[hitched] Aug 31) "You Are Important"...[more]

August 31, 2020

Rincon Group / Our Blogs / Sierra Club's "Hitched" Newsletter. . .

 
As people across the country protest in defense of Black lives, the Sierra Club recognizes the need to dismantle systemic racism in the United States and within our own organization. We must reckon with how white supremacy -- both past and present -- has shaped our institutions and do the critical anti-racism work necessary to repair the harm done. The environmental movement does not exist in a vacuum, and it is our responsibility to use our power to help abolish systemic racism, which is destroying lives, communities, and the planet.

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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.

BLACK LIVES MATTER- The Sierra Club released a statement in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last week.

Friends, please take care of yourselves these days and always. Self-care is important. You are loved. You are valuable. 

LISTEN UP- Sierra Club director of campaigns Mary Anne Hitt is a guest on the debut episode of a new climate podcast called How To Save A Planet, hosted by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

ANTI-RACIST CONSERVATION WORK- Dan Ritzman, the lands, water and wildlife director for the Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign, penned an important column about growing anti-racism roots.

FLORIDA FIRE DRILL- High five to the Sierra Club “Stop the Burn” campaign in Florida. They worked for more than a year with a Grist investigative journalist, which resulted in an excellent article. 

CELEBRITY INFLUENCE- Actor Leonardo DiCaprio posted the Sierra Club’s “stop plastic pollution” action alert on his Instagram page last week! And then the band Coldplay did too! Congrats to the folks who helped make this happen!

THE LATEST FROM MICHAEL BRUNE- The Sierra Club executive director has two new columns out -- one on protecting the US. Postal Service and another on the devastating California wildfires.

NOTHIN’ BUT EMAILS FOIA- High five to the Sierra Rise team for again scoring government emails via a Freedom of Information Act request. Check out what folks found in the USDA emails they got their hands on.

AWARDS SEASON- The Sierra Club volunteer awards will be held online on Wednesday, September 9, at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET.

CALIFORNIA ROLLS- Congrats to Sierra Club activists in California! Last week saw two unanimous votes on critical programs to reduce transportation-related emissions and clean up the state’s air. Both the California Air Resources Board and the California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to approve important programs and regulations that will keep the state on track to an electrified future. 

CALIFORNIA LOVE- The Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter is deep into actions that are successfully thwarting the oil industry in Santa Barbara County.

RIVER FUNCTION- The annual Colorado River Days Flagstaff festival -- organized in part by the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter -- will take place virtually September 1–14. This year’s theme is “Generations: Past, Present & Future.” Events include: family activities, film screenings, discussions of the Colorado, Gila, San Juan, and Little Colorado Rivers, an art exhibition, live music, and a variety of presentations from diverse voices. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- The Canto team is looking for volunteers to help with testing for Canto, the shared photo library being developed. As part of the test you will be asked to search for images that would be suitable to accompany the prompts provided and narrate your thought process as you select images. We will use the results to develop search terms. The entire process should take less than 30 minutes. If you are interested, please contact rebekah.cousins@sierraclub.org

POLLUTION, HURRICANES, AND HEARINGS- Today’s must-read is a blog post from Houston activist Yudith Nieto about the environmental racism continuing in the Gulf, where regulators proceeded with a hearing on whether to grant Valero Energy the right to emit more poison into the community during a hurricane. 

BORDERLINE TV- Last Week With John Oliver did an excellent segment about problems with the Border Wall recently! Congrats to our Borderlands Team folks who worked with the Oliver team to get this done.

OUTSMARTING THE RNC- Congrats to Sierra Club folks in North Carolina who worked with a coalition of groups to organize actions oppose the Republican National Convention in Charlotte last week. The Sierra Club's NC Beyond Coal Campaign volunteers showed up to table and hand out information, buttons, stickers, and masks, while also providing recycling services for the event!  

EXTINCTION READING- Bonnie Rice, the Greater Yellowstone/Northern Rockies senior campaign rep for the Sierra Club, wrote an op-ed for The Hill drawing the links between the climate and extinction crises and human health/pandemics.

YOU’RE ON MUTE- The Sierra Club’s 2020 Annual Meeting will be held virtually from September 10 through 13. The Board of Directors will meet in a formal joint session with the Council of Club Leaders on Saturday, September 12. The Board will also meet in working sessions on September 10 and 11. 

FAREWELL- Nellis Kennedy-Howard, the director of equity, inclusion and justice, is leaving the Sierra Club on September 11. Online organizing manager Debra Cohen is leaving the Sierra Club on September 2. Associate advancement director Sara Harvey is leaving the Sierra Club on September 3.

THE END

The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice.
 

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