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Is your Sierra Club Group or Chapter actively engaged in local efforts to address the climate crisis? Climate Action Awards of up to $1,000 are available! We are once again offering several Community Climate Action Awards of up to $1,000 each to a limited number of Sierra Club Groups or Chapters that are advancing local, climate-focused initiatives. All applications must be received by or before May 31, 2023.


Representative local actions would include supporting high-impact ordinances to reduce emissions or increasing climate change awareness and education. Awardees will be expected to provide a year-end report that emphasizes results achieved and lessons learned. To apply, please complete and submit the Qualifications and application form.

Tell JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs to stop funding Port Arthur Liquefied Natural Gas


Two years ago, banks aligned with global climate goals by committing to reaching net-zero by 2050. The science is clear: if we want to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, we must stop all new fossil fuel expansion now. However, some banks have continued to pour billions of dollars into the fossil fuel projects that are driving the climate crisis, and making it impossible to meet our shared climate goals.


We must act now to stop Sempra and its Port Arthur Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal from furthering our climate crisis and harming the local community around the proposed site in Port Arthur, Texas. Continued investment in LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast disproportionately harms communities of color, who already bear the burden of decades of environmental racism and are most vulnerable to climate disasters. Industry air pollution causes high rates of cancer, respiratory disease, and other chronic illnesses.


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Tell President Biden to appoint a climate champion to FERC


The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent federal agency that regulates the interstate transmission of fracked gas, oil, and electricity. It plays a critical role in efforts to clean up the energy sector, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and tackle the climate crisis. While FERC is supposed to have five commissioners overseeing its decisions it currently only has four.


As a result, a deadlocked FERC could slow down key reforms on electricity transmission and gas infrastructure, and even enable projects and policies that hinder climate progress. At a time when FERC is considering important rules and infrastructure projects across the energy sector, we cannot afford deadlock and inaction at FERC.


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Defend Cook Inlet from oil drilling


Urge the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to reject the bid from Hilcorp for Oil and Gas Lease Sale 258 in Cook Inlet, Alaska. While Congress may have mandated this sale, it did not mandate that BOEM actually issue any leases for bids received during the sale. Rejecting Hilcorp’s bid is the only way to protect our climate and wildlife (such as beluga whales) from the dangers of more oil drilling.


Scientific evidence shows that more oil leasing means more climate chaos, such as devastating fires, droughts, heat waves, superstorms, sea level rise, and many other harms. Alaska is warming faster than any other state in the union, suffering from many of these problems in the process.


Moreover, Hilcorp has a terrible safety record, with a long history of spills and other accidents at its existing operations in Alaska. According to the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, “disregard for regulatory compliance is endemic to Hilcorp’s approach to its Alaska operations.” Issuing this lease to Hilcorp would only make the numerous harms inherent in offshore oil and gas drilling — particularly in the harsh Cook Inlet environment — even more risky.


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Prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new buildings


Designing and constructing new buildings for a climate-friendly all-electric future is easier and cheaper than retrofitting old buildings, so it makes sense to ban natural gas hookups in new construction. Berkeley, California was the first to do this in a 2020 ordinance, and dozens of California cities and counties have followed suit.


No state has yet passed a state-wide gas ban for new construction. California requires new buildings to be “all-electric ready” as of January 2023, but still allows gas infrastructure installation. Cities and counties are leapfrogging ahead in several states with local ordinances.


Unfortunately, this kind of local action is not possible everywhere — 20 states have passed "preemption" laws outlawing gas bans by local governments. If you are not in one of the preemption states, consider pushing a gas ban in your city or county. More details about Berkeley's natural gas ban ordinance can be found here in the Toolbox.

Cooking with Induction


There’s no time like the present for switching from gas to induction cooking. In addition to all of the advantages of cooking with electricity, such as lower carbon emissions and health and safety benefits, the Inflation Reduction Act is offering rebates of up to $840 if you replace a gas stove with either an induction or traditional electric stove.


What is induction cooking? An induction burner heats the base of the pot on top of it using a magnetic field, unlike an old-fashioned electrical resistance burner which heats the stove element and transfers heat to the pot by contact.


Gas stoves use fossil fuel methane, one of the main drivers of climate change. The entire natural gas industrial complex is dangerous, leaky and polluting. The pollution extends into homes as well, since a gas stove adds particulates, toxic gasses, and benzene to household air, contributing to childhood asthma risk.


Cooking with electricity is efficient – an induction stove is 85% efficient in converting energy to heat, compared to 75-80% for traditional electric or 32% for a gas stove – and electricity is increasingly low-carbon and renewable.


Cooking with induction has advantages. Induction has the quick responsiveness of gas when heat is increased or lowered. There are no combustion fumes to breathe in while cooking, no extra kitchen heat from gas flames; the cooktop is a smooth glass sheet which is easy to clean, and there is no resistive element to stay hot long after it is turned off. More home cooks and professional chefs are endorsing induction stoves as they realize the benefits.


Induction stoves cost more than traditional electric or gas stoves, starting at around $1,000 for a cooktop and $1,200 for a range. See this Consumer Reports article for a summary of what's available. Also, in order for cookware to work with induction stoves, it needs to be magnetic, such as cast-iron, steel and enamel-coated pots and pans.


Still not ready to replace your old stove? Try out a small portable induction cooktop for $60. Any cooking that uses electricity rather than gas is a win for the planet.