Earth Island Institute

Earth Island Institute (EII) is an environmental group headquartered in Berkeley, California, founded in 1982 by veteran environmentalist David Brower. According to its website, it "fosters the efforts of creative individuals by providing organizational support in developing projects for the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the global environment. EII provides activists the freedom to develop program ideas, supported by services to help them pursue those ideas, with a minimum of bureaucracy." They run the Sustainable World Coalition.

Tuna boycott leads to the "Dolphin Safe Tuna" label
A boycott of tuna in 1986 by International Marine Mammal Project, a project of Earth Island Institute, led to tuna companies ending the practice of killing dolphins while fishing for tuna.

"In 1988, biologist Samuel LaBudde signed aboard a Panamanian-flagged tuna fishing vessel in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Using a video camera, LaBudde recorded the horrifying images of hundreds of dolphins dying in tuna nets. The video shocked the world, and people around the world joined in the tuna boycott."

In 1990, StarKist, Bumblebee, and Chicken of the Sea, the three largest tuna companies in the world, agreed to stop selling tuna caught by intentional chasing and netting of dolphins.

Sponsoring projects
Earth Island Institute has provided fiscal sponsorship to more than 100 projects worldwide since the group was founded. The Institute helps groups and individuals start up environmental projects that promote ecological sustainability. They also publish the quarterly magazine Earth Island Journal. "The Journal balances investigative exposés with inspiring stories of change, giving people the information they need be effective environmental activists."

They currently fiscally support over 40 groups, including:
 * Baikal Watch
 * Energy Action
 * Ethical Traveler
 * Fiji Organic Project
 * International Marine Mammal Project
 * Reef Protection International
 * Women's Earth Alliance

Previous successful projects include:
 * International Rivers
 * Rainforest Action Network
 * Bluewater Network

Personnel
Accessed January 2011, Officers:
 * Martha Davis, President, Riverside, California, Manager for Strategic Policy Development, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
 * Kenneth Brower, Vice President, Berkeley, California, Writer
 * Michael Hathaway, Vice President, Santa Barbara, California, Writer
 * Jennifer Snyder, Secretary, Oakland, California, Forecasting and Planning Manager, CLIF BAR, Inc.
 * Alex Giedt, Treasurer, Fairfax, California, Marketing, Acxiom

Directors:
 * Barbara Brower, Portland, Oregon, Professor, Portland State University, Editor, HIMALAYA
 * Robert Wilkinson, President Emeritus, Santa Barbara, California, Lecturer, Environmental Studies Program, University of California at Santa Barbara
 * John de Graaf, Seattle, WA, Documentary filmmaker, activist, author
 * Josh Floum, Mill Valley, CA, General Counsel/Corporate Secretary for Visa Inc.
 * Will Green, San Francisco, CA, Consultant, photographer

Former directors
Accessed July 2007:
 * Carole Combs
 * Maria Moyer-Angus
 * Lisa Wallace - Secretary
 * Peter Winkler


 * Carl Anthony, former President
 * Gar Smith, former editor of Earth Island Journal

Contact details
2150 Allston Way, Suite 460 Berkeley, California USA 94704-1375 Phone: 510-859-9100 Fax: 510-859-9091 Web: http://www.earthisland.org

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * CoalSwarm
 * Circle of Life Foundation
 * Sustainable World Coalition
 * Women's Earth Alliance
 * Claire Hope Cummings

External articles

 * Bob Egelko, "U.S. backs off on relaxed rules on tuna / Activists announce pact that leaves in place 'dolphin-safe' standard", The San Francisco Chronicle, January 8, 2003.
 * Bob Egelko, "'Dolphin-safe' tuna label secure; government gives up", The San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 2007.