We seek to create a system that benefits everyone. Whether we're stopping destructive corporate boondoggles or pushing for stronger government pollution standards, we aim to make it possible for all people to enjoy the planet's bounty. Our work focuses on the economic drivers of environmental degradation — from government subsidies and permits to societal issues like urban sprawl and the externalized costs of pollution — to limit and eventually end the destruction of the planet.
Our current campaigns have us leading the charge to block a dangerous, dirty oil pipeline, pressuring the federal government to prioritize people instead of polluters, and working to stop a toxic tar sands oil pipeline that would spell "game over" for the climate.
On August 1 landmark regulations went into effect to reduce air pollution from ships plying the waters off the North American coast. The Emission Control Area creates a lower pollution zone within 200 nautical miles of the coast in which ships will have to use cleaner fuels or employ other technologies to reduce toxic air emissions. The EPA estimates that the rules will prevent up to 31,000 premature deaths annually by 2030. But the Emission Control Area is under attack from the cruise industry, which is lobbying hard to weaken the rules.
While communities across the globe suffer from droughts, wildfires, floods and other disastrous effects of climate change, there exists an untapped source of revenue that would fund climate solutions and more. A Robin Hood Tax, also called a financial transactions tax, would levy a tax of half of one percent or less on Wall Street financial exchanges, generating hundreds of billions of dollars to help address climate change, fight AIDS and expand access to healthcare and education. Thousands of activists have already gathered to show their support for a Robin Hood Tax in the U.S. We’re urging President Obama to help make this solution a reality.
Last year President Obama took a step toward a clean energy future when he rejected TransCanada's application to build a tar sands pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Houston, Texas. But now, the pipeline has been re-submitted and is under review by the State Department, and we need the president to take a firm stance on climate action by rejecting it once again. In November, Friends of the Earth joined other advocacy groups in protesting the pipeline at the White House, but we need to keep that pressure on the
Right before the holidays, while most of us were spending time with our...
Often, I am asked to assess the environmental movement. Will we win the...
