Interest Groups: Introduction
Although voter turnout has declined substantially in the U.S. since the 1960s, the number of interest groups active in lobbying the government has increased dramatically. You will examine this growth and exactly what these interest groups do, why individuals join groups, and what groups get for their efforts.
On March 5, 2009 the EPA held a hearing in Washington, DC to consider granting California a waiver to implement clean car standards that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and trucks. The Sierra Club presented photo petitions like this one from more than 1,000 individuals from across the country in support of the waiver.
Special interest groups like the Sierra Club are working to inform and influence politicians to support their causes.
