The United States’ Biggest Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Will Not Fund Arctic Refuge Drilling

Great news—JPMorgan Chase has committed to not funding drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge! The bank’s updated energy policy rules out financing for new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, including the refuge. Now we need the other big banks to follow suit.

Read more about this great news.

Tell the CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley to follow JPMorgan’s lead and commit to staying out of the Arctic Refuge.

The Making of a Love Letter

"Sista Docta” Alexis Pauline Gumbs is well-versed in the intersections of harm. The poet is known for weaving the past, present, and future together, from environmental issues to the transatlantic slave trade, and offering up possibilities for caring for one another in the face of widespread harm—ultimately the key to curbing the climate crisis.

Read Sierra magazine's interview with the poet, scholar, activist, educator, and self-described "black feminist love evangelist."

Steeped in Muir

Retired government attorney Harold Wood joined the Sierra Club when he was still a teenager. By the time the budding Eagle Scout and voracious reader got to high school, he’d already read multiple biographies of John Muir and most of the Sierra Club founder’s oeuvre. “One of Muir’s books was dedicated to the Sierra Club,” Wood recalls, “but I thought it was just a historical organization. When I found out that the Club was still in existence, I was thrilled!”

The rest, as they say, is history.

How Green Is Your Vegan Diet?

Eating a vegan diet is one of the best ways to reduce your impact on the planet. (It’s better for your health, too.) But your diet’s carbon footprint depends on more than just eschewing animal protein. It’s not just what you eat, it’s how your food is shipped to market, how it’s packaged, whether that packaging is reusable or compostable, etc. etc. Can you juggle all that and still get enough protein?

Greenwashing the Climate Crisis

President Trump wants the public to believe that he now thinks climate change is real. In early January, Trump told reporters that climate change is “not a hoax,” but a “very serious subject.”

Which Side Are You On?

“The Trump administration has undertaken a massive, unprecedented response to the climate crisis,” says Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune. “In fact, they clearly see this enormous undertaking as their signature project—the legacy this administration will leave the nation. I’m not talking about some tree-planting pledge or a sudden change of heart about windmills.

Endangered Species are Border Wall Casualties

President Trump's border wall is ripping through some of the most biologically diverse desert lands in North America. “Many people don't realize that in addition to being a despicable symbol of Trump's racist border policies, the wall will also wipe some species off the face of the planet,” says Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The habitats for jaguars, ocelots, and wolves are being cut in half."

Time for Big Tech to Walk the Walk On Climate

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all publicly committed to climate action, but they’re still profiting from multibillion-dollar partnerships with the oil and gas industry to help it find and extract yet more fossil fuels.

Bad News for the Birds and the Bees

National wildlife refuges should be safe havens for bees and pollinators like migratory songbirds and butterflies, but two years ago the Trump administration overturned a ban on bee-killing neonic pesticides in the refuges.

Supremes Hear From the Sierra Club

The US Supreme Court heard arguments from the Sierra Club and allied groups about a permit to allow the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross the Appalachian Trail—which as a National Scenic Trail is part of the National Park System. "For the past six years, communities have been speaking out against the damage this unnecessary pipeline would cause,” said Kelly Martin, director of the Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. “Today, our fight took us to the Supreme Court.

Turn Off the Tap

Even the plastics industry admits we need to do something about the amount of plastic waste polluting our planet. But the "solutions" Big Plastic promotes fail to address the root cause of the problem: the continuing manufacture of single-use plastic products. Cleaning up plastic waste without reducing the amount of plastic we create is like mopping up water from an overflowing sink without turning off the tap. A new bill before Congress would begin to slow the flow.

Setting the Zero-Waste Pace

When you run with Team Sierra, you’ll be competing in races in some of the most beautiful places in the country while raising funds for the Sierra Club. But events like these can have a serious environmental impact. That's why Team Sierra makes it a point to partner with organizations like Vacation Races that take sustainability and waste reduction seriously.

NEPA Needs Your Support

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guarantees the public an opportunity to provide input on proposed federal projects in their communities—things like pipelines, highways, and power plants. The Trump administration wants to undermine NEPA and take away the public’s power to speak up when federal projects threaten the environment and public health.

Submit your public comment in defense of NEPA now.

Explore the World in 2021

2020 is only two months old, but at Sierra Club Outings we're already gearing up for some exciting international journeys in 2021! Join us to hike among temples and mountains in lush Bali, sample ancient culture and traditions on a walking tour of Romania, and much more.

See all trips and sign up.