenciled thousands of storm drains that connect to the Great Lakes.

"There's still more out there and after two or three years they wear off and we have to go do them again. Right now we're stenciling in three different cities," she said.

Rochester ECOs partners and campaigns with other green groups like Local Motion Green and the Clinton River Watershed Council, which has an Adopt a Stream program. They also organize free monthly lectures on various topics such as toxic-free cleaning products and solar energy.

"We try to relate most lectures to water because of the Great Lakes, but we add other environmental topics if possible. Next month will be about protecting our ground water. November will be about greening your holidays," she said.

Italia says that during her 10 years in Michigan, she has seen the message resonate more.

Rochester ECOs puts on monthly lectures, like this one on green cleaning products.

"I've seen a difference in the responses we get. When we go to events and we have a couple of petitions, I see people really wanting to protect the Great Lakes. There's a lot of will out there. When we go stenciling and talk to neighbors, they're very grateful that we're there and they welcome our message. I think things are getting better, but we have to keep protecting our water," Italia said.

"Everything affects water. The entire place is a watershed and everything we do affects it. We can make a difference. We've seen it while monitoring our creeks and lakes. Everything helps -- the trash clean ups, the use of natural ingredients to clean. Not using pesticides. We just have to keep spreading the message."

Learn more about Rochester ECOs and the Sierra Club's Great Lakes Program.

Seattle Moving Planet Brings Together Hundreds

Photo by Jeff Randall

On a sunny Saturday morning on September 24th, Washingtonians around the Puget Sound were a buzz with plans for attending Moving Planet Seattle.

In celebration of 350.org's annual day of action on climate change, the Sierra Club, Earth Ministry, Climate Solutions, 350 Washington, Washington Environmental Council, Transportation For Washington and many other community organizations came together to host Moving Planet Seattle.

A local event in solidarity with thousands of events around the globe, Moving Planet Seattle focused on the need to end our reliance on coal and oil and take action on urgent issues facing Washington state and the Northwest, including stopping coal exports and fighting for more transportation choices.

As the day commenced, it became immediately clear - in Seattle, we are part of a powerful climate movement. Moving Planet Seattle kicked off with almost a hundred people taking action in workshops on coal and oil and continued into the afternoon with over a thousand people converging on Lake Union Park via bus, bike, on foot, on skate boards, roller skates, paddle-boards, sail boats, canoes, electric vehicles and more!

People arrive to the event en masse by boat! Photo by Elise Koncsek

Washingtonians had a lot to celebrate at Moving Planet Seattle. Our state has been a leader in moving beyond fossil fuels. Elected leaders around the state continually hold President Obama accountable to the strength of his historic new fuel efficiency standards of 54.5mpg by 2025. Washingtonians have also worked hard to end our state's reliance on coal, protecting our health and the environment.

And Washingtonians will continue to stand up to Big Oil and Big Coal.

The Sierra Club is involved in state-wide efforts to provide more public transit access to our communities and make our streets safer for walking and biking. The Sierra Club is also continuing its successful stand against Big Coal in a growing coalition to stop massive coal export terminals for shipping coal to china from being built along WashingtonÕs coast.

At Moving Planet Seattle, each of the feature speakers beamed with pride as they talked of these displays of Washingtonians working to move our state beyond fossil fuels - including Mayor of Seattle Mike McGinn (pictured at the left, photo by Paul Anderson) who rode his bike to the event and spoke out against coal export terminals.

After converging by boat, bike, bus and foot, attending workshops on campaigns to move beyond fossil fuels, hearing from inspirational speakers, signing postcards in support of higher fuel efficiency standards and against coal export terminals, posing for the iconic 350 photo, and listening to a compelling faith and environmental justice program - Moving Planet Seattle came to a close.

Photo by Paul Anderson.

But our turn to take action only started; we all know, Washingtonians deserve better!

--Anastasia Schemkes, Sierra Club Cascade Chapter

Moving Planet Columbus - Bike to the Future

In Columbus, OH, parents, children, bikers young and old, came out to Rally and Bike to the Future for clean energy at the Moving Planet event. The sun broke through as rally participants and bikers filtered into the Franklin Park amphitheater where Jason Box, a climate scientist working in Greenland, and Lee Geisse of the Blue Green Alliance, set out the problem of Climate Change and the opportunity we have to put on the brakes by retooling to a green energy economy.
 
Then 100 participants, some costumed as caped climate crusaders, flowed out of the park for an 8-mile bike ride. At the end of the ride, folks were entertained in the park by the live musical sounds of Jesse Henry with Chris Stevens and Coal-Fired Bicycle and fed by delicious local food trucks, one of which was solar-powered!

-- Rashay Layman, Sierra Club Ohio