THE NATURAL RESOURCES Defense Council (NRDC) describes itself as “the nations most effective environmental action organization,” and indicates that the worlds foremost environmental problem is global warming. In 2007, the NRDC was a founder and organizer of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of environmental organizations and corporations advocating legislative action to address global warming. Incorporated in New York in 1970, the NRDC also has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Beijing. Frances Beinecke was named president in January 2007.

According to its mission statement, the NRDC strives “to protect nature in ways that advance the long-term welfare of present and future generations.” In addition to affirming the “integral place of human beings in the environment,” and decrying the “pattern of ...