Dear Friend of the Environment

[RickVincent]

I just received a membership packet from the Sierra Club in the mail today. It seems they want me to be a member. But, after reading just the first paragraph of the enclosed letter, I've decided I don't really like what these people stand for.

The letter starts out promising, at least up through the salutation anyway, "Dear Friend of the Environment,". I like the environment, I like to take care of it, and I respect it, so yeah, I think I could be considered a friend. The Club slogan at the top of the page makes sense too, "Explore enjoy and protect the planet." Explore, enjoy, protect...sounds just like what I practice. So far, so good. Then again, we haven't even reached the content of the letter.

After reading only the first sentence I realized that apparently "There is a war being waged across the United States...a war against our environment." A war? According to the Sierra Club, the environment is at war, and its enemies are big oil companies, the coal industry, nuclear power industry, timber (logging) industry, industries in general, republicans, and hunters. The ingrained hate for anyone involved in these groups is obvious by the tone and language of this letter (i.e. polluting industries, dirty coal, hunters who do not care, assaults being waged, anti-environmental corporate special interests).

Any attempt to gain my membership was lost in this first paragraph. I like hunters. I come from a family of hunters and friends who hunt. They are great people who love the environment. They know that the environment needs to be taken care of to protect their sport. Even if they weren't hunters, these are people who just generally enjoy the outdoors and respect wildlife. I wonder if there are any hunters in the Sierra Club.

I like the nuclear power industry and the coal industry. They provide the electricity that allows me to write this letter on a computer, be a part of this forum, cool my home, heat my home, provide light in the dark, cool my food, heat my food, and so on. Are there things they could do to minimize their impact on the environment. Yes. And, they often take such measurements at the urging of groups like Sierra Club. But, just because enviro groups want them to run cleaner doesn't mean they should consider these corporations as their enemies. Am I to assume that Sierra Club members do not use electricity? I doubt it.

I like the timber industry. They provide me with wood to build my home, my workplace, and a place to sit and sleep. Am I also to assume that Sierra Club members do not live in homes made of wood? The recent Wallow Fire brought the popular logging and forest thinning argument to the forefront. The Sierra Club letter mentions "...the disappearance of our beautiful landscape." Yet, its the very bureaucracy and regulations that they pushed to create, which allowed this fire to quickly expand and destroy our beautiful landscape.

I like big oil companies. They have invented a way to turn oil into a gasoline that powers my 4-wheel drive. And, although its not very fuel efficient, my 4-wheel drive has the power to climb the hills and mountains of Arizona, and to climb across rocks, and mud and water, so that I can access the many wonderful natural places that my country has to offer. I take it that Sierra Club members all drive Smart Cars or Prius's. Likewise, I'm sure that it must be impossible to find Sierra Club members who own 4-wheel drives or SUV's.

I like conservative republicans. Contrary to belief of the Sierra Club, republicans are not on the war-path against the environment. They are people who believe in balance. They want to preserve our natural resources and the environment, but at the same time they like to preserve our enjoyment of electricity, travel, hunting, etc. I'm a republican...I enjoy the environment, I explore it, I protect it. I get angered when I see empty beer cans, plastic water bottles, energy drink containers, toilet paper and other assorted trash just tossed around. The funny thing is, when I see the kind of people that hang around some of the most littered areas, I think to myself, "these people don't look like republicans I know." If they're not republicans, then what are they, and why aren't THEY the enemy of the Sierra Club.

So even though this may look like a great opportunity to protect our planet ($15 to join), I have to say I'd feel much like a hypocrite to be part of a club that demonizes the people and organizations who contribute so many of the things in life and the lifestyle that I've grown accustomed to.

[Tough_Boots]

I have to say I'd feel much like a hypocrite to be part of a club that demonizes the people and organizations who contribute so many of the things in life and the lifestyle that I've grown accustomed to.

Well... I'll have to say that being unwilling to adjust an unsustainable culture is pretty much why we're in this mess.

With that said-- I don't fully support the Sierra Club and also received this packet in the mail. I was also struck by the hypocrisy that of one of the biggest pieces of junk mail I've ever received (complete with piece of garbage wall map) was sent to me by an environmental organization.

[PaleoRob]

As a hunter and an environmentalist, I am constantly surprised and dismayed at how many hunters do not actually care about the environment except in regards to the fact that it is where they can hunt. Spent lead ammunition, informal ATV trails, poorly cleaned-up campsites after hunting season speak volumes to me. I am not a member of the Sierra Club, however. Nor (to some peoples' surprise) am I a member of the NRA.
I think that in addition to doing everything we can personally to support the environment and its care, it is important to communicate regularly with our elected representatives. I don't need to spend money to belong to a group to do either of those things.

[Sredfield]

Many of these groups survive by the idea that they or we are "at war" over whatever the cause of the moment is. Just like selling cars, one has to generate some sense of urgency to induce people to act or contribute. Political mailings are the same. I think it says as much about our ignorance of how to operate a democracy as it says about the cause. Check out The Dreyfus Initiative if interested in promoting how to operate a democracy.

:SB:

[Jeffshadows]

The SIerra Club of today is a far cry from the organization it once was...

[Canyonram]

Rick,

Normally I would take the bait and attempt to debate you on your opinion of the Sierra Club. Then again, it would be impossible to move someone who makes a conclusion about an entire organization based off a word in an advertising flyer they didn't like ('war')---within the first sentence. You are the same person who wants to blame 'bunnyhuggers' for the large number of wildfires that swept throughout the US this fire season. Anyone who sees such complex ecological/social/political issues in such simple terms and dedicates the Wallow Fire to 'bunnyhuggers' is not one likely to expend the effort to understand the complexity of the issues involved---or to read past a single word in a first paragraph.

Just like in a medical triage, I've learned over the years to direct efforts to the still-living and not the braindead.

Do you even know the legislative efforts of the Sierra Club here in Arizona? Do you know how the political parties have voted in this past session?
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political ... 3-2011.pdf

Do you know how many of the natural areas here in Arizona and Utah exist because of efforts by conservation groups like the Sierra Club? I'm sure you can do a quick Internet search and find out---but that would require some work on your part to investigate and weigh the different facts and opinions. Are you aware of the efforts of the Sierra Club to protect those areas from mining/development that you enjoy?

The Sierra Club is about stewardship of our environment and assuring that future generations will inherit a living plant. It is not about the single individual. Count the number of 'I' statements in your posting and look past your own nose, your own short life, and the luxury and satisfaction you expect (or demand)for yourself and you will see the difference.

You stated at the end of your posting: " . . . I have to say I'd feel much like a hypocrite to be part of a club that demonizes the people and organizations who contribute so many of the things in life and the lifestyle that I've grown accustomed to."

I suppose to keep from feeling like a hyprocrite that will also require you to NOT visit those outdoor areas that exist today because of the Sierra Club? Perhaps you (along with a lot of curious Navajo children) can explore the many open and abandoned uranium mines across Navajo Nation? Or perhaps a hike down into the strip mining coal operations that scar Hopi land? There you will be able to engage in outdoor activities brought to you by those you like so well.

[Jeffshadows]

I think what we are seeing in this thread, and those similar, is the embodyment of modern, hyper-partisan and polarized politics. I know I struggle with it on a daily basis. I agree with about 5% of what Rick said, but I agree with that 5% vehemently. Sportsmen are outdoor enthusiasts, too. I find myself "On the outside" alot in social interactions because my Deomcrat friends know that I'm a war veteran and it makes them uncomfortable (For reasons still unknown to me) and it's like trying to teach calculus to a dead tree stump when I try to get my Republican friends to understand the complexities of the issues they seem so clear-minded about (Mainly because right-wing talking-heads have programmed them to repeat mantras like a member of a vast army of Manchurian Candidates.)

The environment used to be the one safe issue for me with both groups, but even that isn't the case any longer. Now you get rhetorical, factless, and vitriolic replies to the commenest sentiment about it simply being better for all concerned if we keep the air and water clean and leave as much open space for future generations as possible; and these replies come from both sides, equally. I think we've probably all seen this episode of I, Claudius...we know where the Republic is headed!! plz:

[RickVincent]

If the goal of this letter was to raise money, then the letter certainly should have been written so as to not turn away potential donors. Fuel, oil, timber, nuclear energy, corporations, industry, or hunting may not be essential life elements for Sierra Club members, but for the other 99% of Americans, at least one, several or all of these things are important.

My driving point is this. Writing a "politically-polarizing" fundraiser letter is a bad strategy when your goal is to appeal to a large audience for support of an important cause.