Complete list of press releases

(Washington, DC – October 5, 2009) In an effort to highlight the human impacts of environmental threats like climate change and ocean pollution, renowned editor and author Dominique Browning is partnering with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in launching a new column called Personal Nature, featured online at http://edf.org/personalnature. Her first column, Understand Science, Believe in Change, explores the language we use in talking about climate change and the need for individual and social action.

Browning, the author of three books, has written for O magazine, Food & Wine, The New York Times Book Review, and Departures. She has also been an editor at Esquire, Texas Monthly and Newsweek. Her columns for EDF will highlight the experts she meets and aims to explain urgent environmental issues in an engaging, informal style.

“It is only a small leap from caring about what’s going on in a garden to caring about what’s going on in the larger environment,” said Ms. Browning. “When I wondered why my southern camellias were thriving up north, I read everything I could about climate change. When I talk with my friends and children about how fragile things seem to be, I can see that the thought of an overwhelming breakdown is intolerable—I feel it, too. I see how we disconnect, want to change the subject, turn back to tending our small patches of earth. We want to be able to take the health of our planet for granted.

“But environmental issues are hitting the very place we want to feel safest: home. Home ought to be a sacred place of retreat, rest and peace. It won’t be if we turn our backs on the world. This new column was born in the spirit of paying attention, becoming educated and aware and talking about what we can do now. I’m hoping to give matters of global urgency a human touch.”

Mrs. Browning’s column will appear on the first Monday of every month at http://edf.org/personalnature; readers can also sign up on the site to receive the column by email.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Lori Sinsley, (415) 308-6970, lsinsley@edf.org
Stephan Schwartzman, (202) 746-9201, sschwartzman@edf.org

(Los Angeles) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 10 other governors from the United States, Brazil and Indonesia are sending a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging them to include forest protection in international and national climate change policies, according to Reuters.

The state governors represent California, Illinois, Wisconsin in the United States; Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Para in Brazil; and Aceh, East Kalimantan and Papua in Indonesia. They signed the letter during the Governors’ Global Climate Summit 2 taking place in Los Angeles.

“It is a vital sign of leadership that California — which has the world’s seventh largest economy — and states with half of the world’s remaining tropical forests have joined forces to make living forests worth more than dead ones,” said Steve Schwartzman, director of tropical forest policy at Environmental Defense Fund. “Including forests in U.S. emissions control efforts will help achieve greater overall reductions at lower costs than would be possible without it.”

The 11 states agreed on basic principles to allow reduced deforestation and degradation (REDD) to be used in the United States to meet targets for reducing global warming gas emissions. The principles establish a template for what may become the first compliance-grade REDD assets. The Waxman-Markey climate bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June includes provisions for the use of REDD in a national carbon market.

“REDD is one of the key issues on the agenda at the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December,” concluded Schwartzman. “Many countries participating in the negotiations intend to agree on REDD policies, which could help developed and developing countries break the logjam holding up progress in the broader negotiation.”

Deforestation accounts for 15-20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so forest preservation is vital in
combating climate change. California and representatives from Brazil and Indonesia signed memos of
understanding at last year’s global climate summit. The memos called for using REDD strategies and projects
that could help meet national and global emissions reductions goals, while sustaining local communities.

Contact: Tony Kreindler, akreindler@edf.org, 202-572-3378

(Washington, DC – September 30, 2009) Today, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced a blueprint to address greenhouse gas emissions from large power plants and industrial sources under the nation’s clean air laws.

Under today’s announcement, new power plants and industrial sources across the nation will be required to address heat-trapping pollution as part of construction and operating permits. The new clean air global warming standards for industrial sources would take effect when the Agency finalizes its proposed greenhouse gas standards from motor vehicles in March 2010.

A key element of the policy will shield small sources from regulation, focusing the nation’s resources on cost-effective reductions from big emitters.

“Today’s action focuses federal climate policy on the largest sources of heat-trapping pollution,” said Mark MacLeod, director of special projects at Environmental Defense Fund. “EPA’s leadership to limit emissions from the biggest sources is smart policy that can achieve big results for the country.”

EPA’s “tailoring” proposal would establish a regulatory threshold of 25,000 tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions. The threshold would focus EPA policies at large sources that collectively comprise over 80 percent of the nation’s heat-trapping emissions.

Major federal climate legislative proposals also use this threshold. Today, Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry also introduced comprehensive legislation to cost-effectively address global warming pollution and advance clean energy solutions.

A 25,000 ton annual carbon dioxide threshold is comparable to the emissions from:
(1) 131 rail cars of coal consumed
(2) 58,000 barrels of oil consumed, or
(3) The emissions from the annual energy use of about 2,200 homes.

EPA’s proposal applies the Clean Air Act to the problem of global warming using common sense. By focusing on the largest emission sources, the agency will use its scarce resources where they have the greatest impact in reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. This legally sound approach to complex problems, known as administrative necessity, has long been recognized by the nation’s courts.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ann Hayden, Senior Water Resource Analyst, EDF, 510-508-2557, ahayden@edf.org
Jennifer Witherspoon, Communications Director, EDF, 415-378-1985, jwitherspoon@edf.org 

EDF Applauds Obama Officials’ Plan to Solve California Water Crisis
With Coordinated Federal-State Effort

(Washington, DC – September 30, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) welcomed announcements by Obama administration officials today emphasizing a coordinated federal-state response and leadership to solving California’s water crisis and urging the California Legislature to convene a special session on a package of water policy bills that EDF supports.

“Resolving the California water crisis requires exactly what we are seeing put in motion today: strong leadership and coordinated federal-state action,” said Elgie Holstein, vice president for Land, Water, and Wildlife programs for Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and a former associate director of the Office of Management and Budget for Natural Resources, Energy and Science. “EDF and our partners stand ready to work with the Obama and Schwarzenegger administrations and legislative leaders at the federal and state level to reach a viable, scientifically based solution.”

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and other top Obama administration officials announced a series of actions the federal government is taking to deal with the water shortages and fisheries crisis. For example, six federal agencies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that reinvigorates involvement in California Bay Delta issues — including the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) — to help provide a reliable water supply, while restoring the environmental integrity of the Bay Delta. In addition, the Interior and Commerce departments have asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct additional scientific analysis of the California Bay Delta ecosystem and to help identify whether there are scientifically defensible alternatives to current water management plans in California.

“We also recognize and appreciate the important leadership role that Senator Feinstein is playing in seeking to resolve the crisis through helping to engage the National Academy of Sciences and promoting interim measures such as short-term water transfers,” added Holstein.

“We applaud the Obama administration’s commitment to a scientifically-rigorous and balanced approached to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan,” said Ann Hayden, a senior water resource analyst at EDF and a member of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan steering committee. “We also welcome a rigorous scientific investigation by the National Academy of Sciences to assure that the Bay Delta ecosystem and the wildlife that it provides are protected as we consider major changes to how water is delivered in California.

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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.
 

Contact: Tony Kreindler, akreindler@edf.org, 202-572-3378

(Washington, DC – September 30, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund today welcomed the release of draft legislation that gives the Senate its vehicle for enacting a comprehensive bill to cap U.S. global warming pollution.

“This draft is an important starting point for Senators to negotiate effective climate legislation that can win 60 votes,” said Environmental Defense Fund Legislative Director Elizabeth Thompson.

The discussion draft released today by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry would put a mandatory cap on U.S. global warming pollution and give the private sector the flexibility to pursue the most affordable emissions reduction opportunities.

The draft calls for reducing U.S. emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels in 2020, slightly more than the reductions called for in the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act. The bill is silent on how emissions permits would be allocated, leaving room for negotiations as the bill moves forward in the Senate.

“We look forward to working with Chairmen Boxer and Kerry and their colleagues to pass a bill that’s environmentally effective and economically smart,” Thompson said.

Pittsburgh — G20 leaders took an important step today in agreeing to start phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, but they must work faster and more aggressively to mobilize all the financial tools we need to address climate change for the international summit in Copenhagen this December.

“The commitment of G20 nations to begin phasing out huge subsidies for fossil fuels is a significant step toward reducing carbon emissions,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, Environmental Defense Fund’s international climate policy team lead. “But it only works if the money they free up goes to address climate change.”

“Government tax breaks and direct payments to coal, oil and other fossil fuel companies total as much as $300 billion each year worldwide. So fossil fuel subsidies are huge, but it’s only part of the picture,” said Haverkamp.

“Eliminating subsidies is only one element in a bigger package to get public and private finance flowing,” said EDF’s International Counsel Annie Petsonk. “That means cutting subsidies and it also means capping emissions because that’s what shifts private finance to clean energy.”

“G20 leaders, and especially President Obama, must show they have the political will to drive this deal home,” said Petsonk.

According to the IEA’s 2006 World Energy Report, global energy subsidies totaled $300 billion, with about 80 percent going to fossil fuels. The world’s 20 largest non-OECD nations accounted for $220 billion in subsidies, while OECD nations accounted for $80 billion.

Andrea Welsh / 202-572-3230 / awelsh@edf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sean Crowley, Marketing-Communications Director, Program, Environmental Defense Fund, (202) 572-3331, scrowley@edf.org

(Washington, DC – September 24, 2009) A new $320 million, four-year initiative announced today by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the potential to significantly improve drinking water quality for tens of millions of Americans in the Mississippi River Basin, according to Environmental Defense Fund. Among the most significant challenges facing the Mississippi River is runoff of excess nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, from farming operations in the upper part of the river basin that contributes to both local water quality problems and the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative will leverage funding in the 2008 farm bill for voluntary conservation programs administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with state, local, and private resources. It will help farmers in 12 states improve the management of their lands during Fiscal Years 2010-2013 to benefit water quality in the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The states include: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

“We commend USDA for utilizing the 2008 farm bill’s conservation provisions and funding in a way that holds tremendous promise for addressing one of the nation’s biggest environmental priorities: improving the health of the Mississippi River,” Sara Hopper, agricultural policy director for Environmental Defense Fund. “We look forward to working with the agency to make this initiative a success.”

The USDA conservation programs – the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), the Conservation Innovation Grants program, and the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program – engage partners in innovative, focused efforts to improve the management of cropland and livestock operations in watersheds that are currently delivering significant excess nutrients to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. These partners include state and local governments, producer associations and conservation and environmental organizations. CCPI, through which USDA will provide $200 million of the $320 million for the Mississippi River Basin Initiative, was authorized by Congress for the first time in the 2008 farm bill with the strong support of Environmental Defense Fund and other conservation and farm organizations.

“Among the most promising of the solutions is the targeted use of incentives to help farmers reduce the loss of excess nutrients from their fields in the areas of the basin where it will produce the biggest benefit to water quality,” concluded Hopper. “The USDA’s Mississippi River Basin Initiative represents the kind of approach that is required to start making real progress in efforts to improve the health of the Mississippi River.”
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New York, NY — Dozens of top U.S. ecologists published an open letter to President Barack Obama Wednesday calling on the U.S. administration to seize the historical moment and take decisive action to link tropical forest conservation to global efforts to stop climate change.

The ecologists’ letter is part of a rising tide of public support for a comprehensive approach to the problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forest destruction.

Government, civil society and business leaders from all over the world are convening in New York Wednesday to rally support for tropical forest conservation with a series of events, including a high-level U.N. event on reducing emissions from tropical deforestation hosted by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

“The handwriting on the wall says we need the living planet — especially forests — to address climate change,” said Tom Lovejoy, a leading voice among U.S. ecologists who signed the letter President Obama.

Wednesday’s events aim to focus global attention on the need for large-scale, sustainable solutions to the problem of reducing emissions from tropical deforestation, which causes roughly 15 percent of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming.

President Obama met with Ban Ki-Moon and other world leaders Tuesday for the U.N.’s first global Climate Day summit in New York, part of a week of events to draw attention to climate change.

The ecologists’ letter sends a targeted message to the U.S. President from the nation’s foremost ecologists signaling they understand the potential of climate policy approaches to advance the conservation of pristine forest.

“We are facing an ecological and a climate crisis, and we have the knowledge to act wisely, but we need decisive global political leadership to get the job done,” said Steve Hamburg Chief Scientist of Environmental Defense Fund. “We need global climate policies to conserve tropical biodiversity.”

Tropical forests house more than half of the world’s species and serve as storehouses of unique natural resources, providing food, fiber, medicines, and ecosystem services to the globe.

A growing number of scientists, policymakers and civil society leaders agree that linking tropical forest conservation to climate policies is the best way to protect these natural storehouses and buffer the human impacts of climatic shifts.

Andrea Welsh / 202-572-3230 / awelsh@edf.org

New York, NY —“World leaders and President Obama showed an unprecedented commitment to global efforts to stop climate change at today’s U.N. summit,” said EDF’s international counsel Annie Petsonk, in New York.

“What we really need to see now is President Obama bringing that commitment to bear on the Senate climate debate and putting the full power of the White House behind this key domestic and international priority,” she said.

“World leaders are looking to President Obama to signal it’s a top priority to guide the U.S. Congress to place a strong cap on U.S. emissions. Some hoped he would have said more about that in his speech today. But what matters is that he brings today’s energy back to Washington and delivers something concrete,” said Ms. Petsonk.

“The key is to cap emissions — because it’s the cap that drives innovation and guarantees emissions go down.”

“World leaders understand it’s not easy to move bills through the U.S. Congress, but the take-home message from today is they’re not going to wait to start crafting new global rules. China is upping the game,” said Petsonk.

Dan Dudek, EDF’s Chief Economist and head of its China office, said: “President Hu has refreshingly come to New York with new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from China and to aid those nations most in need.”

“These announcements should sweep away the canard that China is not willing to reduce emissions. Is it enough to make Copenhagen a success? That will depend on whether President Hu’s new climate initiatives propel President Obama into action,” he said.

“2020 is an important milestone since it marks the beginning of the period in which scientists tell us global emissions must begin to peak if we are to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

“In this sense, a significant reduction in China’s emissions would contribute mightily to turning global emissions from growth to decline. Accomplishing this will require new policies, new infrastructure, new energy and new innovations in China,” said Mr. Dudek.

Andrea Welsh / 202-572-3230 / awelsh@edf.org

Contact: Tony Kreindler, National Media Director, Climate, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org

(Washington, DC – September 22, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today finalized new requirements for the nation’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases to publicly disclose their annual emissions, providing the necessary foundation for effective federal policy to reduce global warming pollution.

“The public has both a need and a right to know about the country’s biggest emitters,” said Mark MacLeod, director of special projects at Environmental Defense Fund. “The transparency provided today will inform smart policy that targets the biggest sources of heat-trapping emissions.”

EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program will apply to about 10,000 large emitters that account for the vast majority — about 80 percent — of the nation’s overall inventory of heat-trapping gases. Data collection will begin January 1, 2010, with disclosure required in the first quarter of 2011. The rules establish the first comprehensive national greenhouse gas emissions collection and reporting program.

Who’s In and Who’s Out - EPA’s rules establish a reporting threshold of 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. This threshold is tailored to encompass over 80 percent of the nation’s emissions inventory while focusing only on the largest emitters.

A 25,000 ton annual carbon dioxide threshold is comparable to the emissions from:

• 131 rail cars of coal consumed
• 58,000 barrels of oil consumed
• Emissions from the annual energy use of about 2,200 homes

This rule would not apply to churches and schools, and would not establish a “cow tax” as some have falsely claimed.

Pollutants Covered - The most dangerous global warming pollutants would be covered including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and other fluorinated gases.

Getting Started in 2010 - It is essential to begin data collection in 2010 so the nation does not lose a year of progress.

Building from State Leadership - Forty-one states are currently participating in The Climate Registry, a nationwide collaboration on the development and implementation of mandatory and voluntary greenhouse gas reporting. These state programs provide the framework to inform well-designed national policy. The Climate Registry also has over 300 members that have voluntarily committed to measure, verify, and publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions. These members include a wide range of businesses. Please see: http://www.theclimateregistry.org

Power Plant Reporting for Over a Decade - Since 1995, fossil-fuel fired power plants over 25 megawatts in size have been subject to mandatory reporting requirements for carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. This has provided an important database of emissions for the nation’s single largest source sector.

Lessons Learned from the European Union - Through the state and federal leadership now underway in gathering data on real-world actual emissions, the United States is well-positioned to avoid the problems associated with the trial phase implementation of the European Union’s emissions trading program. In the European Union, the phase I learning period from 2005-2007 was hampered by excess allowances due to inadequate data on actual emissions.

As the U.S. Congress forges federal legislation, the new U.S. law will be implemented on the basis of a firm foundation anchored in reliable data.

Contact:
John Mimikakis, Senior Policy Manager, (202) 572-3319, jmimikakis@edf.org

The Bush Administration opposed action on global warming until the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that EPA could no longer ignore that CO₂ is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. The Bush Administration’s tactics cost us precious time in responding to the threat of global warming.

Now, Senator Murkowski has advanced an Appropriations Rider that takes a page from the Bush Administration’s playbook. It would bar EPA from expending funds to “regulate or control carbon dioxide” from any sources other than a mobile source. While it appears to be narrowly tailored to reflect the Supreme Court’s decision, its effects are in fact much broader.

The result? Further delay that will only hurt industry, the economy, and the nation. For example, the amendment would:

Thwart New Coal Technology, and Undermine American Economic Recovery. The Rider would bar EPA from completing regulations governing the injection of carbon dioxide underground to enable advanced coal facilities. This would undermine progress in advancing Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technology now receiving major grant awards under the Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Preclude a Cost-Effective Carbon Offsets Program that Benefits Rural and Urban America. EPA and other agencies are collaborating on the development of an innovative, voluntary carbon offsets program to lower the costs of any congressionally-mandated greenhouse gas mitigation measures. These voluntary “offsets” will create enormous economic opportunity in rural and urban America alike. The Rider could stop the development of this innovative program.

Stop the Nation’s Renewable Fuel Program. The Rider would put the brakes on the implementation of the renewable fuel program, created under the Clean Air Act by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Preclude Public’s Right to Know about Major Global Warming Emitters. As Congress’ most recent statement on EPA action, the Rider will be construed to take precedence over prior legal pronouncements. The plain terms of the rider are sweeping in barring EPA from expending funds to “regulate or control carbon dioxide.” Indeed, the very first line of EPA’s proposes reporting rules for greenhouse gases reads: “EPA is proposing a regulation to require reporting of greenhouse gas emissions…” 74 Fed Reg. 16,448 (April 10, 2009) (boldface added).

Senator Murkowski’s rider would harm progress toward action on global warming and would even hamstring the implementation of the climate legislation Congress is now debating.

MEDIA ADVISORY:

WHO: Scientists and volunteers with Texas State University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Houston Zoo, Environmental Defense Fund
WHAT: Transportation and release of headstarted Houston toads into the wild, an endangered species restoration effort
WHEN: Load toads at Houston Zoo between 1:30 -3 p.m. Monday, Sep. 21, toads arrive and media/scientists meet at Bastrop State Park at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Houston Zoo, Bastrop State Park. For the 1:30 p.m. opportunity to see captive breeding facilities and the loading of toads for transport at the Houston Zoo, media should go to the zoo’s Gate 1 at 1513 N. MacGregor across from the Memorial Hermann Hospital emergency room entry. To cover the evening release of toads in the Alum Creek watershed inside Bastrop State Park, media should meet at 6 p.m. at the main park entrance and plan to caravan to the release site. NOTE: anyone who wants to get close to the action at the release site should wear rubber boots or spare shoes, as it will be wet and muddy. Bring a flashlight as it will be dark at departure.
 

AUSTIN, Texas - Recent rains in Central Texas not only watered residential lawns and filled ranch cattle tanks, but also brought much needed relief to one of the most imperiled species in Texas - the endangered and elusive Houston toad, Bufo houstonensis. Ironically named the Houston toad, it disappeared from Harris County by the 1970’s. Historic prolonged droughts, rapid urbanization and habitat loss are among the reasons for the toad’s decline.

A true Texas native, the Houston toad is found nowhere else in the world, only in the deep sandy soils and the pine and oak forests of a few counties in east central Texas. Bastrop County is the species’ final stronghold, but studies suggest its population is in decline. Sadly, trends indicate we are silently losing this part of our natural heritage and once it is gone, it is gone forever. However, a recovery team of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, Texas State University, the Houston Zoo and private landowners is working to return the Houston toad to its historic range.

On Sep. 21, Houston news media have a chance to visit Houston toad captive breeding facilities at the Houston Zoo and photograph 160 toads being loaded for shipment. Then in the evening, Austin area media have a chance to see the toads being released into the wild at Bastrop State Park.

The head start program to hatch wild eggs and then rear juvenile toads in captivity and release them in the wild is just one component of a broader recovery effort for the species. A key point is this: no matter how many toads are raised and released, the species will not survive without good habitat.

The toad’s continued existence depends on partnerships between the Houston Zoo, United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas State University, Environmental Defense Fund, Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan and especially the private landowners that manage their land in the best interest of the toad and its habitat.

Bastrop State Park has steadily expanded in recent decades, recently adding land through grants and donations in areas specifically acquired to provide Houston toad habitat. The park has expanded from almost 3,500 acres in 1979 to close to 6,000 acres today. Also, project partners have assembled a half dozen or more private landowners with more than 7,500 acres of occupied toad habitat in Bastrop County into an overall strategy of habitat improvement using prescribed burns and other actions, with plans to release headstarted toads into the improved habitat.

TPWD awarded a Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) grant to fund Houston toad recovery in 2007 totaling about $230,000, about 43 percent of which was government funding and the remainder was matching contributions from landowners, Environmental Defense Fund and the Houston Zoo. This year, private landowners submitted four new LIP grant applications for Houston toad recovery, applications now being reviewed for grant awards that will be made later this fall.

Proud Texas landowners are making a difference by actively working toward watershed restoration, forest management and improving pond quality by modifying grazing and access regimes for livestock. For example, Jim Small of Bastrop and his family have been stewards of the toad since the 1980s, when the first efforts to breed the species began. Since then, out of an awareness of the toad and a strong stewardship ethic, Jim and his family have improved habitat quality by prescribed fire, selective tree thinning and excluding cattle from active Houston toad breeding areas.

After obtaining a safe harbor agreement with the USFWS, Jim and his family now seek to increase their efforts on behalf of the toad and are implementing strong wildlife research and stewardship programs to benefit the toads. To make good land management feasible, financial support and incentives are available through state, federal, local government and private programs so property owners do not have to shoulder the financial burden alone. Landowners like the Small’s have taken ownership of the restoration of the toad and will be the key to bringing this species back from the brink of extinction.

The Bob Long family, owner of Round Bottom Ranch in Bastrop County, has also been part of the private landowner partnership working to protect the toad since 2002. The Longs received a LIP grant in 2004 for toad habitat restoration, and this April they received a TPWD Lone Star Land Steward award in the Pineywoods ecoregion category to recognize their longstanding contributions.

In the spring of 2007, the Houston Zoo began receiving egg strands from the Bastrop County Houston toad population, collected by Texas State University. The eggs were hatched at the zoo, transported back to Bastrop County and released at the exact same location. Researchers are careful to keep toad eggs separated, so they can return adult toads back to the same breeding pond where the egg strands were collected. A series of toad releases into the wild has since taken place in 2007, 2008 and earlier this year. This type of conservation program is known as Head Starting. The plan is to give the toads a fortunate beginning – a “head start” - helping them survive through the most hazardous stage of their existence, allowing them to mature and create more Houston toads.

Houston toads are known to be “explosive breeders,” appearing in large numbers at breeding ponds where males chorus to attract females over a few nights during the breeding season. This season usually peaks in March and April. Breeding activities are believed to be triggered by rainfall, warm night time temperatures and high humidity. A good rain can create temporary ponds and fill existing ponds allowing the toads to breed and deposit eggs. Eggs are deposited in strings in the water, and hatch into tadpoles that develop into juvenile toadlets about 60 days after being deposited. Large numbers of eggs are produced, but each egg has less than a one percent probability of survival.

Operated by the not-for-profit Houston Zoo, Inc., the Houston Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species, the provision of engaging educational opportunities and the creation of stimulating exhibits that broaden the experiences of guests and encourage their curiosity. The Houston Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). For more information, please visit www.aza.org.

MEDIA KIT: The Houston Toad media kit containing photos and other material is available for download from the Houston Zoo’s FTP site at ftp://65.38.108.85. At the log in page, enter “zooprinters” in the username window and “print*12jobs” as the password. Click on Houston Toad Press Kit to access fact sheets and photographs.

Media Contacts: Tom Harvey, Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept, (512) 565-3679, tom.harvey@twpd.state.tx.us; Brian Hill, Houston Zoo, Pager: (713) 801-8040, bhill@houstonzoo.org
Chris Smith, Environmental Defense Fund, (512) 691-3451, csmith@edf.org
 

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Contact: Tony Kreindler, 202-572-3378, akreindler@edf.org 
                Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org

(Washington, DC – September 18, 2009) The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released another report showing that the costs from clean energy legislation would be small – and could help America avoid the severe economic impacts of climate change.

The report, titled “The Economic Effects of Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions,” is based on other previous analysis and can be found at http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10573. Here are some of the CBO’s main findings:

• Without policies to reduce carbon pollution, climate change will have negative and possibly severe economic impacts on the United States.

• With legislation including a cap on carbon pollution, the cost to consumers will be modest, and in line with previous independent estimates.

• Low income families (the lowest 20-percent of households) would see purchasing power rise as a result of the House-passed clean energy bill, thanks to the allocation provisions. Higher income households would see a very small increase in costs.

• The reduction in household purchasing power, taking into account compensation from the allocation provisions, would amount to 0.1-percent in 2012 and 0.8-percent in 2050, with an average of 0.4-percent over the period 2012-2050.

• Nationally, the House legislation would reduce the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) — relative to the no-policy scenario — by 0.2 to 0.7 percent in 2020; 0.4 to 1.1 percent in 2030; 0.7 to 2 percent in 2040; and 1.1 to 3.4 percent in 2050. At the same time, real GDP is projected to be roughly two and a half times greater in 2050 than today under either scenario. (Note that taking no action would also reduce GDP growth, perhaps to a much greater degree, because of the impacts of climate change.)

• Annual U.S. economic growth between 2010 and 2050 would be reduced by 0.03 to 0.09 percentage points, relative to a business-as-usual growth rate of 2.4 percent. (Again, this “business as usual” estimate assumes a fictional world in which climate change does not occur.)

An earlier CBO analysis of the House clean energy bill found it would cost the average American household about as much as a postage stamp per day. Other analyses by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy found similar results. This is the fourth study to confirm the same conclusion – America can afford to pass legislation that will make us more energy independent and will help fight climate change. In fact, we can’t afford not to.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 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.

Contacts:
Dr. Doug Rader, Chief Oceans Scientist, cell 919-523-8763, drader@edf.org
Georgette Shepherd, regional communications, 919-881-2927 or cell 919-880-8033, gshepherd@edf.org 

Watch the video: www.edf.org/deepseacorals

(Charleston, SC – September 17, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund saluted the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council today for its final vote to protect what may be Earth’s largest deepwater coral ecosystem off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. A veritable wonderland of marine life, the 25,000-square-mile area is among the most important in the world for marine species and for exploration for biopharmaceuticals. 

A first for fishery councils in the United States, the model safeguards strike an innovative balance between protecting critical habitat while allowing fishermen continued access to traditional fishing grounds using gears that do minimal damage to reefs.

The action by the regional council, which is meeting this week in Charleston, SC, culminates 10 years of collaboration between scientists, managers, conservationists and fishermen.

“We started with the idea of protecting every single square mile, even before we knew how many there were,” said Doug Rader, chief oceans scientists for Environmental Defense Fund. “The final plan incorporates the science coming straight from research vessels. I know of no other process in the world where unpublished, brand-new science was translated so directly into world-class protection for a unique natural resource.”

Rader served as chair of the regional committee that developed the protection plan. He was instrumental in bringing together fishery managers and fishermen to chart the areas in which fishing is allowed with certain gear.

“The plan could not have happened without the scientists who shared privileged data, the fishery managers who imagined this stunning outcome, and the fishermen who worked side-by-side on the design,” said Rader. “We commend the commercial fishermen who participate in the golden crab and royal red shrimp fisheries for their collaboration. Working together, we set an important example of co-management that can be replicated in other fisheries.”

The fragile reefs lie 1,000 feet or more below the ocean’s surface. Individual colonies may be more than 1,000 years old, and individual coral mounds may be more than one million years old.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
John Bianchi, 212-576-2700, ext 228, jbianchi@goodmanmedia.com

(New York – September 17, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised the New York City Council today for passing landmark legislation that will dramatically reduce toxic engine emissions from public school buses.

The new law was shaped in part by a groundbreaking report EDF issued last year, A Healthier Ride to School: Cleaning up New York City’s Dirty Diesel School Buses, which showed the air quality of New York City public school bus cabins to be as much as five times worse than outside air. The new law will require that all public school buses in current service undergo engine emission retrofits and that older school buses be retired three years earlier than currently required, at 16 years old instead of 19 years old. Retired buses will be replaced with brand-new vehicles meeting the highest emission standards possible.

“New York City’s school children are getting a back-to-school gift with today’s City Council vote,” says Isabelle Silverman, attorney for Environmental Defense Fund, who coauthored the EDF report. “Our children will enjoy a healthier ride to school and all New Yorkers will breathe a little bit easier.”

A Healthier Ride to School also laid out a set of recommendations for the New York City Department of Education to maximize clean air benefits, minimize costs, and utilize newly available diesel retrofit technologies.

New York City uses more than 7,000 public school buses to transport approximately 138,000 schoolchildren every day. Although the buses represent a safe and effective way of ferrying children to their schools, young riders are at particular risk from harmful, polluted air both inside and outside of their vehicles. The EDF study found that diesel-powered buses emit more than 40 toxic substances, soot, unburned hydrocarbons and other harmful byproducts, many of which are known carcinogens.

Once the mayor signs the bill into law, it will improve bus cabin air quality with the help of engine emission retrofits—also known as crankcase ventilation systems—and go beyond a previous local law (LL42-2005) that required retrofits, but excluded buses used for transporting children in special education programs. The retrofits are considered of extreme importance. Since engines typically are right next to the bus doors, engine pollution enters the vehicle cabin each time the door opens, trapping children in a closed area filled with toxic pollution.

In addition, the dirtiest vehicles will be sent into retirement in favor of new buses meeting the highest emission standards. Accelerated bus turnover will ensure cleaner air because federal engine emission standards have improved dramatically over the last decade.

“This bill ensures that the city will replace its old, dirty public school buses sooner with brand-new buses that are 10 to 60 times cleaner, depending upon the model year they replace,” concludes Silverman. “Our children deserve nothing less than the cleanest air we can provide as they ride on their way to school.”

The executive summary and full report of A Healthier Ride to School can be found online at the EDF website: http://www.cleanbuses.org.

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