Sierra Club Board Seats Sought by Insurgents

Re “Election Becomes a Fight Over Sierra Club’s Future,” Jan 18: Sierra Club Director Carl Pope’s labeling as racist the courageous few seeking to elevate the critical issue of overpopulation is offensive. Regardless of how efficient our society becomes -- and we have far to go on that front -- unchecked population growth will continue to wreak havoc on the world’s fragile habitats. Overpopulation is the root cause of most of our environmental problems -- not to mention overcrowded classrooms, water wars and intolerable traffic -- and it contributes to poverty and other social inequities. The recognition of these fundamental truths is not racist. It is rational.

Paul Scott

Zan Dubin Scott

Santa Monica

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Given the challenges currently facing mainstream environmentalists on core issues involving clean water, air and protecting public lands, it is especially troubling to see the nation’s premier conservation organization under assault by extremists pushing fringe issues.

Hardly a week goes by in which the Bush administration does not attempt to undo some long-standing environmental protection. Now is hardly the time for those advocating divisive and irrelevant issues like immigration control and animal rights to attempt to divert attention and resources to their own causes. They have based their strategy on stealth and deceit.

Alan Aronson

El Segundo

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As a somewhat liberal, lifelong Democrat and Sierra Club member living with a Hispanic partner, I hardly like being called a racist. Pope and others in the Sierra Club have ignored the population/immigration issue and the impact on the environment of millions of new residents because they want the possible support and funds of all those new residents. They are no better than either political party currently pandering to Hispanics for the vote. Call it what you want, but I call it greed at the expense of the environment.

Claudia Bloom

Mesa, Ariz.