Environmental Portals

Action!Network 

(US) Billed as the largest online community of environmental activists in the world, Action!Network has over 800,000 members and serves as a gateway to over 170 environmental, health and population advocacy organizations. With just a click of the mouse, activists can make their voices heard. Action Network partners mobilize activists by e-mail, inviting you to weigh in when it counts by sending a personalized messages to key policymakers--locally, nationally or around the world. Simply reply to that email or click on the web site, personalizing a sample letter that is included. Action Network does the rest, sending handcrafted fax or e-mail messages to elected officials, corporate leaders and other important decision makers. 

Eco-Portal

(US) Eco-Portal combs 3,000 environmental sites with a full-text search engine and has reviewed many, many more environmental websites, so a search for global warming delivers over 100,000 results, ranked for relevancy.  There’s also a blog by Eco-Portal founder Glen Barry, Ph.D., a news feed, discussion groups and much more.

EnviroLink: The Online Environmental Community 

(US) The EnviroLink Network, a non-profit organization founded in 1991 maintains a website with environmental news and thousands of environmental resources listed by category. Each listing provides background information on the organization or resource, along with contact info, a little history, links to the organization’s website and links to related Web-based resources. EnviroLink encourages readers to suggest new environmental resources for inclusion in this comprehensive database, and makes it easy to do so. 

Environmental Organizations

Center for Science and Environment 

(IN) Oneof India’s leading environmental NGOs  specialising in sustainable natural resource management. Its strategy of knowledge-based  activism has won it wide respect and admiration for its quality of  campaigns, research and publications. CSE promotes solutions for India’s numerous  environmental threats – of ‘ecological poverty’ and extensive land  degradation on one hand, and rapidly growing toxic degradation of uncontrolled  industrialisation and economic growth on the other.

Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program 

(US) Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen created CMEP as an advocacy group to fight nuclear power, promote environmentally sustainable energy policies, work for the creation of an agricultural and food distribution system that guarantees safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner, and work to protect the world’s fragile water resources from commodification, privatization, and mass diversion. Special projects include the fight against water privatization, the struggle against food irradiation, and an Enron information center.  For a humorous flash movie that portrays the ugly, hidden face of industrialized global meat production and factory farming in general in a 21^st century  context, see The Meatrix.

DavidSuzuki.org

(CA,US) The David Suzuki Foundation, based in Canada and the US, created by Dr. David Suzuki, renowned geneticist and broadcast personality, has 40,000 members and a number of core programs, with extensive online news archives, publications and global analysis, including climate change, forests and wild lands, oceans and fishing, and biodiversity and the web of life. 

Earthcorps

(US) Located in Seattle, Washington, Earthcorps’ mission is to create a global community through local environmental service. Earthcorps participants serve  the community for 6-12 months as part of EarthCorps. In addition, Earthcorps encourages volunteerism by engaging thousands of local community volunteers on restoration projects every year. Programs focus on four main areas:

• Environmental Restoration: Earthcorps works with dozens of partner organizations to restore our environment to a natural balance and to maximize safe public access to open spaces while minimizing negative environmental impacts.

•Training and Education: Earthcorps program participants are young adults, ages 18-24, who are seeking to gain hands-on experience in the environmental field. All of our programs involve intensive field skills training combined with classroom and field education.

•Cross Cultural Understanding: Earthcorps bring young adults from environmental non-profits (NGO's) around the world to receive conservation training, exchange ideas, and practice teamwork and leadership skills with their US peers. 

Adirondacks, NY Photo by Jane Sherry

Earth Island Institute

(US) Earth Island Institute, founded in 1982 by veteran environmentalist David Brower, conducts more than 30 environmental projects  worldwide, and publishes an invaluable magazine covering international environmental issues, The Earth Island Journal.

Earth Policy Institute

(US) EPI is a new kind of research organization -- one that offers a vision of an eco-economy and that focuses on producing brief research pieces that can be used by the media, read by busy policymakers, and easily distributed on the Internet. Lester Brown, Chairman of the Board of the WorldWatch Institute, established the Earth Policy Institute in May 2001 to provide this leadership and vision.

Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth describes the new economy, provides a vision of what it will look like, how it will work, and how we get from here to there. The eco-economy is designed to mesh with the Earth’s ecosystem instead of destroying it. The book contains detailed descriptions of the policy instruments, such as tax shifting and eco-labeling, which will be at the center of the restructuring process.

Eco-Economy Updates are short analyses assessing our progress toward building an eco-economy. EPI releases about two Updates a month. They are available via EPI's free electronic news service. Eco-Economy Indicators highlight 12 of the most important trends that are affecting progress toward an eco-economy.

Environmental Defense Fund 

(US) A generation ago, Environmental Defense helped launch the modern environmental movement by winning a ban on the pesticide DDT, thus showing how a handful of individuals can use science and the law to bring about national reform. Since then, EDF has grown into one of America's most influential environmental advocacy groups, with more Ph.D. scientists and economists on staff than at any other such organization. EDF reports, legal filings and testimony and newsletters provide a wealth of research on key US environmental issues. 

Friends of the Earth

(US) Friends of the Earth is the U.S. voice of an influential, international network of grassroots groups in 70 countries. Founded in San Francisco in 1969 by David Brower, Friends of the Earth researches public policy issues and conducts environmental campaigns to influence public policy and educate the global public about key issues. Keep up with these campaigns and issues by reading their quarterly newsmagazine and research papers.

GMNation

(UK) GMNation is an ambitious nationwide UK town hall meeting on the effects of genetically modified food, convened by the UK national government to help determine agricultural and biotechnology policies. The meetings are now over, but they provide a model for future environmental debates around the world. Access background documents on the homepage, read results of town hall meetings held around the UK, check out a summary of the findings, and explore linked resources to learn more. GMJury.org is one online aspect of GMNation, funded by Greenpeace, Unilever, the Consumers' Association and the Co-op. The jurors heard from witnesses throughout the summer. The verdict was announced on 8th September. Download the press release here. You can also download the summary (20KB) or the full report (487KB) as PDFs.

Greenpeace International

Greenpeace is a non-profit organisation, with a presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an area north of Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of 'bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today. Greenpeace maintains dozens of national websites with specific information about issues of importance in those areas, including Greenpeace US, with information about how you can participate in ongoing campaigns and online publications. 

Photo by Jane Sherry

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

(US) IATP promotes family farming, vibrant rural communities and sustainable ecosystems around the world on its website, in its books, and other publications, and through advocacy campaigns designed to influence public policy decisions. Deep research on food safety issues, GE foods, global dumping of factory foods, and much more.



The Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment

(US) ILEA is a Seattle-based environmental advocacy organization that uses a unique methodology called lifecycle energy analysis to help consumers make wise and meaningful choices when they purchase products, make their homes, work and travel.

Their homepage is full of links to academic studies by prestigious universities and organizations analyzing many aspects of the consumer lifestyle, assessing the impact of our everyday activities and suggesting environmentally sound alternatives. Discover the ten big things you can do for the environment.  Find out the best kind of car to drive, weigh the pros and cons of cloth vs. disposable diapers, analyze the environmental impact of paper vs. plastic grocery bags, and learn about the hot market for heat pumps.


Mass Extinction

(US) The most extensive collection of articles about mass extinction available on the Web, from sources around the world. Compiled by Dr. David Ulasney of the California Institute for Integral Studies, this is an invaluable resource for environmentalists and all friends of the Earth.

National Resources Defense Council

(US) With over one million members, a crack staff of environmental attornies and researchers, and a golden reputation as one of America’s best-run nonprofit organizations, the NRDC is one of America’s more effective environmental groups. NRDC offers a comprehensive list of its publications online, and information about its many programs around the world.

PostCarbon Institute 

(US) PCI is a Portland, Oregon based nonprofit public policy organization with educational materials and activities designed to inform the public about the impending end of the era of cheap oil and gas and the massive, potentially very disruptive social transformations this will entail. PCI also has an array of pilot programs designed to allow participating communities to implement post-carbon based transportation, economic and energy systems that can be models for the post-carbon society of our near future.

Riverkeeper

(US) Riverkeeper has worked for 35 years to safeguard the ecological integrity of the Hudson River, its tributaries and the watershed of New York City (protecting the city's drinking water supply) by tracking down and stopping polluters. Since 1983, Riverkeeper has investigated and brought to justice more than 300 environmental lawbreakers. 

Rocky Mountain Institute 

(US)  RMI is an entrepreneurial nonprofit organization that fosters the efficient and restorative use of natural, human and other capital to make the world more secure, just, prosperous, and life sustaining. RMI is “ independent, nonadversarial, and transideological, with a strong emphasis on market-based solutions. For detailed descriptions of the work see Research & Consulting within the Natural Capitalism Framework. RMI offers a great compendium of links to sites about energy efficiency and green building techniques, which should be very helpful for builders, architects, planners and individuals and organizations who want to build green houses, offices and other structures.

Sustainable Energy and Economy Network 

(US, NE) The Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (Washington, DC) and the Transnational Institute (Amsterdam), works in partnership with citizens groups nationally and globally on environment, human rights and development issues with a particular focus on energy, climate change, environmental justice, gender equity, and economic issues, particularly as these play out in North/South relations. SEEN produces a wealth of well-researched policy papers on topics ranging from the role of banks in environmental degradation caused by rampant and ill-conceived international development projects to global warming, international treaties on trade and tariffs, and much, much more. 

Worldwatch Institute  

(US) Founded by Lester Brown in 1974, 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. Worldwatch publishes yearly books, including State of the World, Worldwatch Magazine, and Vital Signs. These publications are available in print for a fee, but the invaluable Worldwatch Resource Center provides an immense wealth of free online white papers and other material on a range of environmental issues. 

Environmental Publications  

The Ecologist 

(UK) Founded in 1970, The Ecologist is read by  over 200,000 people in 150 countries. A key player in major environmental campaigns against GM crops, rainforest destruction, climate change and the impact of globalisation, The Ecologist's early-warning signs have helped set environmental and political agendas across the world. The is edited by Zac Goldsmith and Edward Goldsmith. The Ecologist first came to prominence in 1972 with its issue entitled 'Blueprint for Survival', which sold half a million copies in 17 languages. One result was the formation of a Green Party in the UK, the first in the world. 

emagazine.com 

(US) A bi-monthly environmental magazine for mainstream America, E/The Environmental Magazine covers environmental news, issues and trends, health and lifestyle tips for the environmentally conscious consumer, commentary and reviews of books and films. 

Green Futures  

(UK) Green Futures is published by Forum for the Future, founded by British environmentalist Jonathon Porritt, former co-chair of the Green Party and current chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Articles in recent issues take a close look at sustainable design issues, and how we can make green designed products cooler, better and more fun than current environmentally unfriendly designs, how sustainability promotes business innovation, and other issues at the crossroads where business, politics and environmental concerns converge. 

Grist Magazine 

(US) Grist is an online environmental magazine with a sense of humor. Their website also has quicklinks to actions you can take on dozens of different environmental issues and an easy interface to contact your elected representatives about these issues. 

OnEarth  

(US) OnEarth is a unique environmental magazine published by the National Resources Defense Council covering politics, nature, wildlife, science, the threats to our planet and the solutions that promise to heal and protect it. OnEarth publishes essays, investigative articles, profiles, and great poetry.

Orion 

(US) Orion is the most lavishly produced tabletop magazine for the environment published in America. Orion offers a literary approach to the global environmental crisis, wrapped in beautiful pictures, presented on super-thick glossy paper, for those who take a more right-brain, up-scale approach to environmental issues.

Rachel’s Environmental and Health News

Source of the Hudson River Photo by J.Sherry

(US) An electronic publication of the Environmental Research Foundation, Rachel’s is named in honor of legendary environmentalist Rachel Carson. Rachel's provides timely information on toxic substances and other environmental hazards. The newsletter covers many technical issues, such as the toxicity of dioxin, incinerator emissions, rising cancer rates, and the intricacies of risk assessment, but it is written in plain language that anyone can understand. Much of the information covered in Rachel's  never appears in the mainstream media and can only be found in medical and scientific journals that most people never see. Furthermore, Rachel's  tries to put environmental problems into a political context of money and power, so that people can see how all our problems - and all our local fights -- are connected.  

Sierra 

(US) The magazine of the Sierra Club, a mainstream environmental organization with over 700,000 members, Sierra maintains an active archive of the group’s extensive coverage of Bush administration environmental policies.

The Trumpeter

(CA) The Trumpeter is a Canadian environmental journal dedicated to the pursuit of understanding and wisdom as it attempts to aid in the development of an ecosophy, or, wisdom born of ecological understanding and insight. As such, it serves the Deep Ecology movement's commitment to explore and analyse environmental concerns at their deepest levels, in light of ecological developments at every relevant level: metaphysics, science, history, politics. Depth in penetrating to these levels involves a comprehensive set of criteria that include analytical rigour, spiritual insight, ethical integrity and aesthetic appreciation.

Wild Matters

(US) A monthly publication of Food and Water Inc., a national political action organization, Wild Matters covers politics, ecology, social and environmental justice issues.


(All photos without a caption are from stock photography)

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