MAY 5, 2015
Editor's note: As this issue of the Insider goes to press, emergency relief efforts are ongoing in the aftermath of the catastrophic May 25 earthquake in Nepal. The hearts of the entire Sierra Club community go out to the people of Nepal. If you wish to make a financial contribution to the relief effort, please donate to the charity of your choice.
A list of vetted relief organizations can be found here.
 Connecting a Community with Its Mountains
When President Obama designated the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in Southern California last fall, it was the culmination of a decade-long campaign by local activists and organizations like the Sierra Club and its allies in the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Coalition. One of those activists was Roberto Morales, a Sierra Club volunteer and wilderness instructor for Outward Bound Adventures, who gave presentations at community centers and churches, collected petition signatures, and introduced families and youth to the local mountains. We asked Morales about the importance of Latinos introducing other Latinos to wilderness.
Read what he had to say.
Photo by Ian Shive
 Solar-Powered Taxis
College classmates Matt Coda and Jake Cotreau met in an entrepreneurship class, where they collaborated on a business plan for a solar-powered taxi service, with renewable energy and sustainability built into the company's mission statement. Then it dawned on them that it was something they could actually pursue after graduation.
Find out what happened.
 Hazy Daze in Utah's National Parks
Arches, Canyonlands, and Zion are among our most visited and spectacular national parks. But they are threatened by haze pollution from coal plants owned by Rocky Mountain Power and its parent company Pacificorp. Fortunately, the EPA can crack down on these plants and require them to clean up, the same way they have elsewhere across the West to protect other national parks.
 
Open Trips for 2015
Still ironing out the year's travel plans? You're in luck -- we've got 150 ideas for the perfect vacation, including lodge, water, backpack, family, service, international, and loads more. But don't wait too long, because they won't be around for long!
 Oil Rigs and Recreation Don't Mix
The chunk of high desert known as Greater Canyonlands spreads over 2,800 square miles south and west of Moab, Utah, and is one of the largest unprotected roadless areas in the lower 48 states. However, the Bureau of Land Management and the Grand County Council have prioritized oil and gas leases, with two-thirds of Greater Canyonlands open to energy development.
Find out why the time is ripe for a Greater Canyonlands National Monument.
 Keep It in the Ground
A group of indigenous and frontline leaders and activists from across the Americas gathered recently at Sierra Club headquarters in San Francisco for the "Climate Equity Summit: Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground." Organized by Amazon Watch and the Sierra Club, the event connected people fighting coal, oil, and gas development from the Arctic to the Amazon, and created an opportunity for join these powerful causes into one broader movement to Keep It in the Ground.
Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club's Dirty Fuels Campaign, was there.
 Unconventional Outdoor Gear"
These days, it can be hard to stand out in the ever-expanding outdoor industry. Fortunately for consumers, this means gear designers must get creative with their products. From polyester cord to cast-off billboards, these four pieces of outdoor gear are made from some weird -- but totally cool -- materials.
See why gear made from the unexpected can be unexpectedly versatile.
Photo by Lori Eanes
 Play Ball!
Yes, we know the major league baseball season is already a month old. But the scouting report is in on the new team that has stepped up to the plate in Washington, D.C., and they're taking a swing at some of our most important environmental protections. The first few innings of the 114th Congress have shown that they're setting out an agenda that would fulfill nearly every dream of the fossil fuel billionaires who bankrolled so many of last year's campaigns.
 
Wide-Eyed and Whiskered
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in greater Los Angeles just got two fluffy new residents: bobcat kittens B326 and B327. The four-week-old females were ear-tagged and measured as part of a 20-year-long study of how urbanization affects the bobcat population. Biologists measured teeth, head circumference, legs, and tails before returning the kittens to their mother. These measurements are vital to studying genetic variation, the lack of which is becoming a problem for the region’s bobcats. The tagging process also provided an adorable photo opportunity.
Take a look.
Photo courtesy of the National Park Service/Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
 Viva el Tinglar!
More than 25,000 people converged on the Puerto Rican town of Luquillo last month for the 10th annual Festival del Tinglar (Leatherback Turtle Festival). Organized by the Sierra Club in partnership with the Northeast Ecological Corridor Coalition and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, the festival celebrates the endangered leatherback, largest of the world's sea turtles. The Puerto Rico Sierra Club worked for eight years to successfully protect 3,000 acres of the Northeast Ecological Corridor, including the leatherback’s most important nesting grounds in the U.S.
Read more.
 Zipline with a Star
You and a friend could have coffee, trek through the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, and go ziplining with actress, fashion model, and environmental spokesperson Brooklyn Decker -- and your flight to Los Angeles and accommodations in a 4-star hotel will be covered as part of the deal! Enter the Omaze sweepstakes and choose your reward level to win this and other prizes. Every entry will benefit Sierra Club Outdoors, a program sponsored by The Sierra Club Foundation that reaches across economic and cultural lines to engage everyone in exploring and enjoying the natural world.
 4 Smart Ways to Conserve Water
As California's drought enters its fourth year and voluntary water-saving measures are succeeded by mandatory restrictions, water conservation is more critical than ever. There are abundant water-saving opportunities in your home, and they often coincide with saving money. Sierra explores the four smartest ways to cut back your water footprint with minimal impact on your day-to-day life.
Let the water conservation opportunities begin.
 Calling Young Changemakers!
The application deadline for the Sierra Student Coalition's Summer Grassroots Leadership Training Program (Sprog) is fast approaching -- next Thursday, May 15.
Do you know a young person aged 14-28 who's ready to change the world?
Nominate them to get trained by the SSC this summer!
 
Mountaintop-Removal Mining Must End
The coal industry is waging war on Appalachia by blowing the tops off its mountains. But mountaintop-removal mining doesn't just devastate the landscape -- dozens of peer-reviewed studies have documented the devastation to communities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee in the form of elevated rates of birth defects and cancer rates nearly triple the national average. Fortunately, a bill now before Congress would place an immediate moratorium on new mountaintop-removal mining permits.
 Thanks for Voting!
The results of the 2015 Sierra Club Board of Directors election are in! We had a robust response this year -- critical to any functioning democracy. Congratulations to the five winners, and a tip o'the hat to all the candidates who stood for election, even if they did not prevail this time around.
 
- Jean Wiener (Haiti) and Howard Wood (Scotland), two winners of the 2015 Goldman Prize, talk about their work.
- Chef Annie Somerville with a recipe for a fresh salad with cherries.
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