Environmental and social justice activist group that uses letter-writing campaigns to influence politicians and policy-makers
Founded in 1989 by Los Angeles chiropractor Dr. Mha Atma Singh Khalsa
Opposes Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism legislation
Opposes oil drilling in Alaska
Founded in 1989, Earth Action Network (EAN) describes itself as a "non-profit, environmental/social justice organization dedicated to the prevention of Earth-damaging developments." The group's activism mainly takes the form of letter-writing campaigns; each month EAN mails to its members packets of pre-written letters of protest or concern (or members can download the letters directly from the group's website), which they are asked to sign and send to politicians and businessmen who can affect public policy. The letters, which come in packets of four, eight, or twelve, are pre-addressed from the EAN members to their elected officials, world leaders, and other people of influence. The contents of the letters deal with what the founder of the group, Los Angeles chiropractor Dr. Mha Atma Singh Khalsa, deems "crucial issues affecting our planet and our future." The goal is to have the letter recipients rethink their actions and positions regarding various environmental matters. EAN claims to have had much success with such letter-writing campaigns, which it credits, among other things, for having brought about the end of the Home Depot company's sale of wood from "old-growth forests," the end of land development in Latin America and Indonesia by Citibank/Citgroup, and the defeat of efforts to initiate oil drilling in the ANWR Arctic refuge.
EAN has also attempted, through its letter-distribution initiatives, to influence U.S. foreign and domestic policies outside the realm of environmentalism. For example, EAN has condemned the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement; the Patriot Act; the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Tools Improvement Act; the Victory Act anti-terrorism legislation; and America's development of a missile defense system.
In 2001 EAN founder and principal letter-crafter Mha Atma Singh Khalsa joined other leftist funders - including billionaire Aris Anagnos, founder of the Humanitarian Law Project - in withholding financial support from the Southern California radio station KPFK for not broadcasting the radical programs Democracy Now! and Alternative Radio. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Khalsa was a signer of Not in Our Name's (NION) "Statement of Conscience," which condemned the Bush administration's "stark new measures of repression" and its "unjust, immoral, illegitimate, [and] openly imperial policy towards the world."
To further spread its message on issues of concern, EAN also sends email alerts to its members and has produced a series of hour-long audio tapes which it sells for $12 apiece. The speakers featured on these cassettes include Kevin Danaher, Noam Chomsky, and other activists.
