06 Oct 2011 Environment America
Introduction
Environment America is an American non-profit that advocates for green causes. Environment America works to elect pro-environment candidates for political office, and its “advocates work in Congress to pass national legislation to protect the environment.”[1]
Environment America is a 501(c)(4) organization, but it also has a 501(c)(3) sister organization, the Environment America Research & Policy Center.[2]
History / Mission
On its website, Environment America describes itself as “a federation of state-based, citizen-funded environmental advocacy organizations. Our professional staff in 29 states and Washington, D.C., combines independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for the environment. Environment America draws on 30 years of success in tackling environmental problems.”[3]
Environment America’s mission statement is:[4]
We all want clean air, clean water and open spaces. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That’s the idea behind Environment America. We focus exclusively on protecting America’s air, water and open spaces. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.
Work
Environment America focuses its efforts on the following issues:
- Repowering America: Environment America advocates the use of alternative energy.[5] Environment America calls for 100 percent of the America’s electricity to come from “clean sources such as wind and solar power.”[6]
- Stopping Global Warming: According to Environment America, “[g]lobal warming is the one of the most profound threats of our time. From dangerous heat waves and shrinking snowpack to extreme drought and increased wildfires, the dangers of global warming are cause for immediate action.”[7]
- Our Rivers, Lakes, and Streams: Environment America has supported the Clean Water Restoration Act.[8] According to the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Center for Environment and Regulatory Affairs then-Director Peyton Knight, “[t]he Clean Water Restoration Act is less about protecting our nation’s waters and more about expanding the federal government’s power to regulate private property.”[9]
- Parks, Open Spaces, Wild Places: Environmental America works to limit commercial activity in national parks, wilderness areas and land that is adjacent to those areas, independent of the wishes of their private owners.[10]
- Healthy Oceans: “Environment America supports a moratorium on new offshore drilling for oil and gas, a halt to destructive overfishing which is depleting our oceans of fish, establishment of marine protected areas where some limitations are placed on fishing, actions to reduce the flow of nutrients and toxics into coastal waters, and aggressive action on global warming.”[11]
- Stop Toxic Pollution: According to its website, “Environment America advocates switching our economy to safer alternatives, phasing out toxins that accumulate in wildlife and in our bodies, ensuring our right to know about current toxic hazards, and making polluters pay to clean up the toxic legacy of the past.”[12]
Environment America Voter Action
Environment America has a political action committee, Environment America Voter Action,[13] which has worked to elect pro-environment candidates.[14] For the 2010 mid-term elections, Environment America spent $17,057, of which $16,673 was spent to support Democratic candidates.[15] The remainder was spent campaigning against Republican candidates.[16]
In 2008, “Environment America Voter Action endorsed, and worked to elect, Barack Obama and 29 pro-environment congressional candidates to bring new leadership, strengthen the environmental majority, and help overcome some of the worst obstacles to change in Washington, D.C.”[17] All 29 congressional candidates were Democrats.[18]
Affiliates
As of September 2011, Environment America has the following affiliates:
- Environment Arizona
- Environment California
- Environment Colorado
- Environment Connecticut
- Environment Florida
- Environment Georgia
- Environment Illinois
- Environment Iowa
- Environment Maine
- Environment Maryland
- Environment Massachusetts
- Environment Michigan
- Environment Minnesota
- Environment Missouri
- Environment Montana
- Environment Nevada
- Environment New Hampshire
- Environment New Jersey
- Environment New Mexico
- Environment New York
- Environment North Carolina
- Environment Ohio
- Environment Oregon
- PennEnvironment
- Environment Rhode Island
- Environment Texas
- Environment Virginia
- Environment Washington
- Wisconsin Environment[19]
Funding
The following groups are among those who have donated to Environment America:
- Arntz Family Foundation
- Educational Foundation of America
- Energy Foundation
- Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
- Hull Family Foundation
- Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation
- Jay Harris
- John Merck Fund
- Kingsley H. Murphy Family Foundation
- Mertz Gilmore Foundation
- Oak Foundation
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- R.E.M. Charitable Gift Fund
- Scherman Foundation
- TAUPO Fund of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
- The Beldon Fund
- The New-Land Foundation, Inc.[20]
Leadership (as of September 2011)
Margie Alt, Executive Director
Douglas Phelps, Chairman, President
Rob Sargent, Energy Program Director
Ivan Frishberg, Political Director
John Rumpler, Senior Environmental Attorney
Nathan Willcox, Federal Global Warming Program Director
Anna Aurillio, Washington, D.C. Office Director
Contact Information
Environment America
44 Winter Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 747-4449
Website: https://www.environmentamerica.org/
The National Center For Public Policy Research publishes GroupSnoop. The National Center is a non-profit communications and research foundation that supports free-market and pro-Constitution approaches to today’s policy problems. The National Center is supported by the voluntary gifts of over 100,000 individual recent supporters, receiving less than one percent of its revenue from corporate sources. Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated!
For more information about the National Center For Public Policy Research, please visit our website, or read our blog. To sign up for our email list, go here.
To make suggestions, corrections or to give feedback, please email us.
- ^ “Legislative Priorities,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/in-washington-dc/legislative-priorities as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Environment America Research & Policy Center,” Environment America Research & Policy Center, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/center as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “About Us – Welcome to Environment America,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/about-us as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Mission,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/about-us/mission as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Repower America,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/new-energy-future as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Repower America,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/new-energy-future as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Stopping Global Warming,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/stopping-global-warming as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ See, “Clean Water Restoration Act Introduced,” Environment America – Press Release, May 22, 2007, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/news-releases/our-rivers-lakes-amp-streams/our-rivers-lakes-amp-streams/-clean-water-restoration-act-introduced as of September 12, 2011. See also, “Broad Coalition of Groups Urge Congress to Pass the Clean Water Restoration Act,” Environment America – Press Release, April 8, 2008, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/news-releases/our-rivers-lakes-amp-streams/our-rivers-lakes-amp-streams/broad-coalition-of-groups-urge-congress-to-pass-the-clean-water-restoration-act as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ Peyton Knight, “Clean Water Restoration Act Could Trigger Largest-Ever Expansion of Federal Powers Over Private Property,” The National Center For Public Policy Research, June 24, 2008, available at https://nationalcenter.org/TSR062408.html as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Parks, Open Spaces, Wild Places: Mining and Drilling near the Best of America,” Environment America, available at https://www.environmentamerica.org/parks-open-spaces-wild-places/mining-and-drilling as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Healthy Oceans,” Environment America, available at https://www.environmentamerica.org/healthy-oceans as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Issues – Stop Toxic Pollution,” Environment America, available at https://www.environmentamerica.org/stop-toxic-pollution as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ See, “Should We Endorse Barack Obama, or Stay Out of the Presidential Election?,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/action/voter-action/wdyt44440as of September 12, 2011. (“Our national federation of state environmental groups and Washington, D.C.-based staff has formed Environment America Voter Action, the electoral arm of our network.”)
- ^ See, “Election 2008,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/issues/election-2008as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Environment America – Outside Spending Summary 2010,” Open Secrets, available at http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2010&cmte=C90010513as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Environment America – Outside Spending Summary 2010,” Open Secrets, available at http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2010&cmte=C90010513 as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “2008 Annual Report,” Environment America, available at http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/YLeX1BOXgajllvxrM2VIxg/ANN_AME_CY08_Online.pdf(pdf) as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “2008 Annual Report,” Environment America, Early 2009, available at http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/YLeX1BOXgajllvxrM2VIxg/ANN_AME_CY08_Online.pdf (pdf) as of September 12, 2011. (The 29 congressional candidates were: Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Rep. Mark Udall (CO-Sen), Betsy Markey (CO-04), Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rep. Chris Murphy (CT-05), Debbie Halvorson (IL-11), Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14), Frank Kratovil (MD-01), Al Franken (MN-Sen), Kay Hagan (NC-Sen), Larry Kissell (NC-08), Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (NH-Sen), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Rep. Paul Hodes (NH-02), Rep. Tom Udall (NM-Sen), Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Ben R. Luján (NM-03), Harry Teague (NM-02), Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Rep. Jason Altmire (PA-04), Rep. Joe Sestak (PA-07), Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA-08), Rep. Chris Carney (PA-10), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Glenn Nye (VA-02), Tom Perriello (VA-05), Rep. Steve Kagen (WI-08).)
- ^ “About Us – Highlights from the States,” Environment America, available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/about-us/federation as of September 12, 2011.
- ^ “2008 Annual Report,” Environment America, available at http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/YLeX1BOXgajllvxrM2VIxg/ANN_AME_CY08_Online.pdf (pdf) as of September 12, 2011.