Interest Group Research Paper

The group I selected for my midterm paper is the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council). The NRDC is a joint coalition of Scientists, Lawyers, and other professionals with the mission of protecting and restoring the environment through governmental policy. Narrowed goals of the NRDC include preventing global warming, improving the quality of the oceans, protecting endangered wildlife and natural resources, keeping water sources clean, and incubating sustainable communities. The NRDC has a strong presence in the media, industry, and the government, which allows the organization to make progress in changing policies and regulations There are several defining qualities of an interest group. The first quality of an interest group is that it is formed though a mass movement, or change in idea amongst the public. The second quality of an interest group is that the interest group appears due to a disturbance of some sort, such as a proposed project or pollution issues. Another key quality of an interest group is a leading entrepreneur who leads the interest group and provides the interest group with knowledge and skills, in exchange for a paycheck and usually personal satisfaction. The group is considered to succeed if it can produce change in the interest of the members of the interest group. Furthermore, a group is considered to have failed if the entrepreneur cannot

It is debatable whether the goals of the group are good for society, even though generally protecting the environment is important for the greater good of everyone on the short, and long term, protecting the environment costs money, can hinder economic growth in some situations, and increase the costs of goods. The NRDC is predicted to continue to advocating for environmental protection for as long as funding is