Memo -- Building a stronger Beyond Coal Campaign

The following memo was sent December 5, 2011.

 

To: Sierra Club staff and volunteers

Fr: Mary Anne Hitt and Bruce Nilles, Beyond Coal Campaign

Re: Building a stronger Beyond Coal Campaign

 

Colleagues,

We are writing today to let you know about some adjustments we are making to the structure of the Beyond Coal Campaign. Since July, when we announced a major gift to the campaign from Michael Bloomberg, we have been working to ramp up so that we can reach our four-year goal of retiring 1/3 of US coal plants by 2020, and replacing that power with clean energy.

In the process, there have been learning experiences and growing pains, and so we are making some adjustments to our structure to build a stronger campaign. Here are the highlights of the changes we are making to our structure:

• Streamlining the number of regions, from 5 to 3. These regions will largely parallel the organizing department’s regional structure. Bill Corcoran will continue to lead the Western region. We are pleased to announce that Heather Cusick will become our new Central regional director, and Vanessa Pierce will become our new Eastern regional director. Mark Kresowik and Glen Hooks will serve in campaign roles in their respective regions (we will share more details about staffing within the regions in a future memo).

• Strengthening our clean energy work. One of our primary goals in making these changes is to take our clean energy work to the next level. Putting strong, experienced clean energy leaders at the helm in every region will be a tremendous boon to our clean energy efforts. Mary Anne will have clean energy staff working on national priorities, including offshore wind and federal incentives for clean energy.

• Clarifying lead staff roles. Mary Anne will be on point for the national components of the campaign, with national staff reporting to her. Bruce will be on point for our state-level work, and will supervise the three regional campaign directors. While there will be occasional overlap and we will continue to manage the overall campaign together, our intention is to formalize and clarify a division of labor that has been in place informally over the past few months. To reflect his role, Bruce will assume a new title – senior campaign director – alongside his current title of deputy conservation director. Mary Anne will continue to serve as campaign director, staff co-lead of the Beyond Coal Leadership Team, and primary campaign spokesperson. She will also serve as the key point of contact with capacities where Heather Cusick was formerly on point (organizing, partnerships, and chapters) as well as continuing to serve as liaison with the Digital Strategies and Communications Departments. Bruce will continue to be on point for the Environmental Law Program. We also hope staff will increasingly take regional and state concerns and opportunities directly to the three regional campaign directors.

In the coming weeks, we will tell you more about the new structure, including staffing within the regions, and we’ll send around a new organizational chart for campaign staff. In the meantime, we invite you to send us your questions, thoughts, and feedback.

We have built this strong, successful campaign thanks to your hard work and good ideas, and this amended structure is our latest effort to put that learning into practice. It comes amidst some incredible successes. We’ve locked in retirements of over 30,000 MW of coal (1/3 of our 2015 goal), clean energy is being deployed at a record pace, and the Obama Administration is poised to issue the first-ever mercury standards for coal plants. We’re positioned to take advantage of that momentum thanks to the ramp up, which is well underway – we’ve added 30 talented new staff across the Sierra Club, we’re providing resources and capacity to some states for the first time, and we’re engaging in smart and sophisticated state planning in a dozen states that will take our work to the next level.

The coming year is going to be our biggest yet, and we are confident this improved structure will set us up for some epic, unforgettable victories in 2012. We look forward to working with you to refine and improve this new structure – and take this campaign to the next level – in the weeks and months ahead.

 

Bloomberg Gift Story for Club Newsletters, Web Sites

As part of our grant agreement with Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are required to get their permission when mentioning Bloomberg Philanthropies in our press releases or public materials. It is very important that all entities of the Club honor this agreement and use only pre-approved language in any public descriptions of Bloomberg Philanthropies involvement with our campaigns. In order to make this easier, we are including some pre-approved language below. (Also available as Word doc.) If you use the pre-approved language here, or any of the language in our approved press release below, you do not need to get further sign-off. However, if you would like to alter this language or post other messages with a public audience that mention the Mayor or Bloomberg Philanthropies by name, you must get permission to do so from Orli Cotel or Oliver Bernstein. This applies to images, photos, and videos as well.

Please do not contact the Bloomberg Philanthropies staff or Mayor’s staff directly. All inquiries should go through Orli Cotel or Oliver Bernstein.

Pre-approved language:

"Among the major supporters of the Beyond Coal campaign is Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has committed $50 million to the campaign."

"Michael R. Bloomberg, businessman, environmentalist and Mayor of New York City, has joined the chorus of voices calling to replace coal with clean energy, and Bloomberg Philanthropies has pledged $50 million to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign."

In addition, any language drawn directly from the press release below can be used.

—

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2011

Bloomberg Philanthropies commits $50 million to Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign to move America toward cleaner energy

Grant a 'game changer' that will effectively retire one-third of the nation's aging coal fleet by 2020

Alexandria, VA. Today the Sierra Club announced a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies that will effectively retire one-third of the nation's aging coal fleet by 2020, replacing it with clean energy. The partnership includes a $50 million commitment over four years to the Beyond Coal Campaign that will fuel the Sierra Club's effort to clean the air, end the coal era, and accelerate the transition to cleaner, cost-effective energy sources.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune was joined for today’s announcement by Michael R. Bloomberg. They appeared outside a coal-fired plant in Alexandria, Virginia.

In the U.S., coal is the leading cause of greenhouse-gas emissions, and coal’s pollution contributes to four out of the five leading causes of mortality -- heart disease, cancer, stroke, and respiratory illness. Coal emits almost half of all U.S. mercury pollution, which causes developmental problems in babies and young children, as well as being a major contributor to asthma attacks. Coal pollution causes $100 billion in health costs annually.

"If we are going to get serious about reducing our carbon footprint in the United States, we have to get serious about coal. Ending coal power production is the right thing to do, because, while it may seem to be an inexpensive energy source, the impact on our environment and the impact on public health is significant," said Bloomberg. "Coal is a self-inflicted public health risk, polluting the air we breathe, adding mercury to our water, and the leading cause of climate disruption."

Bloomberg added: "The Beyond Coal Campaign has had great success in stopping more than 150 new coal-fired power plants over the past few years and is empowering local communities to lead from the front while Congress continues to watch from the back. That is why I'm pleased to support the Sierra Club and its allies, and I encourage others to do the same."

The $50 million grant will fill a significant portion of the campaign's projected $150 million four-year budget and will have a significant impact in advancing the efforts of the Beyond Coal campaign.

The partnership will play a key role in helping the Sierra Club achieve their impact goals of:

· Cutting 30% of coal production by 2020

· Reducing mercury pollution from coal by 90% by 2020

· Replacing a majority of coal with clean energy

From an organizational perspective it will:

· Increase the number of Sierra Club campaign states from 15 to 45

· Increase the active member and supporter base from 1.4 million to 2.4 million people

· Double the size of full-time Sierra Club staff working on the campaign from 100 to 200

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune thanked Bloomberg for the grant, calling it a "game changer" in the fight against coal. He also praised Bloomber's farsighted vision and understanding of how protecting public health, developing innovative energy sources, and addressing climate change are all inextricably linked. He also welcomed his business savvy and track record for success to the campaign.

"This partnership will help the Sierra Club to work with communities nationwide as they tell one coal plant after another that inflicting asthma and other diseases on their children is unacceptable and that they will not accept coal pollution in their neighborhoods.

"Coal relentlessly dirties our water, air, and lungs and fixing the problem cannot be left to Washington," said Brune. "Nor can coal's contributions to climate disruption be left to international bodies. Mike Bloomberg's strong clean air agenda as Mayor of New York, and his Chairmanship of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, shows that he understands that actions are being taken, and that the most significant ongoing successes will be won city by city, by dedicated people across America."

Beyond Coal campaign successes to date include:

· The campaign has stopped 153 new coal-fired power plants from being built, preserving market space for clean energy.

· Nearly 10% of the current coal fleet is now slated for retirement.

· New mountaintop removal mining permits have slowed to a trickle.

· Victories at 16 colleges and universities, where Sierra Student Coalition members have won fights to shut down coal plants on their campuses.

· Hundreds of thousands of people mobilized in support of strong clean air and water protections

· The biggest clean air agreement in the history of the Southeast with the TVA settlement.

Studies show that replacing coal's pollution with clean energy is possible and as coal prices are going up, wind and solar are coming down. Iowa already gets more than 15% of its energy from wind power, and San Antonio recently decided to shut down one of its dirty coal plants and install over 400 MW of solar power, what will be one of the largest solar installations in the world. Meanwhile, the green job sector is growing -- the wind industry already provides more jobs in the U.S. than the coal industry.

The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign started as a three-person campaign in 2002 and has quickly grown into a powerhouse effort that is changing the way America produces energy. In 2001, the Administration at the time met with coal industry representatives as part of a closed-door energy task force, to craft plans for a new "coal rush" -- the construction of 150 new coal-fired power plants. Had the industry prevailed in building these plants, the nation would have been locked into the use of 19th-century dirty fuels for the foreseeable future. The potential for entrepreneurs to develop wind, solar and other clean technologies would have been crippled. Working with local people in neighborhoods across the country, Sierra Club organizers began fighting Big Coal’s efforts to push through these plants. Together, they achieved one victory after another.

Mary Anne Hitt, Director of the Beyond Coal Campaign, called coal "an outdated fuel that is making our kids sick and has no place in a modern energy economy."

"We're already winning in cities across the country. Community by community, people are standing up and saying no to coal, saying that they are ready for the clean energy economy. Now we’re ready to take this campaign to a whole new level."

This is the second major climate initiative by Bloomberg Philanthropies following the recent involvement and investment in the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40). Bloomberg Philanthropies is focused on climate action, taking a realistic view that progress will come not from national governments and international bodies, but instead by driving action at the city and local level.

Not on My Watch

Here's Club President Robin Mann's Power to Change blog post on how becoming a grandmother has changed how she looks at the world.

Not on My Watch

I just became a grandmother.

Elsie Ford Mann arrived early Sunday morning, weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces. What a thrill to pay a quick visit to meet her and to see that all is well with her and her parents.

They are very much on my mind.  And suddenly the world looks different to me. 

The other day, before Elsie arrived, I had my temperature taken for a routine check-up. The nurse slid a sensor across my forehead. It made me think of the "more invasive" way they took your temperature when I was a baby, and how much our mid-20th century medical methods and instruments have changed. Elsie will be spared considerable discomfort and risks from having her temperature taken. There have been all kinds of advances that help Elsie's and other parents provide a safer environment for children born today.

But what about her exposure to toxins? I look at the biggest sources of mercury and other toxins that threaten my granddaughter — coal-fired power plants — and they are frozen in time. Today, there are plants spewing mercury and other airborne toxins just as they were when I was born, almost 60 years ago. There are ways to modify those plants to limit their pollution — improvements that could and should have been installed years ago — but the industry has managed to get them delayed. 

Better yet, there are new, cheaper cleaner energy sources that befit a modern society and won't poison the air and cause other serious environmental and health problems. To all you grandparents out there — and parents, too — I know we can do better. And I know that we need to band together to demand better from our public officials, because right now they are feeling a crush of pressure from a coal industry that wants to thwart the EPA and avoid pollution controls and buy time to maximize their profits. 

All together now: "Not on my watch!"

You can find out more about the dangers of mercury and how you can be tested (a lock of your hair is all it takes) in the Club's Stop Polluters campaign at sierraclub.org/stoppolluters.

Robin Mann
Sierra Club president, a.k.a. Elsie’s grandmother

(To comment, please go to Power to Change.)

P.S. I want to let you know about two upcoming Monday evening conference calls —

• March 28 (Monday) — Clubhouse Guided Tour
• April 4 (Monday) — Intro to Activist Network
• April 11 (Monday) — Guided Tour of New Features in Activist Network
  
  5 pm Pacific / 6 pm Mountain / 7 pm Central / 8 pm Eastern
  866-501-6174 — 1892-005#

P.P.S. Club members, you should have received your ballot for the board election. Please read the candidate statements and vote.

How to Make Hot Videos — What Sierra Club Productions Can Do For You

Here's a memo from Bob Sipchen and Adrienne Bramhall to Club staff and volunteers on how to request a hot new Sierra Club video.

Colleagues,

The Sierra Club has plenty of riveting stories to tell and it’s important that we tell them well. Judging from the number of requests Sierra Club Productions receives these days, none of you need to be told what a powerful communications tool video can be. If this sort of visual storytelling were easy, however, the Academy Awards would be even longer and snores would never be heard during a Sundance screening.
  
It’s with this challenge in mind that the Communications department has made raising the bar on the quality of all our video efforts a priority goal for the first half of 2011.
  
Moving forward, we want every video we produce to reach the widest possible audience. The best way to do that is to make sure those viewers want to watch every second of every video, do so, and then hit replay. And then hit replay again. And then share the video with friends. If we’re talking about a captive audience of donors or a house party crowd, we want viewers to watch through to the final frame without fidgeting and then burst into impassioned discussion of what they’ve seen.
  
To hit these high benchmarks, our videos need to surprise, invigorate, motivate, and inspire as well as inform. We want them to make people laugh, weep, dance, get mad, take action. Want to make a video that’s funny? Edgy? Truly profound? Of course you do. Predictable? Preachy? No way.
  
Sierra Club Productions’ role is to help staff and volunteers determine when the use of video is likely to be effective and to produce or offer guidance in crafting the finest quality videos at the lowest possible price.  In some instances, we can meet your needs by identifying a video that already exists.
  
To help chapter leaders, volunteers and others working on their own projects, we have bolstered the information that appears on our website. Please view it as an ever-evolving self-help webinar on best practices in the realm of persuasive video, from conception to promotion, with how-to tips on scripting, story-boarding, filming, editing, embedding interactive elements, use of cutting-edge engagement tools, metrics accountability, distribution and publicity.
  
Videos that aspire to national distribution on the Sierra Club’s official YouTube channel or requiring promotion by the Communications department will, in all but a few rare cases, be created by Sierra Club Productions—perhaps with the help of outside talent. For these, the Club has a more formal but relatively painless process. It’s important to note that at the national level, the Club will not authorize payment for any videos or significant video-related expenditures that have not gone through the Sierra Club Productions process, including legal and contractual vetting, compliance approval and strict quality control. 
  
So. Have a brilliant idea for a video that will change the world (or at least make people giggle and do something significant for our cause)? Click here for the handful of hoops we’ll ask you to jump through and an estimate of what your video will cost to produce.
  
We look forward to working with you. Please spread the word.

Need help getting started? Call Adrienne at 805.955.9374.
  
Thanks!   
Bob Sipchen and Adrienne Bramhall 

 

Updated Talking Points -- Elections, Tar Sands, Coal, EPA, and more!

Have a media event or Editorial Board meeting coming up?  Don't "reinvent the wheel" -- check out the the Sierra Club's latest strategic messaging on the Clubhouse "Talking Points" section! Here's a sample of the newest Talking Points and template media materials for our campaigns for the 2010 Midterm Elections, Dirty Fuels, Coal, Energy-Efficiency, EPA Regulation of Global Warming Pollution, and more:

> 2010 Midterm Elections –

Talking Points emphasizing the economy, and ties between clean energy jobs and protecting the environment - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/post-election-2010-talking-points.aspx

Post-election polling memo - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/Post-election%20GQR%20Polling%20Memo.pdf

Talking points on the impact of young people on the elections - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/youth-voters-election-2010-talking-points.aspx

> Tar Sands Oil -

 Talking Points on Tar Sands Oil/Keystone XL pipeline – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/oil-spill/Keystone%20XL%20pipeline.aspx  

Letters to the Editor on Tar Sands/Keystone XL pipeline – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/beyond%20oil/Keystone%20XL%20pipeline_LTE.aspx

 Sample Op-Ed (Thanksgiving theme) on Tar Sands/Keystone XL pipeline – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/beyond%20oil/Keystone%20XL%20pipeline_OpEd.aspx

> Beyond Coal -

 Sierra Student Coalition "Campuses Beyond Coal" Talking Points – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/coal/campuses-beyond-coal.aspx

Beyond Coal template local press release for air pollution warnings -http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/coal/Coal%20Air%20Pollution_press%20release.aspx

> Energy-Efficient Building Codes –

Talking points on making building codes for new homes and commercial buildings more energy-efficient - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/energy/energy-efficient%20building%20codes.aspx

> EPA Regulation of Global Warming Pollution

Fact Sheet on EPA regulation of global warming pollution (greenhouse gases) under the Clean Air Act – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/default.aspx

Talking points on EPA regulation of global warming pollution (greenhouse gases) under the Clean Air Act - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/EPA-GHG-talking-points.aspx

Letters to the Editor on EPA regulation of global warming pollution (greenhouse gases) under the Clean Air Act - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/EPA-GHG-LTEs.aspx

Update on Integration of Coal and Clean Energy Solutions Campaigns

The following is an October 22, 2010 memo to Sierra Club volunteers and staff members from Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt

Update on Integration of Coal and Clean Energy Solutions Campaigns

Over the course of the last two months we have been working on the integration of Clean Energy Solutions (CES) into the Beyond Coal Campaign, which Sarah Hodgdon announced in a memo this June (read the memo here: http://bit.ly/dm4YVY). As the director of this newly combined campaign, I want to provide you with an update on our progress. While we are all disappointed in the Senate’s failure to pass a climate bill, the campaign has a strategy to phase out existing coal plants – our biggest source of global warming pollution – and replace them with clean energy, by mobilizing our network of volunteers, staff, and experts that has stopped 139 proposed coal plants nationwide (and counting – see the latest here on our coal tracker: http://bit.ly/drGrIF).

The staff and volunteer leadership of the Beyond Coal Campaign are enthusiastic about the joining of these two efforts, and we have taken our first steps together by creating a combined leadership team and convening our first planning meetings. Exciting clean energy work is already well underway in many states, and we’re celebrating recent victories like Colorado’s plan to retire existing coal plants and institute one of the strongest renewable electricity standards in the nation. As we look ahead, some of the energy projects we're discussing with enthusiasm include offshore wind, PV solar, and a whole suite of conservation and efficiency initiatives.

At the same time, we recognize we have significant work left to do to fully integrate the two campaigns and better flesh out our shared vision. We look forward to working with many of you as we create a robust campaign plan that sets forth ambitious clean energy goals that are tied directly to phasing out existing coal plants.

There are many people affected by this transition, and this memo describes the new roles of CES staff and volunteer leadership, as well as the current status of existing CES programs. It does not account for the portfolios of all staff that had a relationship with the CES campaign.

Staff and Volunteers

Dick Fiddler, the volunteer co-lead of the CES campaign (and this year’s winner of the John Muir Award – congrats Dick!), has joined the Beyond Coal Campaign Leadership Team. This team consists of volunteers Verena Owen, Will Reynolds, Christine Lewis, and Rick Clewett, and staff Mary Anne Hitt, Bruce Nilles, Heather Cusick, Kim Kohl, Pat Gallagher, and Jesse Simons.  This team is responsible for the Beyond Coal Campaign, which is one campaign that now includes both coal and clean energy work. Verena Owen and I co-lead this team.

I am in the process of revisiting the role and make-up of the previous delivery team, and I plan to initiate a regular staff call for core staff responsible for implementing the campaign. I plan to finalize and announce these changes by early November.

Alex Levinson is now leading the campaign’s efforts in Colorado and on renewable energy projects on private lands in California. Barb Boyle is leading the campaign’s efforts in Nevada and on renewable energy projects on public lands in California. Cammy Watkins continues to lead our project to strengthen building codes in order to improve the energy efficiency of new homes and businesses (learn more here: http://www.thirtypercentsolution.org), and she is working with the regional campaign directors to integrate that work into Beyond Coal efforts in priority states. Jonathan Kevles and Jennifer Perrone will be staffing a new research unit for the campaign, undertaking and managing research projects for efforts to replace coal with clean energy nationwide.

Projects

In addition to changing portfolios of individual staff, there are individual projects that have previously been conducted under the umbrella of Clean Energy Solutions. The building codes work mentioned above and Cool Cities are two such programs. We are working to focus these programs in areas where there is a strong nexus between the clean energy work and our effort to move priority states and cities away from coal.

We anticipate continuation of the building codes work, but within the Beyond Coal framework. Cammy Watkins and the regional campaign directors will continue to refine the state by state building code strategy and work toward implementation.

Cool Cities will continue with limited resources as we assess the program and reinvigorate the program within a Beyond Coal framework. We are enthusiastic about working with the many chapters, activists, and community leaders who have participated or accessed the Cool Cities project (learn more here: http://www.coolcities.us). Within the next month, we will convene a small team to evaluate Cool Cities and to identify a path forward for this program within the Beyond Coal campaign.

With robust clean energy work happening in Chapters across the nation, we anticipate continuing to work with and support Chapter efforts that are aimed at reducing coal use and replacing that capacity with clean energy. Our regional campaign directors will be on point to work with chapters to identify opportunities to advance this work, tapping the vast knowledge throughout the Club to advance projects and policies that will move cities, states, and our nation beyond coal to clean energy.

Finally, the Environmental Law Program has dedicated two full time attorneys, Gloria Smith and Travis Ritchie, and several other part-time attorneys, working under legal director Pat Gallagher's supervision, to advancing clean energy campaign goals with strategic legal actions. Projects currently underway include litigation challenging the Federal Home Finance Agency's obstruction of state and local property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs; interventions in numerous state-level integrated resource planning or renewable portfolio dockets (KY, LA, OH, NC, OR, VA, TVA); and interventions in energy efficiency dockets in Missouri and Mississippi. In addition, the legal program has invested heavily in assisting the Club's efforts to get large scale-renewables and transmission sited properly.

National Clean Energy Policy

In the coming months, we plan to convene members of the Beyond Coal leadership team and the DC federal policy staff to discuss national clean energy policy priorities for 2011. Given that we are currently in a rapidly changing landscape nationally, we anticipate this work will not get into full swing until we know more about the makeup of the next Congress. There will be opportunities for energy activists to weigh in on those clean energy policy priorities.

We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to integrate these campaigns. I will continue to keep you posted on our progress through future updates. If you have ongoing concerns or would like to discuss this further, please contact me, Verena Owen, or Dick Fiddler.

Updated Talking Points - Coal, Oil, Transportation and More

Policy decisions, disasters, elections - things move fast, and the Sierra Club is shifting its strategic communication to keep up with new developments!

Stay up-to-date on the Sierra Club's most persuasive and effective messages by checking out new Talking Points and media-related materials like template Letters to the Editor, Op-Eds and Speeches on the Clubhouse "Talking Points" section.  The Clubhouse Talking Points section has messaging on our Climate Recovery Campaigns and topics such as Coal Ash, the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Green Transportation, Clean Energy, Politics, Resiliant Habitats, and more. 

Here are some of the newest materials to be added to the Clubhouse Talking Points Section:

> Coal Ash

Talking Points emphasizing the effects of toxic coal ash on family health and communities - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/coalash/

Talking Points on recent coal ash spills in Ohio and North Carolina, and the red sludge spill in Hungary – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/coalash/coalashdisaster-talkingpoints.aspx

Sample Letters to the Editor on recent coal ash spills  – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/coalash/coalashdisaster-LTE.aspx

> Gulf Coast Oil Spill  

Updated Talking Points on the BP Oil Spill – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/oil-spill/gulf-coast-September.aspx

Talking Points on 6-month anniversary of the BP Oil Spill –http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/oil-spill/gulf-coast-6-mo.anniv.aspx

> Clean Cars 

Talking Points on increased fuel-efficiency standards for cars and other vehicles – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/green-transportation/cleancars.aspx

Sample Letters to the Editor on increased fuel-efficiency standards for cars and other vehicles –http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/green-transportation/cleancars-LTEs.aspx

Sample Op-Eds on increased fuel-efficiency standards for cars and other vehicles – http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/green-transportation/cleancars-OpEds.aspx

> Green Transportation

Talking Points on reducing global warming pollution through green transportation choices - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/green-transportation/transchoices-talkingpoints.aspx

Sample Letter to the Editor on reducing global warming pollution through green transportation choices - http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/green-transportation/transchoices-LTEs.aspx

Tune-Up Your Media Skills with New Trainings This Fall!

Are you rarin' to go for a radio interview?  Curious about cyberspace?  Not sure how to get into the news cycle?

The Sierra Club Media Team offers trainings to staff, chapter staff, and activists to develop skills on using the media as an organizing and communication tool.  These trainings are offered on a regular basis, as phone conference calls/PowerPoint presentations.  If you're ready for a tune-up of your skills, check out the trainings that have been scheduled for this Fall:

> Pitch training!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 -- 3pm ET/2pm CT/1pm MT/12pm PT

Unrelated to baseball, sorry Giants fans!  But this training will help you learn to effectively “pitch” the Sierra Club story to the news media – a crucial building-block skill to help us spread our message, influence public opinion, and persuade policymakers.  Please RSVP for the training to [email protected].

> New Organizer Media Orientation

First Friday of each month, next training will be Friday, November 5, 2010 -- 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT

This training is recommended for all new field staff (hired since January 1, 2010), and those who want a refresher. The training orients field organizers to the communications resources available to them, and benefits to integrating media work into field plans. Please RSVP to [email protected].

> Blog Trainings

Coming Soon - Novemeber 2010

Keep your eyes peeled for a brand new 2-part training series, “Intro to Blogs” and “How to Use Blogs,” that is being developed jointly by the Media Team and the Online Organizing Dept.

Messaging and Info on EPA Good Neighbor - Transport Rule

Just posted some new messaging documents and sample LTEs about EPA's proposed Good Neighbor / Clean Air Transport Rule on the Coal Clubhouse Page - go check it out.

Also, there's some more updated coal ash messaging available on the website, including talking points on recycling coal ash for "beneficial" use.

Coal to Clean Energy Solutions – Planning to Win!

This memo was sent on June 23, 2010 to staff and volunteer leaders from Sierra Club Director of Conservation Sarah Hodgdon and Deputy Director of Conservation Bruce Nilles.

Over the past few weeks, we have initiated a series of important and transformative changes in the structure and staffing of the Clean Energy Solutions campaign.  These changes will ensure that as we shut down America’s fleet of dirty power we are able to quickly replace it with cleaner choices.

The changes we are putting in place are being driven by the recognition that in order to actually get large scale retirements of existing coal plants, we need to more directly synchronize our efforts to push out the dirty energy and push forward the clean.  Indeed, we must specifically identify the dirty megawatts, state by state, and then map backwards to determine what combination of local, state and federal mandates and incentives will ensure that we have enough clean energy to meet demand. In other words, to win on coal, we have to win on clean energy and vice versa.

The changes were also driven by the belief that we will raise significantly more funding if our clean energy work is framed as part and parcel of how we move America beyond coal and toward a smarter energy future.  Funders understand that a grassroots movement is required to stop bad things like coal plants.  That same movement will help press for the right solutions. And we are confident that by framing and planning our clean energy work as integral to how we deliver results on shutting down America’s existing fleet of coal plants we will raise significantly more funding and deliver substantially greater results.

Finally, these changes were intended to maximize our effectiveness by combining the two campaigns for management, operational and fundraising purposes.  Bruce will serve as the acting director of the combined effort until Mary Anne Hitt returns from maternity leave to direct Beyond Coal and necessary funds can be raised to reestablish leadership positions for the clean energy initiatives of the joint campaign. Bruce has asked Heather Cusick to take on a new role as Director of Regional Campaign Strategies for Beyond Coal and Clean Energy Solutions. She will lead a team of regional coordinators, including Bill Corcoran for the West, James Gignac for the Midwest, Glen Hooks for the Southeast an Mark Kresowik for the Northeast.  This team will begin laying the groundwork for state and regionally integrated strategies.

Bruce has also hired Kim Kohl as the new Director of Campaign Operations for Beyond Coal and Clean Energy Solutions. Kim comes to the Sierra Club after serving as the executive director of the Maryland-based Sassafras River Association and the Senior Director for Finance and Operations at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and she starts June 25.  Heather and Kim will carefully assess all elements of Clean Energy Solutions currently underway to ensure that they are covered or gracefully phased out, if necessary.  Please be patient with them as they conduct this work.  If you have questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Heather.

We have also strategically reassigned several key staff– including Alex Levinson, who had formerly been directing the CES Campaign – to specific projects that will deliver the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. This new structure will ultimately allow the Sierra Club to play an even larger role in bringing about a clean energy future.  However, it was not possible to do this without some difficult decisions.  Because almost all of the money we had raised for CES over the past 18 months was very narrowly restricted, we had to eliminate two positions.  We wish it could have been otherwise.  There is now adequate funding for the foreseeable future to maintain the staffing we do have, and with our increasingly compelling planning, we believe we will be in a position to start growing the campaign again in early 2011.

In the coming weeks, as conversations are completed, we will be sharing an organizational chart describing the staffing of the Beyond Coal/Clean Energy Solutions work. Verena Owen and Dick Fiddler remain the volunteer leads of Beyond Coal and Clean Energy Solutions and are developing a plan
for increased collaboration between the leadership teams.  We are very appreciative of their leadership and guidance.

In the new world of restricted funding, challenges in fundraising for one campaign do not signal a flurry of lay offs to come across the Conservation Department.  We are confident that the changes made will help to stabilize the CES budget and the integration with Beyond Coal will help to bring in additional funds for the complementary clean energy work.  We are not anticipating further layoffs now in CES or any other program for the remainder of 2010.  However, all of our campaigns and programs now require that restricted fundraising goals are met, and we will know more after our mid-year budget and fundraising review.  We will provide a further update on the overall financial picture later this summer.

We want to acknowledge and thank the Sierra Club staff and volunteers that have already made a tremendous contribution in building a clean energy economy.  Looking forward, we are excited about the potential for expanding this work.  We believe now more than ever that Sierra Club will play an
important leadership role in shaping America’s energy future.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of us.