[This is a version of a story that originally ran in Words of the Wild, the newsletter of the Sierra Club's California/Nevada Wilderness Committee.]

Come make your voice heard 5 p.m. Aug. 19 when the Long Beach City Council meets to discuss the CEQA appeal. Plan to arrive early to get a seat; a large turnout is expected. The meeting takes place at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach. (If you can't find the City Council meeting, ask the guard on the ground floor to point you to council chambers.)

Ready for your next hike or outing?

Here's the print magazine-style Southern Sierran and Schedule of Activities for July through September 2014.

Download it, refer to it and share with your friends!

With California's drought in full swing and a statewide policy taking shape, 2014 is stacking up to be a critical year for desalination in the Golden state.

America boasts 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands that provide one-of-a-kind opportunities for families to recreate and spend time together outdoors. The wildlife, clean water and scenery offered by our national forests are crucial to our way of life and our multibillion-dollar outdoor recreation economy – especially in California.

The beauty industry hits hard on the importance of frequent exfoliation to keep skin looking younger and healthy. Spherical plastic micro-bead scrubbers, no larger than a half millimeter, have been introduced into hundreds of skin care products in recent decades, but scientists are discovering that the ocean food web, and maybe human health, could be imperiled as a result.

The Sierra Club launched a national ad campaign in mid-June, urging Congress to reauthorize a critical incentive for domestic wind energy investments. The effort focuses on members of Congress with wind manufacturing jobs in their districts, and states that are at risk if the Wind Production Tax Credit is not renewed.