| The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park | Photo by Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service |
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The Great American Outdoors Act may be the most important piece of conservation legislation to come along in a generation. First introduced in the House of Representatives last year by the late John Lewis, it permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provides nearly $10 billion to deal with the backlog of maintenance projects all across our public lands. Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed this landmark bill by a vote of 310-107, following last month’s 73-25 vote in the Senate.
”This vote turns a promise broken into a promise kept,” says Michael Brune. |
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| Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe/Getty Images |
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| | Sierra Magazine |
It’s long been known that air pollution disproportionately afflicts low-income communities and communities of color.A recent study found that particulate matter in air pollution not only exacerbates respiratory ailments but also increases the likelihood of contracting COVID-19. Black Americans are especially susceptible to the virus, with a mortality rate 2.3 times higher than white Americans. Now it has come to light that segregated cities have measurably higher levels of air pollution than more integrated cities.
But maybe that makes perfect sense. |
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| Photo by AP/Photo/Evan Vucci |
| | | Sierra Magazine |
On July 15, President Trump announced that his administration is moving forward with an “overhaul” of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) after more than 30 industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, signed a letter urging it to do so. The overhaul will make it easier for industry to pollute and harder for communities—especially communities of color—to voice their concerns about projects that might harm or sicken them.
"I've been wanting to do this from day one,” Trump crowed. |
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| Fin Dome over Arrowhead Lake, Kings Canyon National Park | Photo by Tom Valtin |
| | | Sierra Club Environmental Law Program |
In response to President Trump’s plans to “overhaul” NEPA, last week the Sierra Club, NRDC, and a coalition of environmental justice allies are challenging the proposed overhaul (i.e., weakening) of NEPA in federal court. “It’s a microcosm of the Trump administration itself, damaging and short-sighted and designed to prop up a dying fossil fuel industry in order to help a small handful of corporate executives while harming the rest of us,” says Sierra Club senior attorney Nathaniel Shoaff.
Continue reading. |
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| Photo by Alejandro Prieto |
| | | Sierra Magazine |
For nearly a year, photographer Alejandro Prieto roamed the mountains, forests, jungles, deserts, and mangrove swamps of southern Mexico, hoping to photograph jaguars, one of the most elusive creatures in the Americas. Pietro’s hope is that the images in his new book, Jaguar Story, will help spur conservation efforts for the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas.
Check out our slideshow from Jaguar Story. |
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| Illustration by Dalma Dibuz |
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A recent National Park Service study shows that Black Americans remain far less likely than whites to visit national parks, forests, and wilderness areas—a result of the exclusionary history of parks and public spaces in this country. Prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many national parks in the South and “border” states maintained segregated bathrooms, restaurants, picnic areas, lodgings, and campsites, and restricted access to other "white-only" spaces.
"That legacy has a long afterlife," says Our Wild America press secretary Courtney Bourgoin. |
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| Photo by iStockphoto.com/Tonkovic |
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| | Take Action |
The US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) is enabling the continued operation of a deadly coal plant in India. This April, a dam at the Sasan Coal Plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh burst, creating a massive flood of coal ash that killed six people. Months after that initial burst, toxic coal ash continues to pollute water and community cropland.
Tell EXIM to cut ties with India's deadly Sasan Coal Plant and its negligent operator. |
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| | | Business Partnership | Donate Your Car |
Do you have a vehicle you no longer need? Consider donating it to the Sierra Club Foundation! Donating your vehicle will help support our work safeguarding the health of our communities and protecting our wildlife and natural resources. Our partners at CARS will pick up your vehicle from any location, no matter its condition, at no cost to you. CARS accepts trucks, trailers, boats, RVs, motorcycles, and more.
Call 855-337-4377 or visit us online to donate your car—it's easy! |
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| The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to
disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice. |
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