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Environment America’s 2024 highlights

Five highlights of how our advocacy and action in 2024 put our country and our world on a greener, healthier, more sustainable path.

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We’re grateful for all who strive together to put our country and our world on a greener, healthier, more sustainable path. Together, in 2024, we made progress on these five fronts, as well as others.

For our forests

Oregon, Wisconsin and North Carolina were among the states where America’s oldest forests have been targeted for logging. Over four different public comment periods spanning two years, our coalition delivered to the U.S. Forest Service more than 1 million comments in favor of protection and conservation. The outpouring of support was sparked in part by canvassers for our state environmental groups, who educated the public about the case for allowing our mature and old-growth forests to keep growing older.

Photo: Some of our national canvass team, excited to launch their summer outreach campaign. Credit: Staff

For renewable energy and conservation

When it comes to renewable energy, both blue and red states are going green. The latest results posted on Environment America’s 2024 Renewables on the Rise online dashboard show Texas, California, Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas as the top five states for total renewable energy generation. Meanwhile, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and other Southeast states saw a 33-fold increase in solar from 2014 to 2023. With 10 offshore wind farms approved, 6 million kids attending solar-powered schools, and new Environment America-backed energy-saving standards finalized, clean energy continues to exceed even the sunniest expectations.

Photo: Environment California’s Steven King (center) and Fiona Hines (left) at Los Angles City Hall releasing our Renewables on the Rise report in October 2024. Credit: Irina Logra Photography

For clean air and water

In a historic win for clean air, PennEnvironment settled a lawsuit with U.S. Steel, addressing thousands of the company’s Clean Air Act violations since 2018. U.S. Steel agreed to a $42 million settlement, including a $5 million penalty — the largest ever in a Clean Air Act citizen enforcement suit in Pennsylvania. Also working with the National Environmental Law Center, Environment California alleged the Port of Los Angeles violated the federal Clean Water Act with over 2,000 illegal discharges of pollution over the last five years alone. And Environment Ohio filed suit against Campbell Soup for thousands of alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at its canning factory on the banks of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio.

Photo: PennEnvironment’s David Masur joins residents who live near Clairton Coke Works to announce the results of our citizen suit. Credit: Abby Wilcox 

For wildlife and wild places

In California, seeds coated in neonicotinoid pesticides, a threat to bees and other pollinators, will require labeling under a bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. A new Environment Colorado-backed law took effect prohibiting neonics from retail shelves. Meanwhile, sea otters, sea turtles and other ocean wildlife will be better protected thanks to the designation of the new 4,000-plus square-mile Chumash marine sanctuary, stretching from Pismo Beach to the Channel Islands off the California coast. Our staff and supporters also backed the proposal for a new Chuckwalla National Monument, just south of Joshua Tree National Park.

Photo: Environment California and Environment America staff at a public hearing in support of the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument. Credit: Steven Gaskin

For going where we can make the most difference

While the legislative advocacy of our 30 state organizations remain our go-to options, our staff and supporters found opportunities to protect the natural world in multiple forums. In April, staff from our state environmental groups joined our federal staff in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to pass the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act. Environment Texas is now advocating for local clean energy, air and water policies in Dallas and Houston, as well as in Austin, the state capital. Our campaigns have called on companies such as Walmart and General Mills to improve their environmental practices. We’ve even tackled international issues, such as the fate of North America’s boreal forest and the specter of deep sea mining.

Photo: Environment America staff and our network partners at PIRG lobbied U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and other members of Congress in April, building bipartisan support for the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act. Credit: Athel Rogers

Many thanks to our members, friends, allies, donors and other partners who made all of this work possible.

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Authors

Lisa Frank

Executive Director, Environment America; Vice President and D.C. Director, The Public Interest Network

Lisa leads Environment America’s work for a greener, healthier world. She also directs The Public Interest Network’s Washington, D.C., office and operations. A pragmatic idealist, Lisa has helped win billions of dollars in investments in clean energy and transportation and developed strategic campaigns to protect America’s oceans, forests and public lands. Lisa is an Oregonian transplant to the Capital region, where she loves hiking, running, biking, and cooking for friends and family.

Douglas H. Phelps

Chairman, Environment America; President, The Public Interest Network

Doug is President and Executive Director of The Public Interest Network. As director of MASSPIRG starting in 1979, he conceived and helped organize the Fund for the Public Interest, U.S. PIRG, National Environmental Law Center, Green Century Capital Management, Green Corps and Environment America, among other groups. Doug ran the public interest careers program at the Harvard Law School from 1976-1986. He is a graduate of Colorado State University and the Harvard Law School.

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