Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice is a left-of-center health and environmentalist advocacy group that works with marginalized communities to conduct activism on environmental, social, economic, racial, and climate issues. ¹

Background

Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, based in San Francisco, California, provides support for community-related campaigns to advocate left-of-center approaches to environmental, social, economic, racial, and climate issues through education, campaign development, and networking support. ^{2  3}

Greenaction’s first campaign was to block the development of a nuclear waste management facility at Ward Valley near Needles, California by the federal government. Greenaction and others occupied the land at Ward Valley for 113 days until the government dropped its plans for the project. ²

Work Areas and Campaigns

Greenaction worked with other California environmental groups to form the California Environmental Justice Coalition in 2015 and the San Francisco Bay Shoreline Contamination Cleanup Coalition in 2021. ⁴

In 2024 Greenaction played a lead role in creating the Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice Response Task Force to address pollution and environmental health concerns in the area. ⁵

Greenaction organizes campaigns to advocate for environmental policy changes. Greenaction works in California, Arizona, and Utah, and on Native American reservations. ⁶ Its Zero Waste campaigns seek to close incinerators and landfills, including hazardous waste landfills and medical waste incinerators in California, Utah, and Arizona. ⁷ Its Clean Air and Clean Water campaigns include opposing a proposed Green River nuclear power plant, a uranium mill in White Mesa, and oil and gas operations throughout the Colorado and Green River areas. ⁸ Its Energy and Climate Justice campaigns protest against fossil fuel, nuclear, and uranium facilities. ⁹

Over the years Greenaction claims credit for closing a hazardous waste facility in East Palo Alto, California; shutting down a medical waste incinerator and hazardous waste plant in Chandler, Arizona; and defeating a proposal to store nuclear waste in Goshute tribal land in Utah. ¹⁰

Litigation and Advocacy

In June 2024 Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice filed a complaint against the U.S. Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning the cleanup of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site in San Francisco. Greenaction claimed that the Navy and the EPA mishandled the Hunters Point cleanup, relied on fraudulent contractor data, and failed in its oversight. Greenaction was demanding court-enforced re-testing and remedies to meet legal standards. ¹¹

In March 2025 Greenaction organized a rally at the EPA office in San Francisco protesting the second Trump administration’s funding cuts and deregulatory actions targeting left-wing environmental justice programs. Other groups participating included the San Francisco chapters of 350.org and the Sierra Club. ^{12  13}

In October 2025 Greenaction co-organized a “Hands Off” rally and march against United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the San Francisco Bay area. ¹⁴

In June and October 2025 Greenaction joined the “No Kings” protests against the second Trump administration which claim that the administration was implementing antidemocratic policies and attacking our climate, health, and communities. The protests which took place in June and October 2025 were large protests organized primarily by liberal organizations including the 50501 Movement, Indivisible, and MoveOn. ^{15  16}

Greenaction was one of over 400 groups that signed an open letter publicly supporting Greenpeace’s actions during violent protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017. Greenpeace was found civilly liable in 2025 for its role in delaying the pipeline’s construction and causing billions of dollars in damage. Other signatories in support of Greenpeace included civil disobedience and protest groups such as the Sunrise Movement, Extinction Rebellion, Community Movement Builders, Honor the Earth, and Direct Action Everywhere, and large left-wing organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Tides Center, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Teachers. ^{17  18}

In 2019 Greenaction signed a group letter along with more than 600 organizations to Congress urging it to halt all conventional fuel leasing, extraction, and subsidies; transition to weather-dependent energy by 2035; invest in weather-dependent-energy-powered public transportation; eliminate the sale of vehicles with combustion engines; “invest in a new green economy that is designed, built and governed by communities and workers”; and uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The letter denounced nuclear power and other power sources which signers described as “dirty energy.” Other organizations that signed the letter include 350.org, the Climate Justice Alliance, CODEPINK, Earthworks, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Indivisible, the Institute for Policy Studies, North American Climate Conservation and Environment, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Progressive Democrats of America, Riverkeeper, and the Sunrise Movement. ¹⁹

Funding

In 2024 Greenaction received $149,672 in government grants, almost 25 percent of its total revenues. ²⁰

Donors include the former Vice President Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, ²¹ the Sierra Club, the Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management, the Sustainable Markets Foundation, the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, the Resources Legacy Fund, the Public Health Institute, the Liberty Hill Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and several donor-advised funds including Network for Good, the American Endowment Foundation, and the National Philanthropic Trust. ²²

Leadership

Bradley Angel is the founding executive director for Greenaction, forming the organization along with urban, rural, and indigenous community leaders from California and Arizona. Previously he was a campaigner for Greenpeace and a co-director of the San Francisco Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. ⁴

Board members include Allen Gunn, executive director of Aspiration; Teresa Johnson, founding board member of Greenaction and advisor to Children for a Safe Environment; Sarah King, program coordinator for Phoenix Clean and Beautiful and board member of the Arizona Faith Network; and Jane Williams, co-founder and founding board member of Greenaction, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, and chair of the Sierra Club National Clean Air Team. ²³

1. Facebook – Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/Greenaction4EJ/
2. “Our Story.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/our-story/
3. Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice homepage. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/
4. “Our Staff – Bradley Angel.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/our-staff/
5. Greenaction For Health and Environmental Justice. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part III). 2024.
6. “Our Communities.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/our-communities/
7. “Zero Waste Future, Not Dumping & Burning.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/zero-waste-future-not-dumping-and-burning/
8. “Clean Air & Clean Water.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/clean-air-and-clean-water/
9. “Energy & Climate Justice.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/energy-climate-justice/
10. Juan Carlos Guerrero. “How a community-led organization is fighting for those affected by environmental racism.” ABC 7 News. April 22, 2022. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://abc7news.com/post/earth-day-climate-justice-environmental-greenaction/11780606/
11. “Case 3:24-cv-03899.” EPA. Filed June 28, 2024. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-07/2024.06.28-greenaction-v.-us-navy-complaint-endorsed.pdf
12. Audrey Mei Yi Brown. “New Environmental Justice Coalition Protests EPA Cuts.” San Fancisco Public Press. March 26, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.sfpublicpress.org/new-environmental-justice-coalition-protests-epa-cuts/
13. “Learn About Environmental Justice.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/learn-about-environmental-justice_.html
14. “October 23, 2025 – 5pm “Hands off” San Francisco Bay Emergency Mobilization against Trump’s Invasion!” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice – Events. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/category/events/
15. “Join Us For The No Kings Protest!” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice – Events. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/category/events/
16. “” No Kings” protests. Britannica. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/No-Kings-protests
17. Robert Stilson. “Greenpeace, nonprofits, and illegal protests.” Capital Research Center. October 20, 2025. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/greenpeace-nonprofits-and-illegal-protests/
18. “Open Letter to Energy Transfer.” Greenpeace. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/energy-transfer-open-letter/
19. “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed December 6, 2025. https://earthworks.org/resources/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/
20. Greenaction For Health and Environmental Justice. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part VIII). 2024.
21. Kate Sheppard. “Gore’s green groups kick into campaign mode to push climate legislation.” Grist. May 28, 2009. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://grist.org/article/2009-05-27-gore-group-campaign-mode/
22. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search. “Results for 43-2050242.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&q=43-2050242&sort=best&submit=Apply&year%5B%5D=2023&year%5B%5D=2020&year%5B%5D=2022&year%5B%5D=2021&year%5B%5D=2024
23. “Our Board.” Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://greenaction.org/our-board/