MANY years ago when my kids were little (the youngest is 31 now) we had a Beetlejuice doll. It was about 18 inches tall and when you pulled a string it would say “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” and its head would spin around. It would freak out our dog and at one point he tore the thing apart leaving only the head and…
I started going to the mountains as a little kid back in the 50’s when my family would spend summer vacations at Sun Valley, Idaho. I started camping and canoeing when I was 9 and backpacking when I was 19. I’ve never stopped. 1971 – My First Backpacking Trip: Shenandoah National Park along the Appalachian Trail Recently in Idaho It used to be…
Recently I wrote about what you can personally do to help protect the planet from the worst possible outcomes of climate chaos and leave our descendants a more hospitable and livable environment. https://franklytalking.com/quitting-your-hamburger-addiction-aint-gonna-cut-it/ One of the things I suggested was joining Sierra Club and helping in these pursuits. (Full disclosure, as you probably know, I have been a Club member since…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is $25 BILLION in the hole. Since this program is funded by OUR tax dollars, it is we citizen tax payers that pay for these natural disasters. We should all be supportive that this program is in place to help and support those that suffer from weather…
Surveys continually show that the American population is becoming increasingly convinced of and concerned about the changing climate and global warming. The principal cause being the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere along with methane. The two primary sources comprising about 80% of these emissions are from the production of electricity from coal and natural gas and burning oil in the…
Since the election on November 8, I have been asked countless times “what is the Sierra Club going to do to protect our environment?” And this: “What can I do to prevent our natural resources and climate to be devastated by actions of the Trump Administration?” The simple answer is to RESIST. We simply cannot allow this new reality become acceptable.…
Sierra Club Board of Directors Meeting February 27, 2016 in Los Angeles Introduction. The just concluded meeting featured some interesting and historic moments punctuated with various noteworthy events. We started with an inspiring gathering together with the Sierra Club Foundation at which we were greeted to LA by none other than the mayor of LA, Eric Garcetti. It is amazing…
I am extremely honored that an article that I wrote appeared in the Words of the Wild Newsletter of the Sierra Club’s California/Nevada Wilderness Committee on page 10. If you care to read it, click here and you’ll go to the full newsletter and check out page 10. There are also many other wonderful pieces here including one by Bruce…
Absaroka Wilderness, Montana August 1 -10, 1989 In 1988 about a million acres of Yellowstone National Park (about one third of the Park) was burned in a series of huge forrest fires. The next year, my friend Jeff and I decided to hike in the area to see what the area now looked like. We hiked 75 miles from east…