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NEWS FROM THE LAST WEEK

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE- Campfire has an official COVID-19 page with regularly updated information about the Sierra Club’s response for staff and volunteers. There is also an external-facing Sierra Club COVID-19 response page.

SHUT DOWN THE SHUTOFFS- High five to all the Sierra Club staff and volunteers working to end utility shutoffs during the pandemic. In Wisconsin, regulators just decided to extend a moratorium on utility shutoffs for residential customers through Sept. 1. The decision comes after a number of groups, including the local Sierra Club and Wisconsin Conservation Voters, asked the state to postpone disconnections. In Utah, 23 groups, including the Sierra Club, delivered a signed letter by 533 Utahns calling on to Gov. Gary Herbert to issue a moratorium on utility shutoffs because of nonpayment and to require utilities to dismiss all utility bill debt incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. And over in Washington State, the Sierra Club was part of a coalition of groups that successfully pressured Governor Inslee to extend the moratorium on utility shutoffs until at least October 15.

 THE HITS KEEP ON COMING- Javier Sierra, associate director of communications for Latino media, was on CNN talking about plastic use during a pandemic. Watch it and then read his powerful column about a new immigration documentary on Netflix.

Don't forget to stretch before you nap. Or, just nap while stretching. Win-win! Photo of a grizzly bear in Katmai National Park, courtesy of the National Park Service.

BLESS YOUR ART- Artist Mas Paz led a recent live drawing class on the Sierra Club’s Instagram account. 

SEE YOU IN COURT... AGAIN- The Sierra Club is part of a group taking the Trump administration to court over plans to gut the National Environmental Policy Act.

MEANWHILE- National director of programs Mary Anne Hitt is quoted in this Earther article about how the coal industry is doing during the pandemic.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY- Are you facilitating or planning to facilitate conversations on racial equity and justice? Would you like to find support, have a chance to practice, and join a cohort of facilitators on this learning journey? The Sierra Club Training Unit is offering a new four-part training series this September through December called "Facilitating Conversations for Collective Liberation." Join them to practice the skills needed to build trust, nurture open and engaging spaces, and develop personal and group awareness to facilitate conversations for collective liberation. Find more information about the series here and apply here. Contact training.intern@sierraclub.org with further questions. 

LISTEN UP- The newest episode of Sierra magazine’s podcast, The Overstory, explores the connections between systemic racism and environmental destruction. 

O-H! HECK NO! Congrats to Sierra Club activists in Columbus, Ohio, for dominating a recent public hearing with testimony against a proposed fracked gas plant. More than 30 people spoke against the plant proposed for Ohio State University’s campus.

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