Current Campaigns
Blue Green Alliance
The Blue Green Alliance is an historic coalition between the United Steelworkers union and the Sierra Club. They have joined forces for change through large memberships, strong grassroots organizing skills and a shared tradition of activism.
Clean Air and Renewable Energy
The Clean Air and Renewable Energy Committee is a group of volunteers of all experience levels who care about achieving better air quality, addressing global warming, and building a clean, renewable energy future for all people. Our major projects right now include:
- Curbing the "Midwest Coal Rush" — for example, stopping the proposed expansion of the enormous Big Stone II power plant
- Achieving policy that requires more of our energy to be from renewable sources like wind power
- Encouraging action on global warming through individual energy conservation, as well as citywide efforts for energy efficiency
Clean Water
Water is the basis of life. We drink it, swim in it, get our food from it, and enjoy the beauty of it. We also tend to take it for granted. But we are becoming increasingly aware and alarmed by the pesticides in our drinking water, mercury in our fish, fecal coliform in our lakes, and the continued loss of wetlands that lead to flooding, habitat loss and a decreased water quality in surface and ground waters. We pursue a broad range of water-related issues and creates policy and program change by working with the government, the public, the media, and our elected officials.Environmental Justice
The North Star Chapter's Environmental Justice Support Committee is part of the ever-growing EJ movement. But what is Environmental Justice? It is a shift, perhaps a radical one, in the common understanding of what are environmental issues. EJ looks at destruction and devastation at every level, asking who bears the greatest burden. Time and again, the answer is communities of color and communities in poverty. EJ merges social justice and environmental sensibility. It is, at its best, driven at the grassroots level.
Forest and Wilderness Protection
The Forest Protection campaign is working to make sure future generations have places to enjoy wild, natural forests. But logging, motorized recreation, and development are making those places scarce in Minnesota's forests. These things threaten our economy and wildlife, ruin recreational opportunities, and spoil the north woods our children will inherit. We are getting Minnesotans involved in public lands management to ensure Minnesota will always have the diversity of wildlife and natural places that we treasure today.- Minnesotans also strongly support America's Redrock Wilderness Act
- Volunteers needed to monitor the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Global Population
The Sierra Club's Global Population and Environment Program seeks to protect the global environment and preserve natural resources for future generations by slowing population growth and reducing wasteful consumption.
The program seeks to accomplish this mission by:
- Promoting voluntary domestic and international family planning programs and reproductive health services
- Encouraging the public to support providing women and girls access to basic rights, including healthcare and education
- Encouraging people to reduce excessive consumption and live in ways that have less impact on the earth's resources
Land Use & Open Space
Over the next 30 years, the Twin Cities will grow by over one million new residents. This growth, if poorly planned, will lead to increased traffic, pollution, and loss of wetlands, parklands and open spaces. We have an opportunity to plan now for a better future. This campaign is helping communities protect the region's valuable open space assets, and make better decisions about what, where and how to build next.
We pursue a broad range of land use issues through public education, community organization and community research including:
- The Citizens' Guide to Local Land Use Planning
- An Activist's Guide to Land Use Planning (pdf, 611k)
- The Tour de Sprawl
- Twin Cities Open Space Preservation Workshops
Legislation & Politics
The North Star Chapter is gearing up for the next legislative session, which will begin in early January. We'll be working hard to ensure the health of all Minnesotans and the environment we depend upon. Visit our legislative website to learn more about the issues we are working on and how you can get involved.
Mining without Harm
Dangerous types of mining and mineral processing new to Minnesota are proposed in the Superior National Forest south of Ely. They'll spew acid, toxic metals and mercury into our clean air and waters. At risk are thousands of acres of wetlands vital to fishing, hunting, Duluth's water supply and Lake Superior fisheries. Sierra Club members are working together to protect the people at risk of pollution-caused sickness and the wild places we love by asking the government and companies for MINING WITHOUT HARM.
Sierra Communities
The North Star Chapter began the Sierra Communities (or Building Environmental Community — BEC) effort in 2005, providing support for grassroots organizing around issues identified by local activists in key Metro Area communities.Transportation
Each day, millions of Americans have no choice but to hop in their car to work, school, or any other daily need. While the average American commuter spends hundreds of hours a year behind the wheel, our air has become choked with pollutants, our cities are jammed with traffic and our lands and natural resources are transformed in an ever-expanding sprawl of concrete.
Over the next 30 years, the Twin Cities will grow by over one million new residents. Our communities need safe, reliable transportation choices for all of us, not just some of us. We pursue a broad range of transportation choices including:
- Twin Cities Transitways
- The North Star Rail Corridor
- The Hiawatha Line
- Bike paths and bike lanes and pedestrian friendly communities
- Commuter bus corridors and metro bus services