For Environment America, 2024 was a year of action.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve won major victories for our natural world, from convincing Amazon to reduce its plastic packaging to winning new restrictions on bee-killing pesticides in multiple states.
And we’re not going anywhere. We’re already setting our 2025 campaigns in motion to secure even more protections for our natural world.
Our supporters make that possible. Do you want in? Become a member here.
Here’s a look back at the victories we achieved this year:
- We protected critical habitat in the Arctic from drilling. This spring, President Biden finalized a rule to protect 13 million acres of the Western Arctic from oil and gas drilling. That means an area larger than the size of Maryland is now safer for its abundant wildlife — from beluga whales and caribou to migratory birds and polar bears.
- Our national network won state-by-state restrictions on bee-killing pesticides. States have been taking the lead on restricting bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. This year, Washington became the twelfth state to pass neonic restrictions. New York and Vermont also became the first states to limit the use of neonic-coated seeds.
- We convinced Amazon to reduce its plastic packaging. Plastic waste is choking wildlife and polluting our oceans. Our national network and coalition partners delivered 138,000 petitions to Amazon urging the company to cut wasteful single-use plastic. And this summer, Amazon announced plans to phase out its plastic air pillows in North America by the end of 2024.
- We secured new protections for ocean wildlife habitat. Four thousand square miles off the California coast will now be safer for sea otters, sea turtles and other ocean wildlife thanks to the newly established Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, stretching from Pismo Beach to the Channel Islands.
- We defended old-growth forests. After receiving more than 500,000 public comments urging swift action to protect some of our planet’s oldest trees, the U.S. Forest Service proposed the first nationwide plan to improve safeguards for old-growth forests. This spring, tens of thousands more people called on the Forest Service to strengthen its proposal even more to protect our forests.
Victories like these show that when we take strategic, collaborative action on the issues that matter most, we can win.
But 2025 will bring new challenges to our natural world. Our planet’s largest forests need our protection. Bee species need our help. Our oceans and waterways need someone to stop the flow of plastic pollution.
We can — and must — meet these challenges. Will you join us?
