The Marcy Institute for a Better World
An independent project with one rule: if we can't source it, we don't say it. The Institute researches issues that affect communities, health and the environment, documents the evidence with rigorous citations and confidence grades, steelmans the other side, and gives people the practical tools to act on what they learn — all of it free.
Its first campaign documents the environmental, health and economic harms of plastic artificial turf: fourteen issue dossiers built on more than 140 sources, a myths-and-rebuttals page, the policy precedents already on the books, and a door-to-door flyer and community action toolkit — always with a living alternative offered in place of “just say no.”
It is named for William L. Marcy — Governor of New York, U.S. Senator, Secretary of War and Secretary of State — as a standard of public service to live up to: serving people well begins with telling them the truth.
How the Institute works
- Evidence first. Every claim links to a study, government report or investigation — 140+ sources reviewed for campaign one.
- Honest grading. Claims are labelled established, strong or emerging, and mixed evidence is called mixed.
- Fair to the other side. Where turf has a genuine advantage, it says so.
- Always a better option. It never stops at “this is bad”; it points to living alternatives that work.
- Independent. It sells nothing and takes no money from anyone who does.
