HomeMy WebLinkAbout103124 - Director’s Notes_ From Ben Jealous_ October 2024ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
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Dear John,
I will get right to it. As you read this month’s update, Election Day looms large. The Sierra Club is fighting with everything we have got. But we also have a plan for each possible
outcome scenario. That is because, regardless of the outcome, our work to protect nature and our climate has never been more critical or urgent. And that fact remains no matter what
happens on Tuesday.
From North Carolina to Michigan and in other key states and districts, I have been on the road working to help get out the vote for our supported candidates. Whether speaking at events
or joining phone banks and door-to-door canvasses, I am proud to join our national network of Sierra Club supporters in what has truly been a historic, all-hands-on-deck effort.
More than 7,500 Sierra Club Independent Action volunteers have sent over 200,000 hand-written, hand-addressed Get Out The Vote letters to key voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This
week we pivoted to the phones and our volunteers are calling voters through Election Day. Separately, our Pennsylvania Chapter has mobilized hundreds of in-state volunteers to make
more than 200,000 direct voter contacts. And our chapters all across the country have been stepping up as well. Sierra Club and our affiliated political committees have endorsed over
800 climate champions up and down the ballot, from transit boards to state legislatures. And of our 64 chapters, about 80 percent have mobilized members and volunteers for phone calls,
door knocks, as other efforts to elect our endorsed candidates.
ICYMI: Some of the leaders of our political work held an online supporter briefing last night: “The Final Countdown: Preparing for Election Day.” You can watch a recording of the livestream
here>> <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b49985c4518f37f4f399967cac6fd086b0074c49c6f57a4dfe05b362ccf72b191d06be1c315619a6816aba19dda51284900>
And we will host another briefing the day after Election Day, on November 6, titled “Our Voices Matter: Election Results & What Comes Next.” You can sign up for that briefing here>>
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THANK YOU for everything. Please read on for some other updates from October.
Let’s go, fight, win.
Ben
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SPOTLIGHT: Movement on the Move – A Conversation About the State of Climate Advocacy in 2024
Earlier this month, we hosted our latest Sierra Forum on the state of the climate movement and our advocacy efforts in various areas. As always, our experts are here to help you make
sense of the moment, learn what this means for the climate and our future, and get involved as we chart a strategic path forward together.
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Couldn't make it? Watch the latest Sierra Forum here>> <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b49657ae540affca5d9b0ee464824c204cdd71b5b2ece427c2cab57b16082bd47c6c588810f767b324786868d9
bf57a6263>
More Highlights
Two New Reports!
* The latest addition of our annual “Dirty Truth” report is out! <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b4954e854d652dd4c3b6ba914337ef116422818d2ffa84b84eb9bdcf9d5a94b1e232ae355aadeffb
19df9bfdb52619843d0> The report tracks “The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges.” Dozens of utilities may have pledged to become “carbon neutral” by 2050, but our research shows
that many of those pledges are simply greenwashing. What utilities do, or do not do, over the next decade will have a major impact on the future of our climate, our planet, and our
communities.
* Our new report, “Leaders or Laggards? Analyzing major US banks net-zero commitments <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b49e0f604bb4553357e3f7345f19585ad4114bb642bec6d30ce22001165
f334941cb435cd50db5c4c36fa796ff4537c6d85> ,” finds that banks have done little to move away from fossil fuels and have remained complacent by failing to strengthen targets and policies
– some are even backtracking on them.
Chapter Highlights
* Our Florida Chapter recently helped save nine state parks! <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b496f30a8d59efb5df2ef11e4e02e6bebe89516100d6708f829bded1e315f584d48c802a5aa6f91723c9
d1239e9c691cea0> When Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration quietly rolled out a plan that would have bulldozed nine Florida state parks, our Chapter got to work mobilizing Floridians
to stop attacks.
* I published an op-ed highlighting some of the great work our Oklahoma Chapter is doing to support Indigenous-led efforts <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=dff60cc558cd3b49bdacfc373b0c5239eab
43d2ba24ca5de841eab807972d4b263e8b47ff9ca146c7b338ab9767f6ee48cfbdacac76d9ed2> on some major environmental fights in that state.
* And earlier this month, I was honored to join our West Virginia Chapter for its 40th anniversary SierraFest. This is the Chapter’s first big anniversary they are celebrating since
bringing on a Chapter Director – the first Director West Virginia has ever had. When I began with the Sierra Club we had 36 Chapter Directors. Today we have 48. Our Chapters and the
Field are where we grow our movement, which, as we all know, is necessary to our success in combating the extinction and climate crises.
Stay tuned for more updates, especially as we approach Election Day. And please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or input. You can reach me directly at ben.jealous@sierraclub.org
<mailto:ben.jealous@sierraclub.org?subject=> or contact Shabina at shabina.bahl@sierraclub.org <mailto:shabina.bahl@sierraclub.org?subject=> .
Again, thank you for everything,
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