====== Sierra Club ======

{{ ::sierra_club_logo.png?200|}}

The **Sierra Club** is an American non-profit organization based in [[united_states:california:Oakland]], [[united_states:California]].

===== History =====

==== Founding ====

The Sierra Club was founded in May 1892 by [[John Muir]], a "legendary [[naturalism|naturalist]]" who held openly racist views towards Indigenous and black people.((Jacobs, J. P. (2020, July 22). //Sierra Club takes on the racism of founder John Muir.// E&E News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104193737/https://www.eenews.net/articles/sierra-club-takes-on-the-racism-of-founder-john-muir/)) He became the first president and longest serving president, at approximately 20 years in this leadership position.

[[David Starr Jordan]], who was on the club’s board during Muir’s presidency, was a "kingpin" of the [[eugenics]] movement, including advocating for the forced-sterilization laws that affected predominantly Black, Latina and Indigenous women. He also co-founded the [[Human Betterment Foundation]], which produced research later taken up by the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]].

==== Commercialization ====

In 2008, the Sierra Club endorsed a commercial product for the first time in its 116-year history: [[Clorox]]’s Green Works™ product line, receiving $1.3 million in exchange.((Barringer, F. (2008, March 26). //Clorox Courts Sierra Club, and a Product Is Endorsed (Published 2008).// New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104201823/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/business/businessspecial2/26cleanser.html?_r=0))

In September 2014, [[David Schnare]] of the [[Energy & Environment Legal Institute]] published a report arguing that the Club and its subsidiary, the [[Sierra Club Foundation]], were operating in violation of non-profit tax law.((Schnare, D. W. (2014). //How the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation Violate Non-Profit Law.// Energy & Environment Legal Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104200346/https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Bootleggers-and-Baptists-The-Sierra-Club-Hucksterism-A-2014-EE-Legal-Report.pdf)) A follow-up report in July 2015 by the Institute's Executive Director, [[Craig Richardson]], accused the Club of operating as a "front group for donors’ financial interests."((Johnson, D. (2015, July 20). //Sierra Club has become front group for donors’ financial interests.// The Washington Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20230104195824/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/20/drew-johnson-sierra-club-has-become-front-group-do/)) ((Richardson, C. (2015). //Big Donors… Big Conflicts: How Wealthy Donors Use the Sierra Club to Push Their Agenda.// Energy & Environment Legal Institute. https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Big-Donors-Big-Conflicts-Final1.pdf))
==== 2020 Presidential election ====

During the [[2020 United States Presidential Election]], the Sierra Club joined the [[Protect the Results]] coalition in order to respond to any action taken by President [[Donald Trump]] "to steal the election."((Ball, M. (2021, February 4). //The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election.// Time. https://archive.vn/5wH1a))

===== Organization =====

==== Foundation ====

The Sierra Club raises funds through the [[Sierra Club Foundation]].((//About the Sierra Club Foundation.// The Sierra Club Foundation. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://archive.ph/2NbS5)) Donors include:((Richardson, C. (2015). //Big Donors… Big Conflicts: How Wealthy Donors Use the Sierra Club to Push Their Agenda.// Energy & Environment Legal Institute. https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Big-Donors-Big-Conflicts-Final1.pdf))

  * [[Energy Foundation]]
  * [[Google]]
  * [[Michael Bloomberg]] through [[Bloomberg Philanthropies]] and the [[Bloomberg Family Foundation]]
  * [[Mertz Gilmore Foundation]]
  * [[Recurrent Energy Development]]
  * [[Roger Sant]] through the [[Summit Foundation]]
  * [[Nathan Simons]] through the [[Sea Change Foundation]]
  * [[Tides Foundation]] and the [[Tides Center]]
  * [[William and Flora Hewlett Foundation]]

===== External links =====

  * [[https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/sierra-club/|InfluenceWatch]]
  * [[https://wiki.whiteroseintelligence.com/en/Sierra-Club|White Rose Wiki]]
  * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club|Wikipedia]]
  * [[https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Sierra_Club|Wikispooks]]