Complete list of press releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Bill Midcap, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, (303) 283-3528 or bill.midcap@rmfu.org
John Nielsen, Western Resource Advocates, (303) 885-8099 or jnielsen@westernresources.org
Dan Grossman, Environmental Defense Fund, (303) 887-8206 or dgrossman@edf.org

(Colorado – June 24, 2010) A new publication - Clean Energy Pioneers: Building a Stronger Western Economy - chronicles people, businesses and communities across the intermountain West who are forging clean energy progress through innovation and determination. The report is available at CleanEnergyPioneers.org.

The release of this publication coincides with the Western Governors’ annual meeting, which begins this weekend. This year’s meeting is convening in Whitefish, Montana and will examine new clean energy solutions. As the governors mark “100 Years of Common Ground” in working together to manage the region’s natural resources, clean energy pioneers across the West have established the foundation for a clean energy economy upon which policy-makers can build.

“In communities across the rural West, clean energy pioneers are creating jobs, keeping family farms in the family, and building stronger local economies,” said Bill Midcap, Director of Renewable Energy Development for the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.

“With leadership and a tradition of innovation, the West is charting the path to more jobs, a steady flow of homegrown electricity, and less harmful pollution,” said John Nielsen, Western Resource Advocates Energy Program Director.

“National leadership on energy security and climate policy is essential to bolster America’s energy independence and to grow and strengthen the West’s economy,” said Dan Grossman, Environmental Defense Fund Rocky Mountain Regional Director. “The West is well-positioned in the nation’s critical race to create jobs and reduce dangerous pollution through homegrown clean energy solutions.”

Clean Energy Pioneers: Building a Stronger Western Economy chronicles a wide variety of clean energy success stories: farmers who are supporting their farms with supplemental income from wind power; companies that are relying on the earth’s heat for geothermal power - and creating jobs in the process; Native American entrepreneurs who are harnessing clean energy to heat and cool houses on tribal lands; roofers who are finding new job opportunities installing solar panels; working mothers who are training to become solar installers and green construction workers; college students training for new opportunities in clean energy; and the burgeoning community college programs that provide educational and training opportunities.

For the past year, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Western Resource Advocates and Environmental Defense Fund have collaborated on collecting these compelling stories from across the far-flung corners of the West. The new report, along with interactive maps, video, podcasts and other multimedia presentations, is available online at CleanEnergyPioneers.org.da

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Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, is a progressive, grassroots organization dedicated to achieving profitability for family farmers and ranchers, promoting stewardship of land and water resources, delivering safe, healthy food to consumers, and strengthening rural communities through education, legislation, and cooperation, visit www.rmfu.org

Western Resource Advocates, protects the West’s land, air, and water recognizing that success can only come from working collaboratively with other conservation groups, hunters and fishermen, ranchers, American Indians, and all those who seek a sustainable future for this remarkable part of the country, visit www.westernresourceadvocates.org

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact:
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org

Thursday’s caucus meeting will be a milestone in the effort to transition America to clean energy and finally address the dangers of carbon pollution. We expect our environmental allies – and all Senators who want to cut America’s addiction to imported oil, create jobs, and reduce pollution – to speak out strongly for a truly comprehensive clean energy and climate bill.

With millions of gallons spilled in the Gulf of Mexico and a billion dollars a day going overseas for imported oil, we can no longer afford to delay our transition to clean energy. As President Obama told the nation last Tuesday night, “For decades we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires” and we must not “settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom.” The time has come to act.

We are confident Senator Reid and his colleagues will opt to take the best ideas from all the major proposals and craft legislation that puts a strong limit on carbon pollution and drives the innovation necessary to create millions of clean energy jobs for America. This long sought goal is within our reach, if we have the will to make it happen.

1000 Friends of Minnesota, Sally Wakefield, Executive Director
Alliance for Climate Protection, Maggie Fox, President and CEO
American Rivers, Rebecca R. Wodder, President
Arkansans for Clean Energy Jobs, Nao Ueda, Coordinator
Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy,
Ken Smith, Executive Director
Arkansas Solar Initiative, Alese Johnston Stroud, CEO
Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Wayne Shewmake, President
Audubon Arkansas, Ellen Fennell, Interim Director
Blue Green Alliance, David Foster, Executive Director
Chewonki Foundation, Don Hudson, President
Clean Air-Cool Planet, Adam Markham, President and CEO
Colorado Conservation Voters, Pete Maysmith,
Executive Director
Conservation Alabama, Adam R. Snyder, Executive Director
Conservation Council of North Carolina, Carrie Clark,
Executive Director
Conservation Law Foundation, John Kassel, President
Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Josh McNeil,
Executive Director
Earth Cause Organization, Rob Fisher, Executive Director
Earthjustice, Trip Van Noppen, President
Environment America, Margie Alt, Executive Director
Environment Illinois, Max Muller, Program Director
Environmental Defense Fund, Fred Krupp, President
Environmental Law and Policy Center, Howard Learner,
Executive Director
Friends of Dyke Marsh, Glenda Booth, President
Friends of the Mississippi River, Whitney Clark,
Executive Director
Indiana Wildlife Federation, John R. Goss, Executive Director
League of Conservation Voters, Gene Karpinski, President
Maine Interfaith Power and Light, Harry Brown, Executive Director
Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, Lora Wondolowski, Executive Director
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Scott Strand, Executive Director
National Wildlife Federation, Larry Schweiger, President
Natural Resources Council of Maine, Everett B. Carson,
Executive Director
Natural Resources Defense Council, Peter Lehner,
Executive Director
Opportunity Maine, Cliff Ginn and Rob Brown, Co-Directors
Protestants for the Common Good, Rev. Alexander Sharp,
Executive Director
Rails to Trails Conservancy, Keith Laughlin, President
SC Coastal Conservation League, Dana Beach, Executive Director
Sierra Club, Michael Brune, Executive Director
South Carolina Sierra Club, Susan Corbett, CEO
South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Ben Gregg, Executive Director
The Nature Conservancy, Mark Tercek, President and CEO
The Ozark Society, Robert Cross, President
Union of Concerned Scientists, Kevin Knobloch, President
Upstate Forever, Brad Wyche, Executive Director
US Climate Action Network, Peter Bahouth, Executive Director
Virginia Climate Initiative, Rob Jones, Director
Virginia Conservation Network, Nathan Lott, Executive Director
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, Joe Stanley, Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Lisa Guthrie,
Executive Director
Will Steger Foundation, Nicole Rom, Executive Director
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Kerry Shuman,
Executive Director
World Wildlife Fund, Carter Roberts, President and CEO
Wyoming Conservation Voters, Kate Wright, Executive Director

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Environmental Defense Action Fund is the political arm of Environmental Defense Fun, a leading national nonprofit organization which represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. Twitter twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund. Blog http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/. Visit www.edf.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Isabelle Silverman, (917) 445-6385, isilverman@edf.org

(Albany, NY - June 23, 2010) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised the New York State Assembly for passing legislation today to dramatically reduce sulfur levels in the commonly used #2 heating oil sold in the state. The State Senate passed the legislation last week and Governor Paterson is expected to sign it into law.

Lower sulfur levels will help reduce acid rain, regional haze, and soot (particulate matter) pollution. Soot pollution is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and can even cause premature death.

“This bill is a life-saver,” said Isabelle Silverman, an EDF attorney, who co-authored EDF’s December report: The Bottom of the Barrel: How the Dirtiest Heating Oil Pollutes Our Air and Harms Our Health. “Reducing soot pollution is especially important in New York City, where asthma hospitalization rates among children are twice the national average. However, phasing out the dirtiest grades of heating oil—#4 and #6 oil—is also crucial to dramatically reduce soot pollution because heating oil is responsible for more soot pollution in New York City than cars and trucks combined.”

Starting in July 2012, the state bill (S. 1145-A/A. 8642) will reduce sulfur levels in #2 heating oil sold in the state by up to a thousand fold from the current range of between 2,000-15,000 parts per million (ppm) to the EPA limit for diesel truck and bus fuel of up to 15 ppm.

Eighty-six percent of New York City’s heating oil soot pollution comes from only one percent—or nearly 10,000—of the city’s buildings that burn #4 and #6 heating oils, according to the EDF’s Bottom of the Barrel report.

Switching from #4 and #6 heating oils to #2 heating oil or natural gas would reduce soot pollution from these buildings by more than 90 percent. Although #2 heating oil can be about 10-15 percent more expensive than #6 oil based on today’s prices, the EDF report concludes that best maintenance practices and low-cost efficiency measures can lower fuel usage by about 20 percent and save money. Natural gas is cleaner than #2, #4 and #6 heating oils and cheaper.

Low income buildings can apply for boiler and burner replacement funding available from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Sharyn Stein, Environmental Defense Fund, 202-572-3396 or sstein@edf.org

The following statement was issued by League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski, Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Peter Lehner, National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, and Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp in advance of today’s Senate Caucus meeting on energy and climate issues:

Today’s caucus meeting will be a milestone in the effort to transition America to clean energy and finally address the dangers of carbon pollution. We expect our environmental allies — and all Senators who want to cut America’s addiction to imported oil, create jobs, and reduce pollution — to speak out strongly for a truly comprehensive clean energy bill.

With millions of gallons spilled in the Gulf of Mexico and a billion dollars a day going overseas for imported oil, we can no longer afford to delay our transition to clean energy. As President Obama told the nation Tuesday night, “For decades we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires” and we must not “settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom.” The time has come to act.

We are confident Senator Reid and his colleagues will opt to take the best ideas from all the major proposals and craft legislation which puts a strong limit on carbon pollution and drives the innovation necessary to create millions of clean energy jobs for America. This long sought goal is within our reach, if we have the will to make it happen.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org

(Washington, DC—June 16, 2010) A powerful new video featuring the popular song, “Over the rainbow,” as Environmental Defense Fund coastal scientist Angelina Freeman examines the damage to Louisiana wetlands and wildlife from the BP oil disaster is now posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPjJPVdR4g). The video’s narrative track is the performance of “Over the rainbow” that ended the first season finale of the Fox hit TV show Glee.

Produced by Environmental Defense Fund, the video concludes with a link www.edf.org/cleanenergy that enables viewers to email their U.S. senators “to urge them to learn from this unprecedented disaster and to wisely lead us in a new direction away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy alternatives.” The video is timely because last night President Obama challenged the U.S. Senate to make passage of clean energy legislation a priority.

“This beautiful song and the tragic images from the Gulf Coast oil disaster remind us that we have a choice to leave a better world for our children,” said Environmental Defense Fund Executive Director David Yarnold, who recently did an aerial and boat tour of coastal Louisiana when the video was shot and blogged about it today at http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2010/06/16/somewhere-over-the-gulf-coast-a-“glee”-and-bp-oil-disaster-mashup//. “I wanted anyone and everyone to see what our addiction to oil had done to the Gulf and to contrast that with the sense of hope and possibility that ‘Over the rainbow’ exudes.”

“Over the rainbow” is number one on the “Songs of the Century” list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The American Film Institute ranked “Over the Rainbow” the greatest movie song of all time on the list of “American Film Institutes’ 100 Years…100 Songs.”

The lyrics to “Over the rainbow” are:

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

There’s a land that I dreamed of

Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true ooh ooooh

Someday I’ll wish upon a star

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me ee ee eeh

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops that’s where you’ll find me oh

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why, then oh why can’t I?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

NWF: Aileo Weinmann, 202-797-6801, weinmanna@nwf.org
Audubon: Brian Moore, 202-861-3028, bmoore@audubon.org
EDF: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org 

(Washington, DC–June 15, 2010) Conservation groups sent a letter to President Obama today, calling for habitat restoration investments within the escrow account being established to compensate individuals and businesses harmed by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

“As conservation leaders we write today to urge you to include wildlife among those harmed and to designate habitat restoration as the appropriate form of compensation. In addition to making whole the fishing, tourism, outdoor recreation, and other interests whose livelihoods have been decimated by the disaster, we must look to the eventual recovery of the coastal wetlands that support Louisiana’s productive fisheries, abundant birdlife, and diverse wildlife communities.”

In the letter, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, and Environmental Defense Fund called for about one-quarter of the escrow account to serve as a down payment for restoring lost habitats that support Gulf livelihoods. “We believe a minimum of $5 billion of the proposed $20 billion escrow fund should be set aside to support the immediate launch of large-scale restoration efforts.”

“Despite BP’s public claims, when oil infiltrates sensitive coastal marshlands, it really can’t be cleaned up,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of National Wildlife Federation. “That’s why investments to rebuild the lost wetlands are critical to rebuilding healthy and prosperous Gulf coast communities.”

“For too long, Louisiana’s wetlands have been pillaged and abused for the good of the nation and enormous profit for a few,” said G. Paul Kemp, Ph.D., vice president for the National Audubon Society’s Louisiana Coastal Initiative. “It’s high time we got serious about renewing this globally important ecosystem for the sake of all the human and wildlife communities that depend on it, not only in Louisiana but across the nation and the hemisphere.”

“The wetlands in coastal Louisiana harbor valuable fisheries, essential wildlife habitat and combat storm surge, so they clearly are worth billions of dollars,” said Elgie Holstein, oil spill response coordinator for Environmental Defense Fund and the former associate director of the Office of Management and Budget for Natural Resources, Energy and Science. “But since no single person or company owns the wetlands system and the wetlands can’t speak for themselves, we are calling on the Obama administration to set aside money to rebuild this badly damaged resource.”

The groups said that it is urgent that aggressive restoration efforts – including major diversions of river water and sediment into coastal marsh and carefully rebuilding barrier islands – get underway as soon as possible. “We must not let this disaster pass without recognizing the need to invest whatever is required to restore the coastal wetlands that protect coastal communities, provide much of the nation’s seafood, support a vibrant culture, and shelter a diversity and abundance of wildlife that all Americans have reason to cherish and protect.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org

(Washington, DC – June 15, 2010) President Obama tonight challenged the U.S. Senate to make passage of clean energy legislation a priority, significantly boosting the prospects of a bill reaching his desk this year. The President reiterated his support for comprehensive climate and energy legislation like that passed by the House last year, and also indicated that he is open to new ideas from both parties.

“The President has challenged the Senate to be smart instead of shortsighted,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. “It’s now up to Senators to stand up to the oil companies and move aggressively to clean up this mess: the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and the billions of American dollars flowing to the Middle East.

“We need to hold the oil industry accountable for the pollution they cause in our water and air. Success will be judged by whether the Senate takes the shortsighted route pushed by oil lobbyists, or whether it passes a serious bill that cuts pollution, reduces our dependence on oil, and creates new jobs.”

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396 or sstein@edf.org
Nat Keohane, 212-616-1271 or nkeohane@edf.org

(Washington, D.C. – June 15, 2010) An analysis released this afternoon by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirms that a comprehensive solution to our dependence on oil is affordable and within reach, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

EPA analyzed the American Power Act, a comprehensive energy and climate bill sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT). EPA’s findings, released today, show that the American Power Act’s objectives can be achieved for a few dollars a month for the average American. That’s a small investment in a clean energy economy that will create jobs, reduce pollution and increase America’s energy security.

“This new analysis is the latest in a series of studies confirming that we can readily afford a comprehensive climate and energy bill that would boost our economy, reduce our dependence on imported oil and help solve climate change,” said Nat Keohane, EDF’s Director of Economic Policy and Analysis.

EPA’s new analysis shows that the clean energy development in the American Power Act can be met for $79 to $146 per year per household, amounting to three to five dollars a month for the average individual American. The cost will be even lower at first; EPA projects that key provisions, including those for energy efficiency improvements, will lead to lower household energy bills over the next two decades. Those families expected to be most affected by price changes will receive extra compensation under the American Power Act, so they’ll be have an extra layer of protection. The EPA analysis also confirms that the carbon limits in the legislation will help to prevent dangerous climate change, a key environmental objective.

Like most economic modeling, EPA’s estimates look at only one side of the ledger, which means they do not take into account the huge costs of inaction. Factoring in the costs of unchecked climate change and continued oil dependence only reinforces the economic case for action.

“The BP oil disaster in the Gulf is a stark reminder of the high costs of relying on oil,” said Keohane. “We need a comprehensive approach to energy and climate legislation that sparks technological innovation and spurs a new generation of cleaner, homegrown energy sources. Today’s EPA analysis confirms just how affordable a comprehensive approach will be. The investments we make will put this country onto a new clean energy path, ensuring a cleaner and more secure future for our children and grandchildren.”

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

(Washington, DC – June 15, 2010) As Americans decry the tragedy of the BP oil spill, including the lack of evidence of safety for the chemical dispersants being used in the Gulf of Mexico, a new online campaign launched today provides tools and information Americans can use to press for fundamental reform of our nation’s toxic chemical law. I Am Not a Guinea Pig (www.notaguineapig.org) engages Americans from all walks of life to demand better protection of human health and the environment as Congress debates how to overhaul the 34-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“Chemicals are everywhere around us, and many are simply not safe,” said Richard Denison, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). “Children’s toys, kitchen products, cosmetics, fast food containers – countless items that we use on a daily basis are made with chemicals that science is linking to the rising rates of childhood cancers, infertility, learning disabilities and more. It’s time Congress acts to stop these unregulated exposures to protect the health of Americans for generations to come.”

For the first time in over 30 years, revisions to TSCA are being debated by Congress. Widely regarded as one of the weakest of all major U.S. environmental laws, TSCA was supposed to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to identify and regulate dangerous chemicals. However, the law is so weak that the EPA was unable to use it even to ban asbestos, a known and deadly human carcinogen that is barred in more than 50 countries.

In April 2010, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) unveiled the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, an ambitious bill aimed at revamping TSCA that would go a long way toward bringing our chemicals policy into the 21st century. To encourage support for a strong bill, EDF has created the I Am Not a Guinea Pig campaign, working closely with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition and several of its members, including Autism Society, Health Care Without Harm, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Moms Rising, Reproductive Health Technologies Project and Teens Turning Green.

“We encourage all Americans to speak out against untested and unregulated chemicals,” said Andy Igrejas, National Campaign Director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. “Chemicals should meet a standard of safety for all people, and especially vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women. That can only happen when Congress hears from fed-up Americans tired of being treated like Guinea pigs.”

For the initial launch, the site provides information and resources tailored to:

• Teens and Toxic Chemicals in Products
• Kids & Chemicals: Developing Brains At Risk
• Health Professionals and Chemical Exposures

To help spread the word on the campaign, join our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/NotAGuineaPig), follow the conversation on Twitter around the #NAGP hashtag and sign up for our blog (www.edf.org/chemandnano). The campaign website also includes videos underlining the prevalence of toxic chemical exposures and what we can do to prevent them.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Annie Petsonk, apetsonk@edf.org, 202-365-3237
Jennifer Andreassen, jandreassen@edf.org, 202-288-4867

BONN, June 11 – “The U.N. talks made limited progress overall, but plenty of conflicts remain,” Annie Petsonk, international counsel for Environmental Defense Fund, said at the conclusion of U.N. climate change talks here today.

“The good news is that we moved forward on important forestry and land use issues that can play a pivotal role in reducing and preventing future greenhouse gas emissions,” said Petsonk.

“The discouraging news is that even as the BP oil disaster continued to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico, some oil-exporting countries –including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar – were so desperate to protect the oil industry that they blocked efforts to expand studies of the climate change problem.”

While there were noisy disagreements in the main meeting halls, in quieter corners many delegates from both industrialized and some developing nations expressed their determination to find paths forward, whether in the U.N. or in parallel processes. ” U.S. leadership - in particular by President Obama and the U.S. Senate - has the potential to be the real game-changer,” said Petsonk. “In the eyes of much of the rest of the world, American leadership could unlock a low-carbon growth pathway that would reinvigorate many nations’ economies, including America’s own,” Petsonk said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org

(Washington, DC – June 10, 2010) Today’s defeat of a Senate resolution to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate carbon pollution came with new calls from Senators to move ahead with comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation.

“Step one was defeating this attack on the Clean Air Act. But, as we heard many senators on both sides of this vote say today, Congress now needs to act. It is up to Congress to deal with our oil addiction and cut carbon pollution,” said Steve Cochran, director of Environmental Defense Fund’s national climate campaign.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
David Batker, Exec. Dir., Earth Economics, 253-678-1563, dbatker@eartheconomics.org
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org
John Day, Professor Emeritus, Louisiana State Univ., 225-773-7165-c, johnday@lsu.edu

(Baton Rouge, LA–June 10, 2010) The BP oil disaster, hurricanes and wetlands loss threaten a net value of $330 billion to $1.3 trillion in natural system goods and services, according to the first study of the Mississippi River Delta as a capital asset. Even the low end estimate of the Delta’s value exceeds BP’s market capitalization before the oil disaster on April 20 of $189 billion. The study was completed shortly before the spill.

By protecting against hurricanes, assuring water supply, buffering climate instability, supporting fisheries and other food and fur stocks, maintaining critical habitat, providing waste treatment, and additional benefits, these natural systems provide $12 billion to $47 billion in benefits every year.

“These huge numbers show that the BP oil spill, hurricanes and continued wetland degradation threaten not only the Gulf regional economy, but the national economy,” said report coauthor David Batker, one of the world’s foremost ecological economists and executive director of Earth Economics. “Unlike the Exxon Valdez oil disaster in 1989, we now have solid economics to put a value on the damage done to natural systems and the resulting harm to people. The Gulf economy needs nature to survive.”

The report, Gaining Ground - Wetlands, Hurricanes and the Economy: The Value of Restoring the Mississippi River Delta [PDF], evaluates 11 natural system goods and services. They include: water supply, water flow regulation, hurricane protection, food production, raw materials production, recreational value, carbon sequestration, atmospheric composition regulation, waste treatment, aesthetic value and habitat value.

The study points out the threatening confluence of oil pipelines, flood protection and Mississippi River levees that collectively have degraded the wetlands that protect against hurricanes, climate change, sinking land and larger hurricanes.

The experts’ solution is to restore the Mississippi River Delta wetlands—that have lost more land area since 1930, 2,300 square miles, than the size of the state of Delaware—by using the energy, water and sediment of the Mississippi River to rebuild them.

“The renewable resources under threat in coastal Louisiana are crucial to ensure a sustainable and prosperous 21st century economy,” said Paul Harrison, senior director of the Mississippi River project for Environmental Defense Fund. “It is time for the nation to focus on rebuilding the Mississippi River Delta wetlands or risk dire economic consequences.”

The report examines three future scenarios: continued wetland loss, minor wetlands restoration efforts and a major wetlands restoration. The study shows that large-scale wetlands restoration is a good financial investment for the Gulf region and the nation, bringing in an annual net benefit of $62 billion, by producing benefits with an estimated present value of at least $21 billion and avoiding $41 billion in damages.

For example, for about every 2.5 miles of wetlands, one foot of a hurricane storm surge is removed. If coastal Louisiana had the 7,000 square miles of wetlands that it had in 1930, much of the nearly $200 billion in damages from Katrina might have been avoided.

“Large diversions work, so the solution is clear,” said Dr. John Day, a life-long Delta resident, study co-author and world-renowned wetland expert. “It is rebuilding the Mississippi River Delta and that provides hurricane buffering, fisheries, recreation, clean water, and a host of other highly valuable natural system goods and services.”

“It is time for our nation to invest in this delta, which is an engine of economic productivity,” concluded Dr. Day, a professor emeritus from Louisiana State University and former chairman of the National Technical Review Committee to oversee and review the Louisiana Coastal Area Project to restore the Mississippi Delta. “If healthy, the Mississippi River Delta wetlands will provide benefits in perpetuity.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org

(Washington, DC—June 8, 2010) Environmental Defense Fund praised Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today for vowing that a restoration plan will leave the Gulf of Mexico in “even better shape” than before the massive BP oil spill. He noted that areas had already been decimated by inattention over a long period of time, including by disappearing marshlands and the channeling of the Mississippi River, according to Greenwire.

Salazar’s comments come one day after President Obama made a similar pledge that: “…we want to actually use this as an opportunity to reexamine and work with states and local communities to restore the coast in ways that actually enhance the livelihoods and the quality of life for people in that area.”

“EDF is extremely pleased to see these back-to-back statements by President Obama and Secretary Salazar recognizing that coastal restoration is an integral part of the recovery agenda in the Gulf of Mexico,” said David Yarnold, executive director of Environmental Defense Fund, who just returned from an aerial and boat tour of oil-soaked waters in coastal Louisiana. “Coastal restoration doesn’t mean just cleaning up the oil. It means restoring barrier islands and land bridges. It also means recreating the thousands of acres of wetlands that have been lost due to river management and oil and gas canals over the last century.”

The Mississippi River Delta wetlands—which serve as a natural hurricane barrier as well as home to America’s most productive shrimp and oyster fisheries and hundreds of species of wildlife—have lost more land area since 1930, 2,300 square miles, than the size of the state of Delaware.

“Restoring these vital landscape features is critical to an ecologically healthy and sustainable coastal Louisiana,” concluded Yarnold. “There is much for Congress to do to ensure accelerated implementation of these vital restoration projects, many of which it already has authorized, but now it needs to provide funding. We look forward to working with the Administration, Congress and the state of Louisiana to get this job done as soon as possible.”

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more that 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

(Washington, DC — June 7, 2010) Environmental Defense Fund today welcomed a new clean energy proposal from Republican Senator Richard Lugar.

“Senator Lugar’s constructive engagement is a welcome sign of bipartisan momentum for energy and climate legislation,” said EDF President Fred Krupp.  “While we do not agree with everything in his proposal, we look forward to working with Senator Lugar to incorporate his best ideas into the broader climate and energy bill moving to the Senate floor this summer.  With a billion dollars a day going overseas for imported oil and millions of gallons spilled into the Gulf, we strongly support a comprehensive approach to these issues.”

(Washington, DC—June 7, 2010) “This morning’s announcement that BP has insufficient water- and oil-handling capacity at the disaster site is yet another example of the company’s repeated failure to plan for contingencies,” according to a statement today by Environmental Defense Fund President Krupp.

“BP PLC apparently underestimated the amount of processing capacity it would need to handle the gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico after fixing a container cap atop the blown well,” according to a report today by MarketWatch.com, so the company doesn’t have enough equipment on-site to handle the volume.

“BP displays a disturbing inability to quantify the volume of oil that is gushing out of the well,” Krupp’s statement concluded. “If we’ve learned anything from this mess, it’s that offshore drilling must be accompanied by defense-in-depth and thorough preparation for the unexpected, an issue the Senate should address when it passes the climate and clean energy bill authored by Senators Kerry and Lieberman. All Americans are wondering: why can’t this company get ahead of these problems?”