Boasting 1.2 million members and online activists, the NRDC employs environmental lawyers, scientists and lobbyists to campaign issues from defending wildlife to protecting clean air and water. The three-decade-old nonprofit is making a difference: They have forced legal action on polluting oil companies, won commitments from companies such as Kinko's, Starbucks and Home Depot to phase out their use of old-growth wood products, and prevented the Bush administration's attempts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
We want to assist the NRDC in safeguarding the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.
Global Green USA is the national environmental affiliate working to stop global warming by creating green buildings and cities (they were behind Brad Pitt's recent jaunt to the Katrina-ravaged New Orleans green building site, The Holy Cross Project), eliminating weapons that threaten lives and the environment (nuke the nukes!), and providing clean, safe drinking water to the 2.4 billion people worldwide who lack it.
Our contribution to Global Green will support their efforts to help rebuild a green New Orleans, combat climate change, create sustainable communities, eliminate weapons of mass destruction, and promote access to clean water as a global human right.
Led by CEO Julian Knight, a former fighter pilot and big-city money trader, Global Cool's goal is to get 1 billion people to reduce their CO2 emissions over the next 10 years. Global Cool focuses on the power of the individual: "The bad news is that we are the problem," says Knight. "The good news is that we have the solutions to slow down climate change and make a difference today."
This group invented the green carpet, encouraging celebs to take hybrid or alternate-fuel vehicles to award shows and events. Each year, the EMA Awards honors the stars who help get the message out, such as 2003 Missions in Music winner Alanis Morrisette for campaigning against Alaska oil drilling. The Green Seal Awards recognizes productions and corporate offices with environmentally friendly practices. The group also reaches out to young Hollywood ("Gen E" for Generation Environment), encouraging them to wear organic clothing, drive hybrids and live energy efficiently.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with more than 2.0 million members and supporters, is the largest animal rights organization in the world.
PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in laboratories, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry. They also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds and other "pests," and the abuse of backyard dogs.
PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.
We hope to soon be part of PETA Business Friends, a new and innovative partnership for kind-hearted companies willing to assist in PETA's groundbreaking work to stop animal abuse and suffering.
