SAN FRANCISCO - The Sierra Club - the nation's oldest, largest and most influential environmental group - today endorsed Senator John Kerry for President of the United States, citing his outstanding leadership in safe-guarding America's air, water and public lands.

"John Kerry will provide the environmental leadership that has been sorely missing in the Bush White House," said Sierra Club President Larry Fahn. "His commitment to environmental progress stands in stark contrast to the Bush administration's all-out assault on the environment and its record of putting polluting corporations before the American public's health and safety.

"John Kerry has spent his entire career promoting real solutions aimed at ensuring that America's air, water, and natural resources are protected for future generations."

Kerry has demonstrated environmental leadership throughout his career in public service, from helping organize Massachusetts' first Earth Day in 1970 to opposing the Bush administration's efforts to dismantle environmental gains made over the last century. Highlights of Kerry's environmental record include:

• Advocated strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, and opposed Bush administration efforts to weaken the laws in order to let polluters put more dangerous toxics into our air and water;
• Advocated restoration of Superfund's "polluter pays" trust fund to ensure that polluters, not ordinary taxpayers, pay to clean up abandoned toxic waste sites;
• Led the charge against the Bush administration's attempts to allow oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;
• Championed an energy plan that increases fuel economy to reduce the nation's dependence on oil and supports the development of clean, energy-saving technologies and renewable energy to reduce our dependence on other polluting sources of energy;
• And, advocated for the United States to take the lead in international efforts to cut global warming pollution, reverse ozone depletion, protect tropical rain forests, preserve biological diversity and press for sustainable development.

The endorsement was decided by volunteer members who serve on the Club's political committee and Board of Directors. Following the announcement, the Sierra Club will mobilize more than 700,000 members to talk to their friends and neighbors about supporting Kerry in November.

"One of our biggest challenges is to educate the American public about the Bush administration's dismal environmental record," Fahn said. "Now, thousands of Sierra Club members in every state will be volunteering their efforts to tell voters about the clear choice in this election. They will be encouraging all Americans who care about the environment to vote for John Kerry in November."

To learn more about why the Sierra Club endorsed John Kerry, please visit our website at: http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/presidential_endorsement/