Complete list of press releases

NEWS RELEASE

(Washington, D.C. – January 30, 2018) Scott Pruitt’s appearance before the Senate Environmental & Public Works Committee today demonstrated why his claims to be protecting public health cannot be trusted. Pruitt repeatedly claimed to know that pollution causes cancer, asthma, mental impairment in children, and death. Yet he admitted during questioning that his policies are leading to increased exposure to those pollutants for American families and had no defense to the Trump administration’s proposals to slash the budget of programs vital to cutting this pollution and protecting public health.<

“Scott Pruitt is good at slogans, but he’s failing to protect public health. At today’s hearing, he agreed that asbestos is a deadly product, causing thousands of deaths every year, but would not commit to banning the importation of it. He talked about a “War on Lead” as one of his top priorities, but refused to say he would push the White House to drop its push to cut of the program to reduce children’s exposure to lead. Pruitt said he cares about asbestos, arsenic, benzene, chloroform, cyanide, formaldehyde, lead, and mercury, yet admitted he does not know whether EPA’s ‘once-in’ decision last week would increase these kinds of pollution,” said Jeremy Symons, Vice President, Political Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund.

Pruitt repeatedly dodged question on ethics. He had no answer for what he did on his taxpayer-funded trips to Oklahoma for seemingly political reasons or to Morocco to promote Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports.

Administrator Pruitt has demonstrated once again why he cannot be trusted to protect American families from pollution.

(Washington, D.C. – January 29, 2018) Environmental and legal advocates today submitted a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for EPA to withdraw the proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan and for Administrator Scott Pruitt to recuse himself from any further Clean Power Plan proceedings.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), together with a coalition including the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Earthjustice, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists sent the letter, which lists evidence that shows Pruitt has predetermined the outcome of the process:

“Administrator Pruitt has made public statements that he has already decided to repeal the CPP – even that he has already done so – when in fact he has only proposed a repeal, and (as of the time the statements were made) had not yet even received public comment. These statements cross a clear line and show that Administrator Pruitt has a fixed position on the repeal of the rule, making his participation inconsistent with the Due Process Clause, which protects the public from rulemakings that are empty formalities because they are presided over by officials with an “unalterably closed mind.” (Letter, page 1)

The Clean Power Plan — America’s only nationwide limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants — is the most significant step our nation has taken to tackle dangerous climate change. Once fully implemented, the Clean Power Plan would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths a year, according to a recent analysis issued by Pruitt’s EPA.

On October 16, 2017, EPA released a proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan. If finalized, a repeal would leave the U.S. unprotected from our largest stationary source of carbon pollution — even as the urgent threat of climate change becomes ever clearer.

“As the letter documents, Administrator Pruitt’s statements reveal a firmly closed mind on the Clean Power Plan; he has described the CPP’s repeal in ways flatly incompatible with the Clean Air Act’s requirements for a meaningful public process before a final decision is made,” said Sean H. Donahue, counsel for EDF.

The Due Process Clause forbids an official from presiding over a rulemaking when the official has an “unalterably closed mind” about the subject matter, and the Clean Air Act requires a transparent rulemaking process where a final decision is issued only after careful consideration of the law, science, and public comments.

“Scott Pruitt’s tenure as EPA administrator is rife with conflicts of interest. As Oklahoma attorney general, he played a leading role in litigating the EPA’s Clean Power Plan on behalf of his fossil fuel industry campaign contributors. He cannot serve in the conflicting roles of lawyer for one side, judge and jury, and executioner of the Clean Power Plan,” said Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It is a clear violation of law for Scott Pruitt to participate in this matter, and it deprives the American public of an open-minded decisionmaker. If Administrator Pruitt really wants to keep his promise to restore ’the rule of law’ at the EPA, he must recuse himself immediately.”

Administrator Pruitt has also publicly repudiated the legal authority for the Clean Power Plan and described the rulemaking process in ways that make clear that he has no intention of considering options other than repeal.

The groups’ letter says Pruitt “has departed egregiously from constitutional and statutory norms meant to protect the public’s ability meaningfully to participate in rulemakings and safeguard the integrity of the administrative process.”

“Pruitt was dancing on the grave of the Clean Power Plan before the rulemaking process had even begun,” said Vera Pardee, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s clear Pruitt is hell-bent on killing this crucial climate protection for his friends in the fossil fuel industry, no matter how many lives the rule would save.”

“Scott Pruitt is not fit to participate in any rulemaking process to withdraw the Clean Power Plan. His shrill and steadfast hostility to this critical climate safeguard, as well as his cozy ties to corporate polluters, make clear that he cannot be an impartial decision maker in these matters,” said Joanne Spalding, Deputy Legal Director and Chief Climate Counsel for Sierra Club. “The law therefore requires his recusal from EPA’s misbegotten effort to rescind the Clean Power Plan, and we call upon him to step aside immediately.”

Numerous states have also called on Pruitt to recuse himself from the Clean Power Plan repeal rulemaking and for the current proposal to be withdrawn.

(TRENTON, N.J.) Governor Phil Murphy today signed an executive order to put New Jersey back in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative market-based program to put a declining limit on greenhouse gas pollution, currently among nine states. The order reverses a decision by former Governor Chris Christie, and will begin a discussion about New Jersey’s pathway for reentering the innovative carbon trading program.

“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey will again join leading states in addressing serious climate and environmental challenges through RGGI, a successful market-based program that can lead to significant economic gains for the state. The governor’s forward-looking climate and clean energy agenda will help build a healthy, safe, and clean environment for all New Jerseyans.”

• Mary Barber, Director, New Jersey Clean Energy

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) Perhaps the two most important elements of successful groundwater management are trust and community engagement. At least that’s what Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) discovered while investigating the tools and strategies used by groundwater managers across the Western U.S.

In a new report released today, EDF and DWFI seek to provide guidance to groundwater managers in California as they grapple with implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Passed in 2014, SGMA, for the first time and on an unprecedented scale, created a mandate to rebalance groundwater aquifers and change how they are managed statewide.

“California has embarked on a new era of groundwater management,” said Christina Babbitt, senior manager of EDF’s California Groundwater Program. “This is no longer the Wild West. Now communities and water districts face the considerable challenge of creating successful groundwater management programs. This new report can help them.”

Going beyond the typical technical guidance,The Future of Groundwater in California: Lessons in Sustainable Management from Across the West attempts to get at the “story behind the story” by drawing upon varied experiences of groundwater management to try to understand what works and what does not. The report uses nine case studies from six states to present key lessons learned. The case studies are from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas, and represent areas reflective of a wide range of hydrologic conditions, governance structures and water uses.

The report found that, while there are a diversity of regulatory and voluntary tools available to water managers, ultimately the most effective groundwater management programs had five key elements:

1. Trust and community involvement
2. Accurate data
3. A portfolio of approaches
4. Performance metrics
5. Access to adequate funding

Building trust within communities and among people most impacted by groundwater policies emerged as a key, yet often overlooked element of successful groundwater management. In many cases, trust building began by having broad community involvement from the very earliest stages of program development.

“It is vital that all stakeholders feel empowered and part of the process for a program to be effective,” said Babbitt. “We are living in a world in which trust is in short supply, so it was encouraging to see that programs had built such strong levels of trust.”

“There is no silver bullet solution to groundwater management. But there are surprising similarities between some of the most effective programs we looked at,” said Kate Gibson, DWFI’s program coordinator. “Effective management takes time and a lot of patience. Fortunately, California water managers don’t need to go it alone. There’s a lot of knowledge out there and some unique solutions have been discovered already.”

The report can be found here. Visual assets are available and Christina Babbitt is available for interviews.

(Washington, D.C. – January 29, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has obtained emails indicating Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s personal involvement in efforts to remove information about climate change from EPA’s website.

EDF obtained the emails from EPA in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We have posted the files for easy public access.

The emails center on a website purge at EPA in April 2017. Along with webpages about climate change and climate science, the purge removed the webpage about the Clean Power Plan — the most significant action that the U.S. has ever taken to address climate change, and one that Pruitt is now attempting to repeal.

The website purge undermined access to information about the Clean Power Plan’s immense benefits for climate and public health, as well as supporting materials about the rule’s legal and technical underpinnings. The public comment period for Pruitt’s proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan is ongoing.

“The disappearance of these key web pages makes it harder for the public to access vital information about climate change and public health, including information about the Clean Power Plan,” said EDF Attorney Ben Levitan. “Obscuring information thwarts meaningful public participation in EPA’s work to protect Americans’ health and safety. It reinforces serious concerns that Pruitt has predetermined that he will repeal the Clean Power Plan, and that the current rulemaking process is a sham.”

Since the website purge, the URL for the Clean Power Plan webpage redirects visitors to this webpage featuring President Trump’s “Energy Independence” executive order.

The newly released emails indicate that Pruitt was personally engaged in the website changes.

In early April 2017, Lincoln Ferguson, a senior adviser to Pruitt, asked in an email:

“How close are we to launching this on the website? The Administrator would like it to go up ASAP. He also has several other changes that need to take place.” (File 2, p. 23)

J.P. Freire, then serving as Pruitt’s Associate Administrator for Public Affairs, responded:

“You can tell him we … are just finishing up.” (File 2, p. 23)
Ferguson later wrote back:

“Can it happen today?” (File 2, p. 26)

Ferguson also followed up to emphasize Pruitt’s personal involvement:

“Just asking because he is asking …” (File 2 p. 23)

Freire was emphatic that all Clean Power Plan references should link to the new page about Trump’s executive order. In a discussion about the new page, he wrote:

“This looks great, and should be on the page for the Clean Power Plan. Any reference to the Clean Power Plan, any link to it, should redirect here.” (File 2, p. 23)

The emails also suggest EPA staff were directed to manipulate search results. Website visitors searching for information about the Clean Power Plan would be diverted to the page promoting Trump’s executive order — instead of what they were actually looking for.

In one conversation, an EPA staff member stated, “I’ve been asked about search results for the term ‘Clean Power Plan.’” A colleague responded:

“We can make the Energy Independence homepage a ‘Best Bet’ and thus the first result for Clean Power Plan for our EPA Search engine if you request it.” (File 1, p. 84)

A separate conversation among EPA staff demonstrated just how determined J.P. Freire was to undermine access to the Clean Power Plan webpage.

An EPA staff member recounted a discussion with a colleague about Clean Power Plan search results:

“[S]he said JP wanted to know if ALL of those pages could be redirected.” (File 1, p. 298)

The changes are particularly harmful considering the ongoing public comment period on Pruitt’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The website purge has obscured the public’s access to information about the rule’s purpose and its tremendous benefits for public health and climate security, impeding commenters’ ability to consider and incorporate this important information. The selective restriction of information availability further increases concerns about Pruitt’s objectivity when determining the fate of the Clean Power Plan.

The removed webpages are still accessible through various EPA archives, but the archives are a poor substitute. They do not appear in a search of the EPA website. They are harder to find with certain search engines, including Google. And they are no longer being updated, which is especially problematic for cutting-edge pages like EPA’s overview of climate science.

The website purge fits Pruitt’s troubling pattern of ruling EPA under a cloak of secrecy, which is no way to run an agency entrusted with protecting the public health and environment. As part of EDF’s commitment to shining a light on EPA actions, we are making these records easily available to the public. Members of the public may contact EDF with any observations after viewing the records.

Governor Wolf and The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced plans to increase funding for the department and increase efficiency by reducing the amount of time it takes to approve new oil and gas sites.

“The Governor’s plan will both reduce bureaucratic delays in permitting and improve oversight of the state’s oil and gas industry. Continued vigilance from the Wolf Administration will be critical to protect Pennsylvanians’ air and water, and to ensure all oil and gas companies operate more responsibly within the commonwealth.”

• Andrew Williams, Director, Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Climate and Energy

(WASHINGTON – Jan. 26, 2018) Earlier today, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and other state and federal agencies to collaborate on permitting for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion under the guidance of Trump Executive Order 13807. Located in Plaquemines Parish, the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is a Louisiana Coastal Master Plan project that would direct sediment, freshwater and nutrients from the Mississippi River into nearby wetlands to build and maintain land in Louisiana’s Barataria Basin.

In response, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition of national and local conservation organizations working to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis issued the following statement:

“Louisiana needs an all-hands-on-deck approach if it is to turn the tide on its land loss crisis. Today’s announcement is a sign that the state of Louisiana and all parties involved understand the urgency of our situation and the need to act quickly to protect and restore this nationally-significant landscape.

“We are pleased to see this firm commitment to adhering to the two-year timeline for project permitting in an environmentally and legally responsible manner. The project’s placement on the Federal Permitting Dashboard is equally important to ensuring accountability and transparency.

“The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is vital to avoid a future where 500 square miles of land in Barataria Basin alone would disappear. Louisiana must be able to harness the land-building power and sands and muds of the Mississippi River to push back against sea level rise, hurricanes and subsidence. There have been decades of prior research, planning and permitting at the state and federal levels that have built the groundwork for sediment diversions. It’s time to get the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion constructed, so it can begin rebuilding our coastal defenses sooner rather than later.

“The state of Louisiana and federal agencies have an opportunity to demonstrate how parties at all levels of government can work together with urgency to meet environmental challenges head on.”

(New York, NY – January 25, 2018) The Trust for Public Land today announced that its National Board of Trustees has chosen Diane Regas to be the organization’s new President and CEO. Regas, currently Executive Director of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will take up her new position March 12.

EDF President Fred Krupp hailed the choice.

“I’d like to share my deepest thanks to Diane for her eleven extraordinary years at EDF, and hearty congratulations to The Trust for Public Land for choosing such an exceptional leader,” said Krupp. “I have depended on Diane in ways large and small, and she has always delivered. She is a builder in the best sense, with a rare ability to bring together diverse groups and help them construct, from their own experiences, an ambitious vision for positive change. She has the skills to lead the development of a winning strategy, and the experience to ensure top-notch execution. I have no doubt that The Trust for Public Land will benefit from her enormous talents. I wish her the best of luck.”

“I am grateful to Fred and all of my EDF colleagues for their incredible work over the years and for their support today,” Regas said. “I am deeply inspired by the team and results at The Trust for Public Land. Millions of Americans live within a 10-minute walk of a park or natural space created and protected by the Trust, and I can’t wait to make that a reality for millions more.”

During Regas’s tenure at EDF, she led the organization’s Oceans program as it successfully worked to reverse commercial overfishing of such key U.S. species as Gulf Red Snapper. As executive director since 2015, she helped build EDF‘s international operations, promoted its growth in diversity and inclusion, and developed an ambitious new strategy to address global climate change. Previously, as a leader at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under both Democratic and Republican administrations, she served as the top civil servant protecting our nation’s water, rivers, lakes and bays.

A revised bill aimed at subsidizing Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG) two aging nuclear power plants was introduced in New Jersey’s Senate Environment and Energy Committee today. If enacted, this customer-funded subsidy, would require all New Jersey electric customers to pay $300 million a year indefinitely to keep the aging plants in operation, adding an extra $40 a year to each customer’s electric bill. PSEG, PSE&G’s parent company, still needs to provide documentation to show these facilities are in need of financial assistance.

“We appreciate the revised bill includes some clean energy provisions like energy efficiency, community solar and energy storage, and want to make sure it prepares the state for a clean energy transition once these nuclear plants retire. This new bill also needs to guarantee New Jerseyans won’t have to pay as long as these aging, expensive nuclear plants are making money, especially since PSEG has acknowledged its plants are still profitable.”

A rigorous and independently verified financial analysis of the nuclear plants profitability should be conducted prior to launching a zero-emission credit (ZEC), which would reward the plants if they produce energy in a way that reduces carbon emissions. 

• Mary Barber, Director, New Jersey Clean Energy

(Raleigh, N.C. – January 25, 2018) Results from new research published today in the journal Science provide among the first quantitative assessments of the impact of plastic pollution on the health of coral reefs. The study estimated that there are already more than 11 billion plastic items on reefs across the Asia-Pacific region and that plastic loads in the ocean are expected to grow radically.

The study showed an elevated risk of disease to corals caused by plastic: from 4% in corals without plastic, to 89% in corals with plastic.

The research was led by researchers from the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University, and involved a wide array of coral experts from universities and environmental organizations, including Environmental Defense Fund, who together surveyed 159 reefs around the Asia-Pacific region, including 124,000 corals to assess the prevalence of plastics and the association of plastics with coral diseases, as part of a larger study on risks to coral reef health.

The following is a statement from study co-author Douglas N. Rader, Ph.D., chief oceans scientist, Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans program:

“It is clear that plastic waste in the ocean is a serious threat to coral reefs. The results from this new research are sobering, but there is hope if we act now to mitigate the most significant threats facing corals and the vulnerable human communities who depend on them.

“The impacts of plastics are in addition to many other threats, with overfishing topping the list. We believe this work underscores the need for good fisheries management, as one of the best ways to keep coral reefs healthy.

“If we increase the abundance of fish, we can improve the health of coral ecosystems, making them more resilient to climate change and maximizing their value to the people who depend on them. While fighting overfishing does not directly undo disease risks caused by plastic, fixing overfishing could well help offset damage done to individual corals.

“The scale of the pollution highlighted in this study makes it clear that whether it is reduction in plastic pollution, ending overfishing or reducing carbon emissions, the time to act is now.”

Click here to view the release from Cornell University that features the study’s lead author, Dr. Joleah Lamb.

Click here to read a blog post by Douglas Rader detailing the global implications of this research for coral reefs ecosystems and the people who depend on them for survival.

In his State of the State address, California’s Governor Jerry Brown today highlighted the state’s bipartisan climate leadership and ambitious clean energy standards.

“We are grateful that Governor Brown continues to be a tireless climate champion, and under his leadership California has demonstrated to the world that you can reduce carbon emissions and grow the economy at the same time. Investments from California’s cap-and-trade program are an important tool to continue driving these emission reductions while also fighting dangerous local air pollution and providing important co-benefits for California’s most impacted communities.”

• Quentin Foster, Director, California Climate

“Governor Brown’s fierce leadership brought California to the forefront of energy innovation. With ambitious goals to catapult clean energy and to create a western regional grid during his last year in office, his legacy will live on through a cleaner energy system, cleaner air, and a strong economy powered by good local jobs for all Californians. We look forward to carrying this work forward to build a sustainable future for the Golden State.”

• Lauren Navarro, Senior Policy Manager, California Clean Energy

(Washington, D.C. – January 25, 2018) EDF and a coalition of conservation and tribal citizen groups are urging a U.S. District Court to block the latest effort by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to delay the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Waste Prevention Rule – a safeguard that prevents the waste of natural gas produced on the nation’s public and tribal lands and protects people across the U.S. from dangerous pollution.

On December 8, 2017, Secretary Zinke issued a rule delaying the implementation of the Waste Prevention Rule until January of 2019. EDF and its allies filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California challenging that decision, and asked the court to take swift action to protect the Waste Prevention Rule. The groups filed a reply brief in the case last night.

Zinke’s attempt to delay the Waste Prevention Rule “irreversibly wastes 9 billion cubic feet of publicly-owned natural gas and increases emissions of climate-endangering methane and smog-forming volatile organic compounds by hundreds of thousands of tons,” said the groups in their brief. “It yanks away critical protections that Americans … have expected and depended upon … To remedy this harm, this Court should preliminarily enjoin the Secretary’s eleventh-hour bid to remove public protections.”

The rule in question requires oil and gas companies operating on federal and tribal lands to take common-sense measures to reduce preventable leaks and flaring of methane, the primary component of natural gas and a potent driver of destructive climate change. Between 2009 and 2015, oil and gas companies wasted enough natural gas to supply more than 6.2 million homes for an entire year.

The rule also reduces emissions of other damaging air pollutants, including smog-forming volatile organic compounds and benzene, which causes cancer. Secretary Zinke’s delay has immediate and irreparable adverse health impacts on tribes, local communities, ranchers and families across the West.

“The Secretary does not controvert that once such pollutants enter the air, they cannot be removed; nor does the Secretary dispute the clear, well-documented linkages between these air pollutants and health and climate harms,” said EDF and its allies in their brief. “Furthermore, the Secretary does not challenge the showing of substantial, specific, and imminent harm faced by the Citizen Groups’ members who live in close proximity to oil and gas facilities managed by BLM. Each day [of the delay], these members breathe harmful pollution that creates and exacerbates health issues—pollution that would not occur if [the delay] were enjoined.”

The Trump Administration has tried repeatedly to suspend the Waste Prevention Rule. Their earlier efforts were rejected by both the courts and Congress.

The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society, National Wildlife Federation, Citizens for a Healthy Community, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights, Montana Environmental Information Center, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Wilderness Workshop, Wildearth Guardians, and Wyoming Outdoor Council joined EDF on the brief.

The Attorneys General of California and New Mexico are also challenging Zinke’s delay of the Waste Prevention Standards, and they also filed a reply brief last night.

You can find more information – including all legal documents – on EDF’s website.

This week, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) released a report that shows wind and solar energy jobs now outnumber coal and gas jobs in 30 states, including D.C.

The report, In Demand: Clean Energy, Sustainability and the New American Workforce, finds that the clean energy and sustainability economy provides local jobs in all 50 states, frequently pays higher than average wages and offers numerous career and educational pathways for individuals looking to work in the clean energy economy.

“The clean energy workforce has skyrocketed, launching us into the new clean energy economy while supporting American workers,” said Ellen Shenette, manager of EDF Climate Corps, a summer fellowship program that accelerates clean energy initiatives and spearheaded the new report. “The growth in clean energy sectors can be credited to reductions in costs, increased demand for clean energy and efficiency technologies, as well as policies and investments.”

The report, coauthored by Meister Consultants Group, a Cadmus Company (MCG), also suggests a strong future for renewable energy and sustainability employment. However, 2017 marked a year of political uncertainty at the federal level, centered on the future of renewable energy tax incentives and a potential tariff on imported solar modules. This uncertainty has so far contributed to a 22 percent decline in cumulative 2017 installations as compared to the previous year.

Other highlights from the report include:

• The sustainability economy continues to be a large and growing source of jobs for over 4 million workers in the U.S., with wind and solar energy jobs outpacing those in the coal industry.
• Solar and wind installations comprised 65 percent of installed electric capacity in 2016 and for the third year in a row exceeded the installed capacity of all other electricity sources combined.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that solar PV installers and wind turbine service technicians will be the two fastest growing jobs in America from 2016 to 2026, roughly doubling during that period. 

The report also highlights the stories of three former EDF Climate Corps fellows currently working in this industry, including Ben Metcalf, a former Operations Officer for the U.S. Navy who shifted his career to focus on utility-scale solar development and now works at Galehead Development.

“Every day, I witness the many jobs – from blue to white collar positions – that support the demand for clean energy,” said Metcalf. “I’m confident that the policies over the next 12 months will not slow the market’s long-term positive outlook.”

The report also provides recommendations for sustaining clean energy job growth, such as increasing investments in clean energy research, supporting smart climate policy and ensuring that companies set big and public greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals.

“Businesses have become key catalysts in helping drive the clean energy economy by setting goals and investing in energy efficiency technologies,” added Shenette. “Companies are recognizing that the market is demanding a low-carbon economy, and they’re seeing the benefits to their bottom lines. What business wants to bet against the market?”

The report can be found here. Visual assets are available and Ellen Shenette is available for interviews.

(NEW ORLEANS – Jan. 23, 2018) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recently released a Final Scoping Report for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a Coastal Master Plan project that would reconnect the Mississippi River to nearby wetlands to build and maintain land in Louisiana’s Barataria Basin. The report is based on 871 individual comments sent to the Corps to inform the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.   

Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition of national and local conservation groups working together to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis, has been advocating for swift implementation of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – one of the coalition’s 17 priority coastal restoration projects.

“The release of the scoping report is an important step forward in getting this critical restoration project built,” said Natalie Peyronnin, director of science policy for Mississippi River Delta restoration at Environmental Defense Fund. “The substantial, largely favorable public comments on this project demonstrate how critical it is to Louisiana’s future.”

“Without action, Barataria Basin could lose an additional 500 square miles of land,” said David Muth, director of Gulf Restoration with the National Wildlife Federation. “There is no future for vital estuarine habitat in the basin without the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, and the threat to New Orleans and coastal communities continues to rise as each acre of wetlands disappears.”

“The Mississippi River is the most powerful natural tool we have to push back against rising seas, land loss and hurricanes,” said John Lopez, director of the Coastal Sustainability Program at Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. “It’s well past time we construct large-scale sediment diversions and put the mud and dirt in the river to work building land to better protect our communities, industries and wildlife.”     

“It is urgent that the Army Corps of Engineers and other involved parties move swiftly to get this project constructed by 2020,” said Kimberly Davis Reyher, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. “Any further delays put our entire region at immense risk and constitute a missed opportunity to turn the tide on our severe land loss crisis.”

“We urge the Corps and other agencies to maintain transparency throughout the development of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” said Cynthia Duet, deputy director of Audubon Louisiana. “Our groups call upon the Corps to regularly update the public on its process, especially at key milestones in development of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, including selection of project alternatives it will advance for analysis.”

(TROY, NY) Audubon International and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) have partnered to launch Monarchs in the Rough, a program to assist golf courses in the United States, Canada and Mexico in creating monarch butterfly habitat in out-of-play areas. The program is offering the first 100 participants free and regionally appropriate milkweed seeds – enough to establish one acre of habitat.

“Over the past 20 years, populations of the iconic monarch butterfly have declined by 90 percent. A key reason for this population decline is loss of habitat, especially of milkweed plants, which monarchs need to reproduce and for their caterpillars to eat,” said Marcus Gray, director of the Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf at Audubon International. “As large landowners, golf courses are uniquely positioned to help reverse habitat loss and save monarchs, providing a much-needed refuge while increasing the beauty and sustainability of their courses.”

Monarchs in the Rough provides course superintendents and staff with the information and technical support they need to incorporate monarch habitat into the unique layout of each course.

Golf courses occupy approximately 2.5 million acres in the United States. Audubon International estimates there are at least 100,000 acres that have the potential to become suitable habitat for butterflies, if managed appropriately. The program encourages golf courses to adopt other conservation practices in addition to planting milkweed, such as planting wildflowers as a source of nectar, changing mowing practices to support the timing of the monarch’s migration, and protecting sites from pesticide treatments.

“If we are to succeed in recovering populations of this beloved species, we will need help from all sectors and all types of land uses,” said Daniel Kaiser, senior manager of California habitat markets at EDF. “It’s exciting to see the golf course community stepping up to do its part.”