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The Sierra Club's work with military families was recognized on Veterans Day when Club President Allison Chin joined First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden at George Washington University for the launch of Mission Serve. (That's Allison just behind Jill Biden.) The initiative will "more closely integrate service to country with service to community" and provide support to the families of veterans and service men and women.
The Club's connection? Our Military Families Outdoors program offers free summer camps for children, weekend retreats for families to reconnect in national-park settings, and adventure wilderness courses to help vets readjust to civilian life.
Read more about Mission Serve on our Scrapbook blog and learn about the Club's work with military families in Carl Pope's Taking the Initiative blog.
Coal and cars are bad enough, but did you know that building operations contribute nearly 40 percent of global-warming emissions and use more than 70 percent of U.S. electricity? That's why "Green Buildings for Cool Cities," a joint project of the Sierra Club's Cool Cities program and the U.S. Green Building Council, is pressing leaders around the country to bring new and retrofitted energy-efficient buildings to their communities.
Get in on the ground floor of this effort -- take part in a national conference call on Thursday, November 19, at 8 p.m. EST. The call will feature Seattle's new mayor, Michael McGinn -- a long-time Sierra Club volunteer with the Cool Cities campaign.
Sierra Club Trails is a great new online tool for finding trails, sharing tips, and connecting with others who love to get outside. Now, with the help of our friends at The North Face, we'll help someone (you?) load up with gear and clothing for an even better outdoor experience.
To enter, sign up to follow @sierra_magazine on Twitter. Then copy and re-tweet the following message: Win $1,000 of gear from The North Face! Follow @Sierra_magazine and RT this by Nov. 23 to enter. http://bit.ly/154yVm
On December 15 we'll draw a winner from those who entered, and that lucky tweeter will get $1,000 worth of goods from The North Face. Start tweeting!
In 2008, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, then governor of Puerto Rico, protected 3,000 acres of coastline known as the Northeast Ecological Corridor. It’s one of the most important U.S. nesting grounds for the critically endangered leatherback, the world's largest sea turtle, as well as for 50 other rare, threatened, endangered, and native species, like the brown pelican, Puerto Rican boa, and West Indian manatee.
Now the new governor, Luis Fortuño, is canceling the Corridor’s nature-reserve designation to pave the way for large-scale, unsustainable development in the area.
Join the Sierra Club's Puerto Rico Chapter in telling Gov. Fortuño to protect this vital nesting habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle.
The Sierra Student Coalition has already shown the world through videos that coal is 2Dirty4College. Now they want to prove that coal is dirtier than even the nastiest dorm room. Know someone whose room would look better after a tornado hit it?
Tell them about the 2Dirty4College Photo Contest -- they could win a free deep clean of said room!
All it takes to enter is uploading a photo to the 2Dirty4College Photo Contest group on SSC's website by December 6. Just follow the instructions on the group page.
The devastation of mountaintop-removal coal mining was made all too clear last week when more than 3,000 people attended about 900 house parties held across the country to screen a sneak preview of Coal Country.
Some people, like Mandy McQuade at the Chatelaine B&B in Pennsylvania, held intimate parties in their living rooms, while Sierra Club organizers in Portland, Oregon packed a theater with 150 attendees. In all venues, people were moved to action.
Now you can purchase the Coal Country companion book -- Coal Country: Rising Up Against Mountaintop Removal Mining -- published by Sierra Club Books, and the Coal Country DVD and music CD from our store. You'll get 20 percent off the book if you enter the code COALCOUNTRY on the order form.
Want to learn more about local coal issues? Visit www.sierraclub.org/coal and click on your state.
You can also join the Move Beyond Coal group on Climate Crossroads.
Know someone who might be interested in the Sierra Club Insider? Help spread the word by using our online form to tell your friends, family, and co-workers about the Insider or simply forward this Insider on. (Some email clients strip the links out of emails when forwarded. If your email does this, you can also direct friends, family, and co-workers to our online version.)
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Connecting with the Land They Served 
Let's Build Greener Buildings
A Birdie Wants You to Tweet and Win 
Leatherback Turtles Might Lose Their Nests
