Sierra Club Essay

Gavin Hoskins

Mrs. Jonas & Mrs. Sparks

Honors ELA per 8

17th February 2023

The Sierra Club: an Environmental Legacy

The preservation of the natural world is a difficult but vital pursuit, one which has been led by the Sierra Club for the past 130 years. The Sierra Club is an organization devoted to the preservation, development, and appreciation of nature. It is extremely old, especially when compared to other organizations in the same field. The Sierra Club has many chapters across the United States, including one in the Grand Canyon state. One of the Grand Canyon chapter’s greatest concerns in recent months has been uranium mining in the grand canyon region. In 2002, uranium prices jumped worldwide, which sparked the purchasing of over 10,000

The Orphan Mine first operated in 1951, and was originally intended for extracting copper. Once operations began, uranium was discovered, and the mine’s focus changed to uranium extraction. Due to the primitive methods used by the miners, a large amount of uranium oxide was released from the open vents of the mines. At the same time, the miners, who were not given proper ventilation, inhaled an often deadly level of radon gas, which led to the most common cause of death in the mines being lung cancer. Much of the solid waste from the mining process was left in the mine, and leached into the Colorado River. The effects of this contamination are still being felt

The Sierra Club was founded by John Muir, an environmentalist and author with a focus on nature. The Sierra Club’s original focus was the Sierra mountain range, a natural formation in California. The Club’s goal was to conserve the natural resources in the Sierra mountains, and the further appreciation of such locations by the general public. The Sierra club also had a hand in the creation of the national parks system, as Muir was friends with sitting president Theodore Roosevelt. One of the parks sanctified was the Grand Canyon.

Many environmentalist organizations are campaigning against uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region, but few have the political power of the Sierra Club. With the help of Rep. Raul Grijalva, the Grand Canyon Protection Act was introduced to the house as a bill. This bill would prevent the mining of uranium, as well as help protect and give voice to the first nations tribes in the area, such as the Havasupi, Hopi, and Navajo