Rachel Bongiorno

The Sierra Club is one of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the Scottish conservationist and preservationist John Muir. The Sierra Club has hundreds of thousands of members throughout the United States and around the world.

As early as 1889, Journalist Robert Underwood Johnson a friend of John Muir encouraged Muir to form an association to help protect the Sierra Nevada. Meetings were held between them to plan the group. Others involved in the early planning included artist William Keith, Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan. In May 1892, a group of professors from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University helped Muir and attorney Warren Olney launch the new organization modeled after the eastern Appalachian Mountain Club. The Club's first goals included establishing Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, convincing the California legislature to give Yosemite Valley to the US Federal government, and saving California's coastal redwoods.

The Sierra Club's mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; to leave our children a living legacy of clean air, safe drinking water, and natural grandeur, and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives. Sierra Club Motto: “Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.”

In 2013 and 2014, the Sierra Club will promote leaders who take bold action on climate and clean energy, and expose those who still choose toxic money over human health. Some issues the Sierra Club is/has been working on in the past year or so: replacing dirty, unhealthy coal plants with cleaner, safer wind and solar energy; fight to protect drinking water from fracking defend wild lands and wildlife from expanded oil and gas development.

By becoming a member of the Sierra Club you'll have the satisfaction of helping preserve irreplaceable wild lands and wildlife. From community issues and actions to lobbying on a national level, membership helps you take action where its needed most & your voice will be heard through congressional lobbying and grassroots action. There are different membership levels for different prices based off how much you want to donate. The cheapest year membership for an individual without donating is $15, while a lifetime membership for an individual without donating is $1000. Donations are suggested and appreciated immensely since the Sierra Club is a nonprofit public benefit corporation. A membership includes: A free sierra club expedition pack, one year subscription to sierra magazine, member only ecotravel opportunities, automatic membership in your local chapter.