Why give to PIRG this Earth Day?

Together, we’re making a difference on a range of issues, from curbing plastic waste, to stopping the use of toxic pesticides, to winning progress toward an electric vehicle future.

Staff | TPIN

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Earth Day gives all of us an opportunity to stop and appreciate the natural world we share. And perhaps even more importantly, Earth Day reminds us that if we want our kids and grandkids to be able to enjoy all that our environment has to offer, we need to stand up against the many threats our Earth is currently facing.

Your support powers campaigns that win real results on a range of issues, from curbing plastic pollution to stopping the use of toxic pesticides and more. Here’s a closer look at the progress Illinois PIRG and our national network are making for our environment in the months ahead:

Pam Walker via Shutterstock; Pxhere; Daizuoxin via Shutterstock | Used by permission

Illinois PIRG is working to end excessive plastic waste and hold producers accountable

Plastic waste has spread to basically every corner of the globe … but we know what we need to do to turn the tide. The first step is to get rid of the single-use plastics that are littering our communities, clogging landfills and polluting our rivers, lakes and oceans.

Illinois PIRG, our allies and supporters like you are making major progress. One in 3 Americans now lives in a state with a ban on at least one type of single-use plastic.

And still, there’s so much more to do — from winning and implementing strong plastic producer responsibility programs to convincing major corporations such as Amazon to stop flooding our lives with single-use plastic packaging. Donate today to power these and other crucial steps toward a zero-waste future.

Illinois PIRG is working to eliminate the chemicals that threaten our health and our environment

The threat of dangerous chemical pesticides such as Roundup and dicamba continues to lurk in plain sight … but by taking action together, we can get these toxic chemicals off store shelves and out of our lives. In 2021, after Illinois PIRG and our national network  delivered 27,000 petition signatures calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to ban another toxic pesticide, chlorpyrifos, from use on all food crops, the agency banned some of the worst uses of the chemical.

Now it’s time to do the same for other pesticides, such as dicamba — which drifts across fields, lawns and parks for up to 72 hours after being released and is designed to destroy every plant it touches except those with special genetic modifications. And bee-killing “neonic” pesticides, which are causing bee populations to plummet — and without bees, we’d lose many of the foods we love, from coffee to apples to nuts and cereal crops.

We can protect our communities and our environment from these and other harmful chemicals — but we need your support.

Electric vehicles charging
Banner-Scharfsinn | Shutterstock.com

Illinois PIRG is working to make an electric vehicle future a reality

Transportation pollution is our country’s No. 1 source of greenhouse gas emissions … but our advocacy is helping accelerate the transition to an electric vehicle future. Over the past several years we’ve won policies at virtually every level to help speed America’s transition to clean electric vehicles. We’ve helped school districts make the switch to electric school buses, advocated for stronger tailpipe emission standards, and even nudged the U.S. Postal Service closer to an all-electric delivery fleet.

Together, these small but meaningful steps forward became the blueprint for historic federal investments in clean, electric transportation that PIRG helped win as part of 2021’s bipartisan infrastructure package and last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Your gift to PIRG will help power all this work and help ensure that on future Earth Days, our children and grandchildren can celebrate a healthier planet.

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