Sierra Club
| Sierra Club | |
|---|---|
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|
|
| founding | 1892 |
| founder | John Muir and others |
| Seat | San Francisco |
| main emphasis | natural reserve |
| Action space | United States |
| Managing directors | Michael Brune |
| Members | 2.4 million |
| Website | www.sierraclub.org |
The Sierra Club is the oldest and largest conservation organization in the United States . The motto of the organization is Explore, enjoy and protect the planet ( Eng . Explore, enjoy and protect the planet ).
mission
The Sierra Club defines its mission as follows:
“The purposes of the Sierra Club are to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives. "
“The purposes of the Sierra Club are to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places on earth; practice and promote responsible use of the earth's ecosystem and resources; educate and win humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all legal means to achieve these goals. "
history
The Sierra Club was founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco , California , by conservationist John Muir and several professors from the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University . John Muir was also its first president until 1914, and its headquarters are in San Francisco. According to its own information, the club has around 2.4 million members in the USA. The Sierra Club of Canada (10,000 members) is affiliated with it.
In the first decades of its existence, the club was primarily committed to the creation of national parks in the USA, such as B. for Glacier National Park and Mount Rainier National Park . Another important issue at that time was (and is) the protection of the redwoods . One of the successes in the 1950s was the prevention of the construction of the Echo Park Dam in the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah : This happened at a time when environmental issues were still practically irrelevant in the media and major projects such as B. Dams, were widely welcomed uncritically. In addition to promoting national parks and nature reserves, the club has also been campaigning for the introduction of environmental standards in legislation since the 1960s , such as the United States Clean Air Act , the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 .
The photographer Ansel Adams was a member of the board of directors from 1934 to 1971 . According to him, a prize for photography, awarded annually since 1971 by the Sierra Club and is Ansel Adams Wilderness (Ansel Adams Wilderness ) named.
The Sierra Club magazine is simply called Sierra . It appears every two months and reports on club activities and environmental issues. There is also a weekly radio show, the Sierra Radio Club . Michael Brune has been Managing Director of the Sierra Club since March 2010 .
criticism
In 2008, several members of the Sierra Club resigned in protest of an agreement the club had with chemical company Clorox . In the agreement, the club committed to promoting a range of Clorox products. Clorox was named one of a "dangerous dozen" chemical companies by the Public Interest Research Group in 2004 . According to Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, the Clorox contract brought the club $ 1.3 million in revenue over the four-year term.
From 2007 to 2010, the Sierra Club raised more than $ 25 million in donations from the natural gas industry, most notably from Aubrey McClendon, chairman of Chesapeake Energy, one of the largest natural gas companies in the United States, which among other things fracking operates.
In November 2011, Carl Pope resigned as chairman of the Sierra Club amid arguments over the Clorox contract and other measures.
Web links
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- ↑ a b http://www.sierraclub.org/about
- ↑ From the Current Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws, June 20, 1981 (updated July 13, 2006; PDF; 67 kB)
- ↑ Felicity Barringer: Clorox Courts Sierra Club, and a Product Is Endorsed New York Times , March 26, 2008; Karyn Strickler: The Sierra Club Sells Out to Clorox Organic Consumers Association ; Associated Press : Some in Sierra Club feel sullied by Clorox deal NBC , Aug 16, 2008.
- ^ Louis Sahagun: Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction Los Angeles Times , November 19, 2011.
- ^ Chesapeake Energy Supports the Community - Unless the Community Opposes Fracking Corporate Crime Reporter , January 28, 2012; Bryan Walsh, How the Sierra Club Took Millions From the Natural Gas Industry — and Why They Stopped , Time , Feb. 2, 2012; Sierra Club Tells Members - We Don't Take Money from Chesapeake Energy - When in Fact They Took $ 25 Million Corporate Crime Reporter , February 2, 2012.
- ^ Louis Sahagun: Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction Los Angeles Times , November 19, 2011.