All Issues

Every day, people are throwing away tons of single-use cups, containers and other plastic “stuff.” Among the worst forms of plastic pollution is polystyrene foam (the stuff most of us call Styrofoam), which never fully degrades. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our oceans and rivers and threaten wildlife for centuries.

The people who take action to clean up and protect our rivers, lakes and streams need all the help they can get. Since 2014, our Clean Water Network has connected these local heroes with each other, uniting more than 250 local and regional watershed groups around the country so they can be more effective champions for clean water.

Fortunately, more Americans are going solar every day. By 2017, our country had enough solar energy capacity installed to power the equivalent of more than 10 million homes.

Thanks in part to our research and action, the nation’s first offshore wind farm is now in operation, three miles off the Rhode Island coast. But it’s just the beginning.

Developing the wind areas already approved off the Atlantic Coast could power 6 million homes. But, unlocking more of offshore wind power’s potential depends in large part on America’s Atlantic Seaboard states and their governors.

Medical experts estimate that more than 24 million American kids will lose IQ points due to lead exposure. Our research finds many of these kids will be exposed to lead in their schools’ drinking water. That’s why we’re working to Get the Lead Out.

Decades ago, some people thought polluted rivers and streams were the price we had to pay for progress. That’s not a world we have to live in anymore. Nor is it the future our children deserve. Yet President Trump and his allies in Congress are pushing for changes that would turn back the clock to when environmental protection was an afterthought — not the foundation for a better quality of life and a brighter future.

From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, America is a beautiful country. Since Teddy Roosevelt, 15 presidents have protected some of our most special places as national monuments. Yet President Trump wants to erase protections for many of them. We’re doing all we can to protect and preserve these places.

Our country is blessed with sandy beaches, rocky coves, towering sea cliffs and an astonishing variety of ocean wildlife along our shores. Yet President Trump wants to allow oil and gas drilling in as much as 90 percent of our coastal waters. We’re doing all we can to protect and preserve our oceans, the wildlife that lives in them, and our beaches.

We all want a safe, healthy future for our children and grandchildren. That’s why we need to do all we can on global warming. Yet President Trump wants to dismantle protections that limit global warming pollution from power plants, cars and trucks, and other sources. We’re working to defend and strengthen climate protections.