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"Water is a human right, not a commodity. ... All water resources, including the oceans, must be protected [NOTE not part of quote: Controlled, not 'protected'] as a public trust so that commercial use of water does not diminish public or ecological benefits." - The Sierra Club. 'Sierra Club was one of 225 public interest organizations from around the world that released the following declaration in Kyoto at the 3rd World Water Forum setting forth principles for global water policy: "Water, as a public trust and an inalienable human right, must be controlled by the peoples and communities that rely on it for their lives and livelihoods. The management of water services must not only remain in public hands, but must be revitalized and strengthened to make community and worker participation central in order to democratize decision-making processes and ensure transparency and accountability." http://www.ventana.sierraclub.org/conservation/sc_watershed/water_as_human_right .shtml

Founded in the last years of the nineteenth century, the Sierra Club has gone from being a small group of people interested in preserving the beauty of our country's natural wonders, to a huge lobbying force, a group with the environmental extremist 'John Muir Sierrans' and a cash cow that has many thousands of well-meaning members -- contributors that are unknowingly plotting their own demise when they write their checks. Why is this? The Sierra Club touts 'zero development,' 'negative population growth' and many other anti-human planks.

Rather than believe that your dollars will go to help 'protect' an 'old-growth forest' somewhere that you'll be forbidden to ever see, and pining over how the 'bad, bad humans' have destroyed our natural resources, consider that, as long as you need the products made from trees -- a renewable resource, which is why the Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- you will need to do more than feel guilty about having ever been a tiny fraction of the reason for sawdust being created.

The origins of the Sierra Club were noble, but the founders would probably be nauseated by what's come of their group.