[insider] Aug 12) Election 2020, Pandemic Camping, New Podcast, August Astronomy, ...[more]

August 12, 2020

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

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| Election 2020 | We Endorse Joe Biden Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced today that California Senator Kamala Harris will be his running mate, making her the first Black woman on a major party ticket. "Biden knows that solving the climate crisis represents an opportunity to rebuild our economy in a way that works for everyone," said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune, who described Harris as "a fierce leader who knows how the climate crisis affects all of us." Read more about why the Sierra Club is endorsing the Biden/Harris ticket.

Paid for by Sierra Club Independent Action and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Listen! | New Podcast | The Movement for Black Lives Is Saving the Planet On the latest episode of the Sierra Club’s podcast, The Overstory, Hop Hopkins, the Sierra Club’s director of strategic partnerships, talks about the connections between systemic racism and environmental destruction; we hear what NASA climatologist Kate Marvel has to say about the COVID-19 pandemic; Obama-era official Christy Goldfuss examines the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks; and Corina Newsome talks about cofounding #BlackBirdersWeek. Tune in, turn on, listen up.

Photo by iStock.com/jetcityimage | Take Action | Trump Seeks to Hobble Postal Service The Trump administration is trying to undermine the Postal Service by slashing its budget and slowing down mail delivery. In the face of the pandemic, more states are choosing to rely on voting by mail—something the president himself did in the last election. Americans depend on the Postal Service for their mail, medicine, and relief or unemployment checks during the pandemic. Tell your senators to ensure that the Postal Service remains fully funded.

Photo by Julie Dermansky | Sierra Magazine | Long Sunset for Big Oil The pandemic-related recession has revealed how vulnerable oil-industry-dependent states like New Mexico are to the vicissitudes of the fossil fuel market: In boom times, communities are at risk from the operations of the industry, and when a bust occurs, they remain at risk. This is what it’s like for families who live where the oil is.

Photo by iStock.com/PetrBonk | Sierra Magazine | Camping in the Time of Coronavirus Overnight summer camps across the US have been canceled, but some outdoor adventure organizations have decided to march on, determined to offer kids and teens the quintessential summer experience that is spending time in nature and bonding with their peers—perhaps around a socially distanced campfire, s’mores in hand. Outdoor adventure organizations have been hard at work adapting to the myriad challenges of running camp in a pandemic. Find out what outdoor adventure professionals have to say about camping smart this summer.

Photo by iStock.com/DisobeyArt | Take Action | Time for a New Era of Climate Leadership Donald Trump’s presidency has been disastrous for the environment, social and environmental justice, and democracy itself. This November’s election is the most consequential of our lifetimes. Join us in energizing climate voters and growing our electorate to end Trump's presidency and fight for climate.

Photo by Jill Marie Holslin | En Español | ICE Cold Heart Imagine if one of the factors that determines your professional success is the number of human lives your work costs. According to a documentary titled Immigration Nation, which premiered August 3 on Netflix, two of the factors the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses to evaluate the success of its officers are the number of arrested undocumented immigrants and the number of immigrants who die while trying to cross the border. "2019 was a particularly 'successful' year in this regard," says Sierra Club columnist Javier Sierra.

Photo by iStock.com/Alejandro_Art_Photography | Sierra Magazine | Bring the Carbon Barons to Justice Landmark lawsuits against ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel giants, charging that they have exacerbated the climate crisis and lied about their contribution to global warming, are making real headway—just as Big Oil is in danger of going broke. What does that mean for climate reparations?

Photo by iStock.com/mark_ka | Ms. Green | Can You Recycle That Pizza Box? It's advice from the dawn of curbside recycling: Don't put your pizza box in the blue bin because the greasy cardboard and cheese scraps make it unrecyclable. For years, conscientious recyclers sent billions of pizza boxes to landfills and incinerators. New research, though, says you can keep that pizza box out of the landfill by doing one simple thing.

In the Amateur category, Bibek Ghosh of Fremont, California, won an honorable mention for this photo of an Anna's hummingbird, shot from California's Ardenwood Historic Farm. | Sierra Magazine | 2020’s Winning Audubon Photos For bird-loving photographers, the National Audubon Society’s annual photo competition is the holy grail. We’ve selected some of the most eye-popping winners from this year's competition. Check out our slideshow.

Photo by iStock.com/TanyaSid | Article | More Plastic Than Fish in the Sea? The fossil fuel industry is turning to plastics production as a lifeline to maintain its profits in the face of falling demand in the electric and transportation sectors. Petrochemical manufacturing, necessary to create plastic, will likely account for most of the new demand for oil and gas by 2050—the same year it’s estimated there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. Legislation now before Congress would place a moratorium on new plastic-producing facilities—which are planned to be built in low-income communities of color. Learn more about the the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.

Download your pages today! | Sierra Club Store | Color Me Wild Get creative with colors as you explore America's natural treasures with our National Parks Coloring Book, which features 30 pages of inspiring quotes and landscapes from Acadia to Zion and is appropriate for all ages. Download your coloring pages and then share your finished project by taking a photo and tagging the Sierra Club!

Photo by Deirdre Miller | Sierra Magazine | So Long Neowise, Hello Perseids Comet Neowise became an instant social media star, but it’s fast fading as it races away from Earth. Don’t worry, though, the Perseid meteor shower is just about to reach its peak, with up to 100 bright fireballs per hour. Find out the best nights to see them.

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

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