HomeMy WebLinkAbout112524 - Director’s Notes_ From Ben Jealous_ November 2024ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
<http://image.emails.sierraclub.org/lib/fe9b13727661047e75/m/1/SCLogo_HorizWebBlack_200x72pxforCM.png>
Dear John,
Let me begin by wishing you and your loved ones a restorative Thanksgiving holiday. While we spend time with our families this week, we are also mindful the Sierra Club is ready to lead,
fight, and win in the battles we know are coming.
It is worth remembering that our track record during the first Trump administration was filled with many victories. We filed 300 lawsuits, which stopped some of Trump’s worst attacks
on bedrock environmental protections. We retired more coal plants during Trump’s four years than under either of President Obama’s terms. And we found opportunities to score major successes
across party lines like the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act.
This time, we have the advantage of having been here before. And we are also more prepared, with strengthened chapters and an even more robust field operation.
The Sierra Club is the only environmental organization with a presence in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. We have 45 lawyers ready to go to court as soon and
as often as needed. Our FOIA operation is gearing up to expose and hold accountable the rogues gallery of fossil fuel shills Trump is looking to appoint to key administration posts.
And we have you – the most dedicated and committed supporters in the green movement.
Finally, we continue to see the proof everywhere we look that our movement and mission are more popular than either political party or presidential candidate. We will lean into that
strength. And we will grow our movement by reaching the working class where they are. Working people sent a clear message this election that they will vote their pocketbooks. So we
need to make it clearer than ever that our fight to save the planet is the same fight that will reinvigorate American manufacturing <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f9248b5d8773db79f92d4
c8f81aac0ca9aaf480afd15fe6cfca351aadc6dbd239b4221d83a9d34f1d99584b49746ca40eb781e2b3e9f> , to produce the green technologies that are the foundation of the next economy – like heat pumps,
electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels.
We are immensely grateful that you will be by our side for the fights to come.
Ben
<https://image.emails.sierraclub.org/lib/fe9b13727661047e75/m/2/8bc767ab-dd50-45c3-82df-f23ae8b36f76.png>
P.S. The Biden administration still has time to score some crucial victories for the environment. Check out my op-ed on three areas where Biden must act <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f
9248b5d877356ca04b7fec4d0903ed88a1cd54c86c3529ae59487d1e55b5581d45abef309783a60ac82150f601f88b6bfa786209975> in the final weeks of his administration to cement his environmental legacy.
________________________________
SPOTLIGHT: Sierra Club’s Political Program
Election Day was not all bad news for the Sierra Club and the environmental movement. Our Chapters and volunteers were instrumental in electing climate champions at the state and local
levels. We flipped crucial seats and expanded majorities in some key state legislative chambers:
* Held critical majorities in chambers including the Pennsylvania House and Minnesota House and Senate.
* Picked up many seats in GOP-controlled chambers, including both the Wisconsin House and Senate, the Montana House, and the North Carolina House.
* Protected crucial state Supreme Court seats in states like Montana and Michigan.
* Held onto the governor’s mansion in North Carolina.
* One example to spotlight is a Wisconsin Senate seat flipped by our endorsed candidate, Jodi Habush Sinykin. Habush Sinykin is an environmental attorney and a long-time leader on Sierra
Club's Wildlife Team. Meanwhile, the incumbent she unseated had a Sierra Club score of 0%.
* And even at the federal level, it is important to remember that Republicans just barely held onto their House majority and we had some crucial successes with at least 65% of our endorsed
federal candidates winning their races.
Chapter & State Highlights
* In West Virginia, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups secured a historic settlement to clean up coal mining pollution.
* In New Hampshire, our Chapter Director Cathy Corkery was honored by the state conference of the United Church of Christ (NHCUCC) with its Environmental Justice Award for her decades
of work championing the retirement of local coal plants.
* Sierra Club Massachusetts celebrated the state House passage of a climate bill "promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers.”
* The Sierra Club and allies filed a federal lawsuit against the EPA for failing to enforce critical Clean Air Act deadlines in California's San Joaquin Valley, where residents continue
to breathe some of the nation's most polluted air.
Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks, including some important year-end roundups And please, as always, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or input. You can
reach me directly at ben.jealous@sierraclub.org <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f9248b5d87730db06378c5058e90ec30b92f36467c03e7c8013f355a275390fc0bd9ca638f71be4e5a2656bd5fe5bcd2c204cd10c
d79> or contact Shabina at shabina.bahl@sierraclub.org <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f9248b5d87734fe8663e52392f31933d40047f11e1f980862465ff3726431507c550d1013f43610299a159ea34b8179fca
0885d722b6> .
Again, thank you for everything,
<https://image.emails.sierraclub.org/lib/fe9b13727661047e75/m/1/a8244918-345d-4d93-a5d1-4e55223af2b4.png>
This email was sent to: jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us
This email was sent by the Sierra Club
2101 Webster St Suite 1300, Oakland, CA 94612
Unsubscribe <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f9248b5d8773b70369cc03647801e29b5e7c97b7bc197913080397117481a68a8daab52a14dd9702a383b21c972f73702166ddb7a40bc1c49a5a53f97a2a>
| Manage Preferences <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5935f9248b5d87738383339a1b3c283fbc38c92c20561b2f47f913c36fe9e5373b7bce63839dd98652bec71d67bf8c5adf7ed8ddff670cb42e671c2759336052>
| View as web page <https://view.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=50ddc194ecaa4a6ff8fa8e835ffb48a559446a54c5c8e83f1d6fdd1d80effaba92eb1ea2631b33e15be88b4267167ab981b6d1a7c28ca2c8959164af38f05becaa40197e6d
3d33c753926692e2ac3363>
<https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/open.aspx?ffcb10-fe8f107375600d797d-fe2e15727d640578761c75-fe9b13727661047e75-ff231d767363-fe5810797460007b771d-ff3715707563&d=70239&bmt=0>
㉢收ㄶ㈰㠵㈱㈴㔵㐭攴ㄲ摦ⵣ㤱