On this page I would like to share with you a few of my favorite charities and tell you why I think they're worthy of your attention and generosity.  Most of the organizations that you will find on this page are related to environmental causes, because I believe that there are plenty of organizations that lobby for one human-related disease or another, yet our population on this planet keeps growing every day, and unfortunately so does our impact on the planet, which has not exactly been on the positive side.  In fact we are in the middle of THE biggest mass extinction in the history of our planet.  Every day we are losing species that we did not even know existed, yet one of them can be the species that several other species or the whole ecosystem depends. The disappearance of that one species will cause the entire ecosystem to collapse. It is time that we reverse the dwindling spiral and take action not only with our choices but also with our dollars.To that end, we do need funds and people who are willing to stand up and protect the environment against the big corporations and the ever-growing population of that most destructive and blood-hungry of species, i.e. the Homo Sapiens, aka "humans".

Defenders of Wildlife
This organization has been on the forefront of protecting wildlife by directing their efforts to protect those who need it the most, including one of my favorite animals on the planet, the Wolf. Believe it or not, there are many cowards who chase down these magnificant animals to exhaustion with a HELICOPTER and then shoot them down. Even though this practice was banned by Congress more than 30 years ago, Alaska is exploiting a loophole in the law to continue this practice. DOW has been named one of America's 100 Best charities by Reader's Digest. You can visit their website at www.defenders.org take action, and/or make a donation.

The Wilderness Society
This group is dedicated to preserving and protecting wild places from construction and developement and human encroachment, and keeping wild places wild, just like they should be. They protect places like Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Black Elk Wilderness, South Dakota, Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness in Maine, John Muir Wilderness in California, and many more. To join, visit www.wilderness.org.

The Nature Conservancy
TNC has been around for more than 50 years and is comprised of groups of scientists and local community leaders that research ways to save local species. TNC receives high marks from Charity Navigator and meets all BBB Wise Giving Alliance standards. To visit their website visit: www.nature.org.

World Wildlife Fund
Founded in 1961 and with 28 affiliates across 5 continents, WWF is one of the largest international conservation organizations in the world. They are uniquely positioned to engage in emergency rescue programs, habitat protection, conservation education, direct land acquisitions and more. Visit them at www.worldwildlife.org.

Earth Justice
This one is made up of a group of lawyers who defend nature and wildlife in the courts, and seek protection by legislative means. As they say, "Sometimes, The Earth needs a good Lawyer". Who knew that lawyers could be this useful one day. Visit www.earthjustice.org.

National Parks Conservation Association
These guys help protect America's "crown jewels" such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, Everglades and many more for all of us and for future generations to enjoy. Visit them at www.npca.org.

America's Second Harvest
Not only do they prevent large amounts of food from going to waste, but they also do a fantastic job of redistributing that food to people in need.  They can feed 15 people with a $10 donation or they can distribute nearly 4 bags of food with every dollar that you donate.  So with the 12 billion dollars that we're spending on Iraq war every month, they could provide 18 billion meals. Divided by 90 (3 meals per day for 30 days), they could feed 3 square meals to 200 million people each and every month. That's over 2/3rd of the entire population of U.S. Now when we consider the disability costs of the returning veterans and other costs associated with war but not directly related to warfare, then we'll see that the real cost of the Iraq war is more like around 20-25 billion dollars per month. With that figure ASH could fully feed 333 million to 416 million people each and every month. So which would we rather have, killing people overseas over ficticious weapons of mass destruction and getting our soldiers killed in the process, or feeding our people? When it comes to hunger, we have a problem of mismanagement of resources, instead of a lack thereof.

By feeding people and preventing waste, ASH is saving 2 birds with 1 stone, and we need to get them more stones. These guys are simply amazing.
To visit their website go to www.secondharvest.org .Thank you for your generosity, and may your plate always be filled with wonderfully delicious and healthy food.

Sierra Club
Founded in 1892 by John Muir, the Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States, and they're pretty hard core, which is what I like about them. www.sierraclub.org/welcome

Green Peace
Of course no mention of environmental organizations would be complete without Green Peace. These guys are not only hard core but some times they even cross the line into "crazy" or even into "stupid". To say that their activists are committed would be an understatement. With offices in more than 30 countries, they are making a global impact. Simply put, when the going gets tough we need people like this. www.greenpeace.org/usa/