Sierra Club

Much of the American public is unaware of the devastation being caused by harmful U.S. trade and border policies. The most symbolic and destructive infrastructure resulting from these bad policies is the newly-constructed U.S.-Mexico border wall. This presentation begins with a screening of the Sierra Club border film, "Wild Versus Wall," which has been newly-updated for 2010. It shows the ecological effects of enforcement and infrastructure in the four states that share boundaries with Mexico. It also showcases the unique natural landscapes of our border southwest. A slideshow will follow, featuring more in-depth aspects of the areas that have been affected, including photos of a mountain lion blocked by the border wall, massive flooding along the wall in the city of Nogales, different types of border wall, and its costs to taxpayers. The presentation demonstrates the ineffectiveness of this kind of enforcement-only approach to border security, and stresses the importance of addressing root causes such as unfair trade policies and quality of life issues. For more information, please see: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42948198581 www.sierraclub.org/borderlands

For countries rich in natural resources like oil, gas, and minerals, these resources should provide an essential source of financing for improvements to social and environmental well-being. However, economic dependence on these resources is more often accompanied by poverty, inequality, poor public services, and stunted economic growth, a trend economists call the “resource curse.” And an overdependence on natural resources in a weak or corrupt political system often leads to environmental devastation, human rights abuses, and poor labor practices. Citizens have the right to participate in the decisions that affect their environment. For citizens to combat the resource curse, they need to know how much corporations are paying their government to extract natural resources. Here in the U.S. a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators have joined together in introducing the Energy Security Through Transparency Act (ESTT). Come find out about an exciting campaign to pass a landmark bill that will close a critical gap in information available to citizens and allow them to push their governments towards more environmentally responsible practices.

Join us as we discuss our work: The Sierra Club EJ Program provides: campaign support for grassroots environmental justice groups; trainings for community groups including strategic campaign planning, media relations, winning public hearings, how to form a non-profit, dismantling racism, and more; training for Sierra Club volunteers including EJ activist training, dismantling racism, and cultural competency; support for local, state, and federal legislative efforts.

The tar sands represent the last gasps of a dying industry, the death cries of a global oil addiction that has taken us to the brink of rational thinking and pushed our planet to the edge. The cost of the tar sands to land, air, forests, downstream communities, workers and the climate is unparalleled. The right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for all. Front line Community Leaders with the support of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Rainforest Action Network, Ruckus Society, Greenpeace Canada, Forest Ethics, Council of Canadians and Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program will provide a PMA session on a diversity of base building, nonviolent direct action, financial campaigns, lobby campaigns, marketing campaigns, and popular education tactics being utilized in one of the largest emerging social movements in North America rising to fight the largest development in the history of Mankind known as Canada's Tar Sands. The purpose of this session to share and learn about how to plug into this struggle, with intervention points in almost every corner of North America manifesting in the form of pipelines, refineries, rail, trucking and shipping lanes and extraction taking place in the beating heart of the tar sands in northern Alberta. We will discuss the dozens of grassroots communities of color, Indigenous communities disproportionately impacted by this project and what steps are being taken to foster solidarity amongst front line indigenous communities, fence line communities of color, rural and urban communities across North America and internationally in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the UK to Shut down the tar sands.

For countries rich in natural resources like oil, gas, and minerals, these resources should provide an essential source of financing for improvements to social and environmental well-being. However, economic dependence on these resources is more often accompanied by poverty, inequality, poor public services, and stunted economic growth, a trend economists call the “resource curse.” And an overdependence on natural resources in a weak or corrupt political system often leads to environmental devastation, human rights abuses, and poor labor practices. Citizens have the right to participate in the decisions that affect their environment. For citizens to combat the resource curse, they need to know how much corporations are paying their government to extract natural resources. Here in the U.S. a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators have joined together in introducing the Energy Security Through Transparency Act (ESTT). Come find out about an exciting campaign to pass a landmark bill that will close a critical gap in information available to citizens and allow them to push their governments towards more environmentally responsible practices.

Much of the American public is unaware of the devastation being caused by harmful U.S. trade and border policies. The most symbolic and destructive infrastructure resulting from these bad policies is the newly-constructed U.S.-Mexico border wall. This presentation begins with a screening of the Sierra Club border film, "Wild Versus Wall," which has been newly-updated for 2010. It shows the ecological effects of enforcement and infrastructure in the four states that share boundaries with Mexico. It also showcases the unique natural landscapes of our border southwest. A slideshow will follow, featuring more in-depth aspects of the areas that have been affected, including photos of a mountain lion blocked by the border wall, massive flooding along the wall in the city of Nogales, different types of border wall, and its costs to taxpayers. The presentation demonstrates the ineffectiveness of this kind of enforcement-only approach to border security, and stresses the importance of addressing root causes such as unfair trade policies and quality of life issues. For more information, please see: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42948198581 www.sierraclub.org/borderlands

Join us as we discuss our work: The Sierra Club EJ Program provides: campaign support for grassroots environmental justice groups; trainings for community groups including strategic campaign planning, media relations, winning public hearings, how to form a non-profit, dismantling racism, and more; training for Sierra Club volunteers including EJ activist training, dismantling racism, and cultural competency; support for local, state, and federal legislative efforts.

The tar sands represent the last gasps of a dying industry, the death cries of a global oil addiction that has taken us to the brink of rational thinking and pushed our planet to the edge. The cost of the tar sands to land, air, forests, downstream communities, workers and the climate is unparalleled. The right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for all. Front line Community Leaders with the support of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Rainforest Action Network, Ruckus Society, Greenpeace Canada, Forest Ethics, Council of Canadians and Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program will provide a PMA session on a diversity of base building, nonviolent direct action, financial campaigns, lobby campaigns, marketing campaigns, and popular education tactics being utilized in one of the largest emerging social movements in North America rising to fight the largest development in the history of Mankind known as Canada's Tar Sands. The purpose of this session to share and learn about how to plug into this struggle, with intervention points in almost every corner of North America manifesting in the form of pipelines, refineries, rail, trucking and shipping lanes and extraction taking place in the beating heart of the tar sands in northern Alberta. We will discuss the dozens of grassroots communities of color, Indigenous communities disproportionately impacted by this project and what steps are being taken to foster solidarity amongst front line indigenous communities, fence line communities of color, rural and urban communities across North America and internationally in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the UK to Shut down the tar sands.

Join us as we discuss our work: The Sierra Club EJ Program provides: campaign support for grassroots environmental justice groups; trainings for community groups including strategic campaign planning, media relations, winning public hearings, how to form a non-profit, dismantling racism, and more; training for Sierra Club volunteers including EJ activist training, dismantling racism, and cultural competency; support for local, state, and federal legislative efforts.

Join us as we discuss our work: The Sierra Club EJ Program provides: campaign support for grassroots environmental justice groups; trainings for community groups including strategic campaign planning, media relations, winning public hearings, how to form a non-profit, dismantling racism, and more; training for Sierra Club volunteers including EJ activist training, dismantling racism, and cultural competency; support for local, state, and federal legislative efforts.