The Woke Club Is Dying
Since its founding by John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club has been a leader among US grassroots environmental organizations. The WSJ’s James Freeman hopes that when it comes to both old-fashioned conservationism and old-fashioned journalism, the Sierra Club will lay aside its partisan and ideological agendas and instead launch a campaign to lead people rather than lead a string of “resistance” groups.
The Sierra Club seems not to be about the environment or any related science. Rather, it more resembles a vehicle for a partisan, ideological agenda. Yet, as James Freeman notes, the organization itself seems to have launched a campaign to lead people to this very conclusion.
From the NYT:
During Mr. Trump’s first term, when the Sierra Club was flush with donations, its leaders sought to expand far beyond environmentalism, embracing other progressive causes. Those included racial justice, labor rights, gay rights, immigrant rights, and more…
The club became one in a string of “resistance” groups from Mr. Trump’s first administration that arrived at his second already exhausted from liberal infighting.
Trump tariff chaos has a whiff of this, writes Andy Kessler in the WSJ. “Maybe it’s why the left hates him so much—(Trump’s) executing their game plan better than they are.
Vigilantes
The Sierra Club’s “equity language guide” warns employees to be cautious about using words such as “vibrant” or “hardworking.” Why? They reinforce racist tropes. Don’t use “lame duck session,” because “lame” is offensive. Avoid using “Americans” since it excludes non-U.S. citizens. Etc.
The Sierra Club, which calls itself the “largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the country, is also in the middle of an implosion. As environmental protections are under the cudgel of the Trump administration, the Sierra Club has become weakened, distracted, and divided.
The Sierra Club calls itself the “largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the country.” But it is in the middle of an implosion — left weakened, distracted, and divided.
According to the NYT:
The group has lost 60 percent of the four million members and supporters it counted in 2019. It has held three rounds of employee layoffs since 2022, trying to climb out of a $40 million projected budget deficit.
