Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
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Drilling and Panthers Don't Mix
Biologists recently found a little panther cub alone and shivering in the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge. His odds for survival were slim, but he made a miraculous comeback and is now back to his feisty self. Down to a population of barely 100 individuals, Florida panthers can't withstand another blow from Big Oil. Yet an oil company plans to drill next door to the refuge, and the state issued permits without conducting an environmental study. But there is an EPA hearing this week, so there's still time to stop this tragedy-in-the-making. Tell the EPA that endangered species and clean water are more important than Big Oil's profits. Photo: myfwcmedia Champion of Change Dr. Benjamin Blonder, an ecologist at the University of Arizona and a volunteer leader for the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings program in Tucson, was among the environmental and conservation leaders honored at the White House last week. A cofounder of the Sky School, a residential science program near Tucson, Blonder was named a Champion of Change for his work to give students the opportunity to experience nature and conduct hands-on scientific research. We spoke with Blonder this week. Here's what he had to say. A Parent in the Upper Chamber This month, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune testified at a U.S. Senate hearing about the Keystone XL pipeline. His testimony came on the heels of more than two million citizen comments to the State Department stating that the pipeline is not in the country's national interest. "Like many of you," Brune began, "I am a parent, and I am deeply concerned about the world we are leaving for our children." Watch this video excerpt of Brune's testimony. Get Outside While the Getting's Good Vacation may still be a ways off, but that doesn't mean you can't start planning right now while the choices are plentiful. Hundreds of trip options are ready and waiting with Sierra Club Outings. Better act quick, though, because these trips are filling up fast! Here's a taste of what's on tap:
Enough Is Enough Environmental justice organizer Hilton Kelley, the North American recipient of the 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize, has fought for years against the refinery pollution afflicting his community in Port Arthur, Texas, which suffers disproportionate health problems as a result of toxic emissions from local refineries. Now, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would ship tar sands crude -- the dirtiest crude oil there is -- to Port Arthur. "We represent the area of least resistance because we're a low-income community of color," Kelley says. Read what Kelley has to say about the environmental injustice of Keystone XL. Calling All Youth For over 20 years, the Sierra Student Coalition has trained and empowered youth to launch and win grassroots environmental campaigns.We're looking for the next generation of environmental leaders to attend our summer youth trainings. Help keep our grassroots movement growing! Do you know an outstanding young leader who is passionate about protecting the environment? We want to know who they are. Nominate him or her to attend our award-winning grassroots leadership training program this summer! You Know Clean Energy Is Winning When... Need some good news or handy cocktail-party facts to show that clean energy Is winning? Here are 10 compelling reasons in 60 seconds. 2013 was a breakthrough year for clean energy. Watch, share, and help us create a world where dirty and dangerous fossil fuels are a thing of the past. Uncharted Terrain Hkakabo Razi, in far-northern Myanmar (also known as Burma), has long been regarded as Southeast Asia's highest -- and most famous -- mountain. But new mapping data recently revealed an unclimbed peak five miles away that might be higher. Five American hikers spent a month trekking 300 miles through jungles replete with barking deer, rare orchids, and pygmy hunters with poison-tipped arrows in search of that unclimbed summit. Here's their story. Photo: Mark Fisher/Fisher Creative 5 Dream Cabins From Repurposed Junk One person's trash is another's treasure. So goes the old saw. We found five dwellings built almost entirely out of repurposed materials, from the actual frame of the house to the chairs inside. High-tech or old-fashioned, spacious or small, all have been designed and built with an eye toward sustainability, and they're anything but junky. Check out these cozy abodes. Landscaping You Can Eat Spring has sprung -- it's time to start planning and planting your garden. You'll find a wealth of information and inspiration in Sierra Club Books' Edible Landscaping, by gardening expert Rosalind Creasy. Order your copy in the next 48 hours and use the code SPRING15 to receive 15% off. Never Again Twenty-five years ago yesterday, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of toxic crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound. Many species have yet to recover, and the region's fishing economy has never fully bounced back. Yet the threat of another catastrophic oil spill in Alaska remains. Shell Oil has invested $5 billion to drill in America's Arctic -- but the Arctic's extreme weather, harsh cold, sea ice, and winter darkness make it the last place we should be drilling for oil. Tell the Obama administration to cancel all current Arctic drilling leases and halt future lease sales! National Parks and Monuments Under Attack The House is preparing to vote on a terrible new bill that would gut the historic Antiquities Act and undermine the president's power to create national monuments -- even though nearly half of our national parks started out as monuments. It's being pushed by a well-known Big Oil-funded congressman, and the vote is Wednesday. This latest attack on our national parks and monuments is part of an even bigger right-wing agenda to sell off our public lands. If you don't raise your voice today, this bill could actually pass. Tell your representative to defend our parks and vote no against this attack on public lands!
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