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Mission Statement
The Sierra Club is the nation's leader in courtroom advocacy on behalf of our environment and the health of our families. In the face of climate change, our lawyers have prosecuted some of the most far reaching litigation in the nation. Among other efforts, our Environmental Law Program led the way in Massachusetts v. EPA - the Supreme Court's landmark global warming decision; fought the secrecy surrounding the Cheney Energy Task Force; waged a campaign against polluting coal-fired plants; and promoted and defended California's clean-car laws. Our legal team also manages a large docket of strategic litigation designed to protect our water, air and wilderness, as well as defending children from toxic pollution. We led the way in litigation protecting the Giant Sequoia Monument, pressuring EPA to get the lead out of children's toys and promoting higher fuel economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks.
History
The Sierra Club has been the nation's leader in environmental litigation since the beginning. In 1971, the pioneering Sierra Club v. Morton lawsuit - the case that challenged a proposed ski area in the Mineral King valley of California - gave citizens the right to sue to enforce environmental laws. Since then, the Sierra Club has used the courts to fight for environmental protection at the national, regional, and local levels, giving citizens the means and legal expertise to enforce our hard-won environmental laws and battle destructive projects. The law books are literally filled with watershed decisions won by the Club over the years.
The Sierra Club's litigation record has made it a major force to be reckoned with by government officials and industry alike. Building on that credibility and reputation, the Sierra Club launched an expansion of its legal program at the turn of the millennium, bringing on board a highly accomplished team of lawyers to direct the Club's nationwide, strategic legal efforts. The expanded Environmental Law Program supports and relies upon a partnership with the Club's nationwide grassroots activists, including over 155 Sierra Club chapters and groups. The national legal team brings the national might and vision of the Sierra Club to the local level, and fights for the rights of local communities with the resources and reach of the nation's oldest and largest environmental organization.