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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson called for greater diversity in the environmental movement while speaking to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council last week. Jackson said that environmentalism does not come in any one shape, size, or look and that it is also about protecting people in the places where they live, work, and rear families. The Sierra Club not only agrees with her, we're also doing something about it with diversity programs ranging from our Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships program to Building Bridges to the Outdoors for inner-city youth.
"We are proud that Sierra Club has successful diversity programs already established," said the Sierra Club President Allison Chin. "Now, with the leadership of a diversity council and my election as our first Asian-American president, the Sierra Club is committed to becoming an even more welcoming and inclusive organization."
For more information about Sierra Club's diversity programs, go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/diversity
Just over a month ago, President Obama signed into law the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), aka "Cash for Clunkers." Between now and November 1, $1 billion in federal funding is available to help sell new vehicles. That means you can get a $3,500 to $4,500 credit toward replacing your old gas guzzler with a newer, more-efficient model.
If you're tempted by the program, don't forget that your potential fuel savings are as important as the credit from CARS. How much might you save? Use our Cash for Clunkers calculator to get the answer in gallons of gas, carbon emissions, and cash. Switching from a Hummer to a Prius last year, for example, would have saved 683 gallons of gas, six tons of CO2, and $1,680 annually for someone driving 12,000 miles a year.
Got a clunker? We're collecting photos of them in the Cash For Clunkers group on Climate Crossroads.
Kudos to Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander for co-sponsoring the Appalachia Restoration Act, a bill that would end mountaintop-removal coal mining in his state. In response, though, Big Coal was quick to launch a "Boycott Tennessee" campaign.
Well, Big Coal might cancel its Dollywood company picnics this year, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are ready to give up Memphis barbecue, the Grand Ole Opry, or pilgrimages to Graceland. The Tennessee Rocks group on Climate Crossroads features ten good reasons to visit the Volunteer State. So put on your (virtual) coonskin cap and show your solidarity by joining the Tennessee Rocks group and adding your own favorite thing about the land of Davy Crockett and Johnny Cash.
Biochemist and Illinois Water Sentinel Dr. Cindy Skrukrud has been honored as a National River Hero by the River Network, which, as Water Sentinels Director Scott Dye noted, "is the highest national honor that folks who do water work can receive." Through the Water Sentinels Program, Skrukrud has worked with hundreds of volunteers on river cleanups, fishing, and water-testing events; trained citizens to monitor construction sites to prevent soil erosion and sediment runoff; and showed them how to use Clean Water Act tools to comment on permits for wastewater discharges and wetland fills.
Learn more about the Sierra Club's Water Sentinels program and the work that volunteers like Cindy Skrukrud are doing to clean up our nation's waterways.
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Yep, We're Too White
Check Your Clunker Savings
Tennessee Rocks!
River Hero, Our Hero