Sierra Club's Power Lunch: An End To Fossil Fuels?

Sierra Magazine's cover story features a "power lunch" with energy executives and environmentalists to address national energy policy.

1 minute read

July 15, 2002, 12:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


The Sierra Club puts together a diverse energy task force to rival the recommendations of Vice President Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group last year: "We didn’t only talk to environmentalists. We also invited the head of a multinational oil company, a labor leader, an architect, a state policymaker, and a utility executive. And on a wintry day in San Francisco, beneath Ansel Adams photographs of blooming dogwoods and Yosemite Valley, we gathered (several joining by telephone) and talked about how we might get past the status quo to implement environmentally positive energy goals... All agreed, moreover, that the path ahead can and must lead beyond fossil fuels. Even BP’s Lord John Browne concurred—though he would not take the bait when the Earth Policy Institute’s Lester Brown asked him to finally declare what "BP" stood for these days. (His company had floated the idea in promotional material that the former British Petroleum was now going Beyond Petroleum.) 'BP stands for BP,' replied a good-natured Browne."

Thanks to Congress on New Urbanism

Sunday, July 14, 2002 in Sierra Club

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Entrance to subterranean Hollywood/Vine Metro station in Los Angeles, California surrounded by tall apartment buildings.

Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access

A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.

April 21 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Yellow roadside sign with extreme heat warning: "Danger - Extreme Conditions! - STOP - Do not hike Jun-Sep - HEAT KILLS"

Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills

Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.

April 21 - Nevada Current

View of downtown Pittsburgh, PA with river and bridge in foreground at dusk.

Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units

Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.

April 21 - Axios