A Force for the Future

An illustrated celebration of NRDC's 50-year battle to safeguard the planet, from the Clean Air Act to the Clean Power Plan.

In January 1970, a handful of young attorneys gathered in borrowed office space in New York City to start a new kind of law firm. Their client? Planet Earth. Their target? Polluters. Over the past five decades, this fledgling group has grown into one of the nation's leading environmental advocacy organisations, with seven offices worldwide; a staff of 600 lawyers, scientists, and policy experts; and an activist network of more than three million members.

In this abundantly illustrated volume, co-founder John Adams takes us inside some of NRDC’s most challenging cases. First he demonstrates how sound science lies at the center of all NRDC's work and is a guiding principle in the organisation's efforts to tell the public the truth about what’s happening in the local environments around them, what matters to public health, and, of course, how to combat the global threat of climate change. We then learn how NRDC helps craft effective environmental legislation and regulations at every level of government - including landmark bills such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. And lastly, Adams describes NRDC's signature strategy of holding businesses and governments accountable for their actions - most recently, by filing more than 100 lawsuits against a presidential administration intent on rolling back the environmental protections put in place through a half century of bipartisan effort.

This book is not just a valuable record of all that NRDC has done to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places we treasure. It also provides a forward-facing glimpse into how an organisation evolves and takes charge in the creation of a new vision for the future of the planet and its people.

About the Author

John H. Adams cofounded NRDC-the nation's first environmental advocacy group-in 1970, serving as the organisation's first executive director and later as its president until 2006. Throughout his career, Adams has received various awards, including the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Adams is currently the chair of the board of the Open Space Institute and sits on the boards of numerous environmental organisations, including NRDC.