hiking with john mackey

At the May 8, 2012 Austin Sierra Club general meeting, John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods, gave an excellent presentation about his adventures in ultra-lite hiking on the Appalachian Trail and lesser-known US trail systems. Miss the meeting? Take a look at his PowerPoint presentation, posted here by popular demand. (Please note that this is a large file and takes a few seconds to open.)

speak up at the ballot box!

The upcoming May 12, 2012 Austin Elections are right around the corner. To learn who we endorsed and why we endorsed them, click AUSTIN ENDORSEMENTS.

welcome

The Austin Regional Group of the Sierra Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Scholz Garten, 1607 San Jacinto. Join us at 6 pm for socializing and happy hour; the program starts at 7 pm..

General Meeting details...

We want YOU to help us make it happen!

Fundraising: If you have ideas on how to raise money or if you'd like to work with fellow Sierrans on money-raising activities, we welcome your help. Contact Kay Plavidal at .

General Meeting Programs: Our returning Program Chair, Phoebe Allen, would like to have someone work with her arranging suitable speakers, helping with publicity and assisting at the meetings. For more information contact her at .

Volunteer Coordinator: If you are a "people person" with good organizational skills and you can commit a couple hours per week, contact Kay at .

Diana Dierks, a Sierra Club activist recently from the Dallas group wants to start a discussion course in Austin in cooperation with the Northwest Earth Institute.

The Northwest Earth Institute is recognized as a national leader in the development of innovative programs that empower individuals and organizations to protect ecological systems.

save the polar bears!

Carl Pope, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club has a special plea for anyone concerned with the future of the Polar Bear, an iconic species that is seriously threatened with total extinction. Please READ HIS APPEAL and take action to help preserve this magnificent predator from extinction.

check it out

The Leaf for a Leaf program promotes borrowing library books to reduce the number of trees that are cut down to make paper. Learn to improve the air we breathe, minimize environmental impact, and enhance your surroundings. The program celebrates trees in the late fall through the early winter because it is the best time to plant them in Central Texas.

Find out more about this program at:

LeafLeaf

keep in touch

Want to keep up with all the current happenings in the Austin Sierra Club that affect your life and your environment? Want to be informed about actions that the Conservation group is taking to protect Austin water, air and quality of life? Follow this link and scroll down to the KEEP IN TOUCH block for links to email update lists: TOUCH

Help with the designation of almost 600,000 acres of Big Bend National Park as Wilderness Area, affording it the highest level of conservation protection. Follow this link to find out how you can help: BIGBENDWILD.

It is “The state’s longest continuously marked and maintained footpath” and winds through the diverse ecology of the Sam Houston National Forest from outside Richards, Texas on the west to outside of Cleveland, Texas on the eastern end and yet most Texans, even avid hikers and Sierra Club members are not aware that it exists. This guidebook may change that. Read the review of Karen Somers' trail guide, The Lone Star Hiking Trail by clicking on the link below:

Read the TRAIL BOOK REVIEW

be inspired

After several months of work, our brand new Austin Sierra Club Photo Gallery is up and ready for prime time. Thanks to Melody Lytle, ExCom member and fabulous web designer, we are ready to take you on a trip with us. Check it out here: GALLERY or by clicking on the "outings photos" link on the blue navigation bar on the right of this page. HAPPY TRAILS.

[let us know what you think. Send comments to Chuck Byrd, Webmaster ]

That's a question that The League of Conservation Voters, sister organization to the Sierra Club and founded by Sierra Club executive David Brower, asks every year. The answer to the question can be found in the LCV Scorecard, an accounting of who voted for what environmental legislation. Would it suprise you to know that Texas is a serious contender in the race to the bottom of the pile? Me neither. Check out the latest voting record for the 111th Congress and be sure to send your thanks to Lloyd Doggett (100% record), along with the six other Texas representatives with 100% records. While you are up, send a couple of rasberries to those Texas representatives who have proven, once again, that rooting for the corporate bucks is much more important than protecting the lives and health of Texans and their children. Leading that unsavory pack, with a 0% record, is Senator John Cornyn, (even Kay Bailey Hutchison with an anemic 19% record is ahead of him) but he is certainly not alone.

nature for children

Since 2006 the Sierra Club has been involved in a program to introduce children to Nature (see the article on the No Child Left Inside Act from the Sierra Newsletter)

For another supporting view on the importance of early education about the natural world, check out this article from Orion magazine, "Leave No Child Inside."

If you would like to urge your representative to vote for the Sierra Club-backed "No Child Left Inside Act," please follow this link: NCLIA Bill

staying cool

Austin is only one of the Central Texas cities that have signed on to the Sierra Club program called Cool Cities, a local, hands-on effort to fight global warming with tangible results and projects YOU can contribute to. Here is the Cool Cities profile for AUSTIN.

Join the effort. Be a part of the solution. Follow this link to GET INVOLVED

pick your poison

Let's face it: as long as we continue to drive gas guzzlers, (and a grateful and respectful tip of the hat to those who use bikes and busses to their full potential), we need to buy gas for them to guzzle. At least we can buy gas from the companies with the BEST environmental and human rights records and avoid buying gas from the WORST of them. Check out the Sierra Club's list of the BEST and WORST GAS COMPANIES in this global, consolidated market and do your part by patronizing only the best ones.