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Natural Resources Defense Council

February 16, 2024

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bozeman, India, and Beijing.[1] The group was founded in 1970 in opposition to a hydro-electric power power plant in New York.

Natural Resources Defense Council
AbbreviationNRDC
Established1970; 54 years ago (1970)
Founders
TypeNon-profit
PurposeEnvironmental activism
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, US
Area served
Worldwide[1]
MethodAdvocacy, education, litigation
Membership (2015)
2.4 million[2]
President and CEO
Manish Bapna
Budget (2015)
US$151.6 million[2]
Staff (2020)
700
Websitenrdc.org

As of 2019, the NRDC had over three million members, with online activities nationwide, and a staff of about 700 lawyers, scientists and other policy experts.[3][4]

History edit

NRDC was founded in 1970.[5][6] Its establishment was partially an outgrowth of the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, the Storm King case.[5] The case centered on Con Ed's plan to build the world's largest hydroelectric facility at Storm King Mountain. The proposed facility would have pumped vast amounts of water from the Hudson River to a reservoir and released it through turbines to generate electricity at peak demand.[7]

A dozen concerned citizens organized the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference in opposition to the project, citing its environmental impact, and the group, represented by Whitney North Seymour Jr., his law partner Stephen Duggan, and David Sive, sued the Federal Power Commission and successfully achieved a ruling that groups such as Scenic Hudson and other environmentalist groups had the standing to challenge the FPC's administrative rulings.[7] Realizing that continued environmentalist litigation would require a nationally organized, professionalized group of lawyers and scientists, Duggan, Seymour, and Sive obtained funding from the Ford Foundation[5][7] and joined forces with Gus Speth and three other recent Yale Law School graduates of the class of 1969: Richard Ayres, Edward Strohbehn Jr., and John Bryson.[8][9]

John H. Adams was the group's first staff member and Duggan its founding chairman;[10] Seymour, Laurance Rockefeller, and others served as members of the board.[5]

Position on nuclear power edit

In the 1970s, NRDC sought to block expansion of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York.[11] It has historically until the plant's closure in 2021, sought to close the plant.[12] NRDC has also sought to close the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California.[13] In 2018, the NRDC took no position on legislative proposals in New Jersey to subsidize three of its nuclear reactors.[14] NRDC has argued that nuclear power is not a viable energy source to mitigate climate change, arguing that it poses public health and safety risks through nuclear waste and nuclear proliferation.[15][16] In 2014, NRDC president Frances Beinecke said that the NRDC could not support nuclear power because it would lose donations.[17]

Position on solar power edit

In 2012, NRDC sued the federal government to stop the 663.5-megawatt Calico solar station in the Mojave Desert in California. NRDC said the solar plant would imperil protected wildlife.[18] In 2022, NRDC supported proposals to subsidize rooftop solar power generation.[19]

Position on hydropower edit

NRDC's position on hydropower is that it is not a renewable energy source. When Indian Point was scheduled for closure, NRDC held no position on a proposal to build a transmission line to Quebec to access excess hydropower while arguing, "we certainly would not be on board where [hydropower] gobbles up the space we think should be covered by true renewables".[20]

Programs edit

NRDC states the purpose of its work is "safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends," and to "ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water and the wild, and to prevent special interests from undermining public interests." Their stated areas of work include: "climate change, communities, energy, food, health, oceans, water, the wild".[21]

As a legal advocacy group, the NRDC works to accomplish environmental goals by operating within the legal system to reduce pollution and protect natural resources through litigation, and by working with professionals in science, law, and policy at the national and international level.[22]

NRDC published onEarth, a quarterly magazine that dealt with environmental challenges, through 2016. It was founded in 1979 as The Amicus Journal.[23] As Amicus, it won the George Polk Award in 1983 for special interest reporting.[24]

Staff edit

The council's first president was John H. Adams, who served until 2006.[25] He was replaced by Frances Beinecke, who served as president from 2006 to 2015.[26] The third president was Rhea Suh, who served from 2015 to 2019.[27]

In 2020, Gina McCarthy served as the CEO and president. She previously served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration and became White House National Climate Advisor in the Biden administration in 2021.[28][29][30] In 2021, NRDC selected Manish Bapna, formerly of the World Resources Institute, as their new president and CEO.[31] At their web site NRDC state they have about 700 employees including scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates.

Legislation edit

NRDC v. U.S. EPA (1973), with David Schoenbrod caused the United States Environmental Protection Agency to begin reducing tetraethyl lead in gasoline sooner than they were going to.[32][33][34]

NRDC opposed the Water Rights Protection Act, a bill that would prevent federal agencies from requiring certain entities to relinquish their water rights to the United States in order to use public lands.[35][36]

NRDC supported the EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 (H.R. 5057; 113th Congress), a bill that would exempt certain external power supplies from complying with standards set forth in a final rule published by the United States Department of Energy in February 2014.[37][38]

Effect on administrative law edit

NRDC has been involved in the following Supreme Court cases interpreting United States administrative law.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Our Offices". NRDC. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  2. ^ a b "NRDC 2015 Annual Report" (PDF). Natural Resources Defense Council. December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  3. ^ "NRDC FY2015 Consolidated Financial Statements" (PDF). Natural Resources Defense Council. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. ^ "About Us". NRDC. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Robert Gottlieb, Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement (revised ed.: Island Press, 2005), pp. 193–94.
  6. ^ Jon Bowermaster, "Green Giants: On the Front Lines with Two Rival Guardians," New York (April 16, 1990).
  7. ^ a b c McGee Young, "The Price of Advocacy: Mobilization and Maintenance in Advocacy Organizations" in Advocacy Organizations and Collective Action (eds. Aseem Prakash & Mary Kay Gugerty), pp. 40-42.
  8. ^ James Gustave Speth, Angels by the River: A Memoir (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014), pp. 96, 127.
  9. ^ Law School Honors Four Alumni Who Helped Create the Natural Resources Defense Council, Yale Law School (May 7, 2010).
  10. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (1998-11-13). "Stephen Duggan, Environmentalist, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  11. ^ Lifset, Robert D. (2014). "Chapter 10". Power on the Hudson: Storm King Mountain and the Emergence of Modern American Environmentalism. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 978-0-8229-6305-9.
  12. ^ Weisbrod, Katelyn (2021-05-06). "Inside Clean Energy: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Reaches a Contentious End". Inside Climate News.
  13. ^ Halper, Evan (2022-05-31). "Climate worries galvanize a new pro-nuclear movement in the U.S." Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  14. ^ "Environmentalists and Nuclear Power? It's Complicated". New York Times. 2018-04-18.
  15. ^ "Should states rely on nuclear power to combat climate change?". PBS NewsHour. 2017-10-22.
  16. ^ Patterson, Thom (2013-11-03). "Climate change warriors: It's time to go nuclear". CNN.
  17. ^ "The left's nuclear problem". Axios. 2017.
  18. ^ Woody, Todd (2012). "Sierra Club, NRDC Sue Feds To Stop Big California Solar Power Project". Forbes.
  19. ^ Weisbrod, Katelyn (2022-03-07). "Environmental Groups Are United In California Rooftop Solar Fight, with One Notable Exception". Inside Climate News.
  20. ^ "With Indian Point closing, Quebec sees an opportunity for hydropower". POLITICO. 2017-01-17.
  21. ^ "Our Work". Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  22. ^ "How We Work". Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  23. ^ "About Us - OnEarth Magazine".
  24. ^ . Archived from the original on September 24, 2014.
  25. ^ "John Adams". NRDC. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  26. ^ "Frances Beinecke". NRDC. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  27. ^ "Rhea Suh". NRDC. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  28. ^ Coleman, Zack. "Trump aims to weaken prime environmental law". Politico. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  29. ^ "NRDC Announces Gina McCarthy as President & CEO". NRDC. November 5, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  30. ^ "Exclusive-Biden taps former EPA chief for White House climate coordinator role -sources". Reuters. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  31. ^ "NRDC Appoints Manish Bapna as President and CEO". NRDC. June 23, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  32. ^ Rosner, David; Markowitz, Gerald (May 1, 2005). "Standing up to the Lead Industry: An Interview with Herbert Needleman". Public Health Reports. 120 (3): 330–337. doi:10.1177/003335490512000319. PMC 1497712. PMID 16134577.
  33. ^ Bridbord, Kenneth; Hanson, David (August 2009). "A Personal Perspective on the Initial Federal Health-Based Regulation to Remove Lead from Gasoline". Environmental Health Perspectives. 117 (8): 1195–1201. doi:10.1289/ehp.0800534. PMC 2721861. PMID 19672397.
  34. ^ "Set Lead Cut In Gasoline EPA Ordered - Agency is Given 30 Days to Make Reduction Ruling". Toledo Blade. Ohio. October 30, 1973. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  35. ^ "H.R. 3189 - CBO". Congressional Budget Office. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  36. ^ Nathan Fey; Matt Rice (20 December 2013). "'Water Rights Protection Act' puts rivers at risk". Post Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  37. ^ "CBO - H.R. 5057". Congressional Budget Office. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  38. ^ Hankin, Christopher (15 July 2014). "House Energy & Commerce Committee passes bipartisan regulatory relief for external power supplies". Information Technology Industry Council. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  39. ^ Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 435 U.S. 519 (1978).
  40. ^ Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984).
  41. ^ Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 462 U.S. 78 (1983).

Further reading edit

  • John H. Adams & Patricia Adams, A Force for Nature: The Story of NRDC and Its Fight to Save Our Planet (Chronicle Books: 2010)

External links edit

  • Official website  

February 16, 2024
natural, resources, defense, council, nrdc, united, states, based, profit, international, environmental, advocacy, group, with, headquarters, york, city, offices, washington, francisco, angeles, chicago, bozeman, india, beijing, group, founded, 1970, oppositio. The Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC is a United States based 501 c 3 non profit international environmental advocacy group with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D C San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Bozeman India and Beijing 1 The group was founded in 1970 in opposition to a hydro electric power power plant in New York Natural Resources Defense CouncilAbbreviationNRDCEstablished1970 54 years ago 1970 FoundersJohn AdamsRichard AyresJohn BrysonJames Gustave SpethEdward StrohbehnTypeNon profitPurposeEnvironmental activismHeadquartersNew York City New York USArea servedWorldwide 1 MethodAdvocacy education litigationMembership 2015 2 4 million 2 President and CEOManish BapnaBudget 2015 US 151 6 million 2 Staff 2020 700Websitenrdc wbr orgAs of 2019 the NRDC had over three million members with online activities nationwide and a staff of about 700 lawyers scientists and other policy experts 3 4 Contents 1 History 1 1 Position on nuclear power 1 2 Position on solar power 1 3 Position on hydropower 2 Programs 3 Staff 4 Legislation 5 Effect on administrative law 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory editNRDC was founded in 1970 5 6 Its establishment was partially an outgrowth of the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v Federal Power Commission the Storm King case 5 The case centered on Con Ed s plan to build the world s largest hydroelectric facility at Storm King Mountain The proposed facility would have pumped vast amounts of water from the Hudson River to a reservoir and released it through turbines to generate electricity at peak demand 7 A dozen concerned citizens organized the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference in opposition to the project citing its environmental impact and the group represented by Whitney North Seymour Jr his law partner Stephen Duggan and David Sive sued the Federal Power Commission and successfully achieved a ruling that groups such as Scenic Hudson and other environmentalist groups had the standing to challenge the FPC s administrative rulings 7 Realizing that continued environmentalist litigation would require a nationally organized professionalized group of lawyers and scientists Duggan Seymour and Sive obtained funding from the Ford Foundation 5 7 and joined forces with Gus Speth and three other recent Yale Law School graduates of the class of 1969 Richard Ayres Edward Strohbehn Jr and John Bryson 8 9 John H Adams was the group s first staff member and Duggan its founding chairman 10 Seymour Laurance Rockefeller and others served as members of the board 5 Position on nuclear power edit In the 1970s NRDC sought to block expansion of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York 11 It has historically until the plant s closure in 2021 sought to close the plant 12 NRDC has also sought to close the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California 13 In 2018 the NRDC took no position on legislative proposals in New Jersey to subsidize three of its nuclear reactors 14 NRDC has argued that nuclear power is not a viable energy source to mitigate climate change arguing that it poses public health and safety risks through nuclear waste and nuclear proliferation 15 16 In 2014 NRDC president Frances Beinecke said that the NRDC could not support nuclear power because it would lose donations 17 Position on solar power edit In 2012 NRDC sued the federal government to stop the 663 5 megawatt Calico solar station in the Mojave Desert in California NRDC said the solar plant would imperil protected wildlife 18 In 2022 NRDC supported proposals to subsidize rooftop solar power generation 19 Position on hydropower edit NRDC s position on hydropower is that it is not a renewable energy source When Indian Point was scheduled for closure NRDC held no position on a proposal to build a transmission line to Quebec to access excess hydropower while arguing we certainly would not be on board where hydropower gobbles up the space we think should be covered by true renewables 20 Programs editNRDC states the purpose of its work is safeguard the earth its people its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends and to ensure the rights of all people to the air the water and the wild and to prevent special interests from undermining public interests Their stated areas of work include climate change communities energy food health oceans water the wild 21 As a legal advocacy group the NRDC works to accomplish environmental goals by operating within the legal system to reduce pollution and protect natural resources through litigation and by working with professionals in science law and policy at the national and international level 22 NRDC published onEarth a quarterly magazine that dealt with environmental challenges through 2016 It was founded in 1979 as The Amicus Journal 23 As Amicus it won the George Polk Award in 1983 for special interest reporting 24 Staff editThe council s first president was John H Adams who served until 2006 25 He was replaced by Frances Beinecke who served as president from 2006 to 2015 26 The third president was Rhea Suh who served from 2015 to 2019 27 In 2020 Gina McCarthy served as the CEO and president She previously served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration and became White House National Climate Advisor in the Biden administration in 2021 28 29 30 In 2021 NRDC selected Manish Bapna formerly of the World Resources Institute as their new president and CEO 31 At their web site NRDC state they have about 700 employees including scientists lawyers and policy advocates Legislation editNRDC v U S EPA 1973 with David Schoenbrod caused the United States Environmental Protection Agency to begin reducing tetraethyl lead in gasoline sooner than they were going to 32 33 34 NRDC opposed the Water Rights Protection Act a bill that would prevent federal agencies from requiring certain entities to relinquish their water rights to the United States in order to use public lands 35 36 NRDC supported the EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 H R 5057 113th Congress a bill that would exempt certain external power supplies from complying with standards set forth in a final rule published by the United States Department of Energy in February 2014 37 38 Effect on administrative law editNRDC has been involved in the following Supreme Court cases interpreting United States administrative law Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 435 U S 519 1978 which held that courts could not impose additional procedural requirements on administrative agencies beyond that required by the agency s organic statute or the Administrative Procedure Act 39 Chevron U S A Inc v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 467 U S 837 1984 which gave administrative agencies broad discretion to interpret statute to make policy changes if Congressional intent was unclear 40 Baltimore Gas amp Elec Co v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 462 U S 78 1983 41 is a United States Supreme Court decision which held to be valid a Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC rule that the permanent storage of nuclear waste should be assumed to have no environmental impact during the licensing of nuclear power plants See also edit nbsp Environment portal nbsp Ecology portal nbsp Earth sciences portal nbsp Energy portalAnti nuclear movement Biodiversity Building Codes Assistance Project Environmental impact of mining Environmental movement Environmental Protection Agency Global warming Green building in the United States Green politics Opposition to Pebble Mine United States Green Building Council Winter v Natural Resources Defense Council concerning the balance of possible harm and government interest when issuing preliminary injunctionsReferences edit a b Our Offices NRDC Retrieved 2017 11 20 a b NRDC 2015 Annual Report PDF Natural Resources Defense Council December 2015 Retrieved 18 November 2016 NRDC FY2015 Consolidated Financial Statements PDF Natural Resources Defense Council 30 June 2015 Retrieved 18 November 2016 About Us NRDC Retrieved 2019 06 13 a b c d Robert Gottlieb Forcing the Spring The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement revised ed Island Press 2005 pp 193 94 Jon Bowermaster Green Giants On the Front Lines with Two Rival Guardians New York April 16 1990 a b c McGee Young The Price of Advocacy Mobilization and Maintenance in Advocacy Organizations in Advocacy Organizations and Collective Action eds Aseem Prakash amp Mary Kay Gugerty pp 40 42 James Gustave Speth Angels by the River A Memoir Chelsea Green Publishing 2014 pp 96 127 Law School Honors Four Alumni Who Helped Create the Natural Resources Defense Council Yale Law School May 7 2010 Saxon Wolfgang 1998 11 13 Stephen Duggan Environmentalist Dies at 89 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2019 11 02 Lifset Robert D 2014 Chapter 10 Power on the Hudson Storm King Mountain and the Emergence of Modern American Environmentalism University of Pittsburgh Press ISBN 978 0 8229 6305 9 Weisbrod Katelyn 2021 05 06 Inside Clean Energy Indian Point Nuclear Plant Reaches a Contentious End Inside Climate News Halper Evan 2022 05 31 Climate worries galvanize a new pro nuclear movement in the U S Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Environmentalists and Nuclear Power It s Complicated New York Times 2018 04 18 Should states rely on nuclear power to combat climate change PBS NewsHour 2017 10 22 Patterson Thom 2013 11 03 Climate change warriors It s time to go nuclear CNN The left s nuclear problem Axios 2017 Woody Todd 2012 Sierra Club NRDC Sue Feds To Stop Big California Solar Power Project Forbes Weisbrod Katelyn 2022 03 07 Environmental Groups Are United In California Rooftop Solar Fight with One Notable Exception Inside Climate News With Indian Point closing Quebec sees an opportunity for hydropower POLITICO 2017 01 17 Our Work Retrieved 2021 06 06 How We Work Retrieved 2021 06 06 About Us OnEarth Magazine George Polk Award Winners Archived from the original on September 24 2014 John Adams NRDC Retrieved 2020 12 28 Frances Beinecke NRDC Retrieved 2020 12 28 Rhea Suh NRDC Retrieved 2020 12 28 Coleman Zack Trump aims to weaken prime environmental law Politico Retrieved January 10 2020 NRDC Announces Gina McCarthy as President amp CEO NRDC November 5 2019 Retrieved 2019 11 28 Exclusive Biden taps former EPA chief for White House climate coordinator role sources Reuters 2020 12 15 Retrieved 2021 07 07 NRDC Appoints Manish Bapna as President and CEO NRDC June 23 2021 Retrieved 2021 07 07 Rosner David Markowitz Gerald May 1 2005 Standing up to the Lead Industry An Interview with Herbert Needleman Public Health Reports 120 3 330 337 doi 10 1177 003335490512000319 PMC 1497712 PMID 16134577 Bridbord Kenneth Hanson David August 2009 A Personal Perspective on the Initial Federal Health Based Regulation to Remove Lead from Gasoline Environmental Health Perspectives 117 8 1195 1201 doi 10 1289 ehp 0800534 PMC 2721861 PMID 19672397 Set Lead Cut In Gasoline EPA Ordered Agency is Given 30 Days to Make Reduction Ruling Toledo Blade Ohio October 30 1973 Retrieved March 12 2021 H R 3189 CBO Congressional Budget Office 9 December 2013 Retrieved 11 March 2014 Nathan Fey Matt Rice 20 December 2013 Water Rights Protection Act puts rivers at risk Post Independent Retrieved 12 March 2014 CBO H R 5057 Congressional Budget Office 23 July 2014 Retrieved 9 September 2014 Hankin Christopher 15 July 2014 House Energy amp Commerce Committee passes bipartisan regulatory relief for external power supplies Information Technology Industry Council Retrieved 10 September 2014 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 435 U S 519 1978 Chevron U S A Inc v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 467 U S 837 1984 Baltimore Gas amp Elec Co v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc 462 U S 78 1983 Further reading editJohn H Adams amp Patricia Adams A Force for Nature The Story of NRDC and Its Fight to Save Our Planet Chronicle Books 2010 External links editOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Natural Resources Defense Council amp oldid 1198985973, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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