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The Latest by Trip Van Noppen

Former President

Trip Van Noppen served as Earthjustice’s president from 2008 until he retired in 2018. A North Carolina native, Trip said of his experience: “Serving as the steward of Earthjustice for the last decade has been the greatest honor of my life.”

January 20, 2009

This Land is OUR Land

By Trip Van Noppen

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. During the inaugural opening ceremony, among the many themes of American greatness that were touched was the American invention of preserving wilderness and majestic places for all of the people, not …

January 20, 2009

Dancing and Cheering in D.C.

By Trip Van Noppen

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. The very cold weather this morning doesn’t seem to bother anyone—crowd dancing, waving, cheering, hugging. Everyone is part of something much bigger than they ever expected. The city is crackling with …

January 20, 2009

The Magic of this Inauguration

By Trip Van Noppen

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. This inauguration coincides with the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 80th birthday, and the connections between his work and vision and the election of Obama are everywhere: an opening ceremony …

January 19, 2009

At the Inauguration …

By Trip Van Noppen

I am in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of Barack Obama and will be making blog reports once the ceremonies begin. This is an historic occasion for the nation and for anyone who cares about the environment, and it has special significance for me because of my early career in North Carolina, defending African-Americans against …

December 30, 2008

Foundation Honors Ed Lewis

By Trip Van Noppen

We congratulate Ed Lewis, chairman of our Board of Trustees, for being honored with the prestigious Wilburforce Foundation Leadership Award. We all know how well-deserved this award is, recognizing Ed’s conservation leadership not only with Earthjustice, but as board chair of TREC, as a key player in land conservation in the Northern Rockies, and as …

December 18, 2008

Stopping the Exit Wounds

By Trip Van Noppen

Maybe it’s a good thing that Bush has kept Earthjustice so busy these last eight years, fending off unrelenting assaults on the environment. The experience is proving invaluable as we face, in these final weeks of the administration, a frantic effort to roll back some of the nation’s most significant protections. We also are encountering …

November 5, 2008

New Dawn for the Environment

By Trip Van Noppen

With the election of Barack Obama, our nation’s long, dark environmental night appears to be ending. By all early indications an era of opportunity will replace eight years of opposition in which Earthjustice was forced to play a mostly defensive role. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and with your continued support, we …

October 24, 2008

Energy Efficiency: Powerful Foe of Global Warming

By Trip Van Noppen

Energy conservation is the biggest, cheapest way to avoid building new power plants and significantly fight global warming. And it offers powerful economic benefits, as California has found through aggressive programs that have created 1.5 million jobs while cutting energy bills by $56 billion since 1972. Moreover, energy conservation is something individuals can help with …

September 30, 2008

After the Circus Leaves Town

By Trip Van Noppen

What’s happened in Congress during the last two weeks on energy and drilling issues could send us several major steps backwards on the road to a clean and prosperous energy future. As I write this, Congress—instead of passing measures to further increase fuel efficiency and reduce oil demand—is capitulating to the "drill, baby, drill" drumbeat. …

September 18, 2008

Assault on Earthjustice and the Law

By Trip Van Noppen

On Wednesday, Congressman John Shadegg (R-Arizona) attacked Earthjustice in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, and called on Congress to prevent environmental organizations from suing to prevent expansive offshore oil drilling. Here is the response from Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. Congressman Shadegg’s misguided opinion of environmental laws is unfortunate, yet not entirely unexpected. His recent …