Earthjustice
 |
|
| Founded | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Environmentalism, Public Health |
| Location | |
|
Employees
|
Approx. 150 |
| Slogan | "Because the earth needs a good lawyer" |
| Website | earthjustice.org |
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law organization based in the United States dedicated to environmental issues. 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.
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 had provided free legal representation to more than 700 clients ranging from the Sierra Club, 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.
Earthjustice’s work is divided into three major program areas:
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.
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 the Sequoia National Park.
...
Wikipedia