The Bush administration's refusal to deal with global warming seems inexplicable. Rising oceans and temperatures, after all, do not selectively spare Republicans, Texans, or oil executives.
But they are not baffled, puzzled, or stymied. They are simply keeping quiet about their plans. These originate in the 2001 President's Task Force on Energy (the one whose records Cheney still hasn't released to Congress).
Sierra Club Regional Representative
Our local national forests, so often taken for granted, are in trouble. As people build more and more houses, businesses, and roads around and even on the forests, wildlife and their habitat continue to decline. Increasing numbers of motorcycles in the back country and commercial demands to slice the forests with highways, power lines, and even hydroelectric dams complete the picture of forests in crisis.
The Sierra Club's national Board of Directors chartered the Club's newest chapter on Feb. 19.
Puerto Rican Sierra Club members formally petitioned the board to become the first newly chartered chapter in more than 10 years. Puerto Rico will be the Club's first Spanish-speaking chapter.
The Mt. Abel (Cerro Noroeste) Bike-n-Ski trip has appeared in the Schedule of Activities for several years in a row, but for various reasons (mostly due to lack of snow) it has not gone on for some time. With over 40 inches of rain in the valleys and many feet of snow in the local mountains this year, Mt. Abel was in its prime with wonderful spring skiing conditions. The Feb.
What really happens when you turn on your air conditioner on a hot July afternoon? Do you know where your electricity comes from? How dirty (or clean) is it really? Considering that electricity production is one of our biggest sources of air pollution and a major cause of climate change, you ought to know the answers to these questions by heart.
The year began with news dominated by reports of death and destruction following the massive Indonesian earthquake. At first the death toll was counted in the thousands, then the tens of thousands, then over a hundred thousand. By some reports the dead and missing now number over a quarter million. So many lives gone so quickly, and not due to an act of humanity, but the raw force of nature. The reports tell that many of the victims were initially drawn to the shore, standing in wonderment as the water receded, then were swept away as the waves flooded in.
Logging plan challenged
Six conservation organizations have filed suit in federal court challenging the U.S. Forest Service plan to increase logging in Giant Sequoia National Monument in the southern Sierra.
The national monument east of Porterville contains more than half of the world's sequoia trees. Their huge size, beauty and long life led to a drive to protect them, and President Clinton in 2000 gave them permanent protection by designating 328,000 acres, about one-third of Sequoia National Forest, a national monument under the Antiquities Act.
Frank L. Goodykoontz, 1926-2005
Multiply awarded outings leader Frank Goodykoontz passed away on New Year's Day. He finished the Hundred Peaks Section list first in 1977 on Heart Bar Peak and for the ninth time in 1995. He led the HPS list four times. He received the following HPS awards: the John Backus Leadership Award in 1986, the R. S. Fink Award in 1990, and the Preeminent All-Time Leader Award in 1999. He also received the Angeles Chapter Chester Versteeg Award in 1994.
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
617 W. 7th St, Suite 702
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 10-5 or by appointment
