The Natural Resource Defense Council

In my mind, one of the most important chapters in my upcoming book on renewable energy is what I refer to as the Watchdog. There is so much pressure brought to bear on public policy by the big oil and coal companies that we’re very lucky to have advocacy groups that fight hard on behalf of the public interest.

For instance, what happened behind the scenes leading up to the Bureau of Land Management’s opening up a chuck of land for oil drilling? Was there an effort to circumvent the legal, democratic process? In many cases, the answer, sadly, is yes.

So then what happens? The answer is that the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) goes after them with its own lawyers.

In this chapter, an NRDC spokesperson will speak candidly about this brave organization’s victories, its defeats, and the greatest challenges it faces in the coming years.