Enviro-Group Finances Caught on 'Web'

< Enviro-Group Finances Caught on 'Web'
By Michael Betsch
CNSNews.com Editorial Assistant
September 07, 2001

(CNSNews.com) - If you've ever wondered from where environmental activists get their money, you're not alone, and a Washington, D.C. think tank is drawing a map to help follow the money.

The Capital Research Center (CRC) is preparing for its Monday launch of Green-Watch.com, an online database and information service that monitors "about 500 or so different environmental groups, focusing on their funding - where their money's coming from and what they're doing with it," said CRC Director of Communications Andrew Walker.

"It's constantly a work in progress," Walker commented. Currently, the site is focusing on domestic environmental organizations such as the San Francisco, Calif.-based Sierra Club and Eugene, Ore.-based Earth First.

Also included in the database will be information on some international organizations that use the U.S. for their base of operation.

"What you see is that a lot of the international ones end up really being based in America or affiliates are connected with American organizations," said Walker, who noted Greenpeace International as an example. The militant environmental group is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Most of the funding information uncovered and reported by CRC is the result of combing through public records. "Nonprofit groups have to file what's called a 990 form with the IRS," said Walker. "That's public knowledge that you can get a copy of that and see who is funding them - where their large donations come from."

CRC started building its database for the Green-Watch.com site about 2 years ago, Walker said and now, "it's gotten to the point where we're ready to take it public."

EARTH FIRST

Embraces the slogan, "No Compromise in the Defense of Mother Earth!"

Foreman once said: "We must allow the recovery of whole ecosystems and landscapes in every region of North America. Allowing these systems to recover requires a long-term master plan. Our vision is simple: we live for the day when the Grizzlies in Chihuahua have an unbroken connection to Grizzlies in Alaska; when Grey Wolf populations are continuous from Mexico to Greenland; when vast unbroken forests and flowing plains again thrive and support pre-Columbian populations of plants and animals; when humans dwell with respect, harmony and affection for the land; when we come to live no longer strangers and aliens on this continent."

Dave Foreman recently won a seat on the Sierra Club's Board of Directors. Foreman "vows to lead the club `to take stronger stands on wilderness, forestry and public lands.'" He will likely call for "giant wilderness preserves to save species that adapt poorly to human encroachment." He also wants to stop "infighting" between environ groups."

Members have been convicted of destroying power lines at a ski-resort property, as well as being arrested on numerous occasions for trespassing and chaining themselves to bulldozers.

Bruce Babbitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, plans to conduct the first U.S. National Biological Survey in cooperation with groups such as The Nature Conservancy, Earth First and the World Wildlife Fund.

Under the title "Eco-Kamikazes Wanted," the September 22, 1989 edition of Earth First! Journal solicited the terminally ill to "perform the ultimate act of eco defense." The article read in part, "The possibilities for the terminally ill warriors are limitless. Dams from the Columbia and the Colorado to the Connecticut are crying to be blown to smithereens, as are industrial polluters, the headquarters of oil spilling corporations, fur warehouses, paper mills..."

Dave Foreman suggested in 1987 that starving Ethiopians be allowed to die, because their numbers have swollen to unsustainable levels.

Aims to ban all logging on public lands.

Led the "eco-warrior" movement during the 1980's, driving ceramic spikes into trees in an effort to damage chain saws, and pouring sand in the gas tanks of bulldozers to prevent the building of roads.

Co-founder Dave Foreman views human beings as "a cancer on nature," and he has suggested that nature is attempting to heal itself through such events as AIDS and African famines.

Animal Legal Defense Fund

Established to "[save] animals wherever they are in peril: in laboratories, on farms, and in the wild."

Successfully sued the University of Vermont in 1991 to gain access to animal care committee meetings (ALDF v. University of Vermont, Vermont Supreme Court).

Formed by merger of Attorneys for Animal Defense and Lawyers' Committee for the Enforcement of Animal Protection Law.

Executive director Joyce Tischler says that "only the Animal Legal Defense Fund has the expertise to deliver the legal services that can be crucial to saving an animal's life. . .At ALDF, we've learned that in order to protect animals, we must speak to animal abusers in a language they understand. We haul them into court and make them answer to the law for their criminal actions."

In 1981 case of the "Silver Spring Monkeys," ALDF vice president Roger Galvin successfully prosecuted researcher Edward Taub on one of 17 counts of animal cruelty; the conviction was later overturned.

In 1987, ALDF successfully defended a California high school student who refused to dissect a frog, and it opened a toll-free hotline providing legal referrals to students who wanted to avoid dissection.

Sued the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1988 to stop the patenting of genetically engineered animals and to overturn a patent granted from Harvard University for developing a genetically altered mouse.

Created a legal defense fund for Fran Stephanie Trutt, an activist convicted in connection with planting a bomb outside headquarters of the U.S. Surgical Corporation.

Drafted a proposed ordinance in 1990 to outlaw the sale of fur and fur products in Aspen, Colorado.

Initiated the Special Prosecutor Program that “allows for experienced trial attorneys to become deputized by the local District Attorney’s office to prosecute animal abuse and neglect cases.”

Filed lawsuit in 1991 against the New England Aquarium to challenge the transfer of a dolphin from the aquarium to the Navy (Kama v. New England Aquarium, U.S. District Court).

Won a joint lawsuit with the Humane Society of the United States in 1992 to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include mice, rats, and birds under provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.

Circulated an "Animal Bill of Rights" petition to lobby the 102nd Congress to support the right of animals to be free from exploitation and cruelty; the right of laboratory animals not to be used in cruel or unnecessary experiments; the right of farm animals to an environment that satisfies their basic physical and psychological needs; the right of companion animals to a healthy diet, protective shelter, and adequate medical care; the right of wildlife to a natural habitat, ecologically sufficient to a normal existence and a self-sustaining species population; the right of animals to have their interests represented in court and safeguarded by law.

Maintains lists of U.S. attorneys available for animal-related legal aid, and a library of decisions on animal rights cases.

Publishes quarterly Animal Legal Defense Fund Newsletter.

Actively pursues the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act through litigation. A 1999 Supreme Court decision allows individuals to take up cases on behalf of suffering animals; ALDF responded by suing the National Association of Biomedical Research over alleged animal abuses.

Sued the National Academy of Sciences to gain access to committee meetings on animal rights policies.

Pursued lawsuit in 1990 to challenge the Navy's use of dolphins as guards for nuclear submarines in Washington state (PAWS v. U.S. Navy).

1998 Helen Brach Foundation $12,000
1997 Helen Brach Foundation $15,000
1995 Helen Brach Foundation $10,000
1995 Sun Microsystems Foundation $100
1994 Sun Microsystems Foundation $100

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