Courtesy of Sierra Club
South Woodstock’s Roger Payne received the Sierra Club’s Earth Care Award. He discovered that whales sing songs!
Retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Alan Rusbridger, who recently retired as editor of The Guardian newspaper in London, are among those who received awards from the Sierra Club this year. Most of the awards were presented at a ceremony in San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 12.
In addition many other awards, the club’s two international awards were made to Roger Payne of South Woodstock, Vt., and Dave Raney of Honolulu, Hawaii. Payne is receiving the EarthCare Award, which honors an individual, organization or agency that has made a unique contribution to international environmental protection and conservation. Payne is best known for his discovery (with Scott McVay) that humpback whales sing songs. He also founded the Ocean Alliance, which strives to increase public awareness of the importance of whale and ocean health through research and public education.
Raney is receiving the Raymond Sherwin International Award, which honors extraordinary volunteer service toward international conservation. Raney has worked to protect coral reefs and address other climate and pollution-related problems facing the world’s oceans and coastal waters.
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action.
