February’s Share the Plate is the Southern Environmental Law Center

This month’s Share the Plate organization is the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the South’s largest and most effective nonprofit, nonpartisan environmental advocate and protector. SELC’s mission is to protect the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate; to preserve our region’s natural treasures and rich biodiversity; and to provide a healthy environment for all.

"In response to a civil rights complaint (that the SELC) filed on behalf branch of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to investigate the discriminatory impact of pollution and adverse health risks, including premature death, that industrial hog operations impose on Black and Latino communities in North Carolina."  Toxic environmental conditions disproportionately harm communities of color, and the SELC takes legal action!

Transforming our region away from fossil fuel to clean energy, righting environmental injustice, stopping pollution, and protecting nature—When we solve these issues here, we lead the way for others.That’s why we say, Solutions start in the South.

We are respected for our deep understanding of the places, politics, and culture of the South, and our knowledge of and willingness to do what it takes to get results. With 90 lawyers and a total staff of 170 working in nine offices across six states and Washington, D.C., we champion this beautiful, complex region because we live here and we love it.

We’re the muscle and the heart behind landmark actions with national and global impacts. The critical work we do in court, in government, and in our communities helps shape environmental policies and protections.

As lawyers, policy and issue experts, and community advocates and partners, we take on the toughest challenges to protect our air, water, land, wildlife, and the people who live here. And we win.