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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

     
 

CLICK HERE to go to the agenda pageThe 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...

 
     
volunteers needed
     
 

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 .

 
     

get involved

 

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.

If you are interested in participating in a discussion course, please look at the DETAILS and then contact Diana.
 
     

save the polar bears!

     
 

CLICK here for more information

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

 
 
     
stand up for wilderness
     
 

CLICK for infoHelp 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.

 
     
book review
     
 

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

     
 

Taking photos in the Skagit Valley

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 ]

 
     
     
Quick links to current ASC issues and opportunities:
   
     

stage 2 water restrictions for austin

     
 

As a result of the extreme drought that Central Texas is experiencing, Austin moved inot STAGE 2 water restrictions on September 6th, 2011. Learn what this means for you and your lawn and educate yourself to become a part of the solution. STAGE 2 RESTRICTIONS.

 

move beyond coal

     
 

Make a Difference. Be Part of Something Big.

By empowering citizens all across America, National Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign has successfully stopped the building of 150 new coal-fired power plants.
Now they need your help to shut down the 30-year-old, coal-fired Fayette power plant, located 60 miles southeast of Austin.
What does that mean to you?
• If you live in Austin, it means your air will be cleaner and you'll breathe a lot easier because your air will meet the safety standards of the Clean Air Act.
• If you are a Texas pecan grower, it means your trees will stop dying.
• If you like to fish in area lakes and rivers, it means you may be able to eat the fish you catch without worrying about mercury poisoning.
• If you're concerned about droughts and having enough water, or if you just like to swim and boat in Lake Travis, Austin or Lady Bird, it means there'll be about 5 billion extra gallons of water each year.
• If you're worried about the impact of global warming on the health and well-being of your children and grandchildren, it means a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – a primary cause of global warming.

YOU can help by signing the petition urging lawmakers to Move Beyond Coal. Please follow this link to help: SIGN THE PETITION

 

energy audit available

     
 

Support Austin’s Sierra Club branch for Sierra Club Green Home’s new Energy Audit First Campaign. The goal of our Energy Audit First Campaign is to reduce the carbon footprint of 1,000 homes in 100 days. The main strategy we are employing to do this is by educating homeowners on the benefits of receiving a home energy audit to greatly improve the sustainability and comfort of their home. This is a Sierra Club exclusive discount offer on these audits. Find out more and how to qualify here: AUSTIN ENERGY AUDITS.

 

 

 

who cares?
     
 

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

     
 

CLICK for more info

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

     
 

CLICK for COOL CITIES homepage 

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

     
 

go to the articleLet'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.

 
     

 

Take it from Teddy: Roosevelt making a point
"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying that "the game belongs to the people." So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The "greatest good for the greatest number" applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us to restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method." - Theodore Roosevelt, A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open (1916)

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