The Trump reelection campaign store has sold more than 140,000 plastic “Trump straws,” meant to mock plastic-straw bans; the temperature in Paris hit 108.6ºF, shattering the previous record by 4 degrees; more than 1,000 salmon returned to Maine’s Penobscot River for the first time since 2011; the first grizzly bear in 80 years showed up in Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains; and a fugitive emu remains at large in the Tarheel State.

Find out what other natural—and unnatural—occurrences went down last week.

Earth currently has about 3 trillion trees—about half of what existed before human civilization. Scientists estimate that even after excluding agricultural and urban lands, we have room for another 1 trillion trees—enough to capture up to 25% of global annual carbon emissions. “Reforestation alone won’t be enough to solve the climate crisis,” says Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune. “It can, though, be one of our single most effective strategies."

"Playing outside is fun—we need to keep it clean and take care of it," says Cameron Hiatt of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. “It’s important to be nice to our planet.” Cameron’s parents say their son’s awareness has been cultivated by spending a lot of time outdoors and seeing for himself that nature needs TLC just like people do.

Most of the country’s largest airports are installing water-refilling stations so eco-conscious travelers can refill their bottles once they’re through security. Conspicuously, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) isn’t among them. As one of the busiest airports in the country, and the main gateway to our largest city, JFK should lead by example and do more to reduce plastic waste.

Tell the Port Authority of New York that JFK can do better.

Join our big summer mobilization to do drop-by lobbying visits during the August congressional recess, when our US representatives are back in their home districts. This is a crucial opportunity for us to keep up the pressure on our elected officials and will help bring us closer to the vision of the Green New Deal. We'll send you a toolkit and pair you with an experienced coach to support you each step of the way.

Our biggest sale of the year begins today! Sierra Club Outings is offering 25% off any 2019 trip when you book by August 31. Just use the code “SALE2019” when placing your reservation online or by phone. Spaces are filling up fast, so reserve yours now while there’s still room!

See all trips and sign up.

Note: This discount cannot be used for reservations made before July 27, 2019.

In 2014, a dozen people died in Flint, Michigan, as the result of a cost-cutting decision to switch the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River without changing water-treatment protocols. But it turns out that it was the treatment of the water, not the river itself, that put people in danger.

Now community members are reclaiming the Flint River, one kayak at a time.

Residents of New Orleans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Hurricane Barry, the first named storm of the 2019 season, made landfall well west of the city on July 13. “As the city advances into a warmer and wetter world, every bullet dodged, even small-caliber ones like Barry, feels like what it is—a gift,” writes journalist Alexander Zaitchik, a recent transplant to the Crescent City.

"But the season is young, the sense of relief shallow."

The National Audubon Society named six winners in its 10th annual Audubon Photography Awards. Selected from more than 2,200 entrants, the winning shots represent the finest among this year’s bird photography. The winning photos and honorable mentions will be featured in a special traveling Audubon Photography Awards exhibit, hosted by Audubon chapters and centers across the country.

But you can get a sneak peek right here.

Uber and Lyft promote themselves as climate-conscious companies, claiming their technology will reduce the number of cars on our roads. But car ownership and congestion have actually increased in the eight metro areas where Uber and Lyft are most heavily used. Meanwhile, both companies have made clear that they consider themselves in competition with public transit.

Find out how you can put pressure on Uber and Lyft to clean up their act.

President Trump is desperate to lease drilling rights in the Arctic Refuge, but four major oil companies remain on the fence about whether it’s a good idea. Indigenous leaders, scientists, and banks are already pressuring them to stay out of America’s last great wilderness. Now the CEOs of BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Chevron need to feel the pressure from consumers, too.

Tell these four Big Oil CEOs that the Arctic Refuge is no place for oil rigs.

“Hey, Mr. Green,” asks Karen in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. “We just purchased a front-loading washing machine. I get that it saves water, but it takes at least twice as long to wash my clothes, thus using more electricity than my old top-loader. Overall, is it truly saving resources?”

The Sierra Club’s appliance ace has the laundry lowdown.

Consider donating it to the Sierra Club Foundation! Avoid costly repairs by donating your car, truck, boat, RV, or motorcycle. Vehicle donations help fund our work empowering people to safeguard the health of our communities and protect our natural resources and wildlife habitat so that future generations will be able to breathe fresh air, drink clean water, and experience pristine wild places.

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

It's easy—donate today.

Earlier this year, when our national parks were closed due to the government shutdown, many of our most beloved special places were recklessly vandalized. Among them was Joshua Tree National Park, where misguided visitors destroyed some of the park’s iconic namesake trees. You can fight back and show your colors by running the Joshua Tree Half Marathon with Team Sierra this November. The race takes place outside the park, so you get the views without disrupting the protected lands.

Join Team Sierra in showing solidarity with Joshua Tree on November 2.