I Just Read About That…

This is another periodical that’s not really a “real” magazine.  Sierra comes free when you join the Sierra Club.  I originally didn’t really look at this magazine much either.  Then one day the cover caught my eye, and I discovered there’s a lot of cool stuff in it.  Not the least of which is that there are some gorgeous photos of landscapes and animals (which the kids love) and there’s a ton of good information for living greener.

The early pages of the magazine have lots of interesting short articles, especially about things (that I suppose you could cynically comment about consumption and the planet) that you can buy.  (Things like cereal or trail bars, or, a personal favorite, straws made out of (virtually) unbreakable glass that you don’t discard).  This is followed by “Hey Mr. Green” a column where you can find out how to live a more green and earth-healthy lifestyle.

There’s also an “Innovate” page which talks about technology that is good for the planet (hybrid cars and what not).  And then there’s the “Explore” and “Act” pages which show places to visit and ways to get involved.

I appreciate the “Up to Speed” section which summarizes political actions/decisions and their impact on environmental issues.

This rest of the front section contains more of short pieces, usually half to a whole page about various interesting things: an animal of interest, environmental impact on a certain region, and even a comic article, “Smile.”

The larger articles usually talk about National Parks or other beautiful vistas, whether for visiting, hiking or exploring, and again, the photos are gorgeous.  There’s also some Trail Tips for those folks who do the actual hiking.

This month’s cover article was about the best eco-friendly colleges.  It’s always a fun read to see what kind of new technologies the schools are employing.

The back pages return to shorter articles and also include links to the advertisers that the magazine welcomes (all earth-friendly, of course).  There’s also reviews of environmental-issued books, and news for Sierra Club members.

The back page is usually a thoughtful or a funny picture or cartoon (everyone loves the back page of their magazines).

In Shiny Adidas Tracksuits, there’s a snarky article about professional recreation, and how it will all be a very transient “hobby.”  The Sierra Club definitely caters to those folks.  The magazine lists all kind of nature outings and group trips and hikes and whatnot.  This being 13 years after that article was written I’m not sure if the snark would still apply, or if they would accept that the nature conservationists of the Sierra Club are in it for the long haul.

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In New Jersey, you also receive the Jersey Sierran, a tiny newspaper all about things happening in New Jersey. I never read it. But since I was writing this up and it came yesterday:  It contains a few articles of local interest (politics mostly) and about 6 pages of outings throughout the state.  We don’t go on these outings, so we don’t really read this paper.  (Although I did appreciate their explanation for why they endorsed third part candidate Chris Daggett for Governor.