This is simply untrue. There were a number of 'petition candidates' on this spring's ballot for directors, in addition to those moved forward by a nominating committee, which itself is composed of a group of independent thinkers, and by no means represents "HQ blessing." The reason Doug LaFollette left the board of the Sierra Club (a year ago or two) is that he didn't get enough votes to stay on, or enough signatures to get on the ballot.
Seems like Metz, Moore, and Burns have an ax to grind. I recommend that anyone desiring to have a reasoned opinion on this discussion go straight to the ASES report that is reinvented in the Metz rant and see what it really says. www.ases.org. It was unfortunate that the term 'strategy' was applied to this, whatever that means; it was not intended by the committee that actually reviewed and endorsed the report. What it does say, and this should be spread far and wide, is that without the new generation of coal, without an expansion of nuclear, and even without relying on carbon capture & storage or other forms of artificial sequestration, it is technologically possible to get ourselves headed in the right direction. This is the conclusion of careful analysis a dozen or so leading experts in each of a number of fields in the renewables and efficiency sector; read that for yourself. It is not the Sierra Club's position that no behavioral changes matter; in fact, this is an important part of the Club's current, and fairly recently adopted, Energy Resource Policy. People seem to enjoy bashing the Sierra Club about these things. Maybe because it is democratic and fairly accessible. I didn't notice the bashing of other groups that are far more cozy with the status quo than the Sierra Club is. Whatever the details and differences among groups and philosophies, it is worth noting that as a whole, all these organizations are all pretty far in front of where the center of power and action is in the USA. At this point, collective political action (at whatever scale - global, national, or individual) is far more important than the little distinctions among the messengers. Steve Crowley, chr, Sierra Club's Smart Energy Solutions initiative Wil Burns wrote: > Of course, La Follette only got on the board because it used to be possible > to get on the slate without Sierra Club HQ blessing. Sierra Club HQ > subsequently squelched the prospects for independent voices like La Follette > to get on the board by purging that provision. Now, the Club is certain to > only have "good soldiers" on the board, further ensuring the kind of group > think that debilitates all large organizations that fear dissent of any > sort. So it goes ... > > > Dr. Wil Burns > Senior Fellow, International Environmental Law > Santa Clara University School of Law > 500 El Camino Real, Loyola 101 > Santa Clara, CA 95053 USA > Phone: 408.551.3000 x6139 > Mobile: 650.281.9126 > Fax: 408.554.2745 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > SSRN Author Page: > http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=240348 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 9:29 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: new essay suggests Sierra Club is getting lost in "green" > consumer ism > > I think Stan is right about the Sierra Club. Give it credit for a numbe= > r of historic conservation victories, but it=92s marbled with big-moneye= > d special interests and a substantial portion of coffee-table membership= > . So it's not surprising that a draft position on economic growth made = > it through about 3 of 5 layers of the Sierra Club bureucracy and then st= > alled out. The Club is just as afraid of disturbing the 800-pound goril= > la as more "conservative" organizations. Yet there are strong supporter= > s for a Sierra Club position on economic growth, too, including for exam= > ple the Wisconsin Secretary of State, Doug LaFollette (who served on the= > Sierra Club Board of Directors). = > > <?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:o= > ffice" /> > Some are continuing the efforts toward a Sierra Club position and educat= > ional program on economic growth. However and more relevant to ECOLOG, = > others of us are retrenching and more focused on building the foundation= > of professional society position statements on economic growth. These = > position statements may firstly prompt the likes of the Sierra Club into= > action, and may secondly be referred to technically and stood upon poli= > ticallyused by the Sierra Club and other conservation NGOs. A position = > by the Ecological Society of America would serve as one of the cornersto= > nes of this foundation. = > > = > > Cheers, > > Brian Czech, Ph.D., President > Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy > SIGN THE POSITION on economic growth at: www.steadystate.org/PositiononE= > G.html . > EMAIL RESPONSE PROBLEMS? Use [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- stan moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > the fascinating article can be linked to at: > > http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3D56&ItemID=3D1263= > 6 > > > I have noticed, as I am sure that other have, that corporations have tak= > en = > > on a green mantle, often completely undeserved. But even mainstream = > > environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club, in their new plan,= > are = > > taking the "shallow green" instead of the "deep green" approach as descr= > ibed = > > in this article. Consumerism is promoted over "deprivation". Biomass i= > s = > > seen as an energy solution with no specified concern or mention of ecolo= > gy. = > > Etc., etc., etc. > > This seems an alternative form of "business as usual" and I don't believ= > e we = > > can make the urgently-needed degree of progress on our fundamental probl= > ems = > > with anything other than a radical transformation of our society, includ= > ing = > > its fundamental mindset. > > > Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _________________________________________________________________ > Need a break? Find your escape route with Live Search Maps. = > > http://maps.live.com/?icid=3Dhmtag3 > >
