Photo by Bill Hader

Border Wall Destruction Is Worse Than You Think

A saguaro cactus is ripped from the desert. A bulldozer scrapes bare the fragile Sonoran Desert landscape. These scenes were just two among the hundreds of photographs and videos to emerge last month as the Department of Homeland Security began clearing large swaths of land to make way for President Trump's vanity border wall project. Sierra spoke with two archaeologists who have witnessed the erosion of environmental protections firsthand.

Read what they have to say about the intensifying militarization and destruction of the US-Mexico borderlands.

Photo by iStockphoto.com/idesignimages

Nobody Is Above the Law

We need a strong democracy if we are going to defend bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. If the law means nothing, then the legal and democratic tools we use to protect our environment and fight climate change become meaningless. President Trump acts like he’s above the law. It's time to hold him accountable for his lawlessness and corruption.

Tell your representative that you support the impeachment inquiry.

Photo by iStockphoto.com/Erials

A Disaster in Itself

In early October, PG&E cut power to an estimated 2 million Californians. It was a dangerously mismanaged attempt to adapt to California's new climate reality of more frequent and devastating wildfires. What can we take away from PG&E's failures? "We must make climate adaptation plans centered on the needs of the most vulnerable,” says Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.

"Otherwise, as we saw last week, climate adaptation can become a disaster in itself."

Photo by Andy Morrison/The Blade via AP Photo

Warming Lakes Are Bringing Toxic Algal Blooms

The first-ever study of algal bloom activity in freshwater lakes around the world shows that for the last 30 years, lakes nearly everywhere have experienced more frequent and severe toxic algal blooms—and a changing climate is one reason why.

Is a lake you love getting suffocated by algae?

Photo by iStockphoto.com/Ilbusca

Egregious Polluters Agency?

Fossil fuel executives have by now infiltrated every level of the EPA. While high-profile figures like Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler attract the most attention, less prominent appointees are starting to come under scrutiny for quietly giving oil and gas companies an advantage over wind and solar competitors.

“It looks to me like an industry takeover,” says the chief counsel for the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington.

Photo by AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The Revolution in St. James

For decades, most residents of the 4th and 5th districts of south Louisiana’s St. James Parish grudgingly coexisted with chemical plants. The parish has become home to trillions of dollars in petrochemical infrastructure, with more planned...

But now residents are fighting back.

Photo courtesy of Amy Kumler

Diversifying the Hemp Industry

Sierra magazine sat down with Shani Coleman, a farmer who has spent her entire career cultivating hemp, to learn more about this burgeoning industry, including the need for more education about hemp and the gender divide that persists within the industry.

Find out why this female farmer believes the hemp industry would do well to “invite more women into this space.”

Photo by Patrick J. Endres/AlaskaPhotoGraphics

Discover Your Dream Destination

Visit your dream destination with our newest North American journeys. Backpack, cruise, paddle, or assist with conservation projects across Alaska and Arctic Canada. Hike, snorkel, and swim in the Hawaiian islands. Or join us for another kind of unforgettable experience on a spring trip in the Lower 48.

See all trips and sign up.

Photo by Joann Sierra

|This article also appears in Spanish.|

"How Dare You!"

"The lonely climate protest that Greta Thunberg started by herself a year ago in Sweden has ballooned into a global phenomenon,” says Sierra Club columnist Javier Sierra. “The climate challenge is immense and existential… but the words of Thunberg and millions of her fellow strikers are having an extraordinary impact around the world.

"The students taught us all a lesson."

Photo by iStockphoto.com/mihtiander

Run Sedona with Team Sierra

Team Sierra is excited to add brand new half-marathon, 5K, and 10K races to our lineup. On February 1, Team Sierra will participate in Run Sedona—consistently voted one of the most beautiful racecourses in the country—with distance and fundraising options to suit everyone’s abilities and budget.

Join the race and help save the planet at Run Sedona.

Photo courtesy of Russell Chisholm

Fracked-Gas Pipeline Dealt Major Blow

The developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline were dealt a major setback on October 11 when Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced they would have to pay a multimillion dollar fine and undergo closer scrutiny after they were found to have committed over 300 water-protection violations. The Sierra Club has been a leader in the effort to halt construction of the pipeline which would transport fracked gas from West Virginia, through Virginia, and into North Carolina.

What happens now?

Photo by Courtney Conk

Changemaking 101

The students, teachers, and parents in the Mounds View Public School District in Minnesota worked for months to persuade their school board to pass a resolution committing the district to 100% clean electricity by 2030. “In the process, students gained a new sense of their power as changemakers,” says one of the teachers who led the effort.

How’d they fare?

Donate your car today!

Have a Vehicle You No Longer Need?

Consider donating it to the Sierra Club Foundation! Avoid costly repairs by donating your car, truck, boat, RV, or motorcycle. Your donation will help ensure that future generations can breathe fresh air, drink safe water, and experience wild places. It's easy—donate today.

Call 855-337-4377 or visit sierraclubfoundation.careasy.org.

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