Jeff's Jots Returns!

By Jeff Gahris

At an Indiana roadside rest with a turbine blade

This is a heck of a time to return as chair of your Executive Committee, as we see clean energy policies and the environment under attack in a way that seems unprecedented. My hope is that we the people will fend off such attacks, or at least the worst of them.

Now is an important time to think of who we are as a club. The Sierra Club’s mission statement reads:

• 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.

Perhaps a bit wordy, but the statement boils down to this: We explore, enjoy, and protect our wonderful world for us and future generations.

I grew up in a rural area where we had our own private woodlands to explore and enjoy, yet I have no words to explain the beauty of places like Yosemite National Park. For me, it was a most beautiful and humbling experience when visiting. And to think Yosemite is protected as a national park because of the early efforts of Sierra Club. We have so much in our precious world to preserve, enjoy, and protect, even in our own communities.

What does the Sierra Club mean to you? Please consider taking this short survey – where do you think you fit in? What is your passion? We will find a place for you.