Page 164 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Environmental Advocacy 18:0
expectation, making it easier for groups to coordinate with one an-
other and pool information. According to one ED official, his organi-
zation has “dramatically ramped up the amount of cooperation and
coordination with other groups” because of its move onto the web
and use of Internet-based communication. 91 The organization’s start
with this cooperation dates to its decision to permit a large group of
mainly local and regional environmental organizations to use its in-
formation and communication system. Called the “Action Network,”
this system is a sophisticated software system for managing communi-
cation with interested citizens. Internally, ED used the Action Network
to manage its new class of “activist” members. Beginning in 2000, ED
shared the system at no charge with other environmental groups, es-
tablishing a broad and heterogeneous network of groups using similar
strategies, from the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club to Ameri-
can Lung Association of Texas. Many of those groups were themselves
regional networks or collections of groups who could coordinate re-
gionally, but otherwise faced large obstacles to broader collective action.
TheseincludedatvariouspointstheChesapeakeBayActionNetwork,the
Wyoming Action Network, and the San Francisco Bay Area Transporta-
tion and Land Use Coalition. Through the Action Network mechanism,
ED had spread the new approach to mobilization across a wide, loose,
and shifting alliance of groups. The results were new opportunities for
cross-group mobilization efforts as well as more traditional coordina-
tion of lobbying activities. Later in 2000, ED capitalized on the success
of its Action Network tools by spinning off a for-profit business, Lo-
cus Pocus, with the software as its core product. In the assessment of
an official of the World Wildlife Fund, the Internet generally has “in-
creased dramatically” the extent of cooperation among environmental
groups. 92
ED took this flexible approach to membership sharing and coalition-
formation process substantially further, by extending the effort across
major national groups as well. In September of 1999, ED and fifteen
other national environmental organizations announced the formation
of yet another coalition called the “Save Our Environment Coalition.”
This effort at partnering included a number of major groups including
the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, the Audubon Society, and World

91
Smith, telephone interview.
92
Deb Prybyla, World Wildlife Fund, telephone interview with Joe Gardner for the
author, March 12, 2001.
147