“Like the fireman in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451, whose job is to burn books rather than save them, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has perverted the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission with a radical agenda to undermine not only the agency itself but also more than half a century of bipartisan environmental progress in this country.” So writes Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune at the end of a week when Pruitt was becoming enmeshed in an ever-mounting series of scandals. |
| Pompeo the Wrong Choice for Secretary of State
As climate change increasingly influences our international relations, CIA director Mike Pompeo is the wrong choice for Secretary of State. As a U.S. Represenative, he ignored the scientific consensus around climate change and was a top recipient of Koch Brothers money. In his CIA confirmation hearings, he refused to answer questions relating to climate change. As Secretary of State, Pompeo would play a critical role in evaluating dirty fuel projects proposed by the oil and gas industry to which he owes his success. Tell your senators to vote against confirming Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State. |
| What Are Your Earth Day Plans?
On April 22, Team Sierra will be raising money via our 2nd Annual Nationwide Earth Day Hike. Adam Kerns of Frederick, Maryland, is hiking because he’s concerned about the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Stephanie Goering of Madison, Virginia, who became a committed activist after participating in last year’s Climate March in D.C., is hosting a 5K run. Ariana Kaiser Varnum of Los Angeles decided to organize an Earth Day outing after being awed by what she saw during a field trip to the Audubon Canyon Ranch in Northern California. Read about why these three and others have joined this year’s Earth Day hike…and sign up! Photo of Adam Kerns with his husband Matt Wright. |
 Whitewater AdventuresLooking for wild ride? Raft challenging rapids, hike to expansive views, or explore ancient rock art on a classic Sierra Club raft trip in Alaska and the Lower 48. We’ve got family raft trips, too! See all of our raft trips and sign up.Photo by Alacatr/iStock |
| Native Activists Halt New Drilling Near Chaco Canyon
As recently as 2003, the Bureau of Land Management said that oil and gas drilling in the greater Chaco Canyon area was not “economically viable or technologically feasible.” It became so with horizontal drilling. The Trump administration tried to lease nearly 4,500 acres in the greater Chaco area—then they ran into the power and spirit of tribal activists. Photo by Avid H. Collier/Getty |
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| Sierra Club + Earth Day = Great Gear
Shop the Sierra Club Store: Celebrate Earth Day every day with our gardening kit, which includes a bag, gloves, seed packets, trowel, stainless steel water bottle, and more. Toss some extra seed packets into your cart—everything is 20% off through April 22! Use code EARTHDAY on checkout. |
 The Phases of VenusThe “evening star” is the brightest of all the planets because of its proximity to Earth and its perpetual, reflective cloud cover. In April, the planet is relatively far from the sun, making it shine even more brightly from our earthly point of view, and giving it a nearly full (gibbous) shape. Insomniacs can watch Saturn and Mars rise during the wee hours early in the month (use binoculars to glimpse Saturn’s rings and the white polar region on Mars), and other heavenly highlights include the Lyrid meteor shower, which peaks on… |
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Wolves in the Crosshairs
In Wyoming, wolf hunting is now legit 365 days a year across 85 percent of the state, where wolves are classified as “shoot-on-sight vermin.” The remaining 15 percent, concentrated around Jackson Hole and the Tetons, is a “trophy area” where wolves can still be seasonally hunted. Today anyone in most of Wyoming can kill wolves without a hunting license, and almost any form of violence—guns, snares, explosives, hunting from vehicles and snowmobiles—is allowed. Between the first legal hunt in five years and the unlicensed slaughter, Wyoming may have lost a quarter of all its wolves last year.
| And Now This…
From coast to coast, the movement for 100 percent clean and renewable energy is growing fast. More than 60 cities and towns across the U.S. have already committed to 100 percent clean energy as part of the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign, a movement of students, businesses, faith leaders, elected officials, and community members who are working to move us away from fossil fuels. |
| Pruitt, Automakers Conspire to Loosen Fuel-Economy Rules
At the New York Auto Show in Manhattan last month, automakers preened and trumpeted their latest electric, hybrid, and plug-in models, while the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the industry’s primary trade group, launched a million-dollar ad campaign about how electric vehicles “drive change.” Meanwhile, 250 miles down I-95 in Washington, D.C., auto industry execs were working behind the scenes with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to spread misinformation about the science of human-driven climate change and roll back Obama-era rules to increase fuel efficiency. Read about Pruitt’s latest attack on the environment, this time through tailpipe emissions. |
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