It is well known at this point that climate change is a serious issue, and that the majority of the rapid changes in climate we see today are due primarily to human activity. Out of all the organizations that seek to protect the earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) takes the best and most successful approach.
Founded in 1970 as the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, the NRDC took to the courts to fight against the construction of a Con Edison hydroelectric plant at Storm King Mountain, along the Hudson River. Not only did they succeed in the halting of the facility’s construction, the case established a court precedent that environmental groups could challenge the rulings of federal organizations and corporate administration. The NRDC has since expanded into a network of legal and advocacy consultations, fighting against legislation that would harm the natural resources of Earth. Their mission, according to their website, is “to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.”
The NRDC has three major focuses: climate change (including the reduction of fossil fuel usage and production), community resilience (focusing on environmental justice), and expanding clean energy through policies favoring sustainability. The main way it accomplishes these goals is through litigation.
There are two major NRDC victories I would like to point out. I mentioned the NRDC’s focus on environmental justice earlier – this is the fair treatment of all people with respect to creating and implementing environmental regulations, and this is the focus of NRDC v. County of Dickson, Tennessee(2011).. An African American community within Dickson County was located around a drinking well known to be contaminated, and the county was doing little to help them. A community member named Sheila Holt-Orsted contacted the NRDC, who succeeded in not only connecting the community to the public water system, but also in convincing the government to close the contaminated wells and pay for identification of risk zones.
The second major victory centers around the now-defunct California WaterFix project. This was a California state government proposal created in 2015 involving a series of tunnels that would divert water away from the Bay Delta estuary, effectively driving multiple fisheries to extinction. Despite regulations from the Endangered Species Act, the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved of the project. The NRDC took action and worked with other preservation organizations to create an alternative proposal, but this was rejected by the state government. Through further legal action from the NRDC, the government, in 2019, withdrew all permits and applications for the WaterFix project, ending the program.
The NRDC surprised me in their ability to accomplish their goals so effectively. I initially chose this organization because I have had experience with wildlife conservation, working on a preserve my senior year of high school. The NRDC is more than just a normal preservation society, it is a coalition of experienced workers and activists who know how to effectively tackle a problem from all sides, taking legal issues to the people who best know how to settle them, and creating a better world through the power of legal action and perseverance. A donation to the NRDC will lead to better acquisition of the resources necessary for them to fight for the preservation of the Earth and the fragile balance of its ecosystems.
Joshua Amir
I'm so glad you're pitching this organization! I love NRDC and the work they are doing. They make everything extremely clear in terms of what they are doing and how our actions affect the environment. Compared to other environmental organizations, it seems that they are trying to get to the root of problems as well. Looking through their website, I like how they included their annual report and what they have achieved since 2012. Their partnerships and collaborations are impressive as it shows that they are not afraid to branch out and work with other groups that can ultimately make a larger impact. One thing I would think about though is if our money is going to be like the "drop in the ocean" analogy because their budget is so large, and they are such a well known and well-funded organization. Why is supporting this organization better than supporting a smaller, maybe less-funded organization? They also have a lot of staff and locations, so would our money be going toward those salaries and the benefits the staff receive such as healthcare and life insurance?
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