Carl Pope
Encyclopedia
Carl Pope is the former Executive Director of the Sierra Club
, an American environmental organization founded by conservationist
John Muir
in 1892. Pope was appointed to his position as Executive Director in 1992, and served until January 20, 2010, when he was succeeded by Michael Brune
. Pope is now the executive chairman of the Sierra Club.
Pope has worked with the Sierra Club for more than 30 years, and has served as a board member for other organizations, including the National Clean Air Coalition, California Common Cause, and Public Interest Economics Inc. He has served as Political Director for Zero Population Growth
. He was a Peace Corps
volunteer in India
from 1967 to 1969.
Pope is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, a progressive website founded by Arianna Huffington
.
In 2004 he published a book with Paul Rauber
called Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress.
On June 7, 2006, in Washington, D.C.
, Carl Pope, along with labor leader Leo Gerard
, announced the formation of the United Steelworkers
' and Sierra Club
's Blue/Green Alliance, after five years of negotiations between the two groups. The alliance focuses on interrelated issues that both organizations feel are important, including: a clean environment, better jobs, and a safer world.
In July, 2008, Pope stated in a televised interview on the satirical "news" program The Colbert Report that he believed Bryce Canyon National Park may be bi-sexual.
Pope recently expressed support for the Pickens Plan
, an effort by T. Boone Pickens to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Pickens, a billionaire oil investor, Republican
, and financier of conservative causes, took Pope, via his $60 million private plane, to his ranch in west Texas
, where Pickens and a group of investors plan to invest $12 billion in wind turbine
s.
In January 2009, Pope had announced his intention to step down from the post of Executive Director, effective upon the hiring of a successor. Pope will continue with the Sierra Club in the position of Chairman and will focus on climate change
.
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, an American environmental organization founded by conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
in 1892. Pope was appointed to his position as Executive Director in 1992, and served until January 20, 2010, when he was succeeded by Michael Brune
Michael Brune
Michael Brune is the executive director of the Sierra Club, an American environmental organization founded by conservationist John Muir in 1892. Brune was appointed to his position as executive director in January, 2010....
. Pope is now the executive chairman of the Sierra Club.
Pope has worked with the Sierra Club for more than 30 years, and has served as a board member for other organizations, including the National Clean Air Coalition, California Common Cause, and Public Interest Economics Inc. He has served as Political Director for Zero Population Growth
Zero population growth
Zero population growth, sometimes abbreviated ZPG , is a condition of demographic balance where the number of people in a specified population neither grows nor declines, considered as a social aim....
. He was a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from 1967 to 1969.
Pope is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, a progressive website founded by Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
.
In 2004 he published a book with Paul Rauber
Paul Rauber
Paul Rauber is a Senior Editor at the Sierra Club magazine, an American environmental organization founded by conservationist pioneer John Muir in 1892....
called Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress.
On June 7, 2006, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Carl Pope, along with labor leader Leo Gerard
Leo Gerard
Leo W. Gerard is a steelworker and a Canadian and American labor leader. He was elected president of the United Steelworkers in 2001, and is the second Canadian to head the union. He is also a vice president of the AFL-CIO....
, announced the formation of the United Steelworkers
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
' and Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
's Blue/Green Alliance, after five years of negotiations between the two groups. The alliance focuses on interrelated issues that both organizations feel are important, including: a clean environment, better jobs, and a safer world.
In July, 2008, Pope stated in a televised interview on the satirical "news" program The Colbert Report that he believed Bryce Canyon National Park may be bi-sexual.
Pope recently expressed support for the Pickens Plan
Pickens Plan
The Pickens Plan is an energy policy proposal announced July 8, 2008 by American businessman T. Boone Pickens. Pickens wants to reduce American dependence on imported oil by investing approximately $US1 trillion in new wind turbine farms for power generation, which he believes would allow the...
, an effort by T. Boone Pickens to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Pickens, a billionaire oil investor, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and financier of conservative causes, took Pope, via his $60 million private plane, to his ranch in west Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
, where Pickens and a group of investors plan to invest $12 billion in wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s.
In January 2009, Pope had announced his intention to step down from the post of Executive Director, effective upon the hiring of a successor. Pope will continue with the Sierra Club in the position of Chairman and will focus on climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.