Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance is an environmental organization founded in 1999, responding to a growing movement of organizations with the name Riverkeeper, Baykeeper, Soundkeeper, and other related "keeper" names. The original Riverkeeper, headed by Riverkeeper John Cronin, started on the Hudson River in New York state, USA, in response to the destructive industrial pollution that was destroying the river. It was soon followed by Long Island Soundkeeper (which is still led by Terry Backer), Delaware Riverkeeper, San Francisco Baykeeper, New York/New Jersey Baykeeper (still led by Andrew Willner), and others.
Today, Waterkeeper Alliance, which is based out of Irvington, New York, unites all Waterkeeper organizations, coordinating and covering issues affecting the more than 150 Waterkeepers that work to protect rivers, lakes, bays, sounds, and other waterbodies around the world. It's the fastest growing grassroots environmental movement in the world, spanning six continents. Each Waterkeeper organization is devoted to the preservation of specific watersheds.
Two characteristics that have long distinguished Waterkeeper organizations are their grassroots focus, homing in on local water quality issues that impact the health and well-being of their local waterbody and local constituency, and also their commitment to enforcing the law, such as the U.S. Clean Water Act. Groundbreaking litigation and enforcement action has been undertaken by Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Santa Monica Baykeeper, Hudson Riverkeeper, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, San Diego Coastkeeper, Hurricane Creekkeeper, and many other Waterkeeper organizations.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. serves as President of Waterkeeper Alliance, with Backer as Vice-President; the Executive Director is Steve Fleischli. Fleischli served as Santa Monica Baykeeper in Los Angeles previous to becoming Waterkeeper Alliance's Executive Director.
There are Waterkeeper branches all over the Americas, as well as international branches, such as GuardMar of Puerto Rico (Spanish for "seakeeper").
Keeper Springs, a bottled water company co-founded by Kennedy in 1998, donates all of its profits to Waterkeeper and local keeper organizations.
External links
- Waterkeeper Alliance website
- Keeper Springs water company
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