ONLINE RESOURCES –

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:

Greenpeace:  www.greenpeace.org

Organization: Greenpeace is a non-profit organization with a presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants. As a global organization, Greenpeace focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversity and environment.

Information Available: Information on global environmental problems with focus on current Greenpeace campaigns and regional issues.

The Sierra Club:  www.sierraclub.org

Organization: The Sierra Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.  Their purpose is to: 1. Explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth.  2. Practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources.  3. Educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.  4. Use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

Information Available: “Hot Issues” and ways for individuals and communities to take action.  Political and policy connection to the issues.  Topics are numerous and cover a broad spectrum including sprawl, agriculture, clean water, forests, and sustainability.

Environmental Defense:  www.environmentaldefense.org/

Organization: Environmental Defense is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations. Among these rights are clean air and water, healthy and nourishing food, and a flourishing ecosystem.  Guided by science, Environmental Defense evaluates environmental problems and works to create and advocate solutions that win lasting political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair.

Information Available: Program areas have information surrounding issues.  Library serves as an archive of information.  A network of websites is available.  Action network connects members and gives avenues to action

Natural Resources Defense Council:  www.nrdc.org

Organization: NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of more than 1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.

Information Available: Topic areas include clean air, global warming, water/oceans, fish and wildlife, parks and forests, toxins, nuclear, urban growth and legislation.

The World Resources Institute:  www.wri.org

Organization: The World Resources Institute's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.  WRI provides objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.

Information Available: By global topic projects include agriculture and food, biodiversity, business and economics, population, resource use, etc.  Large archive of publications available on all topics

The United Nations Environment Programme:  www.unep.org

Organization:  The United Nations Environment Programme was created after the Stockholm conference in 1972.  Their mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Information Available:  UNEP provides information sharing on a global scale through the auspices of the United Nations.  UNEP sponsors environmentally related conferences worldwide on a variety of issues and releases publications monthly.  Publications available through earthprint.com include charts and graphs for illustrative purposes.

The Audubon Society:  www.audubon.org 

Organization: Audubon's mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

Information Available:  Although Audubon is dedicated to the conservation of land for bird species, their work is beneficial to ecosystems in a larger sense.  Issue areas center on regional conservation efforts such as the Florida Everglades and San Francisco Bay.

Public Citizen:  www.publiccitizen.org

Organization:  Environmental protection is only one of several issues that Public Citizen addresses but is an underlying theme of all issues including energy, consumption and global trade. “We fight for openness and democratic accountability in government, for the right of consumers to seek redress in the courts; for clean, safe and sustainable energy sources; for social and economic justice in trade policies; for strong health, safety and environmental protections; and for safe, effective and affordable prescription drugs and health care.”

Information Available: Comprehensive and up-to-date reports on current issues.  “Hot Issues” highlight most recently important news.  Archived publications as well as issue divisions give information.

The Worldwatch Institute:  Website: www.worldwatch.org

Organization:  The Worldwatch Institute offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing that has made it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work revolves around the transition to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society—and how to achieve it.

Information Available:  An abundance of publications, archived back several years on any issue imaginable that has to do with the global environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency:  www.epa.gov

Organization:  The United States Government’s Environmental Protection Agency.  Mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the future of the environment.  They are the monitoring and enforcement mechanism for most environmental legislation, the director of which is appointed by the President.

Information Available:  Info is based on environmental issues in the United States.  Links to press releases and legislation.  Retrieve environmental information about your community.  Topic information listed by category and sub category.