As a local leader for the League of Women Voters, I was a member of an eight woman observer delegation to Copenhagen for the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Along with thousands of other members of nongovernmental organizations, including the 75 member delegation from the Sierra Club, I was one of 40,000 credentialed people to stand in line to witness history in the making.

To encourage the Orange County business community to use energy (the unseen juice that makes things run) from green source, the OC Global Warming Committee initiated the 'Solar Powered Building' Award and visibility project.

The Sierra Club values diversity in our members, staff and supporters, and we embrace these differences, including race, class and ethnicity, among many others.

We welcome diverse individuals and their perspectives, and we promote a sense of inclusion by acknowledging that:

• Diversity is a conservation necessity and a social imperative that will enable the Club to continue as a leader of the environmental movement.

Driving south on La Cienega Boulevard, en route from Hollywood to LAX, I often passed a sign announcing the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. 'One of these days,' I would promise myself, 'I'm going to check this out.' From the car, all I could see was oil rigs nodding their heads among patches of coastal sage scrub. But, joining Joe Young of the Airport-Marina Group for a post-Christmas hike, I was surprised and delighted to find a park with attractions as diverse as the community it serves.