Friends of the Earth U.S. was founded in California in 1969 by prominent environmentalist David Brower after he left the Sierra Club . The organization was launched with the help of Donald Aitken , Jerry Mander and a $ 200,000 donation from the personal funds of Robert O. Anderson . One of its first major campaigns was the protest of nuclear power , particularly in California . In 1971 , Friends of the Earth U.S. successfully campaigned against federal funding for supersonic transport commercial airlines , and overland commercial supersonic flights were banned as well . In the early 1980s , the organization campaigned against the World Bank , claiming it was financing projects that caused tropical deforestation , among other environmental concerns . They also pushed for the 1981 moratorium on new offshore oil leasing in California , which remained in effect until 2008 , when the United States Congress did not renew it . The organization merged with the Environmental Policy Center and the Oceanic Society in 1989 . After the Exxon Valdez oil spill , Friends of the Earth U.S. successfully campaigned for the passage of the Oil Pollution Act in 1990 . In 1992 , they teamed with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Washington State to help pass a federal law to protect salmon runs . In 2003 the organization worked to draft and pass the Clean Car Law in California
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Friends of the Earth (US)