In offering the courses, NWEI and EIWM have a singular purpose: Motivating people to accept greater responsibility for the earth and to act on that commitment.  Because participants come into the course with diverse values, attitudes, and habits, accepting greater responsibility is an individual matter.

These courses are the result of work by a committee of volunteers. They surveyed the literature, selected readings, prepared the course books, and revised them based on participant evaluations.

In late 1993, NWEI founders Jeanne and Dick Roy began taking these courses into workplaces in and around Portland, Oregon.  By word-of-mouth, the courses expanded into homes, centers of faith, and 60 Northwest communities.  Soon requests began coming from other regions of the country by individuals and groups wishing to offer the courses.  To respond to this increasing interest, in 1997 NWEI formed a National Network of Earth Institutes.  The Earth Institute of West Michigan (with NWEI Affiliate status) began offering courses in West Michigan in 2001.  As of April 2002, the discussion courses have been offered in 312 communities in 47 states with volunteers using only NWEI's Local Organizer's Guide.