John Hansen: “many years ago when I was a student at the University of Utah, I recall working at different jobs after class at night…”

“many years ago when I was a student at the University of Utah, I recall working at different jobs after class at night and weekends in order to make ends meet and pay my tuition. Money was tight. I was newly married. I had a wife and child to support, but I still remember sending $25 to the Sierra Club in response to their advertisements because I felt strongly about protecting our air and water and preserving our forests. But I was moved to donate to that particular organization by what they had to say, and during the 1960s and 1970s, I believed that our Nation urgently needed a wake-up call to action to stop the dumping of raw sewage and industrial waste into the Nation's waterways, and to find ways to try to save endangered species like the bald eagle and the grizzly bear. I saw some of those problems firsthand, and I felt strongly about that, and contrary to what groups are saying, I still do. I believe some advocacy groups like the Sierra Club played a constructive and valuable part in helping to focus public attention on these problems.”