Complete list of press releases

(BANGKOK/ WASHINGTON – September 5, 2012)  The latest round of UN climate negotiations ended today in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Alex Hanafi, attorney at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and head of EDF’s delegation at the conference, said:

“In Bangkok, it became clearer still that the prospect of a new climate deal that calls for all countries to do their part to lower emissions is still in its very early stages, and countries are grappling with how to transition from the old regime to a still as-yet-undefined new one. 

“While international meetings slog along, bright spots continue appearing at the national, regional and state levels. Australia and Europe’s agreeing to link their carbon markets last month is the latest example of the kind of international cooperation needed to stitch together climate action into a whole that will be greater than the sum of its parts.

“Now countries’ ability to expeditiously resolve their differences on the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, and to then focus on making substantive progress toward achieving a strong, enforceable and flexible climate agreement by 2015, will be the ultimate yardstick by which success in Doha’s negotiations will be measured.”

(PHOENIX—August 29, 2012) The Gila River is profiled today as the sixth “River of the Month” in a year-long series celebrating Arizona’s centennial year. In a state not often recognized for its water resources, the River of the Month series raises awareness about the ecology and geology of rivers in Arizona as well as the uses they serve and the threats they face. This month’s profile of the Gila River is available here. The series is produced by Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, Sonoran Institute, and Western Resource Advocates. 

As described in the profile released today, the Gila River stretches nearly 600 miles across Arizona, draining an area equal to half the land in the state, roughly 60,000 square miles. It originates in southwestern New Mexico and flows into Arizona near the town of Duncan. From the border the Gila flows year-round for 35 miles. This stretch includes the Gila Box National Riparian Conservation Area, which provides recreation and significant habitat for wildlife. The Gila Box is a dynamic area that supports amphibians, fish, desert big horn sheep and over 150 bird species, including endangered species such as the Southwestern willow flycatcher.

“Although long stretches of the Gila historically flowed year-round, the large number of dams and diversions constructed over the last 100 years have severely reduced or eliminated once healthy flows in many reaches of the river,” say the conservation organizations in the River of the Month profile.

A significant amount of the Gila’s water is diverted for irrigation and agricultural uses. Overuse and increasing competition for river, tributary, and groundwater resources throughout the watershed threaten the river, as do prolonged regional drought and climate change. Multiple conservation efforts are underway, including water quality improvement projects, stream restoration, and flow protection efforts.

Previous River of the Month profiles have featured the Colorado River, the Salt River, the Little Colorado River, the Santa Cruz River, and the Bill Williams River. The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center has provided technical assistance in creating the profiles.

(Washington, D.C. – August 28, 2012) – Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined businesses, health experts, national security groups and other environmental advocates today to celebrate the announcement of historic new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards for American cars.
 
The standards will ensure that by 2025, new cars on U.S. roads will average an unprecedented 54.5 miles per gallon and will reduce the levels of dangerous climate pollution from auto emissions.
 
“These new standards mean we’ll create the cars we need to reach a cleaner, safer, better future,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “Under the new standards, we’ll get cleaner air and we’ll reduce our reliance on imported oil, and we’ll do it while we save Americans more than $8,000 at the gas pump.”
 
The new standards will be formally unveiled early this afternoon in a joint news conference by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
 
The standards will apply to new cars and light trucks for model years 2017 to 2025. Those vehicles will have emissions protections and fuel economy performance comparable to 54.5 mpg fleet-wide by the final years of the program.
 
In other words, by model year 2025, we will almost double our current fuel economy performance for America’s fleet of new cars and other passenger vehicles. 
 
The Administration has already adopted the first-ever national standards for passenger vehicles (like cars, SUV’s and most pickup trucks) for model years 2012 to 2016. When combined with today’s newly announced standards, the benefits will be extensive.
 
By the year 2025, the standards for new cars (spanning model years 2012 to 2025) are projected to:

• Save American families more than $8,000 in fuel savings over the lifetime of a new vehicle
• Reduce oil consumption by more than 2 million barrels a day
• Reduce carbon dioxide pollution by more than 6 billion metric tons over the life of the program – more than the total emissions from the United States in 2010

The Administration has worked with states, businesses and the public to create these standards. They already have the support of automakers, small businesses, the United Auto Workers, American consumers, national security groups, economists, advocacy groups, and EDF together with many other environmental organizations.
 
You can find more about the benefits of the clean car standards to our public health, our national security and our environment on EDF’s website.

Barnett Shale drilling in North Central Texas.

Contact: Mica Odom, 512-691-3451, modom@edf.org

(New York, NY – August 24, 2012) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today that it has been awarded a 3-year, $6-million grant for its work to minimize the environmental impacts of natural gas operations through hydraulic fracturing. The funding will support EDF’s strategy of securing strong rules and developing industry best practices in the 14 states with 85 percent of the country’s unconventional gas reserves. The grant was awarded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a recognized leader in global environmental efforts.

“Here’s the truth on natural gas. The environmentalists who oppose all fracking are wrong, and the drillers who claim that regulation will kill the industry are wrong. What we need to do is make sure that the gas is extracted carefully and in the right places, and that has to be done through strong, responsible regulation. And that’s what our work with EDF is all about,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City.

“EDF is grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for its generous support, and to the Mayor for his extraordinary leadership in defining the correlation between a clean environment and a healthy public,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “Our work is dedicated to both of those imperatives. No one should be forced to trade their children’s health or their quality of life for cheap energy. There is a path forward for natural gas production if we get it right — but that’s a big if. The Mayor is helping to chart that path forward. Industry leaders are also realizing that the environmental impacts of shale gas production are real and must be addressed in order to restore public trust.”

This grant builds on Bloomberg Philanthropies’ recent $50 million commitment to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign to reduce the number of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. The grant will ensure that EDF has a significant impact on natural gas regulation in the states at the heart of the shale gas boom, where it is critical that we get the rules right. Over the next few years, success in those states will determine whether we can count on shale gas as a safe alternative to coal — one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions as well as other air pollution.

EDF will work to ensure stronger state regulation of natural gas operations in five key areas:

• Disclosing all chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, as well as chemicals used in drilling and operating wells, and requiring measurement and reporting of air emissions and the content of waste water;
• Optimizing rules for well construction and operation;
• Minimizing water consumption, protecting groundwater and ensuring proper disposal of wastewater;
• Improving air pollution controls, including capturing fugitive methane, a potent greenhouse gas;
• Reducing impacts to communities and ecosystems.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is actively involved in environmental issues around the world, including a $50 million partnership with the Sierra Club on the Beyond Coal Campaign, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, where Mayor Bloomberg serves as Chair.

(Austin, Texas – Aug. 22, 2012) On Monday, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed a motion to intervene in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) determination that pollution from Wise County, Texas contributes to unhealthy ozone “smog” in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and must be part of the clean air plan to restore healthy air for the region. Ozone, more commonly known as “smog,” is a deadly pollutant that causes a range of adverse health effects, including aggravation of asthma and other respiratory symptoms, decreased lung function, and increased hospital and emergency room visits for respiratory conditions.  These impacts are particularly pronounced in children, the elderly, and individuals suffering from asthma.

“It is critical to address harmful ozone pollution in the Dallas/Fort Worth area,” said Elena Craft, Health Scientist at EDF. “We must work together to deploy available, cost-effective pollution control technologies to help protect the health of our families and communities, and EPA’s action is an important first step in this direction.”

Wise County itself contains no ozone air quality monitors, but a monitor located one-half mile from the county’s boundary has measured ozone concentrations that violate the nation’s health-based standards.  In concluding Wise County contributes to harmful ozone pollution in the greater Dallas/Fort-Worth area, EPA relied on data from this monitor, along with evidence of increasing natural gas production in the county, and increases in population and driving, among other things.  

The State of Texas and TCEQ, Wise County, the Texas Pipeline Association, the Gas Processors Association, Targa Resources Corporation, and Devon Energy Corporation have all challenged EPA’s determination that Wise County contributes to unhealthy ozone in Dallas/Fort Worth.  If successful, these challenges could undermine important health protections in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area.

(Washington, D.C. – August 21, 2012) Today, a deeply divided three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated and remanded to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the Cross State Air Pollution Rule – a historic pollution reduction measure that would have protected air quality for 240 million Americans across the Eastern United States while saving up to 34,000 lives each year.   
 
The court’s opinion expressly leaves in place the existing Clean Air Interstate Rule pending EPA’s further rulemaking action to address this deleterious air pollution problem.   
 
“The court’s decision imperils long overdue clean air safeguards for millions of Americans,” said Vickie Patton, General Counsel of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). “EDF will immediately seek corrective action to protect the lives of Americans harmed by power plant smokestack pollution.”
 
Judge Kavanaugh wrote the opinion of the court joined by Judge Griffith.   
 
Judge Rogers vigorously dissented, arguing Judge Kavanaugh’s opinion represented a “trampling on this court’s precedent on which the Environmental Protection Agency (‘EPA’) was entitled to rely in developing the Transport Rule rather than be blindsided by arguments raised for the first time in this court.”  (from the Dissent Opinion at page 1)
 
Judge Rogers further explained, “The result is the endorsement of a ‘maximum delay’ strategy for regulated entities, rewarding States and industry for cloaking their objections throughout years of administrative rulemaking procedures and blindsiding the agency with both a collateral attack on its interpretation of section 110(a) and an objection raised for the first time in this court.” (from the Dissent Opinion at page 43)  
 
The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would have reduced the sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen pollution emitted from coal-fired power plants across 28 eastern states. Those emissions, and the resulting particulate pollution and ozone — more commonly known as soot and smog — drift across the borders of those states and contribute to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels of pollution in downwind states.    
 
The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would have reduced power plant sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent and oxides of nitrogen by 54 percent from 2005 levels.
 
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the rule under the “Good Neighbor” protections of the Clean Air Act, which ensure that the emissions from one state’s power plants do not cause harmful pollution levels in neighboring states. While no one is immune to these impacts, children and the elderly in downwind states are especially vulnerable.
EPA estimated the Cross State Rule would have saved lives and provided vital clean air protections for millions of Americans across the Eastern United States as follows: 

• Saving up to 34,000 lives each year
  Preventing 15,000 heart attacks each year
  Preventing 400,000 asthma attacks each year
  Providing $120 billion to $280 billion in health benefits for the nation each year 

(New York, NY – August 20, 2012) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today that it has been awarded a 3-year, $6-million grant for its work to minimize the environmental impacts of natural gas operations through hydraulic fracturing. The funding will support EDF’s strategy of securing strong rules and developing industry best practices in states with intensive natural gas production. The grant was awarded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a recognized leader in global environmental efforts.

“EDF is grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for its generous support, and to the Mayor for his strong leadership on defining the correlation between protecting public health and tackling environmental issues,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “Our work is dedicated to safeguarding public health and the environment. No one should be forced to trade their children’s health or their quality of life for cheap energy. There is a path forward for natural gas production if we get it right — but that’s a big “if.” The Mayor is helping to chart that path. Industry leaders are also realizing that the environmental impacts of shale gas production are real and must be addressed in order to help restore public trust. Americans deserve assurance that natural gas can be developed without sacrificing their health or their quality of life.”

In 2011, EDF President Fred Krupp played a key role on the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board (SEAB) Shale Gas Production Subcommittee, which developed strong recommendations for improving oversight and reducing environmental and public health impacts from shale gas production.

EDF is working in states most impacted by the shale gas boom and will encourage better state regulation of natural gas development around five key principles:

• Disclosing all chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, as well as chemicals used in drilling and operating wells, and requiring measurement and reporting of air emissions and the content of waste water; 
• Optimizing rules for well construction and operation; 
• Minimizing water consumption, protecting groundwater and ensuring proper disposal of wastewater; Improving air pollution controls, including capturing fugitive methane, a potent greenhouse gas; 
• Reducing impacts to communities and ecosystems.

“Shale gas is reshaping our energy landscape and there is no question that abundant unconventional gas supplies are accelerating efforts to retire dirty, coal-fired power plants,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City. “Affordable and abundant natural gas can be good for our environment and our economy and not negatively impact public health, but only if extracted responsibly. Communities in the middle of the natural gas boom face real environmental and public health risks and it’s time for industry to stop glossing over the risks and accept more regulatory oversight.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies is actively involved in environmental issues around the world including a $50 million partnership with the Sierra Club on the Beyond Coal Campaign, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, where Mayor Bloomberg serves as Chair.

Today marks the first day of a historic clean air measure to reduce harmful air emissions from ocean-going ships.
 
The first phase of standards for the North American Emission Control Area (ECA), which go into effect today, limit the sulfur level in fuel for large ocean-going ships to 10,000 parts per million within 200 nautical miles of U.S. coastlines.
 
It’s a step that Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) says is critical for protecting human health.
 
“The dangerous air pollution from these floating smokestacks is a threat to tens of millions of Americans who live and work along our coastlines,” said Elena Craft, EDF’s Health Scientist. “America has the ingenuity to meet these vitally important clean air standards and protect human health and the environment from the serious impacts associated with shipping pollution.”
 
Ocean-going ships are the largest ships on the water and include cruise ships, container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers. These large vessels travel all over the world, making international shipping a significant factor in U.S. port traffic and emissions. 90% of ship calls on U.S. ports are made by foreign-flagged vessels.
 
Until now, the large sea-going vessels that dock at more than 100 U.S. port cities burned low grade “residual fuel” or “bunker fuel,” which is a major source of air pollution. Residual fuel contains sulfur levels 1,800 times greater than U.S. law allows for other diesel engines (or about 27,000 parts per million of sulfur).
 
In 2010, the International Maritime Organization approved designation of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA). The standards guiding the ECA are contained in amendments to Annex VI of the International Maritime Organization’s MARPOL treaty, adopted in 2008.
 
The U.S. became party to the treaty through bipartisan support and ratification by Congress.
 
In the ECA, the sulfur content in fuel will be limited to 10,000 parts per million beginning today, and to 1,000 parts per million beginning in 2015. Within the ECA, ships must also achieve an 80 percent reduction in smog-forming oxides of nitrogen starting in 2016.
 
The ECA provides the strongest clean air standards available under international law. It slashes ozone-forming and particulate pollution from oceangoing vessels. The ECA will will save up to 14,000 lives a year by 2020, and save up to 30,000 lives a year by 2030.
 
The U.S. government, cruise lines, major shipping companies, health groups and environmental groups all participated in negotiations leading to the adoption of these important health protections.
 
At the eleventh hour, cruise lines began lobbying Congress and the Administration to relax these important health-protective standards.
 
“Timely implementation of the ECA standards, as they were adopted, is essential to realize the full suite of health protections offered by the program,” said Craft. “Any delay, weakening or exemption to these important clean air standards puts all Americans at risk.”

 Note: The bill gives the secretary of transportation the authority to prohibit airlines from participating in the EU Emissions Trading system if he determines, after taking into account many different considerations, that it is in the public interest to do so. The bill, European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011, does not prohibit U.S. airlines from participating in the EU system.

Annie Petsonk, International Counsel at Environmental Defense Fund, said:

“Passage of this disappointing and short-sighted bill today seems only to decrease the odds of action at the international level by calling into question the status of the one lever that actually moved ICAO to have serious discussions after 15 years of inaction – the EU Emissions Trading System. 

“This bill now ups the pressure on the Obama administration to produce a solution at ICAO. We are happy to see the text at least encouraged international negotiations at ICAO, which we believe hold the key to a global agreement to reduce aviation emissions.

“Legislation that blocks American companies from obeying the laws of the countries in which they do business is almost unprecedented in U.S. history, showing up most recently when Congress barred American firms from suborning apartheid in South Africa. How disconcerting that airlines, which are spending significant funds touting their environmental friendliness, are acting as though an anti-pollution law is as grievous as a massive human rights violation.”

(Phoenix, Ariz.—July 31, 2012) The Bill Williams River is the fifth “River of the Month” in a year-long series celebrating Arizona’s centennial year. The series is produced by Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, Sonoran Institute, and Western Resource Advocates.  

According to the profile, available here, the Bill Williams River is formed by the confluence of the Big Sandy and Santa Maria Rivers in the mountains of west-central Arizona. The river flows almost immediately into Alamo Reservoir, formed by the 283-foot-high Alamo Dam.  

“As with many Southwestern rivers, the modern story of the Bill Williams River centers around the often unanticipated consequences of human activity,” say the conservation organizations in the River of the Month profile.  

The Bill Williams, and the wildlife it supported, were severely impacted by the 1968 construction of Alamo Dam.  In response to the loss of rich riparian habitat, the Army Corps of Engineers and others developed strategies to operate the dam in a more natural way. Water is now released from Alamo Dam in a pattern imitating pre-dam conditions; ecosystems are monitored and releases are adjusted accordingly.  As a result, much of the river corridor has been revitalized, and it contains some of the most extensive cottonwood-willow riparian forest remaining in the Lower Colorado River Basin. 

According to the River of the Month profile, the cottonwood-willow riparian forest of the Bill Williams supports over 350 species of birds including the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher and Yuma clapper rail. It also supports endangered fish and other animals including bald eagles, peregrine falcons, big-horn sheep, javelina, at least 14 bat species, mountain lions, bobcats, ringtail cats, foxes, and beavers. 

Previous River of the Month profiles have featured the Colorado River, the Salt River, the Little Colorado River, and the Santa Cruz River. Next month the groups will celebrate the Gila River. The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center has provided assistance in creating the profiles.

(Harrisburg, PA – July 27, 2012) Yesterday, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania struck down provisions of the state’s recently passed drilling law, Act 13, that pre-empted the ability of local governments to apply traditional zoning authority to oil and gas operations. 

“We commend the court for recognizing that local governments have a Constitutional responsibility to make sure oil and gas development is orderly and to ensure the rights of citizens to safe, healthy neighborhoods that aren’t steamrolled by unplanned growth. The Pennsylvania General Assembly clearly overstepped its bounds when it passed this law, and today the court got it right by saying so.”

(Washington, D.C.—July 26, 2012) What are geosynthetics and why are they central to the creation of jobs and expansion of coastal restoration projects? A new Duke University study, “GEOSYNTHETICS: Coastal Management Applications in the Gulf of Mexico,” details how the emerging geosynthetics industry can create jobs benefitting nearly 200 employee locations in 36 states, including more than 72 in the five gulf states and 24 in Louisiana. Duke has also created an online interactive map showing firm-level data and firm locations by state and value chain segment.

Geosynthetics are plastic materials manufactured into fabrics or sheets of various sizes, strengths and textures that are used in engineering projects. Some geosynthetic products include sand-filled geotextile tubes used as containment dikes for restoration projects, as well as marine mattresses – large, rectangular geogrid pouches filled with rocks that are used to support structures and control erosion. Increased investment in coastal restoration, as expected through the recently approved RESTORE Act, will stimulate more local projects and job sites using these innovative construction materials, which will in turn stimulate job creation and the economy.

The report, funded by Environmental Defense Fund and The Walton Family Foundation, is a study of 84 firms involved in the geosynthetics supply chain. The report finds that increased investment in coastal restoration will provide quadruple economic returns and create new opportunities for the growing geosynthetics industry.

Seventy-three percent of firms sampled in the study are considered small businesses according to the U.S. Small Business Administration guidelines on number of employees, and nearly half the firms have fewer than 100 employees. In addition to qualifying as small businesses, almost a quarter of geosynthetics manufacturing firms cited were established in just the last 10 years.

“The geosynthetics industry has been heavily involved in coastal restoration projects throughout Louisiana and the gulf states. As more projects are launched in response to RESTORE Act passage, our member companies are poised to grow our business and local staff to meet increased demand,” said Laurie Honningford, managing director for the International Association of Geosynthetics Installers (IAGI).

“As restoration projects ramp up all along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River Delta as a result of the RESTORE Act, so will the coastal engineering and construction profession and the geosynthetics industry on which it relies,” said Jackie Prince Roberts, director of sustainable technologies for Environmental Defense Fund. “Geosynthetics – geotextiles and other manmade, polymer-based materials used in environmental restoration, flood prevention and erosion control projects – are an emerging industry and projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.8 percent through 2015. Long-term investment in coastal management will not only benefit the environment, but it will also spur economic growth all along the geosynthetics supply chain by both protecting current jobs – like Gulf Coast fishing, tourism and shipping – and creating new jobs. It’s an economic and environmental win-win.”

The study’s release is timely because earlier this month, the U.S. Congress passed and the President signed into law the RESTORE Act as part of the Surface Transportation Extension Act. This historic legislation will direct 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by BP and others responsible for the 2010 gulf oil disaster to the Gulf Coast states to use for restoration. It is the single largest investment in environmental restoration ever made by the U.S. Congress.

“Our geotextile products are incorporated into a welded-wire system which provides a low-cost solution to a wide range of coastal restoration and protection challenges, from oyster reef construction to flood protection,” said Stephanie Victory, president of HESCO Bastion Environmental Inc. “We have completed projects all over the world. Some of the most recent range from emergency flood responses in Thailand to building HESCO Delta® Unit oyster reefs just north of Gulf Shores, Ala. We are thrilled that the RESTORE Act passage will create more opportunities for jobs and coastal restoration efforts back home in Louisiana and across the gulf region.”

“The geosynthetics industry is growing and evolving rapidly as it finds more applications for its product,” says the report. “Coastal management programs across the Gulf Coast states are growing as well, developing plans worth billions of dollars for ecosystem restoration, flood prevention, and erosion control. With geosynthetics playing an increasing role in coastal management, this convergence of events presents an opportunity for geosynthetics manufacturers to diversify and grow, and for coastal engineering to evolve and improve.”

The study also serves as a follow-up to two previous Duke University studies, “RESTORING THE GULF COAST: New Markets for Established Firms” and “RESTORING GULF OYSTER REEFS: Opportunities for Innovation.” The former, released in December, determined that using Clean Water Act penalties from the 2010 gulf oil spill could create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states, including more than 260 locations in the Gulf Coast. The latter, released in June, identified 130 firms nationwide involved with oyster reef restoration and poised to grow with passage of the RESTORE Act.

For more information on how investing in environmental restoration provides quadruple economic returns, please visit www.MississippiRiverDelta.org/economics.

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled today to uphold a clean air standard that limits dangerous intense bursts of sulfur dioxide pollution from power plants, factories, and other sources, rejecting challenges by polluting industries. The standard will prevent thousands of premature deaths, hospital admissions and emergency room visits, and over 50,000 asthma attacks each year.
 
A copy of the court’s decision can be found here:
 
Earthjustice represented the American Lung Association and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in an intervention to defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 sulfur dioxide air safeguard to limit this type of pollution. Sulfur dioxide pollution causes a variety of adverse health impacts including breathing difficulties, aggravation of asthma and increased hospital and emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses. This stronger standard will protect the health of millions of people at risk from sulfur dioxide, especially seniors, children and people with asthma.
 
“This science-based air protection cuts down on pollution that is making many Americans sick,” said Seth Johnson, associate attorney with Earthjustice. “This standard will help ensure that millions of Americans with asthma, including 7 million children, can go to work or school, not the hospital and emergency room. We are pleased the court ruled in favor of cleaner air.”
 
“Today’s judicial decision strongly affirms that EPA’s clean air protections addressing dangerous sulfur dioxide are firmly grounded in science and the law,” said Peter Zalzal, staff attorney with Environmental Defense Fund. “This victory ensures America’s families and children will be protected by EPA’s vital clean air safeguards.”
 
“Clean air health standards tell the public when air pollution can threaten their health,” said Paul G. Billings, vice president of National Policy and Advocacy, American Lung Association. “These standards help protect the public health and are especially important for the most vulnerable, including more than 25 million people with asthma.”
 
This recent success builds upon a court victory Earthjustice won in 1998 while representing the American Lung Association and EDF. That decision rejected the EPA’s 1996 determination to allow short, sharp bursts of sulfur dioxide pollution that harm people. The newly upheld standard for the first time targets these intense pollution levels.

(Sacramento – July 19, 2012)  An expert from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined other concerned Americans today at a public hearing on proposed new national standards for particulate pollution – more commonly known as soot.
 
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding two public hearings on the proposed standards: the first took place in Philadelphia on Tuesday; the second is taking place in Sacramento today.
 
The all-day hearings will focus on proposed new clean air standards to protect human health from soot, a dangerous and sometimes lethal form of air pollution linked to a wide variety of heart and lung diseases.
 
“Clean air standards to protect human health from particulate pollution will help save thousands of lives in California,” said Erica Morehouse, who testified in Sacramento for EDF. “The Sacramento metro area is home to more than 40,000 children at risk from asthma and more than 600,000 people at risk from heart disease. Asthma in the San Joaquin Valley has reached crisis levels.  One in five children in Fresno County and one in three children in King County have been diagnosed with asthma.”
 
You can read Erica’s full testimony here. EDF’s Mandy Warner testified at the Philadelphia hearing earlier this week; read that testimony here.
 
Particulate pollution is comprised of extremely small, often microscopic, particles that can reach deep into human lungs and cause serious health problems including asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, cancer and premature death.
 
A new study released this month found that every increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in fine particle pollution was associated with a 14% increased risk of “all-cause” mortality, a 26% increase in cardiovascular death, and a 37% increase in lung cancer death.
 
EPA’s proposed new rules for particulate pollution, when compared to current air quality, could prevent as many as 35,700 premature deaths each year nationally.
 
The final standards for soot pollution are expected by this December.

(Philadelphia – July 16, 2012)  Experts from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) will join hundreds of other Americans this week to testify at two public hearings on proposed new standards for particle pollution – more commonly known as soot.
 
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding two hearings on the proposed standards: the first in Philadelphia today; the second in Sacramento on Thursday.
 
The all-day hearings will focus on proposed new clean air standards to protect the public from soot, a dangerous and sometimes lethal form of air pollution linked to a wide variety of heart and lung diseases.
 
“Philadelphia is home to 32,000 children at risk from asthma and more than 363,000 people at risk from heart disease,” said Mandy Warner, who testified for EDF today. “Emission reductions made here in Pennsylvania, along with reductions made in other states whose pollution travels into Pennsylvania, will help improve air quality, ensuring healthier, longer lives.”
 
You can read Mandy’s full testimony here.
 
Particle pollution is comprised of extremely small, often microscopic, bits of matter that can get deep into human lungs and cause serious health problems including asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, cancer and premature death.
 
A new study released this month found that every increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in fine particle pollution was associated with a 14% increased risk of “all-cause” mortality, a 26% increase in cardiovascular death, and a 37% increase in lung cancer death.
 
EPA’s proposed new rules for particle pollution, when compared to current air quality, could prevent as many as 35,700 premature deaths each year.
 
The proposed new standards come almost three years after the D.C. Circuit Court remanded the 2006 standards back to EPA to correct deficiencies identified by the Court.
 
“The public has been waiting long enough for updated standards based on the latest science, said Warner. “Every year of delay has resulted in thousands of avoidable deaths, numerous heart attacks, asthma attacks, and other health impacts. We look forward to EPA finalizing strong health-protective standards.”
 
The final standards for soot pollution are expected by this December.