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 ]

take action...

Help stop the Border Fence.

One of the last destructive acts of the lame duck Bush Administration has been to mandate a border fence between the US and Mexico.

Read about the issue - why it will cause problems, why we don't need it and what you can do about it.

Watch this VIDEO co-sponsored by the Sierra Club and the ILCP.

use your voice...

To support current Texas Legislation to recycle toxic TV waste. We need your help to convince Govenor Perry and the Texas Legislature that this legislation is important and badly needed.

Visit the Texas Campaign for the Environment website to find out more and to add your voice: TV RECYCLE

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.

take action...

AUSTIN'S ZERO WASTE PLAN 

Find out about the City of Austin's plan to reach "Zero Waste...or Pretty Darn Close" and what you can do to help reach the Zero Waste goal.

Follow this link to find out more about ZERO WASTE.

watch! listen! learn!..

NEW SIERRA CLUB TELEVISION SERIES PREMIERES NATIONALLY ON LINK TV
Robert Greenwald Executive Produced Series Takes Viewers Directly Into
Communities for a First Hand Look at Profiles in Environmental Courage.

"Sierra Club Chronicles," a monthly series produced by Greenwald’s Brave New Films in association with Sierra Club Productions, and hosted by Daryl Hannah, captures seven David vs. Goliath stories: the dramatic efforts of committed individuals across the country working to protect the health of their environment and communities. More Information...

Hiking with your pooch can be frustrating. Some trails are not dog-friendly and many do not allow dogs at all, but now there is no reason to leave your dog behind to turn into a couch potato (yes, dogs need to get and stay fit as well as we do). This book, by local Sierra Club member Melissa Gaskill, will help you select the right hikes and trails to keep Spot happy, healthy and fit right at your side.

Read the BOOK REVIEW

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 out ...

Act locally, think nationally

Please volunteer to help us support President Obama's Climate and Clean Energy Jobs legislation.

Can you join us Monday, November 9th from 6-8 at the Austin Sierra Club office, 1202 San Antonio?

We will be making calls to Sierra Club members in states with 'swing' legislators, encouraging them to ask their representatives to suppor this important legislation. To volunteer, contact Eva at

[Want to help but tied up next Monday? We will be doing phone banking EVERY Monday for a while, so let Eva know when you can help - we can still use you!]

Brand new: Now you can sign up for specific volunteer tasks on our new VolunteerSpot site:

local issues...

The University of Texas Regents are considering a massive re-structure of the section of Lake Austin Boulevard between MoPac and the LCRA complex. Will this be good for the city or the environment? Here's Melody Lytle's OPINION.

environmental directory ....

Since 1995, Paul Robbins, local environmental writer and editor, has produced The Austin Environmental Directory, a valuable tool for anyone interested in Austin Environmental Issues. Here is how Robbins describes the Directory: The Austin Environmental Directory is meant as a userfriendly guide to readers for learning about environmental issues, for identifying and purchasing environmental products, and for becoming involved in environmental organizations.
The print version is distributed free to the Austin
area. The Directory is also listed on the Internet at Austin Environmental Directory .
The Austin Sierra Club has, for several years, contributed to Paul's Directory and is proud to be one of the sponsors of this invaluable resource.

important news...

Development in the Barton Creek watershed

The "Bradley Deal" is one of the most controversial and far-reaching agreements entered into by the City of Austin. The agreement that the city reached with Circle C developer and environmental arch-nemesis Gary Bradley has roots in the past and a long reach into our environmental future. The story has all the elements of a pitched battle between the forces of real estate development and the environmental protection alliances that are such a vital part of Austin, TX. Those elements include environmental infighting, corporate greed at its worst, sleazy political manevuers in the Texas Legislature, secret deals and payoffs, promises made, broken and ignored and bickering so intense that it is difficult to tell who is on what side and what the issues are with all the dust, anger and furor. Scott Swearingen, Austin Sierra Club ExCom member and professor at St. Edwards University, brings some order to this chaos and discusses an analysis of the Bradley Deal written by Daryl Slusher, former editor of the Austin Chronicle and city council member.

Scott begins:
When the Bradley Agreement was being considered, there were a great number of environmentalists who were leery of it. Many worried that the city was giving Bradley too much. Many (myself included) thought that Bradley should be hung up on a pole, not bailed out, again, by
the taxpayers. But the laws in place at the time made it very unclear whether the city would ever be able to actually regulate what Bradley and other developers were doing on the aquifer. So did the lawsuits - there were several in the pipeline when the agreement was being worked out. A bit of history to help understand: (follow this link to continue Scott's introduction and to read Daryl Slusher's analysis - BRADLEY DEAL)

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

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.

a word from the pope...

Carl Pope, that is. Mr. Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, introduces a series of energy messages that help cut through some of the confusion about the difficult decisions we face on alternative energy and some of the even more confusing terminology used by those who advocate a solution. This week's video topic is 'cap-and-trade' vs. 'cap-and-auction' carbon credits. Follow this link to check it out:

http://www.sierraclub.org/energy/video/

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.