Non-profit

Elders Action Network

Website:

eldersaction.org/

Location:

TRUCKEE, CA

Tax ID:

46-4569152

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2015):

Revenue: $88,368
Expenses: $89,966
Assets: $2,859

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The Elders Action Network (formerly the Conscious Elders Network) is a left-of-center advocacy organization that works to encourage older people to engage in activism related to various left-leaning policy stances. 1 Elders Action has opposed the use of zero carbon nuclear energy. 2

Activities and Policy Stances

The Elders Action Network has various policy areas and “chapters” that it encourages elders to get involved in, including climate action, “regenerative living,” social justice, and climate action. The organization states that it “address causes of racial and ethnic injustice, plight of Native Americans, economic inequality, and impact of ‘white supremacy.’” With regards to climate action, the organization engages in federal policy and regulatory lobbying to advocate for more government action and regulation. For example, the organization encouraged members to submit comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that advocate for increasing regulations on oil companies, and encourages the EPA to maintain “its commitment to environmental justice.” 3

The organization also works at the local level to pass climate ordinances that increase local government regulation.  The Elders for Sound Democracy chapter ran public service announcements on local radio stations targeting minority voters who the organization believes are “more vulnerable to voter suppression tactics.” The chapter also encourages environmentalists to vote. 4

Declaration for American Democracy

The Conscious Elders Network is a member of the Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of left-leaning activist groups that advocates for a series of governmental and electoral administration policy changes. The coalition supports proposed federal legislation that would enact several left-leaning policy priorities regarding elections including automatic voter registration and restrictive regulations on political campaign-related speech acts. The organization is a project of Public Citizen Foundation, a left of center advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader. 5

The Declaration for American Democracy advocates for bills in Congress and publicly promotes the need for left-leaning campaign and electoral administration policies. In May 2020, the organization sent an open letter to all 2020 presidential candidates urging them to adopt the coalition’s positions as part of their campaign platform and as policy priorities if elected. The coalition also launched a presidential candidate tracker to assess where each candidate stood on over 90 various policy issues. 6 Left-wing Democratic primary candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was listed as a supporter of the most of the policy positions on the Declaration for American Democracy’s platform. 7

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

Elders Action was one of more than 600 co-signing organizations on a January 2019 open letter to Congress titled “Legislation to Address the Urgent Threat of Climate Change.” The signatories declared their support for new laws to bring about “100 percent decarbonization” of the transportation sector but denounced nuclear power as an example of “dirty energy” that should not be included in any legislation promoting the use of so-called “renewable energy.” 8

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. 9 An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. 10

People

The Conscious Elders Network was founded by John Sorensen, who worked previously in the aerospace and transportation industry, but wanted to quit “work[ing] for a paycheck” so that he could “work with elders to enact change on issues ranging from climate change to social justice.” 11

References

  1. “Encore Network.” December 2, 2018. Last accessed January 31, 2023. https://encorenetwork.org/conscious-elders-activism-focused-mission-new-name-elders-action-network/
  2. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
  3. “Submit Your Comments on Methane to the EPA.” Accessed January 31, 2023. secure.everyaction.com/JjXwEFPN8kCHIRfMf_2HUw2.
  4. “Climate profile: John Sorensen.” Sep 13, 2022. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://www.sierrasun.com/news/climate-profile-john-sorensen/
  5. “About.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://declarationforamericandemocracy.org/about/
  6. “The Positions.” Democracy Platform 2020. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200926055422/https://democracyplatform2020.org/the-positions/
  7. “The Positions.” Democracy Platform 2020. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200926055422/https://democracyplatform2020.org/the-positions/
  8. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
  9. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
  10. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/
  11. “Climate profile: John Sorensen.” Sep 13, 2022. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://www.sierrasun.com/news/climate-profile-john-sorensen/

Supported Movements

  1. Green New Deal (GND)
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 2015

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2015 Dec Form 990EZ $88,368 $89,966 $2,859 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Elders Action Network

    PO BOX 8141
    TRUCKEE, CA 96162-8141