The Sierra Club bills itself as “the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization,” supposedly standing up for the little people against the excesses of industry. The truth, however, is a whole other story.

Far from being a guardian of the environment, or protector of “Mother Earth” and her many splendors, the Sierra Club has proven itself a haven for wealthy investors and executives who care little about average Americans, but lots about lining their own pockets. This is accomplished by their tried-and-true formula of using the courts to attack U.S. industry, while pushing the agenda of their donors.

One recent example, in November of last year a frivolous Sierra Club lawsuit halted the construction of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, bringing much needed natural gas to growing areas of Pennsylvania and the east coast, immediately putting 2,500 workers out of a job.  Thankfully, a federal appeals court stepped in to point out that the project had already been reviewed thoroughly and approved, and would go forward.

And just this month, Sierra filed another frivolous lawsuit to stop the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), on previously rejected arguments that such projects were contributing to climate change. A U.S. Court of Appeals panel took little time in dismissing the suit, pointing out this issue had been decided in August in a similar case, whereby the Department of Energy under both President Obama and Trump had demonstrated their thoroughness in reviewing the environmental impact of LNG exports.

Said a representative from an LNG trade group, “The facts are clear, and the court agrees: The regulatory review process for U.S. LNG projects provides a thorough review of both operational and environmental impacts before being approved.” Of course Sierra knew the law wasn’t on their side, but the goal isn’t to protect people or the environment, but to make noise for their wealthy donors at the expense of average workers and consumers, and hope maybe they find a friendly judge who agrees with their far-left positions.

Sierra is infested with wealthy investors, executives and hedge fund managers who are bankrolling  their continued attacks on traditional energy because they represent competing renewable sources, and stand to become even richer with each Sierra victory. This includes people such as Nathaniel Simons, worth an estimated $12 billion, whose $14 million in gifts to the Sierra Club are aimed at bucking up his venture fund supporting renewable energy.

It also includes the $4 million in donations by Roger Sant, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Applied Energy Services, a self-billed “clean energy” company lobbying heavily for carbon taxes (to be paid by consumers). And Sierra’s affiliation with rich investors pushing higher energy prices on the American public goes much deeper. As reported in 2012:

“Eight of the Sierra Club Foundation’s 18 directors are involved with organizations that profit from the Beyond Coal campaign.

“Those directors are owners, founders and CEOs of renewable energy companies and investment firms who donated millions to the Sierra Club’s war on fossil fuels. These green energy tycoons knew lambasting coal, oil and natural gas would increase demand for renewables like solar and wind … and generate more money for their businesses.

“Companies with top executives on the Sierra Club’s board of directors include solar firms such as SolarCity, Sunrun and the Solaria Corporation, as well as the green energy investment funds at Barclays, Walden Capital and Boston Common Asset Management.”

More alarming than Sierra’s hidden agenda is that they have plenty of like-minded organizations supporting them. For example, the Florida-based Everglades Foundation is heavily subsidized by one Paul Tudor Jones, a wealthy investor and close friend of embattled movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, along with numerous other celebrities. Everglades gave Sierra’s Florida chapter $140,000 in 2016 alone to further their shared agenda of hounding companies that create jobs and put food on workers’ tables, as their benefactors travel the world in jets and write six-figure checks as if they were buying girl scout cookies.

Everglades has over $1.29 million stashed in the Cayman Islands, and pays its top executives exorbitant salaries to push a “clean energy” agenda that directly benefits its donors and board members. While holding themselves up as champions of the people, the reality is that their activism and targeted litigation drains our economy, upends property rights. And just like with Sierra, it is average Americans bearing the costs of the Everglades Foundation’s activism in higher energy bills and more expensive products marked up to cover the cost of their litigation.

CASE understands the importance of sensible conservation and common sense regulations that enhance, rather than bulldoze, the rights of consumers to enjoy and cherish our natural resources. Millionaires masquerading as public servants while serving their own interests, as the Sierra Club and Everglades Foundation have shown, is a way to bludgeon the American people in favor of the privileged wealthy.