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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.”

The setting of the sun over the Pacific Ocean and a towering thundercloud on July 21, 2003, as seen from the International Space Station.
November 15, 2013

Reflecting on The Fight For This Good Earth

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office

The approach of Thanksgiving is a good time to step back from the fast pace of our fight to protect the Earth and its people, and reflect on the many reasons to be grateful. Please join me and share what’s on your gratitude list by leaving a comment at the end of this piece. My …

Kayford Mountain in West Virginia has been devastated by mountaintop removal mining.
October 10, 2013

What It Means To Live by a Carbon Budget

By Trip Van Noppen  /  California Office & Policy and Legislation Team

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, the most precise yet thanks to advances in scientific monitoring, confirms that climate change impacts are outpacing previous projections for ocean warming, the rate of glacial ice melt in the arctic, and sea level rise. But the biggest takeaway of the report is the unprecedented step it takes in setting a carbon budget.

An airplane passes over Desolation Canyon, UT.
September 11, 2013

My Window Seat To America The Threatened

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office

“If you want to see the places we’ve helped protect, ask for a window seat.” So reads my favorite Earthjustice message, decorating airports across the country. It’s true: 35,000 feet is a great vantage to see the forests, mountains and river canyons that are intact, unroaded and resilient thanks to our legal work with many …

August 27, 2013

Govt. Loses Letters, So Let's Write Back for Clean Water

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Policy and Legislation Team & Washington, D.C. Office

We are sorry to hear that the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining lost 18,000 Earthjustice supporter letters. Our supporters wrote these letters during the Bush administration to urge OSM not to eliminate critical stream protections, especially the “stream buffer zone rule,” from mountaintop removal mining—which it did anyway. We appreciate the Department of …

August 16, 2013

Orcas Struggle For Survival Against Big Ag

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office & Northwest Office

Something special is swimming in Puget Sound—84 unique whales found nowhere else on earth, who might have disappeared altogether if not for Earthjustice’s work to protect them from a far-distant threat. Early this month, the government rejected a misguided proposal to strip protections from this dwindling species: Southern Resident orca whales. Visitors to the Pacific …

July 19, 2013

Obama Needs to Step Up Climate Change Plan

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office

Only a great leap forward can succeed against this critical issue

yuccas on fire
June 14, 2013

"All of the Above" Fails in Face of Climate Change

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office

In recent weeks we have continued to experience extreme and destructive forest fires, droughts, and floods. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached new and dangerous levels. Despite this, President Obama’s pledge to address climate change with meaningful actions has stalled. Since the stirring words of his Inauguration and State of the Union …

May 17, 2013

Citizen Army Lobbies Congress for Clean Air

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Washington, D.C. Office

A few days ago, a fierce army invaded Washington, D.C. to ask our representatives for something very simple: restore our right to breathe clean air. This modest proposal came from more than 100 “clean air ambassadors” who know the cost of dirty air all too well. Take Hilton Kelley from Port Arthur, Texas, which is …

April 20, 2013

Mexico Should Heed Lush Lesson of Costa Rica

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office & International Program

This month, I had the very good fortune to visit Costa Rica, home to some of greatest biodiversity in the world. In this tiny nation, plants and animals from temperate North America and from tropical South America mingle in habitats at different altitudes (including active volcanoes and rain forests at the beach)! I marveled at …

April 9, 2013

Confirming a New Boss at EPA

By Trip Van Noppen  /  Headquarters Office

Ms. McCarthy will be a vital player in the effort to protect our families and environment. It is critical that the Senate move quickly to confirm her.