In 1970, the Natural Resources Defense Council was born out of another impending crisis. America had been jolted into environmental awareness as polluted rivers caught fire, lethal smog days imprisoned millions of people in their own homes, and a massive oil spill washed ashore at Santa Barbara, blackening pristine beaches and vulnerable wildlife. NRDC's young attorneys responded by blazing a trail of landmark court cases that ushered our nation into a new era of environmental protection. Those first legal victories were breathtaking in scope: the phaseout of lead in gasoline, the ban on ozone-destroying CFC's in aerosol cans, the control of water pollution from 24 major industries, the reduction of acid rain, and tough restrictions on clearcutting in national forests. One after another, seemingly unsolvable problems were solved.

But that's only half the NRDC story. No other group has pioneered so many innovative ways to protect the environment without going to court. NRDC alone has merged world-class advocacy with the clout of a citizen lobby. We mobilized a million people around the world to save the last unspoiled birthing ground of the Pacific gray whale. We played a lead role in conceiving and building broad public support for the international treaty to repair the ozone layer. We partnered with hundreds of corporations -- including Home Depot and Kinko's -- to save ancient forests by revolutionizing the way they use and sell wood and paper products. We spearheaded passage of the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, which enabled the United States to avoid building dozens of new polluting power plants.

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