Today, I went to an Eco Expo in our town (Memphis). It wasn’t quite as big as I had hoped, but it was nice and there were a lot of great vendors there. One of the ones I found was the Sierra Club. I had always heard about the Sierra Club but really had no idea who they were, so I grabbed some of their literature.
If you think people having been concerned about conserving nature for a while now, you are wrong. The Sierra Club has been around since 1892. Its mission is “to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.” The Club boasts 1.3 million members with 63 chapters and 400 groups. It is non-profit and supported by its members. It is also the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization.
Among their conservation goals, the Sierra Club – at least my particular branch (the Chickasaw Group), lists clean energy solutions (looking to renewable sources and revolutionizing green building techniques, and promoting energy conservation), beyond coal (reducing coal pollution which causes global warming), promoting green transportation (public transit, biking, walking, and carpooling), limiting greenhouse gas emissions (by asking the government to set national limits on greenhouse gases and educating individuals as well as businesses on how to limit greenhouse emissions), resilient habitats (protect natural habitats from pollution and climate change – in our particular area, they are concerned about protecting the Mississippi Embayment aquifer system, which provides our drinking water), and safeguarding communities (preparing citizens for natural disasters, more of which may be caused by global warming).
If you are interested in getting involved with your local Sierra Club, check out its web page for more information.