Sierra Club Honors Sen. Leland Yee

Two Bay Area politicians will be recognized by the Sierra Club Bay Chapter on Friday for their achievements in environmental protection. Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will receive the Sierra Club's Phil Burton Badge of Courage Award at a ceremony in San Francisco.

Yee, who has served in the state Senate since 2006, has sponsored several pieces of legislation that addressed environmentally pertinent issues, such as climate change and state water supplies, according to Sierra Club Bay Chapter Arthur Feinstein.

"Sen. Yee has been a tireless advocate for the environment and is most deserving of the Phil Burton Badge of Courage Award," Feinstein said in a statement.

Yee led an effort to oppose legislation that would have endangered the Farallon Islands and authored reform legislation in response to the 2007 Cosco Buson oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

Lee, who has represented the East Bay in Congress since 1998, has consistently fought efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, according to the Sierra Club.

Lee has also supported federal investments in alternative energy sources, such as geothermal, wind and solar.

Lee and Yee will be recognized for their achievements at 6 p.m. Friday at the Intercontinental San Francisco, located at the corner of Fifth and Howard streets.

- Bay City News