Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, USA.

The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes in 1985.

RAN campaigns for the forests and rainforests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through grassroots organizing, education and non-violent direct action. RAN helped pioneer market campaigns against large multinational corporations in the 1990's, using grassroots activism and savvy media work to advocate for changes in environmental policies. Since then, RAN has had numerous successes in its Old Growth, Global Finance, and Zero emissions campaigns against logging companies, banks, and vehicle manufacturers.

RAN relies on grassroots organizing, media stunts, and the occasional use of non-violent civil disobedience to pressure corporations into publicly adopting environmental policies that address issues ranging from deforestation to global warming.

RAN works in close alliance with an increasingly well-coordinated movement of NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Along with Global Exchange and the Ruckus Society, RAN played a central role in organizing the mass actions against the WTO (World Trade Organization) summit in Seattle in 1999. Although the organization once had RAGS (Rainforest Action Groups) around the country, today its operations are centralized in San Francisco.

The organization's board of directors has James Gollin, a founding member of the Social Venture Network and Jodi Evans, a founder of Code Pink Women for Peace.

Since 2003, the organization has been the subject of a Congressional investigation as to whether it should be allowed to keep its tax-emempt non-profit 501(c)(3) status. RAN has been subpoenaed by the House Ways and Means Committee to hand over every document and piece of footage relating to all protests the organization has done since 1993 in order to investigate whether they should be entitled to the tax-exempt status. RAN to date has handed over hundreds of documents and video footage and are waiting to see if they will be called to testify.

RAN has increasingly come under criticism for having abandoned its core values and having too easily embraced compromise [cite web
last = Barry
first = Glen
title = Old-Growth Carbon Findings Cause Forest Protection Schism
url=http://forests.org/blog/2008/09/feature-old-growth-carbon-find.asp
accessdate = 2008-09-13 ] . RAN campaigns for certified industrial first-time harvest of primary forests, and to establish some protected areas, while acquiescing to ancient forest logging elsewhere. Recently they publicly supported a deal which [http://forests.org/blog/2008/08/release-ran-sells-out-canadian.asp legitimized the industrial development] of half of Ontario, Canada's boreal forests for "vague promises of protections over a decade from now, but no protected area boundaries or protection plan." Similar concerns have been expressed regarding their Great Bear Rainforest campaign and [http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=ran_ancient_forest_logging support of ancient forest logging] by the Forest Stewardship Council.

See also

*Environmental movement in the United States

References

External links

* [http://www.ran.org/ Rainforest Action Network]
* [http://understory.ran.org/ Rainforest Action Network - Official Blog]
* [http://freegrassy.org/ RAN's work to protect Grassy Narrows First Nation] , in Kenora, Ontario
* [http://www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org/ RAN's activism to prevent deforestation to make way for palm oil plantations]
* [http://www.rainforestweb.org/ Rainforest web] - World Rainforest Information Portal
* [http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm The Disappearing Rainforests] from [http://www.rain-tree.com/ Raintree Nutrition]
* [http://www.treesinstead.com Trees Instead Reforestation Program]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Conservatives_target_the_Rainforest_Action_Network Conservatives target the Rainforest Action Network]
* [http://forests.org/blog/2008/08/release-ran-sells-out-canadian.asp Controversy regarding RAN's strategies, including sell-out of Boreal forests]