Complete list of press releases

(Washington, D.C. – September 26, 2011) Nearly half of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation voted to block key clean air regulations last week, in spite of the increased health risk for voters back home.

Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ-2), Jon Runyan (R-NJ-3), Chris Smith (R-NJ-4), Scott Garrett

(R-NJ-5), Leonard Lance (R-NJ-7), and Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ-11) voted in favor of the TRAIN Act (H.R. 2401), a sweeping anti-clean air act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives late Friday. The legislation would block many critical public health safeguards, and would indefinitely delay two important and long-awaited air pollution standards – the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

The TRAIN Act would delay those two standards until 2018 at the earliest, and the delay could be indefinite.

The TRAIN Act would result in more than 25,000 premature deaths in the first year alone due to smog, soot, and toxic air pollution. There would be more than 175,000 more asthma attacks, many of them in children.

In New Jersey, the delay of those two standards would cost more than 3200 lives per year.

 “This bill would give us more pollution and endanger our children’s health. The congressmen who voted for more smog, soot and mercury – including some who have supported common sense limits on these pollutants in the past – need to explain themselves to New Jersey voters,” said Bill Petty of Environmental Defense Fund. “Now it’s up to the Senate to stop this destructive bill.”

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Contact:
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, Email Tony
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, Email Sharyn

“Today the U.S. House of Representatives made a stark choice, and put pollution over children’s health.

The TRAIN Act, if it becomes law, will result in more than 25,000 premature deaths in the first year alone, due to smog, soot, and toxic air pollution. There will be more than 175,000 more asthma attacks, many of them in children. This was no less than a fight about the integrity of the Clean Air Act, and clean air lost.

“Opponents of these common sense rules make the patently false argument that we can’t have both clean air and a strong economy. Actually, analysis has shown that the economic benefits of enforcing the Clean Air Act outweigh the costs 30 to 1. The same protections that the TRAIN Act strips have been widely supported by responsible corporations. Companies across the country are eagerly waiting to supply the equipment to achieve these new clean air goals — and create jobs in the process — while utilities are sitting on billions in cash that could be put to work.

“Some of the House members voting against healthy air today may really believe the misleading notion that public health protections kill jobs. But many are old enough to know better – because they voted in favor of these same common-sense environmental rules two decades ago, and they saw the ones that were put into place cut pollution ahead of schedule and at a fraction of the estimated cost – and create jobs in the process. Yet these same members are now voting against the successful regulations they championed in 1990.

“Now it is up to the Senate to stop this destructive bill.”

Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund President

(Washington, D.C.—September 21, 2011) A coalition of six groups supporting Gulf restoration praised the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee for approving legislation today, the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, with a strong showing of bipartisan support. The bill passed by voice vote with only three requested no’s recorded.

 The legislation would ensure that penalties paid by BP and others responsible for last year’s Gulf oil disaster are used to restore the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, barrier islands, dunes, coastal wetlands, and economy of the Gulf Coast; and the economies of communities and the region that were impacted by the spill.  

 “We applaud the Environment and Public Works Committee and Gulf state senators for working across the aisle and recognizing that Gulf restoration will benefit America’s economy and its people,” said a joint statement issued by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, and Oxfam America. “The damage from the oil spill was done in the Gulf, and now the Senate needs to take quick action to make sure that the oil spill penalties go to restoring the Gulf region.  Given the overwhelming bipartisan support from Americans across the political spectrum, we hope this legislation soon reaches the Senate floor.”

 A nationwide poll of 1,006 likely general election voters conducted this spring by the Democratic firm, Lake Research Partners, and the GOP firm, Bellwether Research and Consulting, showed that the vast majority of voters (84%) believe the Gulf Coast—including the Mississippi River Delta—impacts the nation’s economy.  Nearly two-thirds of those voters (63%) believe this region impacts the economy in their part of the country. 

 EPW Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was instrumental in securing her committee’s support for the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, which is cosponsored by nine of the 10 Gulf state senators.  Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) authored the bill, and were joined as original cosponsors by Senators David Vitter (R-LA), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kay Bailey-Hutchison (R-TX). 

 “We look forward to working with the Gulf delegation, other members of Congress and the Obama administration to pass a bill that meets the restoration needs of this critical ecosystem and its vulnerable communities,” the groups’ statement concluded.

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Contact: Jasper Jung, EDF, jjung@edf.org, (202) 572-3395

(Boston, Mass. – September 21, 2011) Today, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced the results of this summer’s EDF Climate Corps fellowships, which placed 96 specially-trained MBA and MPA students in 78 companies, cities and universities to sleuth out energy savings and carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions. Together, the 2011 Climate Corps fellows uncovered efficiencies in lighting, computer equipment, and heating and cooling systems that could:

• Cut 600 million kilowatt hours of electricity use and 27 million therms of natural gas annually, equivalent to the annual energy use of 38,000 homes;
• Avoid 440,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the annual emissions of 87,000 passenger vehicles; and
• Save $650 million in net operational costs over the project lifetimes.

“In this economy, everyone is looking for ways to save, and energy efficiency is a huge, and largely untapped, opportunity,” said Victoria Mills, managing director of EDF’s Corporate Partnerships program. “EDF Climate Corps has shown once again the magnitude of cost savings and carbon pollution reductions available to organizations that know how to look for them.”

EDF created Climate Corps to cut carbon pollution by overcoming the barriers that prevent organizations from investing in energy efficiency. Now in its fourth year, EDF Climate Corps has grown from seven fellows in 2008 to 96 in 2011. To date, projects accounting for 86 percent of the energy savings identified by 2008-2010 fellows are complete or underway.

EDF Climate Corps fellows work with host organizations to capture immediate energy savings through equipment modifications and upgrades and also on strategic projects – such as employee engagement campaigns and decision-support tools – that deliver systemic and lasting reductions in energy use and carbon pollution.

• McDonald’s worked with Pia Jean Kristiansen, an EDF Climate Corps fellow and MBA candidate from the University of Michigan, to find creative ways to engage the company’s estimated 700,000 U.S. restaurant employees in energy efficiency initiatives.  Kristiansen’s work will result in an educational video developed to educate employees on ways to reduce an average restaurant’s energy consumption up to 10 percent.
• Neal Tsay, an EDF Climate Corps fellow and MBA candidate from UCLA, worked with sustainability leaders at Target to develop a plan to achieve its commitment to earn ENERGY STAR ratings for 75 percent of its U.S. buildings by 2015. Additionally, Tsay sought to improve energy efficiency in Target stores by proposing initiatives that could eliminate 50,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year and generate several million dollars in annual energy savings.

Buildings account for 70 percent of electricity consumption and more than a third of carbon pollution in the United States. Because opportunities to save energy are not limited to the private sector, EDF expanded Climate Corps in 2009 by placing fellows in cities and universities. “Cities, colleges and others can make smart energy investments just like companies,” said Michael Regan, EDF director of energy efficiency. “The program is building a diverse movement to transform how people think about energy efficiency and make it a top priority for everyone who pays a utility bill.”

• The New York City Housing Authority learned how to reduce annual heating costs by $58 million, thanks to a plan developed by EDF Climate Corps fellows Harrison Thomas and Amy Kochanowsky, who are working on degrees in business, environmental management and public policy at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Their findings could cut the housing authority’s annual energy costs by 11 percent.
• North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) University discovered it could save $2.5 million over the next five years by implementing the recommendations from EDF Climate Corps fellows LaKausha Simpson, a PhD candidate in engineering at A&T, and Jonathan Wilson, an MBA candidate at Wake Forest University. A&T’s investments in energy efficiency measures, such as improved lighting, will pay for themselves in only three months.

See the full list of organizations participating in EDF Climate Corps and the energy-saving projects recommended in 2011. EDF Climate Corps is now recruiting fellows and host organizations for 2012. For more information, please visit edfclimatecorps.org or email info@edfclimatecorps.org.

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About Environmental Defense Fund: Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. For more information, visit edf.org.

About EDF Climate Corps: EDF Climate Corps (edfclimatecorps.org) places specially-trained MBA and MPA students in companies, cities and universities to build the business case for energy efficiency. EDF Climate Corps fellows analyze energy-saving opportunities and develop custom energy efficiency investment plans that cut costs and carbon emissions.

(Washington, D.C.—September 14, 2011) A coalition of organizations supporting Gulf restoration says a new federal report revealing that BP, Transocean and Halliburton Co. made critical mistakes leading up to last year’s Gulf oil disaster reinforces the need for Congress to pass legislation to use the oil spill penalties for those mistakes to restore the Gulf. 

“The mistakes that these companies made damaged the ecosystems and economies of the Gulf region.  The penalties that they will pay for these errors should go directly to restoring the ecosystems and economies of the region, where the damage was done,” said a joint statement issued by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Ocean Conservancy and Oxfam America. “Leaders in Congress should take decisive action this year to make sure that any fines that are paid for the Gulf spill stay in the Gulf, and are not used for unrelated federal spending.”

A bipartisan coalition of Gulf Senators introduced the RESTORE Gulf Coast Act in July. The legislation seeks to ensure that 80 percent of the penalties paid under the Clean Water Act by the parties responsible for last year’s Gulf oil disaster are used to help restore the region’s communities,  ecosystems and economies, instead of going to unrelated federal spending.  The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to consider the bill shortly. 

A bipartisan poll conducted this spring showed that 83 percent of voters nationwide support – and 69 percent strongly support – dedicating the Gulf oil spill penalties to restoring the Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast. The poll also showed support among voters from across the political spectrum:

• 90 percent of Democrats
• 84 percent of independents
• 76 percent of Republicans
• 78 percent of those who say they agree with the Tea Party movement

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Expert Contact: Jim Marston, 512-289-5293, jmarston@edf.org

Media Contact: Mica Odom, 512-619-8453, modom@edf.org

(Austin, TX – September 13, 2011) For over six years, Texas power companies have complied with a clean air rule first adopted by the Bush EPA. Yesterday, Luminant chose to reverse course and fight vital clean air rules that will save lives in Texas, and that other utilities in Texas have been able to meet. Luminant issued a press release that recused itself of responsibility, threatened possible plant closures and blamed EPA for potential job losses. Luminant’s statement highlights a simple fact that it failed to mention: closing plants is a business decision, plain and simple.

“Luminant isn’t closing these plants because of EPA regulations – that’s just their cover story. They’re closing the plants because they did not act timely. The EPA just gives them a convenient way to shift blame. Unlike most other utilities in Texas, Luminant did not begin to make reductions to meet the rule that anyone could see was coming,” said Jim Marston, EDF’s Texas Regional Office and Energy Program Director. “Moreover, Luminant is ignoring other viable alternatives to plant closures just to save some money in the short-term. If anyone loses their job, they can blame Luminant’s management team for failing to plan accordingly to abide by the law. We feel very bad for the workers whose company let them down.”

EPA’s clean air protections do not require any power plants to shut down. Companies like Luminant make the decision — either invest in common retrofits like scrubbers to clean up pollution or close down old and poorly controlled plants and replace them with cleaner more efficient generation. Numerous other companies, such as Exelon, PPL Generation and NRG, have publicly announced that they are well-prepared to meet the updated clean air protections.

Luminant is a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH) and is the largest electricity producer in Texas. In 2005, there were 32 other power plants in the nation that emitted more sulfur dioxide (SO2) than Luminant’s Martin Lake coal plant. By 2010 there were only three. The story is similarly sad for Luminant’s two other 1970’s vintage plants, Big Brown and Monticello. Ranked 21st and 28th for their total SO2 emissions in 2005, they ranked 10th and 11th in 2010 as Luminant fell behind the industry in cleaning up. EDF’s Jim Marston further stated that “’maybe Luminant likes to be a leader, but air pollution emissions is not a good area in which to lead. It’s bad for Luminant, bad for the health of Texans and bad for the millions of other Americans who live downwind.”

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule requiring cleaner air in Texas was initially adopted by the Bush EPA in 2005 and revised in July 2011 in response to a judicial decision. Like the rule adopted under the Bush EPA, the revised Rule requires Texas power plants to reduce life-threatening air pollution. The Rule limits the amount of SO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution power plants in 27 states – including Texas – are allowed to emit. Collectively, Texas power plants are the nation’s largest emitter of NOx and the second largest emitter of SO2. Nationally, this rule will save up to 34,000 lives, prevent 400,000 asthma attacks, and avoid 1.8 million lost work or sick days each year once in place. Texans will be among the biggest beneficiaries of this rule with up to 1,704 lives saved each year. Likewise, Texas will be among the biggest losers in terms of health if this rule is delayed.

Most Texas utilities have business plans in place to ensure compliance with clean air standards. In fact, Austin Energy and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) began improvements to their facilities and have already reached the reductions required by the rule, and have excess allowances to sell to Luminant. NRG Energy has also made reductions in anticipation of the rule, which means that it does not face the issues that Luminant has brought upon itself. Finally, City Public Service (CPS) Energy in San Antonio will complete its reductions by the end of this year.

“Luminant had a choice to plan for compliance or fight it. For years, the company fought it and gambled with its shareholder’s money and its employees’ jobs,” said Marston. “Rather than take responsibility for its gamble, the company is blaming the consequences on EPA. As the person who negotiated the environmental commitments during the TXU-EFH buyout, it saddens me that EFH is tarnishing its brand and the long-term value of its stock by violating its touted “Core Operating Principle of Environmental Stewardship” to “outperform current clean air requirements through voluntary emissions reductions.””

(Indianapolis, Ind. – Sept. 12, 2011) The Green Innovators in Business Network (GIBN) – led in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and DIG IN – is working with local leaders to bring a Solutions Lab to Indianapolis on September 20, 2011. Solutions Labs are one-day, participatory events, where attendees help craft the agenda and spend time actively networking and brainstorming “big ideas” for accelerating business while improving environmental impacts.

“The experience and knowledge needed to make business environmentally sustainable exists in this community,” said David Witzel, director of the EDF Innovation Exchange. “This Solutions Lab will bring together knowledge and experience from around Indianapolis – in business, academics, and government – to help business people increase profits, innovate, and attract talent while also addressing serious environmental challenges.”

GIBN and local partners including Capitol Assets and WFYI will be convening the Indiana Solutions Lab for regional businesses interested in sustainability in manufacturing, clean technology, and other industrial sectors. The event will be an open and candid discussion about how business leaders are growing their business in an energy efficient manner and capitalizing on clean technology, one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy.

“We are looking forward to the Solutions Lab as an opportunity to leverage the resources and best practices that are available right here in our community,” said Dr. Steve Charlton, Cummins Vice President and Chief Technical Officer – Engine Business. “We hope to engage interested business professionals in an ongoing learning environment to guide the design and development of corporate sustainability initiatives.”

Highlights from the day will include a conversation with Dr. Charlton from Cummins Inc. and a discussion on state policy for sustainability with State Senator Jim Merritt, State Representatives Marianne Sullivan and Wes Culver, and Brandon Seitz, director of Indiana’s Department of Energy. The full agenda for the Indiana Solutions Lab is available online.

For more information about the Indiana Solutions Lab to be held at WFYI in Indianapolis, please visit the event online registration site; or contact Andrea Bazemore (abazemore@capitolassets.net), David Witzel (dwitzel@edf.org) or Odin Zackman (odin@digin.org).

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About Green Innovators in Business Network: The Green Innovators in Business Network (GIBN) is an open network for all business change makers— those working with and within business to develop innovative approaches to sustainability challenges. For more information on how to become a GIBN member and supporter, visit gibn.org.

About Environmental Defense Fund: Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. For more information, visit edfbusiness.org. Read our blog at blogs.edf.org/business. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/EDFbiz.

Contact: Jasper Jung, Environmental Defense Fund, jjung@edf.org, (202) 572-3395

Contact:
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org
Sharyn Stein, 202-905-5718, sstein@edf.org

(Washington, DC — Sept. 2, 2011) The Obama Administration’s decision to withdraw its plans to improve public health protections against smog-forming pollution puts millions of Americans at increased risk of asthma and premature death, said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

“This unfortunate decision puts millions of Americans, particularly children, at risk from industrial pollution,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “We’re deeply disappointed that the administration has chosen to leave in place outdated standards that lag far behind what scientists have unanimously recommended.”

The existing standards for ground-level ozone pollution were set at 75 parts per billion in March 2008. That’s higher than the 60 to 70 parts per billion recommended by an EPA scientific advisory panel.

“Each year the standards are left untouched will bring as many as 12,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of lost work and school days,” Krupp said.

(San Francisco, Calif. – September 1, 2011)  Sustainable Conservation, in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Incentives, Protected Harvest and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, has been awarded a $372,000 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a pilot program to measure environmental benefits in California’s Mokelumne River Watershed. The program will attract funding to pay farmers, ranchers and foresters to enhance nature’s benefits, including water purification, erosion control and wildlife habitat. 

“Typically farmers and ranchers are paid to grow crops and raise livestock,” said Ashley Boren, executive director of Sustainable Conservation. “But many of these individuals who manage their land responsibly provide important services that benefit nature and human well-being. We need to create ways to pay farmers and ranchers for these services.”

The pilot program will develop uniform standards and payment mechanisms that allow private utilities, government agencies, communities, foundations and nonprofits to pay landowners and land managers to enhance and manage their land in ways that benefit people and the environment.

“This innovative pilot project will demonstrate that a watershed-wide approach to compensate landowners for conservation actions is the best way to achieve conservation goals that support local communities and provide environmental benefits to people outside the watershed, by improving water quality and water storage and increasing habitat for wildlife, said Belinda Morris, regional director of the Working Lands Program for Environmental Defense Fund.  “This natural infrastructure will produce environmental benefits at a much lower cost than building man-made infrastructure to achieve comparable benefits.”

The Mokelumne River begins high in the Sierra Nevada, flows through the foothills across the Central Valley and into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and empties into the San Francisco Bay. This watershed provides numerous environmental and economic benefits to the region. For example, the Mokelumne River delivers water to 1.4 million people in the East Bay, and provides agricultural water supply and storage to irrigate more than 800,000 acres of vineyards and other crops. The river also provides recreational benefits like whitewater rafting and popular trout fishing, and is home to a variety of habitats that support numerous plants and animals. (See link to watershed map at: http://www.suscon.org/images/Mokelumne_River_Map.JPG).

“Our forested watersheds provide multiple benefits to downstream water users as well as to millions of other Californians by storing and filtering water in the snowpack and meadows, by providing a sustainable habitat for wildlife and plants, and through carbon sequestration,” said Sierra Nevada Conservancy Executive Officer Jim Branham. “The issues in the Mokelumne River Watershed are representative of other watersheds with headwaters in the Sierra, so we look to this pilot program as one that will provide information that is transferrable across the region.”

A scenic river, the Mokelumne faces multiple threats, including: groundwater overdraft, degradation of some managed lands, increased danger of uncharacteristically large fires, and climate change that reduces the snowpack that supplies water for the region. Landowners and land managers within the area are looking for ways to protect the existing natural resources and restore many of the watershed functions. The pilot program will devise ways to compensate the good land stewards.

This project, overseen by Sustainable Conservation, engages more than a dozen organizations, including:

• Amador Calaveras Consensus Group
• East Bay Municipal Utility District
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Environmental Incentives
• Foothill Conservancy
• Lower Mokelumne River Watershed Stewardship Steering Committee
• Mokelumne Watershed Stakeholder Working Group
• Protected Harvest
• San Joaquin County Resource Conservation District
• Sierra Nevada Conservancy
• The Nature Conservancy
• U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region
• U.S. Forest Service - Amador Ranger District, Eldorado National Forest
• U.S. Forest Service - Calaveras Ranger District, Stanislaus National Forest
• Vino Farms, LLC

Through CIGs, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is investing nearly $22.5 million via 52 grants in 40 states to support innovations that conserve and protect natural resources, while enhancing agricultural productivity. A summary of all proposals selected for 2011 is available at: www.nrcs.usda.gov.

“The grants will help to spur creativity and problem-solving to benefit conservation-minded farmers and ranchers,” said USDA NRCS Chief Dave White.  “Everyone who relies upon the sustainability of our nation’s natural resources for clean water, food and fiber, or their way of life will benefit from these grants.”

For more info, please visit www.suscon.org.

Watershed map: http://www.suscon.org/images/Mokelumne_River_Map.JPG

Contact:

Alex Karolyi
415-977-0380 x317
akarolyi@suscon.org   

Or

Sean Crowley
202-550-6524-c
scrowley@edf.org 

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(Sacramento, CA – August 24, 2011) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) for approving a blueprint today for reducing climate change pollution that complements new state and federal actions designed to improve air quality. California’s plan will work alongside other public health rules, including more stringent ozone and air toxics standards.

CARB originally approved its Climate Change Scoping Plan [PDF] in December 2008 as a key part of the implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which EDF cosponsored. The plan includes a cap-and-trade rule as one of 70 measures to reduce pollution and grow California’s burgeoning clean energy economy. The initial outcome of a lawsuit filed in 2009, however, required CARB to set aside the approval and complete a more thorough review of the plan’s alternatives to cap-and-trade. Today’s vote approved the scoping plan based on new analysis required by the court.

“Today’s vote reinforces California’s world-renowned environmental leadership by cutting serious air pollution in the state and protecting public health. The plan’s cap-and-trade rule puts a firm limit on pollution from the largest sources in the state and doesn’t let any polluter off the hook,” said Tim O’Connor, director of EDF’s California Climate and Energy Initiative, who testified at the public meeting before the CARB vote. “However, it still has to be managed in real-time to track and respond to any unforeseen impacts.”

EDF and numerous public health and environmental groups reviewed the updated analysis—including the American Lung Association in California, Breathe California, and Union of Concerned Scientists—and agree that it features the best available tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these groups are working at the national level to get tighter ground level ozone standards, updated emissions performance standards for common pollutants, and more stringent toxic air contaminant regulations put in place.

“This is a vote of confidence in California’s plan to create jobs and clear the air. It will bolster the critical effort to achieve stronger and more effective pollution control laws nationwide.” O’Connor said. “CARB’s vote also reaffirms the value and importance of cap-and-trade: it is the most effective way to cut pollution quickly at the lowest cost, while driving investments and job growth in clean technology.”

Cap-and-trade is a vital component of the state’s clean energy plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as set by AB 32. The program creates a firm limit on pollution that will ultimately cover 80 percent of the state’s emissions, including those from the utility, large industry, natural gas and transportation fuels sectors. The program is proposed to begin on January 1, 2013.

The final regulations will be available at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2010/capandtrade10/capandtrade10.htm

Editor’s Note: for easy-to-understand language on cap-and-trade, and for videos and a graphic, please visit our climate resource archives.

(Baton Rouge–August 24, 2011) Conservation groups today expressed support for an agreement between Louisiana and federal officials to conduct an investigation focusing on the dynamic nature of the Lower Mississippi River and the interplay between restoration, navigation and flood control.  Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will collaborate on the analysis, officially called the Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta Management Study.

“Today’s agreement between CPRA and the Corps is a significant step toward a fully integrated approach to river management based on the best available science,” said a joint statement by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy. “The Mississippi River is a dynamic and changing system. We have to understand those changes in order to implement effective solutions for restoration, flood control and navigation, which are all deeply interconnected.”

“Science tells us that the river is changing, and that the continued collapse of Louisiana’s wetlands will likely threaten our existing flood protection and navigation systems,” the groups continued. “This partnership between the CPRA and the Corps is necessary to meet the challenges associated with managing the Mississippi River for the multiple benefits it provides to the state and the nation.”

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund;edf.org/ClimateTalks 

(Washington – August 16, 2011) The Obama Administration’s advanced biofuels initiative announced today has the potential both to promote low-carbon options for ships and planes and to help rural economies, but the initiative would have an even greater impact if the Administration also supported Europe’s aviation anti-pollution law, said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

The European Union’s “Aviation Directive” is the only program in the world that sets enforceable limits on carbon pollution from aviation, but the Obama Administration has objected to the application of the law on U.S. airlines.

“Emissions from aviation and shipping are both accelerating and poorly regulated, so it’s welcome to see an investment in efforts to reduce them,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, Director of EDF’s International Climate Program.

“How unfortunate, then, that the Administration is supporting an initiative to stimulate development of advanced biofuels, while at the same time opposing a law in Europe that would reward U.S. airlines for using them.  Clearly the Administration could multiply the positive effects of this initiative on rural jobs and green growth by also supporting the EU’s Aviation Directive,” said Haverkamp.

The EU Aviation Directive would cut 183 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually by 2020, the equivalent of taking 30 million cars off the road every year.

Read more at edf.org/aviation.

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund;edf.org/ClimateTalks  

News Release

Contacts:
Lori Sinsley, (415) 308-6097, lsinsley@edf.org
Tim O’Connor, (415) 293-6132, toconnor@edf.org

(San Francisco, CA – August 16, 2011) The smart grid plans to modernize California’s electricity grid have comprehensive visions and coherent strategies, but lack commitments to measure and verify progress on delivering benefits set by state clean energy and energy efficiency laws, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Those laws include California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as AB 32 [PDF] (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020), the Renewable Portfolio Standard (increasing renewable electricity use from 20 percent to 33 percent of total electricity delivered by 2020) and the California Solar Initiative (installing 1,940 megawatts (MW) of solar energy by 2017, equivalent to the generating capacity of more than three average-sized 600 MW coal-fired power plants).

EDF used its recently released smart grid evaluation framework [PDF], or “score card,” to analyze approximately 1,000 pages of material submitted by PG&E, SDG&E and SCE to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). While the plans show that a smart grid in California can deliver significant consumer and environmental benefits, utilities must commit to regularly providing detailed updates on their progress meeting energy law requirements in order to get passing ‘final’ grades.

“California’s legislature and Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) specified that utilities must deliver the full range of smart grid benefits, and this evaluation will help ensure that happens,” said Tim O’Connor, EDF’s director of California’s climate and energy initiative. “We developed our framework based on the agency’s decision and kept the utilities informed about how plans would be scored. That’s why we were disappointed that their roadmaps didn’t include metrics or milestones to track progress.”

PG&E, SDG&E and SCE serve more than 11 million customer accounts and estimate that they will make new smart grid investments between $2.4 billion and $3.6 billion from now thru 2020.

“These public utilities will be investing billions of taxpayer dollars in the smart grid, so we can’t afford for them not to get it right,” said Miriam Horn, director of EDF’s smart grid initiative. “The smart grid is critical to achieving the state’s goals: to eliminate massive inefficiencies in the system, dramatically increase California’s reliance on renewable energy, including “distributed” energy made in communities’ own backyards; shift to zero-emission electric vehicles; and empower consumers to manage their energy use, footprint and bills. But the smart grid will only achieve these things if it is designed from the outset to do so, and if utilities are held accountable for delivering on their promises.”

Those promises, if realized, are significant. PG&E, for example, estimates that it will cut costs by up to $2 billion and reduce up to 2.1 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. SCE estimates it will be able to charge 1 million electric vehicles by 2020 and avoid up to 1,900 (MW) of peak demand by 2014 (peak demand is typically the most costly to deliver and often the most polluting). SDG&E estimated that it will cut 6.8 MMT of various types of global warming pollution and save up to $615 million in fuel costs.

The plans of SDG&E and SCE got the highest cumulative grades with a ‘B-‘; while PG&E’s plan earned a ‘C.’ Evaluated by EDF energy experts and consultants, the scores reflect whether plans chart a course to achieve four state objectives: radically increase California’s reliance on clean energy and flexible demand; empower consumers; create a platform for new energy technologies and services; and reduce the electric system’s impact on air, water and land. A separate team of EDF staff worked with SDG&E in an advisory role during the design of its plan.

“SDG&E earned its overall score by working with lots of stakeholders and really digging into how to provide the full range of possible benefits. But we still need to see measurable commitments to deliver environmental and customer value,” said O’Connor. “These plans are roadmaps that will guide this multi-year journey toward a modernized grid. They must provide the state and ratepayers with mileage markers showing if we’re on the right track.”

“Utilities should view these scores as ’mid-term grades.’ They will have a chance to improve their plans and scores during the ongoing Public Utilities Commission process,” concluded O’Connor. “Utilities need to report progress on an ongoing basis for all to see. They can’t hide that they’re missing many key ingredients and EDF will be working to hold them accountable.”

Beyond California, EDF is working on multiple smart grid projects to ensure that consumers have the information and protections they need, and that ratepayer investments deliver returns in the form of cleaner air, improved public health, reduced energy costs and a stronger economy. These include the $25 million Pecan Street Project, in Austin, Texas, that is designed to understand and address what the community needs.

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Visit us on Twitter at @EnvDefenseFund and @EDF_CA, at our California blog, California Dream 2.0, and on Facebook at facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund.

(Boulder, CO – August 12, 2011) A new agreement to reduce harmful air pollution and ugly haze in the Western U.S. is winning praise from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today.

The agreement was submitted to a Colorado federal court today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It would require EPA to take final action on Colorado’s regional haze plan by September 10, 2012. It also sets specific dates for taking action on air quality plans from Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

“Today’s action is a positive step towards clearing the air in Colorado’s front range,” said Pamela Campos, an attorney in EDF’s Rocky Mountain office. “Timely approval of Colorado’s pioneering plan for reducing harmful air pollution is an important step in the pathway towards clean air.”

If approved, the plan will lead to dramatic reductions in dangerous types of air pollution, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and greenhouse gases. It will improve public health and will also reduce haze in areas like Rocky Mountain National Park.

The agreement was negotiated by a coalition of stakeholders, including EDF. The federal district court will now review the agreement before issuing a final decision on whether to approve it.

NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
Sean Crowley, 202-550-6524-c, scrowley@edf.org
Sara Hopper, 202-422-1823-c, shopper@edf.org  

(Washington, DC—August 11, 2011) Agriculture Secretary Vilsack’s commitment today to invest $100 million through the Wetlands Reserve Program to acquire permanent easements from eligible landowners and assist with wetland restoration on nearly 24,000 acres of agricultural land in the Northern Everglades Watershed is a smart ecological and economic investment, according to a leading conservation group. Environmental Defense Fund also says it demonstrates why maintaining funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program and other USDA conservation programs is critical.

“Involving private landowners in these kinds of landscape-scale efforts is exactly what we need to do if we’re going to be effective in accomplishing our most important conservation goals, including healthy ecosystems that provide clean water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and other public benefits,” said Sara Hopper, agricultural policy director for Environmental Defense Fund and a former staff member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “But we cannot effectively engage private landowners in big initiatives like this one without continued, robust funding for voluntary, incentive-based programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program. It’s imperative that Congress not cut funding for these programs in the coming months, as members of the House and Senate continue to look for ways to reduce the federal budget deficit.”

In June, despite the opposition of more than 50 agricultural and conservation groups, the U.S. House of Representatives approved nearly $1 billion in cuts to USDA conservation programs, including the Wetlands Reserve Program, in the agriculture appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2012. The Senate is expected to develop its version of the appropriations bill this fall, and conservation groups are urging it to reject the House cuts. In addition, the special committee Congress is convening to negotiate a package of longer-term deficit reduction measures could propose additional cuts to USDA’s voluntary conservation incentives programs, particularly if members of the committee cannot reach agreement on ways to increase revenue.

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