Get involved in 2018: What issues we care about
The Chapter has always focused on conservation efforts to save our coast, clean our air and build sustainable com- munities. Join us in 2018 in working on these campaigns that affect all of us.
Save the coast
Sierra Club works to help preserve the coast from poorly planned residential and industrial development, oil drilling and pollution that damages sensitive and irreplaceable habi- tat. Rapid growth in development threatens our last remain- ing open wildlife spaces and our previous resources within them. Chapter advocates for preservation of these areas to ensure that sensitive habitat be conserved, restored and left for future generations to enjoy.
Examples include restoring the habitat of the Ballona Wetlands on L.A.’s Westside; saving Hobo Aliso open space in Orange County and ensuring policies regarding the Santa Monica Mountains provide a broad connected wildlife cor- ridor and well-maintained trails for public access.
Improve air quality
Air pollution is responsible for countless respiratory illnesses and deaths every year in Los Angeles and Orange counties. We are working to improve air quality, stopping heavy industrial polluters and promoting clean energy technology. It is our goal to create healthy and safe communities for all.
The Chapter advocates for clean break policies to move from fossil fuels to community-based solutions to provide renewable energy for everyone; transportation policies for walkable streets, public transportation and electric vehicles; and climate change policies for 100% renewable energy use by 2030.
Promote sustainable communities
The Chapter advocates for sustainable solutions within our communities. That means raising public awareness about environmentally friendly choices -- such as what we all consume, what type of vehicles we drive -- all of which have positive impacts on our health, the places we live and the natural environment.
Our work includes many urban and woodlands issues, including promoting water conservation policies to protect local watersheds and aquifiers; forest policies to preserve the wild spaces of the San Gabriel Mountains; and San Gabriel Valley community policies to protect open space for public use and to prevent pollution from oil production and chemical industries.
New issues for the new year
Grass-roots activists have created two new entities in the Chapter for 2018.
Environmental Justice Committee
Across the country, Sierra Club has been working to explore the integration of social justice and environmental concerns. This new Chapter committee will work on the environmental side of health and safety issues in underserved areas of L.A. and Orange counties.
Priorities include improving air quality at L.A. and Long Beach ports, and cleaning up waste and toxic chemicals in some of the L.A. and Orange counties’ most underserved areas. To get involved, contact Chair Yvonne Watson at ywatson@dslextreme.com.
Diamond Bar-Pomona Valley Task Force
This task force addresses threats to natural open space and wildlife habitats in Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, Pomona, Claremont and surrounding areas. A long-term goal is to protect habitat in threatened open space areas such as Tres Hermanos Ranch, Tonner Canyon, Diamond Bar hills, valleys and trails, and San Gabriel Mountain watersheds. The committee provides a model for ecosystem conserva- tion and promotes environmental literacy about the urban wildland interface. To get involved, contact diamondbarbeautiful@gmail.com.
For information on these issues and activities, contact Chapter Conservation Program Manager Angelica Gonzalez at (213) 514-5802 or email angelica.gonzalez@sierraclub.org.
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