The Centennial Group
of Cobb/Cherokee/North Fulton

Recommended 5-Year Focus

The Ex Com's Suggested Issues for The Sierra Club to Focus on in the Coming 5 Years (as presented at the August, 2005 General Membership Meeting):

IMPACTING ENVIONMENTAL DECISION-MAKERS:

• Influence voters' electoral decisions -- build our grassroots capacity to turn out environmental voters, elect public leaders and pass ballot measures that will protect the environment. [6-More Resources]
• Influence business decisions -- build our grassroots capacity to influence executives, shareholders, customers, and employees to choose environmentally sound business practices that are in everyone's best interest. [5-More Resources]
• Influence individuals' personal decisions -- build our grassroots capacity to influence people's personal and consumer choices to better protect themselves and the environment in their daily lives. [3-More, 3-Less Resources]
• Influence decision-makers about specific places -- build our grassroots capacity to influence decision-makers regarding specific projects in our communities and specific places we care about. [1-More, 2-Less Resources]

 

In our grassroots work, the Sierra Club invests its energy and resources in many ways to IMPACT ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS:

• Seek new allies and build coalitions -- to bring different perspectives together around common interests, and build political and community momentum around shared concerns and values. [6-More Resources]
• Bring people together to take action together -- in their communities, neighborhoods, and homes, through local networking, groups, and gatherings that build our activist numbers, strength, and diversity. [5-More Resources]
• Create media visibility -- through reporters, editors, and news coverage, visibility events, advertising, and other media access and outlets that put our point of view in the public eye and public debate. [5-More Resources]
• Get more people outdoors -- to explore and enjoy nature around them, to clean up and restore community "commons" and parks, and connect with their environment in a very direct and person way. [2-More, 1-Less Resources]
• Advocate for solutions -- by taking our message out to people in our communities with public education materials, presentations, information, and sources that the public can understand, relate to, and act on. [2-Less Resources]
• Provide environmental expertise -- to community opinion-leaders and decision-makers, to policy-makers and staff in agencies, and in legislative offices that are shaping environmental decisions. [1=More Resources]
• Bring legal actions -- to hold businesses and governments legally accountable to protect people and the environment from harm as our laws require. [1-Less Resources]

 

+~~+~~+~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+

 

VISION: America's economic activities are environmentally sustainable, which assures healthy ecosystems as well as America's future prosperity.

INVEST IN BUILDING SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIES AND BUSINESSES. We will enlist our communities to support investments that will make our economies environmentally sustainable for the future -- investing in good jobs as well as our long-term economic and environmental well-being by:

Nationwide Focus:

• Invest in pollution prevention technology [2 Votes]
• Adopt 'green' business practices to reduce production/use of toxics and conserve energy [1 Vote]
• Invest in clean energy technology [1 Vote]
• Restore sustainable fisheries [1 Vote]
• Invest in forest management to protect watersheds and communities [1 Vote]
• Invest in non-polluting, sustainable agriculture [1 Vote]

Local Focus:

• Invest in public transportation [4 Votes]
• Invest in forest management to protect watersheds and communities [2 Votes]
• Adopt 'green' business practices to reduce production/use of toxics and conserve energy [1 Vote]
• Invest in clean energy technology [1 Vote]

 

VISION: America creates a new energy future based on efficient and renewable energy technologies that bring an end to oil dependence, global warming, toxic air emissions and environmental damage in sensitive areas.

BUILD A NEW ENERGY FUTURE. We will inspire Americans to break the hold of big energy companies on our government, economy and environment, and solve our energy needs cleanly and safely with dramatically improved efficiency and renewable energy sources by:

Nationwide Focus:

• Improve fuel economy for all vehicles [2 Votes]
• Accelerate renewable energy production [2 Votes]
• Improve energy efficiency [1 Vote]
• Limit coal mining/oil & gas drilling/other energy development in sensitive areas on land and water [1 Vote]

Local Focus:

• Clean up or replace dirty power plants [3 Votes)
• Improve fuel economy for all vehicles [1 Vote]
• Accelerate renewable energy production [1 Vote]

 

VISION: America's great natural heritage of federal lands and public waters are restored and protected for all time.

DEFEND FEDERAL LANDS AND PUBLIC WATERS. We will engage people to defend our country's great heritage of federally-managed national parks, forests, lands and waters, and assure that these lands and waters are restored and preserved for their natural richness and grandeur by:

Nationwide Focus:

• Reform federal forest management to protect ecosystems/end commercial logging [1 Vote]
• Reform damaging uses such as grazing, oil & gas development, mining and abusive recreation on federal lands [1 Vote]

Local Focus:

• Acquire new federally-protected lands and link fragmented ecosystems to protect and restore bio diversity [1 Vote]
• Reform damaging uses such as grazing, oil & gas development, mining and abusive recreation on federal lands [1 Vote]

 

+~~+~~+~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+~~+

 

The Membership's Views on What Societal Trends Impact the Successful Delivery of the Sierra Club's Mission:

POSITIVE IMPACT:

• School liaisons as part of community outreach
• Stewardship as part of religious values
• Public awareness is increasing
• States are speaking up about things such as inter-state pollution

 

NEGATIVE IMPACT:

• Poor public transportation
• Religion is promoting coming Rapture as an excuse for non-stewardship
• Growing Republican majority
• Resources becoming more scarce ex. oil & water
• Dwindling resources
• Morality is used as a political platform
• Growing military presence in the Middle East
• Population growth
• Increased consumerism - savings de-emphasized
• Increased demand for fuel
• Decreasing financial resources with more burdens shifting to the States
• Continuing huge deficits
• Increasing consolidation of the media