Make a gift. Honor Joe's 40 year commitment to fighting for the environment. 

The Clean Air Council is celebrating Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Joseph Minott's 40 years of leading the Clean Air Council! Joe is a sought after environmental voice and leader across the state and the region. He has spent his career championing environmental issues like clean air and water, advocating for a transition away from fossil fuels, and promoting clean energy solutions such as energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal. 

Being an environmental activist in a fossil fuel state is not for the faint of heart. 

Joe started as a new Staff Attorney in 1982 and within 3 years, was appointed as Executive Director and Chief Counsel, and he still fills that role today. Joe fought tirelessly to raise awareness on urban air pollution in the 1980’s by establishing and distributing a daily regional air quality index report that is still used today. And in the early 2000’s when fracking was falsely seen as transitional energy, Joe purposely grew the legal team to oppose natural gas expansion. Working for the Council, Joe and his legal team have sued the federal government, the state government, local governments, and the fossil fuel industry. 

Under Joe’s leadership, the Council has grown considerably in depth and breadth, now enjoying a $3 million budget and a staff of over 30 environmental experts. Today, Joe leads the Council in defending PA’s move to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state movement to lower emissions from the power plant sector. Part of Joe’s environmental legacy will be to make sure RGGI crosses the finish line, and that the resulting revenues are invested in clean energy. 

Will you donate to celebrate Joe's 40 years?

Joe has decided that any donations will go toward hiring a Legal Fellow in 2023 to assist the legal team with ongoing litigation, like fighting Mariner East II pipeline, and other proposed natural gas projects such as the Shell Petrochemical Plant. The legal work is one avenue where the Council makes its greatest impact, and currently, there is no funding for the Legal Fellow position for 2023.

Your tax-deductible special gift will go a long way toward strengthening the Council's legal team and ensuring the Council can hire a Legal Fellow in 2023 for $60,000.