Complete list of press releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Laura Harnish, EDF California Regional Director, lharnish@edf.org (510) 290-5794
Cynthia Koehler, EDF senior consulting attorney, ckoehler@edf.org (415) 515-0511
Jennifer Witherspoon, EDF California communications director, jwitherspoon@edf.org,
(415) 378-1985 (c)

(Sacramento, CA – November 4, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised the California Legislature for passing historic water legislation in both the Senate and Assembly today. It will now be sent to Governor Schwarzenegger to sign into law.

“This is a major breakthrough that sets a new framework for providing both water supply reliability and protecting our fragile ecosystems,” said Laura Harnish Regional Director of Environmental Defense Fund. “It puts California on course for a smarter water future.”

“Future generations will look back at this legislation as the first big step on the path to a sustainable water future for California,” said Cynthia Koehler, EDF’s senior consulting attorney, who helped to negotiate the environmental safeguards in the legislation. “It is the most progressive package of state water policy reform in the last three decades.”

“This package is only the beginning of moving toward a secure water future for the state,” said Elgie Holstein, vice-president of EDF’s Land, Water and Wildlife programs and a former associate director of Office of Management and Budget for Natural Resources, Energy and Science. “It sets an important standard for other states and the nation, by establishing that protecting and restoring the largest estuary on the West Coast - the irreplaceable Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta ecosystem - is a goal on par with providing a reliable water supply.”

The Environmental Defense Fund worked for more than a year to establish several key environmental safeguards in the legislation. They include new requirements to:

1) Help ensure that sufficient water flows for fish and other wildlife are left in the ecosystem;
2) Reduce reliance on exports of fresh water from the Delta;
3) Require much greater water conservation; and
4) Develop good science on the state of California’s underground water reserves.

Disputes over water supply and environmental protections have been at the forefront of vigorous and sometimes emotional debate in California. Drought, economic hardship in farming communities, extended salmon fishery closures and signs of imminent ecological collapse all combined to help convince the California Legislature that it had to act to protect water supply for future generations.

“No one got everything they wanted, but for the sake of our state’s environmental and economic future, we all felt that we had an obligation to come together and keep working until we could reach an agreement,” concluded Koehler. That’s what we have done.”

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(Los Angeles – October 27, 2009) California’s and the nation’s economy and environment will reap significant benefits—and avoid costly impacts—if proposed federal standards to establish national vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for new cars and trucks sold in the United States “are rigorous and well-designed.” That was the testimony by a policy specialist from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today at the third and final hearing on the proposed rulemaking for the standards held by EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). 

“The fundamental promise of the presidential accord – and the bedrock responsibility for the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation in finalizing the proposed standards – is to achieve profound and lasting progress in national security, climate stability and economic opportunity,” testified Erica Fick, clean energy fellow for Environmental Defense Fund. “Consumers should save an estimated $3,000 over the life of each of these cleaner vehicles. We respectfully request that federal policy-makers finalize rigorous and protective standards to ensure the promise of the president’s compact is realized.”

To establish one well-designed policy, EDF challenged the EPA to reconsider how it approaches accounting for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from generating electricity to power plug-in vehicles.

“The EPA’s proposal to assign a zero greenhouse gas emission rate for the electric portion of plug-in electric vehicles seriously misses the mark,” added Fick. “EPA must ensure that the pollution associated with the upstream electricity generation that powers plug-in vehicles is fully accounted for in the emissions assigned to these vehicles.”

The proposed federal standards – based on California’s clean car law - would apply to new model year 2012 to 2016 vehicles and reduce global warming pollution from transportation nationally by an estimated 21 percent by 2030. Transportation is a major sector of emissions that accounts for about 20 percent of all greenhouse gases nationwide.

The standards would apply to vehicles that are responsible for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption and, if approved, would reduce consumption of oil by 1.8 billion barrels while achieving a five percent annual improvement in fuel efficiency for the nation’s passenger vehicle fleet.

Fick noted that California has more than 30 million registered vehicles that are a major contributor to global warming pollution in the state. California’s coastline spans more than 1,000 miles, and 70 percent of California’s population lives within 60 miles of the coast. Recent analysis predicts a 1.4 meter rise in sea level by 2100 putting 480,000 people at risk. Global warming is likely to make water management more difficult, contentious and expensive by disrupting snowmelt patterns that provide drinking water for over 20 million Californians and irrigation water for California’s $30 billion agricultural industry. Heat waves are projected to become longer, hotter, and more frequent, leading to more heat-related deaths. Hotter and drier weather also will lead to harmful wildfires that threaten lives and property.

When finalized and carried out, the standards will have important societal benefits, Fick testified. They include breaking our nation’s addiction to foreign oil, encouraging domestic clean energy technologies that will lead the way in the 21st century global marketplace, and significantly reducing the global warming pollution that imperils our planet and will harm our economy. Fick said the proposal represents an important step forward in addressing the grim impacts of a changing climate, but she cautioned that to secure these critical benefits, the final standards must be rigorous and well designed by:

• Accounting for Societal Benefits of Protective Action: To maximize benefits, it is essential to fully account for extraordinary and far-reaching protections that result from reducing emissions. The full range of environmental, social, and economic impacts of emissions should be factored in when calculating carbon’s societal costs and co-benefits of the proposed standards—such as health benefits from reductions in smog-forming air pollutants —must be incorporated in economic analysis, which must also account for catastrophic impacts. The final rule must reflect this through appropriate economic assumptions and use of ethical considerations beyond the scope of economic analysis alone.

• Ensuring Fleet Mix Assumptions. Reductions to be realized by these standards are dependent on assumptions about fleet composition in model years 2012-2016. EDF urges federal policymakers to find ways to ensure fleet mix assumptions reflect real-world fleet composition.

• Preparing for model year 2017 and beyond. The standards apply to model years 2012 through 2016. EDF urges the EPA to begin work as soon as possible to prepare standards for model year 2017 and beyond.

Information about the clean car standards rulemaking can be found at: www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm.

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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

Contact
Chris Smith, csmith@edf.org, 512.691.3451
Mark Brownstein, mbrownstein@edf.org, 917.279.4644
Miriam Horn, mhorn@edf.org, 646.485.5254

(Washington, DC - October 27, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund applauds today’s announcement by President Obama awarding $3.4 billion in stimulus grants to support modernizing the nation’s electrical grid. The funds are being matched by $4.7 billion in private funds to accelerate efforts by utilities, manufacturers, cities and their partners to build this critical platform for innovation.

Because stand-alone solutions do not achieve the necessary transformation, the smart grid will supply the brains and nervous system needed to devise an overall solution integrating advances in information and communication technologies with all the other pieces – from the batteries in plug-in hybrid cars to smart appliances, rooftop solar and water conservation.

“This is a great first step toward transforming our whole energy system to be more secure and reliable, and to deliver cleaner and cheaper electricity to American homes and businesses,” said Mark Brownstein, an energy director at EDF. “Done right, a new energy grid can enable broad deployment of renewable energy sources like solar and wind and empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their real-time energy use, paving the way for energy efficiency and off-peak power cost savings.

“It will also provide the lowest cost path to achieving the carbon targets now being worked out on the Hill, while reducing emissions of other pollutants and minimizing water use and land and wildlife impacts,” Brownstein added.

EDF is a partner in the Pecan Street Project in Austin Texas, one of the nation’s first comprehensive smart grid deployments. This pioneering project brings together cross-disciplinary groups from academia, business, local governments and nonprofits to collaborate on developing necessary regulatory reforms, a new utility business model, a proving ground for innovative new technologies, consumer education and workforce development programs.

“Our involvement in the Pecan Street Project will help us learn what works and what doesn’t work and develop a smart grid model that can be replicated throughout the nation,” said Miriam Horn, co-author of Earth: The Sequel, and an EDF team leader on the Pecan Street Project. “A cap on carbon will ensure that innovation takes us in the right direction and solves our global warming crisis. The President’s announcement today will accelerate that innovation, while creating tens of thousands of jobs to build this cleaner, more secure national infrastructure.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact
Tony Kreindler, tkreindler@edf.org, 202-572-3378 (office), 202-445-8108 (cell)

(Washington, DC - October 26, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund today announced it is planning to convene a broad-based working group to explore consensus approaches to carbon accounting for bioenergy and biofuels, following the publication of a paper in Science magazine that highlights the challenge of creating incentives for bioenergy in domestic climate legislation and international agreements.

“Bioenergy and biofuels can be a key part of the solution to climate change if we get the right policies and incentives in place,” said Environmental Defense Fund Chief Scientist Steven Hamburg, co-author of the Science paper. “We’re reaching out to a broad group to craft policies that maximize the benefits while minimizing environmental downsides.”

Environmental Defense Fund is in the early stages of reaching out to agriculture groups, forest landowner groups, biofuel and bioenergy producers, and other environmental groups to convene a facilitated stakeholder process that can produce a consensus-based mechanism for bioenergy carbon accounting.

In the United States and several other countries, existing and proposed climate change regulations treat bioenergy as carbon neutral. The Science paper says that approach is based on incorrect assumptions that if not corrected, will in the long-term create incentives for increasing types of bioenergy production that actually increase greenhouse gas emissions.

“Environmental Defense Fund recognizes that fossil fuels are responsible for the largest share of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, so tackling those is our first priority,” said Hamburg. “But over time, we also need to fix this accounting error so that the benefits of biofuels can be harvested and negative impacts on the climate and ecosystem health can be avoided. We may not reach consensus before the Senate completes its work on climate legislation, but we hope to provide a long-term path forward for addressing the issue as the U.S. and other nations pursue their climate change mitigation goals.”

Environmental Defense Fund is committed to developing solutions and policies that promote innovation through market incentives - including a robust market for agriculture offsets in cap and trade legislation and incentives for land-use practices that reduce carbon emissions - rather than the direct regulation of agriculture under carbon caps.

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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: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org  
Kathryn Phillips, 916-893-8494, kphillips@edf.org  

California, Midwest Would Gain Jobs from Greater Government Investment in Green Transit Buses
Timely Study Coincides with Congressional Debate over Transportation Bill Extension

(Washington, DC - October 26, 2009) Increasing government investment in conventional and green transit bus systems would create high-quality manufacturing jobs, especially in states with double-digit unemployment rates, while significantly cutting auto-related global warming pollution, according to a new report released today. The high unemployment states include: California (12.2%), Indiana (10%), Michigan (15.3%), and Ohio (10.1%).

The study is timely because Congress is debating renewal of the federal transportation bill, which provides funds to help local bus systems purchase equipment. The current transportation bill expired in September, but was extended until later this month, and is expected to be extended longer as Congress continues developing the renewed bill.

Current U.S. transportation policy favors highway spending and deemphasizes public transit, so bus orders are small and sporadic, making it difficult for the bus industry to grow, according to the study. “If federal, state, and local policy were to shift to a clear, sustained commitment to public transit, the nation would have the manufacturing capability to meet the resulting increased demand for transit buses,” the study concludes.

Entitled “Public Transit Buses: A Green Choice Gets Greener,” the study is the 12th installment of the series, “Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs,” prepared by researchers at the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness and sponsored by Environmental Defense Fund.

While domestic uncertainty about transit funding stymies bus manufacturing for U.S. markets, the study notes that U.S. companies still have managed to establish themselves as global leaders in hybrid bus manufacturing. However, European firms are rapidly catching up, in part because of their governments’ long-term commitment to public transit.

The United States was an early leader of compressed natural gas (CNG) transit bus technology development, the most common type of green bus worldwide, and already has an extensive refueling infrastructure for CNG, with CNG pipelines connecting the entire continental United States. Bus fleets throughout the United States have incorporated CNG, including the Los Angeles Transit Authority, which operates 2,200 CNG buses, comprising 88 percent of its fleet. However, diesel-electric hybrid buses are rapidly overtaking CNG as the primary green bus option in the United States.

Early testing for hydrogen-electric hybrids is ongoing in California, at Sunline Transit, Santa Barbara Valley Transit Authority and AC Transit, and in Connecticut at CTTRANSIT. Proterra, a firm developing an electric hybrid transit bus, plans by June 2010 to have infrastructure in place for the Foothills Transit Agency, operating in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys in California, with four more cities to come online afterwards.

U.S. manufacturing for transit buses and components is located in nearly every state in the eastern United States, with the highest concentrations in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“Many of these jobs are in Midwestern states deeply affected by the recession, where manufacturing employment and capacity, especially in the motor vehicle industry, are crucial for maintaining a leadership position throughout the recovery period and beyond,” said Marcy Lowe, lead author of the study and a research associate at the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness. “Many of these transit jobs are high-quality, long-term positions.”

Other studies have identified transit as an important component for reducing both air and global warming pollution because it provides commuters an alternative to single-passenger vehicles.

“We’ve known for awhile that transit is good for the environment,” said Kathryn Phillips, a transportation policy expert with Environmental Defense Fund based in Sacramento. “This study shows that transit investment also is good for the American manufacturers and American jobs.”

“We need a 21st Century transportation policy that is smarter, safer, cleaner and provides more options,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. “Investing in green transit will help achieve that new direction and create good-paying American jobs at a time when we desperately need them.”

The number of commuters using public transit to go to work increased from nearly six million in 2004 to 6.8 million in 2007. When gasoline prices soared in 2008, U.S. public transit use increased even more sharply, although official figures are not yet available. Buses are the main U.S. transit mode, accounting for 40 percent of all transit passenger miles.

Continuing growth in transit demand could translate into larger and more consistent bus orders. However, domestic demand is heavily dependent on the availability of public funding for bus transit, an inherent constraint that is naturally worsened by the current economic recession. Bus manufacturers in the United States primarily manufacture on a built-to-order basis.

“Public transit spending is not sufficiently steady or reliable to encourage growth in the industry,” the report notes. “Firms may receive increased orders only to see them fall in subsequent years when funding levels drop and demand has already been satisfied. Many agencies can no longer meet federal financing formulas that require a local funding match of 20 percent.”

“Increasing government investment in bus transit systems could be our generations’ Works Progress Administration in terms of its economic and environmental impact,” concluded Phillips. “This report shows we have a great opportunity to create new manufacturing jobs during tough economic times and cut greenhouse gas emissions. We only need the political will to make it happen.”

To read the study, please visit http://www.edf.org/documents/10492_CGGC_Transit_bus_ch12.pdf.

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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 about transit issues, visit www.edf.org/transit.
 

(Raleigh, NC – October 22, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund will send a team of experts to Havana, Cuba, on Sunday to discuss ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy – a signal that greater environmental cooperation may be on the horizon. EDF scientists and policy experts and Cuban scientists and environmental officials will have a series of meetings about how the United States and Cuba can work together to protect ocean waters and marine resources shared by the two countries. The meetings come on the heels of a September visit to the United States by Cuban environmental officials.

“The United States and Cuba share many ecological resources, but the countries have different ways of managing them,” said Daniel Whittle, a senior attorney at EDF and director of its Cuba Program. “Fishing, coastal development, and offshore oil and gas exploration in Cuba can have impacts in the United States, and vice-versa. The sooner we work together to manage shared resources and find solutions common problems, the sooner we’ll see benefits for the people, the environment and the economy in both countries.”

EDF has asked the Obama administration to ease policies that limit scientific exchanges between U.S. and Cuban scientists and conservation professionals. Last month the U.S. State Department issued visas for four Cuban environmental officials to attend scientific meetings hosted by EDF in Washington, DC, and Sarasota, Florida—the first such meetings held in the U.S. in several years.

“These precedent-setting meetings are a hopeful sign that greater environmental cooperation is on the horizon,” said Dr. Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist for EDF. “An important first step toward managing our shared marine resources is to share good science and good ideas. We have a lot to learn from each other.”

Rader added that expanded scientific and management cooperation can help address the growing threats to coral reefs, ocean fish populations, habitats for migratory birds, marine mammals and turtles, and biodiversity.

Just 90 miles from the tip of Florida, Cuba shares a large amount of ocean territory with the United States. Because of the prevailing currents and Cuba’s proximity, preserving its marine resources is critically important to the economies of coastal communities in both countries.

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About Environmental Defense Fund: A leading national nonprofit organization, Environmental Defense Fund 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/cuba
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Tony Kreindler, National Media Director, Climate, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org
Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, 720-837-6239, vpatton@edf.org

Public Hearings Convene on First U.S. Greenhouse Gas Pollution Standards

New Car Standards Will Strengthen Nation’s Security While Reducing Pollution

(Washington – October 20, 2009) Public hearings commence this week on the nation’s first greenhouse gas pollution standards. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) officials will hear public testimony on proposed new historic fuel economy benchmarks and national greenhouse gas emissions limits for passenger vehicles: October 21st in Detroit, October 23rd in New York City, and October 27th in Los Angeles. For more information on the public hearings, click here. 

“This bold initiative begins to break our nation’s addiction to foreign oil while reducing dangerous global warming pollution,” said Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund. “The President forged this landmark agreement with car companies, labor, states, and environmentalists to provide a safe, secure and prosperous future for our kids.”

The national proposal responds to a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court mandate and will carry out President Obama’s landmark May 19th accord with major automakers, the Governor of California, the United Auto Workers Union, and environmentalists. Passenger cars and light-trucks emit nearly 20 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons. In April, EPA provisionally found that these four contaminants and two other greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare.

The proposed standards from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation would apply to new model year 2012 to 2016 vehicles. Benefits include:

• Breaking Our Oil Addiction, Strengthening National Security. The vehicles subject to these proposed standards are responsible for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption. The standards would reduce our consumption of oil by 1.8 billion barrels while achieving a 5 percent annual improvement in fuel efficiency for the nation’s passenger vehicle fleet.
• Reducing Global Warming Pollution. The vehicles covered by the proposed standards account for 60 percent of heat-trapping emissions from the transportation sector and about 20 percent of all U.S. heat-trapping gases. These emissions have increased by more than one percent annually. The proposal would cut carbon dioxide pollution from passenger vehicles approximately 21 percent by 2030, reducing emissions by 950 million tons.
• Saving Families Money at the Pump. The proposed standards will provide dividends in fuel savings at the pump for America’s families. Families who finance a new vehicle purchase will save an estimated $12 to $14 per month over the duration of the loan. The estimated overall cost savings over the life of the vehicle are more than $3,000.

The proposed standards can be met with today’s technology. In a 2008 Bush-era report, EPA staff experts analyzed technologies to reduce greenhouse gases from passenger cars and light trucks (See EPA Staff Technical Report: Cost and Effectiveness Estimates of Technologies Used to Reduce Light-duty Vehicle Carbon Dioxide Emissions, EPA 420-R-08-008, March 2008.)

Produced for the National Research Council, the report identified more than two dozen technologies in production or impending that can be deployed to cut greenhouse gases and improve fuel economy. The bottom line: “EPA technical staff concludes there are a large number of technologies which can be applied to cars and trucks that are capable of achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and improve vehicle fuel economy, at reasonable costs.”

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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.
 

Monday, October 26th – 3:30 to 5:30 PM
Ronald Reagan International Convention Center
Pavilion Room, 2nd floor

RSVP to amanda.earley@wilsoncenter.org
Simultaneous translation will be provided

Speakers: Marina Silva, Senator for the Brazilian Amazon state of Acre; Kenneth G. Lieberthal, Director, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institute; Raymond E. Vickery Jr., Senior Vice-President, Albright Stonebridge Group.
Moderators: Paulo Sotero, Director, Brazil Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center; Stephan Schwartzman, Director for Tropical Forest Policy, Environmental Defense Fund.

As we approach the December 2009 United Nations Frame Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, the newly industrializing countries of Brazil, China and India debate internally what efforts they are prepared to make to curb the increase of their carbon emissions. Home of the world’s largest forest, Brazil resists internationally-established mandatory emissions cuts but is open to the adoption of credible alternative mechanisms and has committed to drastically reduce deforestation, its principal source of carbon emissions. Hungry for energy to fuel its expanding economy, China, the largest carbon emitting country, has recently emerged as a leader in technologies for a lower carbon economy, including cleaner-burning coal. And India, whose emissions are still among the lowest in the world, but with a fast expanding economy and the desire to bring energy to its growing population, works to position itself as a “deal maker, not a deal breaker” in Copenhagen. The evolving domestic debates and international posture of these three emerging powers on climate change will be the subject a conference jointly sponsored by the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

Marina Silva, a leader of the Brazilian environmental movement and former Minister of Environment of Brazil, recently left the Workers Party and is seen as a potential Green Party candidate for the Brazilian presidential elections of 2010. Kenneth G. Lieberthal, preeminent China scholar, served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and senior director for Asia on the National Security Council from August 1998 to October 2000. Raymond E. Vickery Jr. is widely known for his work promoting U.S.-India economic cooperation and served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development, where he launched the U.S.-India Commercial Alliance. He is a former Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar.

If taking metro
Go to Federal Triangle on the Orange/Blue line. Walk straight ahead once exiting the station. Go up the escalators to the Ronald Reagan Plaza. You will see Aria Restaurant to your right. Walk straight ahead through the Plaza and on the other side you see a building entrance. Enter the building there; clear security. Walk down the hall make a right then proceed down the hall to the business office on your left. There is a sign on the corner that indicates where the elevator is to your left. Take it to 2nd floor.

Environmental Defense Fund today released an analysis that compared trends in air pollution data collected by the state with public records of oil and gas activity in the Barnett Shale and found a correlation between the ambient levels of common hydrocarbons and the amount of condensate produced by natural gas wells in Denton County.

A related analysis released today of state air pollution monitoring data between 2002 and 2008 found that the air in Denton county contained more non-methane hydrocarbons (including some potentially hazardous pollutants) than any of the other counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area where such monitoring was conducted.

Hydrocarbons include many chemicals found in natural gas and petroleum. Most are considered volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone or smog. Environmentalists are also concerned because methane, a main component in natural gas, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

“EDF is not opposed to shale drilling for natural gas, a valuable national resource and cleaner transition fuel,” said Ramón Alvarez, Ph.D., senior scientist who led the analyses. “We simply want to see production done in the most environmentally responsible way possible. The good news is that many emissions controls can actually increase profits for natural gas producers.”

Results of these analyses come at a time when the oil and gas industry is drawing increased attention from the development of unconventional resources like the Barnett Shale, some of which are located near population centers. The New York Times reported last week about the challenge of persuading gas and oil producers to employ emission reduction measures that frequently pay for themselves. 

Numerous cost-effective ways exist to reduce emissions from oil and gas production. Most of these measures have paybacks of less than one year. “An environmental trifecta is within our reach,” Alvarez said. “Oil and gas operators can use proven emissions controls to increase profits after short payback periods, while helping improve local air quality and minimizing climate change.”

The oil and gas industry releases about 37 tons of VOC emissions per day in Denton County, which ranks second in the region behind Wise County’s 42 tons per day. These emissions are substantial, nearly equal to a third of the 100 tons of VOC emissions produced daily from all of the cars and trucks in the nine-county DFW ozone nonattainment area.

Proposed recommendations by EDF include: expansion of VOC monitoring, especially in other Barnett Shale counties with significant condensate production (e.g., Wise, Hood, Parker); adoption of cost-effective oil and gas emissions controls, beginning with condensate tanks; and analyzing the effects of emissions in the Barnett Shale area on health and regional ozone levels.

Analyses are available via downloadable PDFs on the EDF website. To access the self-guided presentation of EDF’s analysis, visit here. To access the related analysis “Analysis of AutoGC and VOC Canister Data in the DFW Area” by Dr. Birnur Guven, visit here.
 

(Chicago, IL – October 19, 2009) As the GreenFleet Conference 2009 kicks off this morning in Chicago, fleet managers have access to comprehensive online tools and materials to help them cut costs and emissions. Available at http://edf.org/greenfleet, the tools unveiled today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) assist companies in reaching out to their fleet drivers to help identify practical, effective ways to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Corporate fleets account for more than three million vehicles in the United States. Fuel-smart driving behaviors offer an opportunity to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from all of these vehicles – starting today,” noted Jason Mathers, Green Fleet project manager at EDF, who is moderating a session at the conference this afternoon entitled Real-World Driver Behavior Modifications to Meet Green Fleet Goals. “Fleets have seen improvements in fuel efficiency by up to 4 percent after adopting fuel-smart driving practices. If all corporate fleets in the country did the same, they could reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly two million metric tons – and save money.”

The EDF online tools include:

·         A comprehensive handbook for fleet managers outlining everything from tips on driving best practices to concrete ways to incentivize changes in driving behavior

·         Template materials for communicating with fleet drivers

·         An online driver-training module, complete with a users guide

EDF worked with leading fleet management company PHH Arval to develop a comprehensive fleet management service – PHH GreenFleet® – that achieves measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions and simultaneously produces business benefits.  

“In today’s economic environment, fleet managers are looking for cost-effective ways to improve fuel economy and reduce fuel costs,” said Karen Healey, director of environmental programs at PHH Arval. “We believe the tools developed by PHH and EDF will provide great business and environmental benefits, and we encourage all fleet managers to consider including them as part of a comprehensive fleet greenhouse gas management strategy.”

For more on EDF’s work with fleets, including tips on maximizing vehicle efficiency and minimizing vehicle miles traveled, visit http://edf.org/greenfleet.

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Sharyn Stein, Environmental Defense Fund, (202) 572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Chris Smith, Environmental Defense Fund, 512-691-3451, csmith@edf.org

(Washington DC, October 23, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund today released a groundbreaking online map that identifies and profiles almost 2,500 companies in 22 states that are poised to grow their business and create new jobs when Congress passes a cap on carbon pollution.

The interactive site, online at LessCarbonMoreJobs.org, includes a map of companies in Texas that was just unveiled today.

The site also maps businesses in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. The companies are involved in a wide range of renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, including manufacturing wind turbine components, shipping solar panel equipment and installing energy efficient building materials. Those are all economic sectors expected to benefit from demand for clean energy technologies created by a cap on carbon.

“These maps show a manufacturing boom that’s ready to happen,” said Jackie Roberts, Director of Sustainable Technologies for EDF, who spearheaded the research behind the website. “A carbon cap rewards companies that invent efficient and low-carbon ways of creating and using energy. That will create huge demand for the nuts and bolts of clean energy, and will create new markets and new customers for companies like the ones on these maps.”

LessCarbonMoreJobs.org allows visitors to search by state, Congressional district and media market to find companies manufacturing windmill components, shipping solar panel equipment and installing energy efficient building materials. The site also has case studies and worker profiles, and provides business details and contact information for all companies.

Meridian Solar and HelioVolt Corporation, both in Austin, Texas, are two of the newest companies added to the LessCarbonMoreJobs.org site.

“I started Meridian Solar out of my Grandmother’s garage 10 years ago and today we have over 40 employees on staff,” said Andrew McCalla, the company’s founder and CEO. “Clean energy companies like ours are not only surviving in the current economy, but are growing. That being said, our industry will grow even more, and faster, with improved municipal, state and federal leadership and regulations. A cap on carbon emissions would improve the landscape for clean energy and other industries, and Americans overall.”

“At HelioVolt we are focused on manufacturing next generation thin-film solar products with a goal of delivering the most technologically efficient and cost effective solar systems on the market,” said Dr. BJ Stanbery, the company’s founder and Chief Strategy Officer. “Renewable energy companies like HelioVolt represent tremendous economic development opportunities. Being located in Austin, TX, has also allowed us to tap into a base of technology savvy employees who have been a part of the semiconductor business here and are now transitioning to green jobs.”

Congress is now working on creating clean energy legislation that will help America use its vast renewable energy resources and move toward energy independence, while also creating much-needed jobs and protecting the climate. The House of Representatives passed a clean energy bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, earlier this year. The Senate just introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act earlier this month.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Contacts: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org
Dan Cronin, 202-572-3354, dcronin@edf.org

(New Orleans - October 14, 2009) – On the eve of President Obama’s visit to New Orleans on Thursday, Louisiana elected officials, local, state and national group leaders today sent the president a letter advising him that “a robust and effective federal effort…is necessary” to ensure “coastal Louisiana’s survival.”

The letter - signed by Governor Bobby Jindal, U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, and U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise, Joseph Cao, Charlie Melancon, and Charles Boustany, and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) President Fred Krupp, among others.

The letter will appear in full-page ads purchased by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation in the Thursday editions of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, New Orleans Tribune and Politico.

The letter notes that during his campaign and his 2009 Katrina anniversary address, President Obama spoke of “the need to strengthen the wetlands and barrier islands that are the Gulf Coast’s first line of defense,” and that the issue is pressing because Louisiana has lost more than 2,300 square miles of coastal wetlands since the 1930s, an area larger than the state of Delaware.

The letter commends the president’s “recent steps in support of New Orleans and coastal Louisiana,” including visiting the Gulf Coast, extending operation of the Gulf Coast Recovery Coordinator’s office, and establishing the Gulf Coast Interagency Working Group as “concrete steps forward to community, economic, and environmental recovery and resiliency.”

“Restoring the Mississippi River delta wetlands will save the world’s seventh largest river delta, be the largest ecosystem restoration program in history, protect world-renowned cultures and communities, and bolster the American economy,” the letter says. “Coastal restoration is an essential component of short and long term risk reduction in this region, and must complement and be complemented by other lines of defense like existing and future federal investments in levees, evacuation planning, and storm-sensitive community redevelopment.”

The letter cites five principles to “both ensure effectiveness and concrete progress on restoration before the end of your first term in 2012.” They are:

1. Complete the Near-term Restoration Program Authorized by Congress in 2007.
2. Apply Multi-agency Resources and Coordination.
3. Streamline Bureaucracy and Reconcile Inconsistent Policies.
4. Develop multi-year programmatic funding and budgeting, starting with Fiscal Year 2011.
5. Complete the authorized comprehensive planning, design, and management effort.

“These principles provide President Obama with a roadmap from experts on the issue about how to rebuild coastal Louisiana effectively and quickly,” said Paul Harrison, senior director of rivers and deltas for Environmental Defense Fund, which sponsored the ad. “We are confident the president will follow through on his pledge to invest the resources necessary to restore coastal Louisiana and protect if from the next Katrina.”

The other signers of the letter include:

• Steven Peyronnin, Executive Director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
• Ann Rheims, Executive Director, Lake Pontchartain Basin Foundation
• Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director, Gulf Restoration Network
• Terri King, Manager, Gulf Coast Operations, Conoco-Philips
• Jeff Benoit, President/CEO, Restore America’s Estuaries
• Larry Schweiger, President, National Wildlife Federation
• R. King Milling, President, America’s Wetland Foundation                                                                                                       
• Michael Hecht, President/CEO, Greater New Orleans Inc.
• Ted Falgout, Director, Greater Lafourche Port Commission
• Charlotte Randolph, Lafourche Parish President/Parishes Against Coastal Erosion President
• Adam Mcbride, Director, Port of Lake Charles
• John Flicker, President, National Audubon Society
• Ken Babcock, Senior Director of Conservation, Ducks Unlimited
• Gary Lagrange, Director, Port of New Orleans
• Pam Dashiel and Charles Allen, Co-Directors, Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
• Scott Burns, Environmental Program Director, Walton Family Foundation

To read the entire letter, please visit http://www.edf.org/documents/10480_11.625%20x%2021%20Obama%20Letter%20(Times-Picayune).pdf.

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(Washington, DC – October 14, 2009) This past summer, 26 MBA students from across the country joined Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Climate Corps program to help Fortune 500 and other leading companies uncover energy efficiencies that represent net operating savings of more than $54 million over the lifetime of the projects. These projects could also reduce energy use by more than 160 million kilowatt hours (khW) a year – enough to power 14,000 homes – and avoid more than 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

“Our Climate Corps fellows bring to life the powerful business case for energy efficiency,” said Gwen Ruta, vice president, corporate partnerships at EDF. “As the next generation of business leaders, they are demonstrating first-hand that cutting costs while cutting carbon is a win-win proposition.”

Launched in 2008, EDF’s Climate Corps trains business students to analyze energy efficiency opportunities at their host companies. The inaugural class of Climate Corps fellows identified projects that could save 120 million kWh per year of energy – to date, projects that account for 97% of that potential energy savings have either been completed or are in implementation at the 2008 host companies.

This year’s cohort of fellows from top-tier universities including Duke, Stanford, Cornell and Yale spent their summer fellowships working at leading companies such as Cisco Systems, Dell, eBay Inc., EMC, Genzyme, HP, Sodexo and Sony Pictures Entertainment. With support from EDF, the fellows developed detailed energy efficiency investment and implementation plans for each host company.

“The Climate Corps program provided 10 months of value to eBay in 10 weeks,” said Bence Oliver, senior manager, operational sustainability, eBay. “Our fellow Cindy Chen was crucial to eBay’s effort to articulate its carbon emissions reduction target and chart a course to meet it.”

The fellows found efficiency gains from improving lighting, computer equipment and heating and cooling systems. Some highlights include:

• Mark Braby spent the summer at Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems division in Dallas, where he identified $3.4 million in operating cost savings, 2.6 million kWh of annual energy use reductions and 1,500 metric tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions from virtualization and other energy efficiency projects.
• At Cisco, which also hosted a Climate Corps fellow in 2008, Sarah Shapiro concluded that small increases in the ambient temperature of the company’s large data labs could save the company approximately $1.8 million and 18 million kWh of electricity annually, without harming laboratory equipment.
• Trish Kenlon found ways to reduce energy use in TXU Energy’s two main office buildings by 10% and 30% respectively, which could save the company over $200,000 and 2.3 million kWh of electricity annually, while avoiding over 6,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
• At the IT services company SunGard, fellow Ryan Whisnant developed a plan to cut energy use in the company’s headquarters by 25% through lighting retrofits and HVAC upgrades. If replicated across the company’s 7 million square feet of office space worldwide, the plan could cut SunGard’s energy bills by over $5 million annually.

“Our Climate Corps fellow provided excellent analysis of our sustainability programs that has allowed us to focus on energy efficiency enhancements that are both strategic and financially advantageous,” said Jeff Hargleroad, executive vice president of corporate operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

To identify and select exceptional fellows, EDF partners with Net Impact, the preeminent network of students and professionals using the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.

“In addition to helping companies cut costs through energy efficiency, Climate Corps is creating a new generation of ‘green’ business leaders to spearhead corporate environmental innovation in the years to come,” said Liz Maw, executive director, Net Impact. “The strong student interest in the program is a promising trend for the future of responsible business.”

For more information on Climate Corps and details on how to host a fellow in 2010, visit www.edf.org/climatecorps.

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2009 Climate Corps program hosts include: Accenture, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Ahold USA, Biltmore Farms, Cisco Systems, Dell, eBay Inc., EMC Corporation, Genzyme, Grubb Properties, Houston Rockets/Toyota Center, HP, Inuit Inc., National Instruments, North Carolina Central University, Raytheon Company, salesforce.com, Savvis, Shorenstein Realty Services L.P., Sodexo, Sony Pictures Entertainment, SunGard and TXU Energy.

All trademarks, including company names, are the property of their respective owners.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Lori Sinsley, (415) 293-6097 (o), (415) 308-6970 (m) lsinsley@edf.org
Lauren Navarro, (916) 492-7074 (o), (916) 710-3230 (m) lnavarro@edf.org
 

(Sacramento, CA – October 13, 2009) A leading environmental group today urged the California Energy Commission (CEC) to adopt the nation’s first energy efficiency standards for big screen TVs that will save consumers money, cut energy use and reduce global warming pollution. The commission held a public hearing today on the standards and will vote on their adoption on November 4. 

“Making TVs more energy efficient is a no-brainer because it can be done at no additional cost, will save consumers money, and help save the planet,” said Lauren Navarro, an attorney for Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) based in Sacramento. “By proposing smart regulations that conserve electricity, drive industry innovation and are a win-win for our economy and our environment, California is again creating a model for the nation to follow.”

The standards require new TVs sold in California with screens less than or equal to 58 inches to be 33 percent more efficient starting in 2011 and 49 percent more efficient starting in 2013. The agency proposed the standards last month following an 18-month public process that involved the TV industry, utilities, retailers, consumer groups and environmental organizations to ensure the requirements were technically feasible and can be met with no cost to manufacturers or consumers. More than 1,000 television models on the market today meet the 2011 standards, according the CEC.

“Experience shows that as the quality of TVs has improved, so has their efficiency,” Navarro said. She added that TVs are one of the most electricity guzzling appliances that aren’t subject to efficiency standards.

Consumers can expect to save $50-$250 in utility costs over the life of their TVs with these standards, based on agency estimates. That translates into a statewide total household savings of nearly $1 billion a year and an estimated $8.1 billion savings over a 10-year period. Savings represent the value of energy saved by televisions manufactured and sold after the standards go into effect in 2011 and 2013. It is equivalent to powering 864,000 single family homes annually.

TVs account for 10 percent of household electricity and their energy consumption rate is increasing eight percent annually. By using existing technology, manufacturers can design TVs that use less energy at no additional costs to consumers.

“Improving energy efficiency is the easiest and most cost-effective way to cut pollution and save consumers and businesses money,” concluded Navarro. “We need to harness all energy efficiency opportunities as the State develops a comprehensive plan to meet the goals of our landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).”

If the CEC approves the standards in November, they are expected to cut carbon dioxide pollution by 3.5 million metric tons, according to PG&E, one of the utilities that helped develop the standards.

Energy efficiency standards set by the CEC have helped keep California’s per capita electricity consumption rate flat for more than 30 years, while the national rate grew 50 percent during the same time period.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bangkok (October 6) – A new International Energy Agency analysis of global greenhouse gas emissions released Tuesday sends a clear signal to UN climate negotiators that they must reach a global agreement this year that puts the world on track to start reducing emissions, said Environmental Defense Fund.

“The 3 percent drop in global emissions is a moment’s breathing room for the planet that UN climate negotiators cannot squander — we need to get started immediately investing in clean energy. We want – and need — dramatic declines in emissions, but not through global economic downturns,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, international climate policy manager for Environmental Defense Fund.

“It also jumps out that the costs of inaction are getting very large – IEA estimates about an extra $500 billion per year of delay. We’ve reached the point where just getting started on policies to turn global emissions downward is probably the single most important thing we can do,” said Haverkamp.

Jennifer Haverkamp / 1-202-316-4914 / jhaverkamp@edf.org

Andrea Welsh/ 1-202-297-7723 / awelsh@edf.org