Earthjustice
Encyclopedia
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm based in the United States
that specializes in cases protecting natural resources, safeguarding public health, and promoting clean energy. It is headquartered in San Francisco, has nine regional offices across the United States, an international department, a communications team, and a policy team in Washington, DC.
Earthjustice was named one of America’s 100 best charities by Worth magazine and receives the highest 4 star rating from Charity Navigator
.
The organization is recognized for its memorable tagline "Because the earth needs a good lawyer," which was voted in a 2009 online contest as one of the best nonprofit taglines out of 1,702 entries.
In 2010, Earthjustice launched an innovative fundraising campaign using the popular location-based social networking app, foursquare. The ad campaign, which ran in billboards in San Francisco's BART system, gained national recognition as one of the first successful nonprofit uses of foursquare, and was featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, Mashable
, and MacLife magazine, as well as books such as Carmine Gallo's The Power of Foursquare.
, World Wildlife Fund, and the American Lung Association
to smaller state and community groups, such as the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the Friends of the Everglades.
Earthjustice is a nonprofit and does not charge any of its clients for its services. Funding for the organization comes from individual donations and foundations. It does not receive any funding from corporations or governments.
Protecting Our Natural Heritage focuses on cases that protect endangered species, national forests, national parks, and other public lands.
Safeguarding Our Health focuses on cases that protect public health, in particular clean air and water, toxic chemicals, GMOs, and mercury.
Promoting a Clean Energy Future focuses on cases that encourage clean energy and energy efficiency while challenging the reliance on coal, oil and other fossil fuels.
Earthjustice also partners with organizations from other regions, including Latin America, Russia, Japan, and China to promote the development of environmental law in their respective countries. Every year, Earthjustice submits a country-by-country report on Human Rights and the Environment to the United Nations.
In the 1972 Supreme Court case, Sierra Club v. Morton, Earthjustice (then known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) helped establish the right of citizens to sue for environmental damages. The case ultimately forced the Walt Disney Corporation to drop its plans to develop an enormous ski resort in the Mineral King valley in California’s Sierra Nevada Range. The valley was preserved and has since been incorporated into Sequoia National Park.
In the 2006 Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
, Earthjustice attorneys helped a coalition of state governments and conservation groups force the EPA to fight global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It was the first Supreme Court case to ever address the issue of climate change.
In 1998, Earthjustice helped local community groups convince the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw an approval to construct a uranium enrichment plant between two low-income, predominantly African-American communities near Homer, Louisiana. It was the first time a government agency had formally embraced the principle of environmental justice in its decision-making.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that specializes in cases protecting natural resources, safeguarding public health, and promoting clean energy. It is headquartered in San Francisco, has nine regional offices across the United States, an international department, a communications team, and a policy team in Washington, DC.
Earthjustice was named one of America’s 100 best charities by Worth magazine and receives the highest 4 star rating from Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
.
The organization is recognized for its memorable tagline "Because the earth needs a good lawyer," which was voted in a 2009 online contest as one of the best nonprofit taglines out of 1,702 entries.
In 2010, Earthjustice launched an innovative fundraising campaign using the popular location-based social networking app, foursquare. The ad campaign, which ran in billboards in San Francisco's BART system, gained national recognition as one of the first successful nonprofit uses of foursquare, and was featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, Mashable
Mashable
Mashable is an American news website and Internet news blog founded by Pete Cashmore. The website's primary focus is social media news, but also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets...
, and MacLife magazine, as well as books such as Carmine Gallo's The Power of Foursquare.
Organization
The organization was founded in 1971 as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, though it was fully independent from the Sierra Club. It changed its name to Earthjustice in 1997 to better reflect its role as a legal advocate representing hundreds of regional, national and international organizations. As of January 2009, the group has provided free legal representation to more than 700 clients ranging from the Sierra ClubSierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, World Wildlife Fund, and the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
to smaller state and community groups, such as the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the Friends of the Everglades.
Earthjustice is a nonprofit and does not charge any of its clients for its services. Funding for the organization comes from individual donations and foundations. It does not receive any funding from corporations or governments.
Programs
Earthjustice’s work is divided into three major campaigns:Protecting Our Natural Heritage focuses on cases that protect endangered species, national forests, national parks, and other public lands.
Safeguarding Our Health focuses on cases that protect public health, in particular clean air and water, toxic chemicals, GMOs, and mercury.
Promoting a Clean Energy Future focuses on cases that encourage clean energy and energy efficiency while challenging the reliance on coal, oil and other fossil fuels.
Earthjustice also partners with organizations from other regions, including Latin America, Russia, Japan, and China to promote the development of environmental law in their respective countries. Every year, Earthjustice submits a country-by-country report on Human Rights and the Environment to the United Nations.
Impact on U.S. Environmental Law
Earthjustice has been a critical player in a number of important, precedent-setting cases regarding environmental protection in the United States.In the 1972 Supreme Court case, Sierra Club v. Morton, Earthjustice (then known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) helped establish the right of citizens to sue for environmental damages. The case ultimately forced the Walt Disney Corporation to drop its plans to develop an enormous ski resort in the Mineral King valley in California’s Sierra Nevada Range. The valley was preserved and has since been incorporated into Sequoia National Park.
In the 2006 Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 , is a U.S. Supreme Court case decided 5-4 in which twelve states and several cities of the United States brought suit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency to force that federal agency to regulate carbon dioxide...
, Earthjustice attorneys helped a coalition of state governments and conservation groups force the EPA to fight global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It was the first Supreme Court case to ever address the issue of climate change.
In 1998, Earthjustice helped local community groups convince the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw an approval to construct a uranium enrichment plant between two low-income, predominantly African-American communities near Homer, Louisiana. It was the first time a government agency had formally embraced the principle of environmental justice in its decision-making.
See also
- Canadian Environmental Law AssociationCanadian Environmental Law AssociationThe Canadian Environmental Law Association is a non-profit, public interest organization established in 1970 to use existing laws to protect the environment and to advocate environmental law reforms...
(CELA) - Center for International Environmental LawCenter for International Environmental LawThe Center for International Environmental Law is a public interest, not-for-profit environmental law firm founded in 1989 in the USA to strengthen international and comparative environmental law and policy around the world....
(CIEL) - West Coast Environmental LawWest Coast Environmental LawWest Coast Environmental Law is an environmental law and public advocacy organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It believes in a just and sustainable society where citizens are empowered to protect the environment and environmental protection is enshrined in law. It fulfills...
- Environmental Dispute Resolution FundEnvironmental Dispute Resolution FundThe Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund is a legal aid program based in British Columbia, Canada that provides grants to individuals, community groups and environmental organizations who need to hire legal representation to assist them in resolving an environmental problem or dispute...
- Conservation biologyConservation biologyConservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
- Conservation ethicConservation ethicConservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
- Conservation movementConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Ecology movementEcology movementThe global ecology movement is based upon environmental protection, and is one of several new social movements that emerged at the end of the 1960s. As a values-driven social movement, it should be distinguished from the pre-existing science of ecology....
- EnvironmentalismEnvironmentalismEnvironmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
- Environmental movementEnvironmental movementThe environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
- Environmental protectionEnvironmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
- Habitat conservationHabitat conservationHabitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
- List of environmental organizations
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- Natural capitalNatural capitalNatural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to goods and services relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future...
- Natural resourceNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
- Renewable resourceRenewable resourceA renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
- Sustainable developmentSustainable developmentSustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...