Editor's Note/Apologia

As I pitched the idea of the Sierra Sweethearts feature to the Editorial Board a couple of months ago, it seemed simultaneously a great idea as well as one destined to annoy a sensible part of the membership that rejects the notion of Valentine's Day on the grounds that this holiday is little more than a ploy by the greeting card companies et al to rob us of whatever money we managed not to spend in crass commercial celebration of the recent winter holidays. Without naming any names, I wanted to acknowledge this point of view and say that I respect it and to some extent share it, although my love for chocolate prevents me from completely taking the moral high ground on this issue.

In all sincerity, though, maybe we can look at Valentine's Day not just as an opportunity for florists to charge through the nose, but also as a day to honor the people you love? We're being marketed to constantly, so it's not like we can escape thinking about it. Why not make the best of it?

We can all agree that the Sierra Club is a powerful organization responsible for making great things happen. Just ask our Sierra Sweethearts Robin and Lori Ives.