Sarah Hodgdon, Guest Writer
Sarah Hodgdon is the Sierra Club Director of Conservation. She began her grassroots organizing career in 1993 with Green Corps, serving as Recruitment Director for the group from 1996 - 2000. With Green Corps, Sarah recruited and trained young environmental activists who have since become Executive Directors of organizations such as Greenpeace, MoveOn.org and Rock the Vote. She went on to become the Executive Director of Dogwood Alliance, a North Carolina based forest protection organization. While at Dogwood Alliance, Sarah oversaw a national campaign that persuaded Staples and Office Depot to increase their sales of recycled paper, resulting in the first expansion in production at recycled paper mills in over ten years.
Before being named as the Sierra Club's Director of Conservation, Sarah first served as the Club's Deputy Field Director in Richmond, VA, helping to manage 26 field offices with an emphasis on operations, finances, and fundraising. She quickly moved on to become the Director of Climate Campaign Operations, overseeing programs for the Climate Recovery Partnership (CRP), a set of initiatives that will help cut carbon emissions 80% by the year 2050. Sarah supervised the CRP's flagship campaign, Beyond Coal, which has helped defeat nearly 100 proposed coal-fired power plants and has been described in Rolling Stone as "the most successful campaign the environmental movement has seen in more than a decade." As a result of the Beyond Coal campaign, the U.S. Department of Energy has reduced its projections of future carbon emissions.
Sarah was named Director of Conservation for the Sierra Club in June, 2009. In her new capacity, she will advocate for the end of coal-fired electricity, support market growth for clean energy alternatives, push for economic sanctions against greenhouse gas-intense energy, encourage the nation's transition to a green transportation system, and install safeguards to protect habitats and communities against inevitable climate change.
Latest Stories from Sarah Hodgdon, Guest Writer - Page 5
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A Game-Changer for Clean Energy
When I talk about the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, I can't help feeling inspired and a sense of pride and optimism. We've come so far since the campaign started back in 2002 - even in just
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An Assault on the Clean Water Act
The Sierra Club has long had activists in Washington, DC, working to enact laws and policies that will protect our
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Electric Vehicles Bring Us Closer to Freedom From Oil
Imagine greater security for our service members abroad. Imagine freedom from the rising prices of the gas pump. Imagine freedom from massive oil spills
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New York Passes Historic Green Jobs Financing Law
At quarter to midnight on June 22, the New York State legislature passed the "Power NY Act," a long-sought complement to the "Green Jobs/Green NY" law that passed in 2009.
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Help Protect LA's Backyard, the San Gabriel Mountains
On June 5, I joined members of the Angeles Chapter's Hundred Peaks Section in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. This was the 30th year they've had a hike in the San Gabriels the first Sunday
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What Do NYC's Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Environment Have in Common?
This weekend is the huge annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City, and right now you may be wondering why we're choosing to write about it on Treehugger.
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Will You Join the March on Blair Mountain?
Here's a great way to spend a week in June: Marching to save West Virginia's historic Blair Mountain from coal mining.
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Chicago Builds Momentum for Moving Beyond Coal
Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to attend the Environmental Protection Agency public hearing in Chicago on its proposed mercury and air toxics safeguards. Hundreds of people turned out to support EPA and
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Biking Beyond Oil
I just bought a bike a few weeks ago, so May being Bike to Work Month and this week being Bike to Work Week are exciting for a newbie like me.
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Shill, Baby, Shill: Big Oil Still Getting Big Tax Breaks
Yesterday I watched the U.S. House of Representatives shill for Big Oil again by passing a bill allowing more drilling in our waters with less oversight and accountability. At the same time, House
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An Opportunity to Protect Our National Forests
Don Parks has been involved in protecting national forests since the 1970s. For him, they're a place to take a nice hike to enjoy nature and relax. His
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Power Shift 2011 Shows the Youth Climate Movement is Strong
For anyone like me who joined the environmental movement after Earth Day 1990 (and is about to turn 40 this year!), I have a
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Join the Sierra Club in Preventing Gray Wolf Delisting
After last week's budget fight, wolves were used as trading chips and ended up being thrown under the bus.
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How the West Was Sold for Coal
When you hear someone like Mike Scott talk about the beauty of the Powder River Basin, you want to join him there for a fishing or hunting trip right away.
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US Capitol to Receive a Powerful Infusion of Young Energy
Our nation's capitol will soon receive a powerful infusion of young energy. From April 15-18, more than 10,000 young leaders will converge on Washington, DC, at Power Shift 2011.At
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Moms Speak Out Against Toxic Mercury
Gretchen Dahlkemper-Alfonso is a mother of a toddler and is eight-months pregnant with her second child.
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Labor and Environmentalists Unite Nationwide
The movement continues nationwide to counter the anti-union legislation being proposed in many states. Sierra Club staff and volunteers around the country continue our work with unions on these issues.
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A Dirty Power Transmission Line Comes to Its End
"I'm absolutely affected by the air quality. My house is downwind of this coal plant, as is the Shenandoah National Park. This should be a pristine area, but the air quality is so poor that there are often health alerts
