astroturf vs. grass roots

astroturf = where a company is behind an organization and plan
grass roots = it is real people/community with a voice; independent organization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
A grassroots political movement is one driven by the constituents of a community. The term implies that the genesis of the described political movement is natural yet spontaneous and imposes a dichotomy between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures.

Grassroots organize and lobby through procedures including:
-house meetings/parties
-larger meetings - AGM's
-putting up posters
-talking with pedestrians on the street (often involving informational clipboards)
-gathering signatures for petitions
-setting up information tables
-raising money from many small donors for political advertising or campaigns
-organizing large demonstrations
-asking individuals to submit opinions to media outlets and government officials
-get out the vote activities which includes the practices of reminding people to vote and/or transporting them to polling places.


The truth about Rainforest Action Network:

http://www.ran.org/ : "Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is made up of 36 staff members in San Francisco, CA and in Tokyo, Japan, plus thousands of volunteer scientists, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens around the world. We believe that a sustainable world can be created in our lifetime, and that aggressive action must be taken immediately to leave a safe and secure world for our children.

Dubbed 'the most savvy environmental agitators in the business' by the Wall Street Journal, RAN uses hard-hitting markets campaigns to align the policies of multinational corporations with widespread public support for environmental protection. We believe that logging ancient forests for copy paper or destroying an endangered ecosystem for a week’s worth of oil is not just destructive, but outdated and unnecessary."

Since it was founded in 1985, Rainforest Action Network campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. RAN works to protect rainforests and the human rights of those who live by and near the rainforests.

RAN = grass roots