I follow ups and downs of the environmental industry almost like a part-time hobby, for several reasons. For one, many environmental groups pretend to be local, grassroots activists, when in fact many are nationally organized and funded as part of a larger network. But also, their growth, influence, finances, and occasional declines offer fascinating insights into Americans’ interest in the environment, and their perceptions of groups who presume to speak for them.
I use the term “environmental industry” to illustrate the unparalleled growth of these organizations, both in money and power – often the primary objectives. U.S. environmental organizations reported to the IRS assets of well over $200 billion by 2022 (most recent available data). That represents astonishing growth over the past 35 years – an increase of 1,275 percent, six times faster than inflation over the same period.
Over 77,000 environmental groups are now registered with the IRS, according to the Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics (1,837 in Colorado alone). They are financed primarily by foundations, corporations, and government grants – at the rate of $238 million a day, more than ten times the revenue of America’s largest coal mine. Environmental protection is an $87 billion industry in the U.S. alone. So, the image of small groups of neighborhood activists taking on corporate giants touches emotional heartstrings – but is mostly fiction.
Perhaps that’s why polls show Americans’ trust in their own government, and in institutions like the news media, advertisers, schools, and large environmental groups, is at an all-time low. Pew research shows public trust in government, nearly 80 percent in 1960, is barely over 20 percent today, and that over 51 percent of Americans are skeptical of climate change groups. The number of Americans self-identifying as “environmentalists” has plummeted from 77 percent in the 1980s to just 40 percent today.
Americans’ trust in non-profit organizations in general has been declining for years, but that does not translate into any decline in the environmental industry. That’s because almost none of its income comes from membership dues or individual contributions. Much of it comes from government grants, legal settlements, and foreign governments, but most from private foundations like the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Hewlett and Packard Foundations. Ironically, much of that funding is from foundations created by successful industrialists and corporations – which now support organizations dedicated to destroying the very industries that created them.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, funded by the Intel computer chip fortune, gave $100 million to stop Alaska’s Pebble Mine project, a potentially massive source of copper, while Intel was buying copper from China. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (HP money) gave over $930 million to 193 climate change organizations in 14 countries, all of which oppose mining of the minerals needed to make computers. The Marisla Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund both give tens of millions in oil money to groups that oppose oil production. Foundations created by Ford and General Motors both fund anti-automobile groups.
The National Audubon Society, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Institute, Sierra Club, Sierra Club Foundation, and Earth Justice all reported revenue of over $100 million on IRS forms. The Trust for Public Land, World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation Fund, Ducks Unlimited, Environmental Defense Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council all showed income over $200 million. Nature Conservancy brought in over $1.4 billion.
Environmental Defense Fund and World Wildlife Fund both pay their CEOs over $1 million annually, while at least six others pay over $750,000. Ironically, Greenpeace paid its U.S. leader $875,000 to lead an attack on the Dakota Access Pipeline that led to lawsuits and a verdict the group’s own lawyers say will bankrupt the organization.
Americans care as much about the environment as ever. There is as much need as ever for genuine conservationists to be heard. But it’s hard not to wonder if these giant industry groups are more about money than bald eagles.
{ 0 comments… add one now }