GREEN LIGHT
How to Make an Impact: Environmental Organizations to Support
By Natalie Bencivenga
February 24, 2025
Did you know that February 24 was “National Skip the Straw Day?” While the sentiment may sound nice, there's more work to be done than any one individual can handle in order to help reverse climate change so that our communities and environment can thrive.
In fact, according to the Guardian, just 100 companies burned—or enabled others to burn—enough fossil fuel to cause over 70% of all worldwide emissions from 1988 to 2017. It can feel overwhelming to think about what an individual can even do to make a dent in such an issue.
But there is strength in numbers and when we the people put pressure on our government officials through the power of organizing and our votes, we can make change happen. Pittsburgh has joined the plastic bag ban, for example, which helps strengthen our resolve when it comes to conscious consumption. We also can vote with our pocketbooks and refuse to support corporations that are engaging in fast fashion, for instance. We have so much more collective power than we realize.
And in case you aren’t sure where to start outside of recycling (which has unfortunately shown to be a bit of a farce in its impact) here are some ideas to get you activated right in your own backyard. Together, we can push back against the fossil fuel giants and make this world a healthier and happier place to live, work and play!
- Fractracker: It was a project originally developed to investigate health concerns and data gaps surrounding western PA fracking. Today, as a non-profit organization, FracTracker Alliance supports groups across the United States, addressing pressing extraction-related concerns with a lens toward health effects and exposure risks on communities from oil and gas development. The organization provides timely and provocative data, ground-breaking analyses, maps, and other visual tools to help advocates, researchers, and the concerned public better understand the harms posed by hydrocarbon extraction.
- Beyond Plastics: The mission is to end plastic pollution everywhere. Launched in January 2019, Beyond Plastics is a nationwide project based at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, that pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to end plastic pollution. Jessica Conard, director of the Appalachia division, has been on my KDKA radio show countless times as we’ve dissected the impact of single use plastics in our communities and brought attention to the East Palestine, OH train derailment that has caused insurmountable damage to the environment and the people. The organization uses deep policy and advocacy expertise to build a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet, and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts of the production, usage, and disposal of plastics.
- GASP Pgh: The Group Against Smog and Pollution was founded in 1969 by volunteers concerned about air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania. Since then, GASP has worked tirelessly to explain and combat our air quality problems through public meetings, engagement with the press, educational events, permit reviews, and many other means.
- Breathe Project: Breathe Project is a clearinghouse for information on air quality in Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond. We use the best available science and technology to better understand the quality of the air we breathe and provide opportunities for citizens to engage and take action. The organization also has a Collaborative. This coalition of citizens, environmental advocates, public health professionals and academics work to improve air quality, eliminate climate pollution and make our region a healthy and prosperous place to live. The Collaborative powers the Breathe Project through science-based work and a community outreach platform. Check out their air quality monitor on Instagram.
- Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh: Sunrise is a nationwide youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of green, well-paying union jobs in the process. The plan to make this vision a reality? A Green New Deal for the Southwest PA region. The organization is building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.
What speaks to you? We can’t do everything, but we can all do something. In these trying times, lean into your community, lean into your strengths and join a movement to make this world a more equitable place for us all!
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