Complete list of press releases

(Washington – January 6, 2009) President George W. Bush will make marine conservation history today when he announces strong new protections for a vast area of the central Pacific Ocean that includes nine distinct tropical coral islands and their surrounding waters, ranging from Wake Island in the west to Palmyra Atoll in the east.  The three new protected areas will be called MarianasMarineNational Monument, PacificRemoteIslandNational Monument, and RoseAtollNational Monument.  In total, approximately 195,000 square miles will be protected, an area larger than California. Having established the first U.S. marine national monument in 2006 in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which comprises 139,797 square miles, President Bush has now protected more of the ocean than any other president.

Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) have worked cooperatively with the Bush administration for over two years to nominate, justify and develop scientific and public support for two of the three areas and eight of the nine sites protected:  Wake, Howland, Baker, Palmyra, Kingman, Johnston, Jarvis and Rose Atoll.  The Pew Charitable Trusts worked to secure protection for large, important ocean areas off the Northern Mariana Islands.

“Today’s announcement marks an enormous step in conserving the biodiversity of our planet. These new marine monuments rank right up there with our nation’s greatest national parks,” said David Yarnold, executive director of Environmental Defense Fund.  Yarnold added that the executive decision was based on findings by over 200 leading scientists from EDF and other organizations that the islands and their surrounding ocean waters must be protected because they are some of the few remaining, relatively pristine islands left on Earth.  “We are gratified that the president has given careful consideration to the scientific evidence and our recommendations to protect these areas.”

Elliott A. Norse, President of Marine Conservation Biology Institute, echoes these feelings: “To the President and First Lady, to my colleagues in the scientific community, to the fishes of the Pacific and to all Americans who care about our oceans, I offer congratulations.  President Bush has now protected more ocean sites than anyone else in the history of the world,” said Dr. Norse.  “We greatly appreciate this bold, visionary action.”

“President Bush has laid the foundation for a national system of ocean reserves just as Theodore Roosevelt laid the foundation for our national park system,” said MCBI vice president for government affairs, William Chandler.  “The islands will be havens for all kinds of marine life, and a bulwark against the degradation and decline of the tropical Pacific,” Chandler predicted.

“President Bush is giving the world a Texas-sized gift,” said Diane Regas, associate vice-president for oceans at Environmental Defense Fund. “These are places time forgot.  They still look as they did hundreds and even thousands of years ago.”

Contacts: 

Dr. Elliott Norse, president MCBI, cell 425-985-6355;

Bill Chandler, vice-president government affairs MCBI, cell 703-851-9931; office 202-546-5346

Diane Regas, associate vice-president, Oceans program, EDF, cell 202-607-4657

To access video and photographs, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/edf.  Media can access standard definition and high definition broadcast quality video for editorial use, free of charge.

###

Marine Conservation Biology Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the science of marine conservation biology and securing protection for ocean ecosystems.

Environmental Defense Fund is a leading national nonprofit organization, which 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

(Tuesday, December 23, 2008) In a major decision benefiting clean air and public health, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today issued an order that leaves the Clean Air Interstate Rule in effect while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency develops a new clean air program for power plants. 

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Dan Cronin, 202-572-3354, dcronin@edf.org

(Washington - December 19, 2008) Environmental Defense Fund’s Transportation Director Michael Replogle, an advisor to the U.S. Department of Transportation and a former consultant to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the World Bank, issued the following statement about President-elect Obama’s nomination of retiring Republican Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood to be Secretary of Transportation:

“We urge Secretary-designate LaHood to lead the Obama Administration’s efforts to adopt new transportation policies to help solve the critical economic, climate and environmental problems facing our country. It is vital that the economic recovery package and the next transportation bill focus investment on expanding low-carbon transportation options, repairing existing infrastructure, and improving freight and passenger transportation system performance.

“Secretary-designate LaHood has an opportunity to shape transportation policy for a generation in a way that cuts traffic, global warming and toxic pollution, and helps us achieve energy independence.  We hope Secretary-designate LaHood will work closely with Obama’s strong environmental team of Carol Browner, Steven Chu, and Lisa Jackson. We look forward to working with Secretary-designate LaHood to make these important changes a reality.”
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• All riders, commuters, drivers and businesses will contribute to the support of the region’s transit system, including the repair and maintenance of bridges and roads. 
• The recommendations eliminate the fundamental unfairness of sharply raising transit fares and some tolls while allowing other drivers to not pay any tolls. 
• The recommendations reduce the pressure to raise tolls even more at currently-tolled bridges and tunnels. 
• Motorists will take on the burden of maintaining the bridges that they use, as part of the revenue from new tolls will be dedicated to bridge repair and maintenance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jennifer Witherspoon, (415) 293-6067, jwitherspoon@edf.org

(Sacramento – December 16, 2008) The Final Report of the California Green Chemistry Initiative today was praised by one of the initiative’s scientific advisers for providing six key recommendations for advancing chemicals policy reform and the development of a safer, more sustainable chemicals economy in the state.

“This report usefully recommends a number of the key building blocks that can move us toward the kind of fundamental reform we need in how we design, make, use and manage chemicals across their lifecycles,” said Dr. Richard Denison, Environmental Defense Fund senior scientist and a member of the Green Chemistry Initiative’s Science Advisory Panel. “While many critical aspects remain to be worked out through implementation, the report provides much of the needed framework.”

In particular, Denison applauded several key provisions aimed at increasing the amount of information about chemicals accessible to the public and the marketplace, including:

• A requirement that manufacturers disclose the chemical ingredients, including nanomaterials, present in their products through a publicly accessible online data network.

• Development of a toxics clearinghouse intended both to compile existing information and to serve as a basis for identifying key data gaps on chemicals of concern for which data need to be generated.

• Establishment of agreements with other governments to gain access to chemical information they possess.

• Development of a framework and practical tools that can be used to expeditiously assess and spur the adoption of alternatives to chemicals of concern, with an emphasis on avoiding overly cumbersome and data-intensive analyses that could impede prompt action to address chemicals of concern.

Contact:          
Tony Kreindler, Environmental Defense Fund, (202) 445-8108 or tkreindler@edf.org 

“This new position reflects a deep commitment to leadership on climate change, and Carol Browner brings the perfect combination of experience and drive to the job. She understands that solving climate change will help rebuild our economy,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund.

EDF looks forward to working with Ms. Browner and the new administration to fulfill President-elect Obama’s commitment to write a new chapter in U.S. history on climate change, one that starts with a federal cap and trade system and creates millions of new jobs for American workers.

President-elect Obama today also named an all-star team to head the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

“Obama has picked an impressive team of experienced, accomplished, and highly regarded experts to lead the U.S. into a new era of action on climate change,” Krupp said. “This team is a new partnership for the environment in the federal government, one that can work with Congress to make quick progress on global warming.”

The nominations announced today include Nobel laureate Steven Chu for energy secretary, former New Jersey environment chief Lisa Jackson to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

History will judge our generation on whether it took the necessary steps to deal with the threat of climate change. We therefore wish to underline – during the fourteenth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Poznan in December 2008 – our shared views on the importance of advancing these negotiations, and in particular on action to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries; and on the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Consistent with the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we recognise the need for deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases so as to stabilize the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration at the level that would avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, as set out in Article 2, the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC. It is our vision that REDD will be part of the outcome to be agreed in Copenhagen in 2009 with ambitious cuts in developed countries’ emissions and appropriate actions by developing countries.

We underline our countries’ commitment to the Bali Action Plan of the UNFCCC and the paramount importance of reaching a comprehensive and effective outcome at the fifteenth Conference of Parties in Copenhagen in December 2009. We recognize that, whilst all countries need to contribute to this on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities set forth in the UNFCCC, the availability of adequate, predictable and sustainable resources to developing countries from all sources will be an essential element.

Tropical forests are disappearing at an alarming rate every year. IPCC’s assessment indicates that land-use change and forestry, including deforestation, is responsible for some 17% of greenhouse gas emissions. We must act with speed and determination. Our governments will therefore work together to:

·        undertake early action on REDD; and

·        ensure the inclusion of REDD as part of the outcome agreed in Copenhagen.

Our efforts will be within the framework set by the UNFCCC negotiations, and carefully designed to support these negotiations. They will be based on the following principles:

·        National REDD strategies, ownership and commitment to REDD in developing countries are preconditions for success, and should constitute the cornerstone of our efforts. These strategies should be designed and implemented in a transparent and equitable manner, with the participation of the relevant stakeholders including indigenous peoples, other civil society groups and the private sector. National strategies should provide for, inter alia, design and establishment of systems for measurement, reporting and verification, analysis of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, estimation of costs of mitigation, sustainable development needs, conservation of biodiversity, other co-benefits, and the building of essential capacities and how benefits are distributed amongst beneficiaries. Action on conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries should contribute to achieving REDD.

·        Transparent, collaborative, balanced and inclusive international arrangements for supporting REDD efforts should be developed. International support for countries wanting to embark on REDD efforts should be as collaborative and effective as possible. There should be close cooperation to simplify and rationalize interaction between host countries, donors, international agencies including the World Bank and the UN REDD programme, and other relevant stakeholders. There should also be consistent, coordinated efforts by both REDD and donor countries to work closely together, through appropriate multilateral and bilateral channels.

·        Financial flows to support REDD efforts must be adequate, predictable and sustainable, and results based, with developed countries contributing significantly. REDD readiness activities and general capacity building are already being financed substantially by developed countries. Also, the donor countries among us stand ready to assist those REDD countries that can quickly move on to demonstrating results in a measurable and verifiable manner. REDD as part of a future negotiated outcome should enable mobilization of financial resources and their distribution to developing countries that are willing and able – in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner - to take additional actions that reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation or conserve or enhance forest carbon stocks.

·         A reliable framework for measuring, reporting and verification is crucial to the integrity and credibility of REDD efforts in general and REDD in the outcome agreed in Copenhagen in particular. The establishment of national systems, open to independent verification, is a priority.

Achieving an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen, including REDD as an important pillar, is essential. We invite all committed countries to join us, in our early efforts, and in our work to secure REDD’s place in the agreement in 2009.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE