Dear NRDC Supporter,

When the first Earth Day took place in 1970, the world was waking up.

A river in Ohio had caught fire. Smog blanketed American cities. Toxic chemicals spilled into rivers and streams.

More than 20 million people showed up. They marched. They rallied. They demanded change.

That first Earth Day changed history.

It sparked a movement that led to the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, strengthened the Clean Air Act, inspired a generation of activists — and launched NRDC.

For over 50 years, we've held presidents accountable. We've fought polluters in court. We've helped shape and defend the very laws that protect your air, your water, your climate — and your future.

But now, history is repeating itself. Fifty-five years after the first Earth Day, we're facing another wave of environmental crises.

Will you make a $5 gift today to help us meet our Earth Day goal of $100,000?

Environmental laws that protect endangered wildlife and keep our air and water clean are being gutted. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other cherished wild places are being opened to drilling. And critical climate protections are being weakened in the middle of a climate crisis.

The very foundation of modern environmental policy is being targeted — the same protections born from that first Earth Day.

NRDC has faced attacks like these before — and we know how to beat them. We've taken corporate polluters to court to protect our public health and communities. We've blocked dirty, destructive pipelines like Keystone XL. We've protected endangered wildlife when polluters saw them as nothing more than collateral damage. We've fought to keep clean air and clean water safeguards in place when the government tried to tear them down.

And we're in court right now to protect our waters from offshore drilling and safeguard our public lands — like the Arctic Refuge.

But we can't do this work without support from people like you.

This Earth Day, we've set a $100,000 goal to help fund the work ahead. Will you chip in $5 today to help us meet it?

Earth Day is a reminder that change is possible, but progress isn't permanent. A reminder that this work doesn't happen by accident. And a reminder that none of it is guaranteed — unless we fight to protect it.

That's where you come in.

With your support today of just $5 or more, we can keep fighting for our planet and for the future generations who deserve to enjoy it.

Thank you for protecting what matters.

Sincerely,

Manish Bapna
President, NRDC