Environmental organizations have always led the charge in gathering like-minded individuals together for the common purpose of protecting the environment and its inhabitants. Find out how these organizations work tirelessly to undo prior damage and prevent future damage to the earth.
As global citizens, it is our responsibility to do as much as we can on an individual and group level to help the environment. Find out how some of the world’s most prominent environmental organizations are helping to educate the public about environmental topics while passionately tackling issues and activities that threaten the planet.
Environmental Defense Fund
Founded in 1967, the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) serves to advance the preservation of our natural environment. The EDF focuses primarily on four areas: oceans, ecosystems, climate, and health. Organizers affiliated with the Environmental Defense Fund partner with corporate and government entities in order to spread the word about what threatens our environment and what people can do to preserve it.
Among its many achievements, the Environmental Defense Fund was the first organization in the US to employ an economist for the purpose of highlighting the connection between the economy and protecting in the environment. The EDF has also succeeded in reducing packaging and other waste from global food chain McDonald’s and lowering emissions in FedEx vehicles.
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute was founded in 1982. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the organization works tirelessly to focus on environmental and socioeconomic issues, and illustrate how these two are related in terms of saving the planet. The World Resources Institute primarily focuses on developing sustainable cities, protecting the environment from the effects of greenhouse gases, safeguarding the planet’s food and water supplies, promoting the use of clean energy, and preventing deforestation.
The World Resources Institute is known for its comprehensive World Resources report, which is published biannually. This document contains a wealth of information about a variety of current environmental and development issues. The report frequently tasks the public with thinking critically about environmental issues and how to promote sustainability in the coming decades.
Conservation International
Since its beginnings in 1987, Conservation International has fought to bring awareness to environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, water scarcity, and more. In addition, Conservation International works to bring awareness to economic and infrastructure development issues that may impact the environment.
Conservation International accomplishes its mission through a combination of fieldwork, partnerships, scientific research, as well as government policy. The organization has formed partnerships with the European Union, the US government, as well as a variety of foreign governments—all for the purpose of preserving the earth’s natural resources.
Oceana
Also based in Washington, DC, Oceana is one of the largest international organizations with the sole focus of preserving the world’s oceans. It has been around since 2001 and has offices all over the world dedicated to restoring damaged oceans and reefs to their former healthy condition.
Oceana focuses on three key issues regarding the world’s oceans: water pollution, overfishing, and wasted ocean resources. Oceana asserts that while people have done much to preserve and restore lakes and rivers worldwide, they have largely ignored the health of the oceans despite the fact these bodies of water cover more than 70 percent of the planet.
Oceana tackles these problems through policy campaigns that aim to protect marine wildlife and educate the public on how to put a stop to the ocean pollution. Since its inception, Oceana has won more than 100 policy victories and protected an estimated 1 million square miles of ocean.
Friends of the Earth
As a nonprofit organization, Friends of The Earth has been working to drive to country’s move towards clean energy, raise the public’s awareness of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and push for environmental change on the local, national, and global levels. In 2016, Friends of The Earth successfully shut down two reactors at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in central California by arguing that the facility was located too close to an earthquake fault to continue operating safely.
Additionally, Friends of the Earth is fighting to block government approval of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline by exposing flaws in the US State Department’s review of the project. The group also strives to end government subsidies for companies who have no regard for the environment. This action will save taxpayers about 10 billion per year.
These are just a few of the most prominent organizations working hard to save the environment. Each one is unique in what it does, however they are all concerned about sustainability and ensuring that our planet remains habitable. Concerned citizens should consider donating both time and resources to these or other environmentally focused organizations.
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