Rick Middleton
Executive Director
NEVER IN OUR LIFETIME
has the Southeast faced environmental
issues of such consequence or such urgency.
Over more than two decades, we have built and perfected an effective model of environmental advocacy. SELC understands the Southeast—its ecology, culture, people, and politics—and we know what it takes to champion our unique region.
Make our mission your mission.
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There is no substitute for permanent, on-the-ground presence. Through the campaign, we are enhancing the capacity of SELC’s core offices (Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, and Atlanta); maintaining satellite offices in Asheville, Birmingham, Charleston, and Richmond; and fulfilling our plans for a new satellite office in Nashville. This will strengthen our ties to grassroots partner groups that can rely on SELC’s legal firepower, leadership, and professionalism.
In the Southern Appalachians, the crown jewels of our region, SELC is keeping chain saws and bulldozers out of the wild and scenic reaches of our region’s national forests, and we are battling the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining. On our incomparable coasts, we are defending ecological gems stretching from the Chesapeake Bay to the Georgia salt marsh to the Gulf shores. Photo: Jerry Greer
If our six-state region were viewed as a country, it would rank as the world's 7th largest contributor to global warming. SELC is using its legal and policy muscle to prevent construction of new coal-burning power plants that would lock the Southeast into decades of increased greenhouse gas emissions. As a readily available alternative, we are advancing investment in energy efficiency.
Our region’s asphalt-centered approach to transportation worsens many of the environmental problems we face today, from air and water pollution to loss of rural lands. SELC is spurring investment in cleaner, more efficient alternatives to driving, such as transit, passenger rail, and freight rail. We are also promoting development patterns that place people closer to where they work, shop, and go to school. Photo: Ron Sherman
SELC’s office in Washington, D.C., is providing a stronger, more effective voice for the southern environment on Capitol Hill. Congress has the power to protect special places, and SELC is securing congressional action to complement our legal defense of the South’s natural treasures. We are also helping to shape and enact broader national law that directly affects our region’s ecosystems and environmental health.