Links This page's goal is to be a guide to the bewildering variety of organizations that makes living next to DC so much fun. The descriptions are mainly a reflection of what the corresponding organization thinks of itself, with occasional comments and links to alternate opinions. This page is only as good as you make it! Please send us interesting links along with a short description, and let us know if anything is broken (it's always a work in progress). Jump to:
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ResearchWorldwatch Institute is dedicated to fostering the evolution of an environmentally sustainable society--one in which human needs are met in ways that do not threaten the health of the natural environment or the prospects of future generations. The Institute seeks to achieve this goal through the conduct of inter-disciplinary non-partisan research on emerging global environmental issues, the results of which are widely disseminated throughout the world. World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve people's lives. WRI's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. Resources for the Future is a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank located in Washington, DC that conducts independent research - rooted primarily in economics and other social sciences - on environmental and natural resource issues. Millenium Institute (MI) is a not-for-profit development research and service firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA. It provides computer modeling services for holistic planning that include economic, social, and environmental considerations. International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) is a nonprofit, member-governed, organization dedicated to advancing understanding of the relationships among ecological, social, and economic systems for the mutual well-being of nature and people. Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation devoted to promoting and advancing green chemistry. Since its inception, GCI has worked with academic, government and industry sectors to promote the development and implementation of science and technology across disciplines to avoid the generation and production of hazardous wastes. Biodiversity Bibliography: Ecology, Economics and Policy Compiled by researchers in the Department of Applied Economics, the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, and the Conservation Biology Graduate Program at the University of Minnesota, this searchable bibliography contains approximately 4000 references on various aspects of biodiversity and conservation.
Governmental OrganizationsThe World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. Its methods of doing so are not uniformly popular, check out Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch's opinion of WTO for example. The World Heritage Committee: UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to 1) encourage countries to sign the Convention and ensure the protection of their own natural and cultural heritage, and 2) encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Herit-age List The World Bank is a development institution whose goal is to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth in its client countries. The World Bank is the world's largest source of development assistance, providing nearly $30 billion in loans annually to its client countries. That's what it says about itself. Another joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee meeting is scheduled for this September. If you want to know more about what was discussed and the decisions reached during the Spring 2000 meeting, visit the official web site and the Development Committee web site. Another place worth looking at here is the World Bank's online discussion facility, the Development Forum. For a rather different perspective, check out the Whirled Bank website. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S. federal government agency that implements America's foreign economic and humanitarian assistance programs. USAID's history goes back to the Marshall Plan reconstruction of Europe after World War Two and the Truman Administration's Point Four Program. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and created by executive order USAID. Smithsonian Institution, see also the direct link to events and activities The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 184 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty.
NonGovernmental OrganizationsFounded by Ralph Nader in 1971, Public Citizen acts as the consumer's eyes and ears in Washington. With the support of more than 160,000 people, Public Citizen fights for safer drugs and medical devices, cleaner and safer energy sources, a cleaner environment, fair trade, and a more open and democratic government. In particular, check out a division of Public Citizen called the Global Trade Watch. GTW was created in 1993 to promote government and corporate accountability in an area on which few public interest groups were focused: the international commercial agreements shaping the current version of globalization. 50 Years is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice is a coalition of is a coalition of over 200 U.S. grassroots, women's, solidarity, faith-based, policy, social- and economic-justice, youth, labor and development organizations dedicated to the profound transformation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Network works in solidarity with over 185 international partner organizations in more than 65 countries. Jubilee Research is part of the Global and National Economics (GNE) programme at nef (the New Economics Foundation, London). Nef is a radical “think-and-do” tank, founded in 1986 by the people who led the first Other Economic Summit – a fore-runner to the World Social Forum. Working on the UK and international economies and the environment, it seeks to promote well-being, rights and environmental sustainability, and to resolve tensions between these objectives. Rainforest Action Network campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action. International Rivers Network (IRN) supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watersheds. We work to halt destructive river development projects, and to encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting needs for water, energy and flood management. Fighting for one specific magnificient river are Friends of the Narmada. Third World Network is an independent non-profit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to development, the Third World and North- South issues. Its objectives are to conduct research on economic, social and environmental issues pertaining to the South; to publish books and magazines; to organize and participate in seminars; and to provide a platform representing broadly Southern interests and perspectives at international fora such as the UN conferences and processes. The Indigenous Peoples' Network for Change project is a global indigenous peoples' initiative aimed at advancing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by strengthening the capacity and knowledge of indigenous peoples to participate in processes surrounding the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant international instruments. Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is a network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. IEN was formed by grassroots Indigenous peoples and individuals to address environmental and economic justice issues. New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice. The Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment (ASJE) became actively international during the WTO shut down in Seattle in 2000. It is a fast growing coalition of labor, environmentalists, Indigenous Peoples and other grass roots groups. ASJE's mission is to nurture unions within these and other groups by building a strong and broad-based national network of local and regional blue-green alliances. ASJE works towards a new social contract in which "nature is protected, the worker is respected, and unrestrained corporate power is rejected." The Rainbow Family of Living Light is the largest non-organization of non-members in the world. It's safe to say they're into intentional community building, non-violence, and alternative lifestyles. One of a kind - check it out! Friends of the Earth defends the environment and champions a healthy and just world. Sierra Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, more than 750,000 strong. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the world's largest and most experienced independent conservation organization with 4.7 million supporters and a global network active in some 100 countries. WWF's ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Greenpeace exists because this fragile Earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action. National Geographic Society, see also the direct link to lectures and events.
Link collections and portalsIdealist Action Without Borders connects people, organizations and resources to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives. Action Without Borders is independent of any government, political ideology or religious creed. Our work is guided by the common desire of our members and supporters to find practical solutions to social and environmental problems, in a spirit of generosity and mutual respect.UC Berkeley School of Governmental Studies' Internet Resources Gallery provides numerous links to environmental, social and economic policy issues. Many links are specific to California, but others are broader in scope, and even the CA links can help guide research in your own locale. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions website includes an extensive 'links' listing of over 300 organisations who are pioneering sustainable development.
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