The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is an independent, bi-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to promote environmentally sustainable societies. Based out of Washington, DC, EESI seeks to be a catalyst moving society away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future. The organization was established in 1984 by a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of the United States Congress who were concerned with global environmental and energy problems. EESI works to advance policy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ground-level air pollution; improve public health, energy security, and economic development opportunities; and increase use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The group seeks to advance its mission through policymaker education, coalition building, and policy development. Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofits evaluator, has rated EESI as a 4 out of 4 stars organization since October 1, 2015. Formation EESI grew out of the Environmental Study Conference (ESC), a bipartisan caucus of Members of the House of Representatives launched in 1975 by Rep. Richard (Dick) Ottinger (D-NY) and Rep. Alan Steelman (R-TX). Its founding staff director James H. Rathlesberger was recruited from the office of Rep. Henry S. Reuss (D-WI), who was also among the planners. Rathlesberger recruited a talented staff of five aided immeasurably by interns. ESC’s Weekly Bulletin, becoming known as “the Green Sheet,” was on Members’ desks before start of business every Monday morning, thanks to late Friday night hours by ESC’s staff and weekend production/distribution work by intern Edward V. Kislik. Special alerts, fact sheets, and meetings for Members and Congressional staff supplemented the weekly green sheet analysis of environmental bills in hearings and floor action. ESC grew to over 150 Members of the House in less than a year. Its heavily-attended Briefings for Congressional Staff included “Cancer and the Environment,” featuring expert speakers including Ralph Nader and Dr. Sidney Wolfe on January 12, 1976. The ESC became bicameral in 1976 expanding the pool of unused “clerk-hire” funds from which to request staff salaries. This put the ESC on better footing though somewhat diminished the focus of serving House Members who had fewer staff than Senators. In 1984 the leadership of the Study Conference launched an independent non-profit, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to continue the Conference's mission to provide information and policy resources to Congress on energy and environmental issues. EESI was established as a separate and distinct