Complete list of press releases

The House passed by a 265 to 158 margin a motion to instruct farm bill negotiators to limit annual feed grain, rice and cotton subsidies to $225,000 per farmer, and to shift $1.3 billion to U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation and research programs.

The motion was championed by Reps. Nick Smith (R-MI), David Bonior (D-MI), and Ron Kind (D-WI).

House and Senate negotiators are completing a $173 billion farm bill.

“This vote reveals that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supports a Farm Bill that helps small farmers and the environment, and that members of Congress are frustrated by the direction farm bill negotiators have taken,” said Environmental Defense spokesman Scott Faber. “Only conservation payments flow to all farmers and all regions, but less than 20% of the funds in the proposed farm bill would flow to these programs. As currently proposed, most farm bill funds would continue to flow to the largest farms in 15 states.”

The Senate approved $21.3 billion in new conservation spending, but House and Senate negotiators recently agreed to include only $17.1 billion for conservation.

“The massive concentration of land ownership in the hands of a privileged few keeps millions in poverty and drives large scale destruction of natural resources around the world,” said Environmental Defense anthropologist Stephan Schwartzman. “The Bank should take a hard look at what its projects are really doing if it wants to address the problem.”

“World Bank market land reform makes the rich richer and the poor worse off,” said Dr. Lesiba Matasuang of the Landless People’s Movement of South Africa, at a news conference held this morning at the National Press Club. Grassroots groups, environmentalists and land reform experts from a dozen countries held a seminar on the Bank’s projects this week in Washington, D.C.

Current Bank policy favors giving the poor credit to buy land on the free market, rather than supporting the redistribution of land by government agencies. The Bank points to projects in Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia and Thailand as proof that land markets can work for the poorest of the poor.

But Adalberto Martins of Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), strongly disagrees. MST mass protest has forced Brazil into distributing an area three times the size of Belgium to the poor since 1995, and the government asked for Bank funds to ease the pressure. “The Bank and the Brazilian government are selling the poor a cruel illusion — that they can get land without a struggle,” said Martins. “It isn’t working. People who had nothing before now have nothing — and are in debt for it.”

Anan Ganjanapan, of the Chiang Mai University in Thailand, worked on the Bank’s first of three land titling projects in Thailand nearly 20 years ago and has closely followed the results.

“The major effects of the Bank’s projects in the last two decades are increased conflicts among communities, and increased land speculation by large landowners,” Ganjanapan said. “Our communities are not interested only in individual land titles, but the Bank’s projects have never contemplated collective land tenure.”

The site features in-depth background information, analysis, projects and case studies, interactive maps, and statistics on a range of environmental and social issues. Topics include: threats to forests and indigenous peoples; the destruction of waterways and lands caused by dam projects; and the role of the World Bank and other international financial institutions in promoting pipelines, dams and other projects that jeopardize the health and welfare of people and the environment.

ActGlobal also includes an effective, easy-to-use, multilingual “action” component that alerts users to pressing environmental issues across the globe and allows them to send timely e-mail alerts to organizations and governments urging reform. By merging expert information with activism, ActGlobal is a powerful tool for change. Among the site’s many features:

International Action Center enables activists to send e-mail alerts to policymakers around the globe, customizable in English, French, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. [Current alerts target The World Bank on market-based land reforms and the World Commission on Dams.]

Follow the Money features in-depth explorations of multilateral and bilateral financial institutions and export credit agencies, and their support of environmentally damaging projects in developing countries; includes data on damaging infrastructure (such as dams, oil pipelines and waste treatment plants).

Natural Resources covers issues affecting freshwater, forests and population/resource consumption, such as deforestation; human impacts on biodiversity; industrialization’s effects on indigenous populations; dams and water consumption; and the health of ecosystems and waterways.

Searchable GIS map index showing deforestation rates, and effects of infrastructure on forests.

Country index for finding information on case studies, resources, and articles by Environmental Defense staffers and others.

Fast Facts on projects and international financial institutions.

Major funding for ActGlobal has been provided in part by the Sapling Foundation and other donors.

NOTE:  The www.actglobal.org web site was shut down in 2003. Many of the features of Act Global now may be found on environmentaldefense.org, including resources on multilateral development banks and export credit agencies, and issues relating to forests and indigenous peoples. For articles and resources pertaining to specific countries, use Environmental Defense’s Advanced Search page.

(16 April, 2002 — Raleigh)  In recognition of Earth Day on April 22, North Carolina Environmental Defense and the American Lung Association of N.C. remind North Carolinians that there are simple changes they can make at home and at work to curtail energy consumption, reduce air pollution and improve air quality.

“North Carolinians are more concerned than ever about the unhealthy air we are breathing in our state,” said Michael Shore, southeast air quality manager for Environmental Defense.  “One way to improve air quality is to reduce our energy consumption, and each of us can take some responsibility for this in our homes and businesses.”

“We can drive less by combining errands into one trip and by carpooling to work and special events.  The less gas we use, the cleaner the air,” said Shore.  “We can turn our water heaters down to about 120 degrees, install low-flow showerheads, and set our thermostats to 72 degrees in the coming summer months.  Plus, North Carolina has among the best solar energy tax credits in the nation, so residents should consider installing solar panels to save tax dollars and reduce energy consumption.”

“Passage of the Clean Smokestacks Bill would significantly improve air quality in the state,” said Deborah Bryan, director of government relations for the American Lung Association of N.C.  The House is expected to vote on the bill when the N.C. General Assembly convenes in May.  The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill with bipartisan support last April.

“North Carolinians deserve clean air to breathe, and the Clean Smokestacks Bill will substantially reduce the harmful emissions released by the state’s 14 coal-fired power plants,” said Bryan.  “Each of us can do our part to reduce the amount of energy we use, but we look to lawmakers to protect air quality and public health by passing legislation that will reduce pollutants spewing from smokestacks by 70%.”

For more information on reducing energy consumption and the public health impacts of dirty air, visit www.environmentaldefense.org or www.lungnc.org.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE URGES PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVS. ISLAND
In Testimony Before City Council, Group Praises Plan To Reclaim Island For NYers

(9 April, 2002 — New York)  Environmental Defense today praised plans to reclaim Governors Island for use by New Yorkers, and, in testimony before the City Council, called on state and city officials to commit to ensuring that public access and parks are an integral part of island plans.  Environmental Defense urged officials to open parts of the island now for interim recreational uses, such as walking tours and waterfront recreation. 

“Governors Island represents over 100 acres of open space waiting to be reintegrated into the city’s recreational and economic life,” said Environmental Defense Living Cities director Andrew Darrell.  “Governors Island lies a stone’s throw from communities in desperate need for parks and open space, including Red Hook, where residents have among the lowest per capita access to parkland in the city, and downtown Manhattan, where access to parks and open space is essential to restoring quality of life and attracting businesses and residents.

“Recent steps taken by Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and President Bush to return the island to New York provide a fresh sense of direction for the future,” said Darrell.  “Models for a mixed-use waterfront that accommodates recreational, educational, commercial and other uses have been successfully developed elsewhere in the city, including at Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park.  In the future, families, Little League teams, kayakers, students, tourists and many others could come together to celebrate the harbor and bring Governors Island to life.

“As the last large unused island of New York harbor, Governors Island could become a waterfront centerpiece, linking waterfront sites from Brooklyn Bridge Park to lower Manhattan’s Castle Clinton, Sunset Park Waterfront Park, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Integrating the historic island into this network could create a true Central Park-type oasis in New York harbor,” said Darrell.

(2 April, 2002 — New York)  The Partnership for Climate Action (PCA), consisting of eight leading corporations and the advocacy group Environmental Defense, today issued its first report, Common Elements Among Advanced Greenhouse Gas Management Programs.  The report, available online at www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/1885_PCAbooklet.pdf, illustrates the basic building blocks of a corporate greenhouse gas management program and describes some experiences in implementing these programs. 

PCA members are Environmental Defense, Alcan, BP, DuPont, Entergy, Ontario Power Generation, Pechiney, Shell International, and Suncor Energy. 

“The companies of the Partnership for Climate Action are on the vanguard of the new field of greenhouse gas management,” said Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp.  “The Partnership for Climate Action is not only achieving real reductions in global warming emissions, but also providing a body of practical experience, demonstrating how to reduce pollution while continuing to profit.  This experience is particularly important now as the international debate on the Kyoto Protocol evolves from development of the rules to implementation by countries.”

Each PCA corporate member has committed to a firm greenhouse gas reduction target and has designed its own greenhouse gas management program.  Based on their practical experience, the partners identified four key issues in managing greenhouse gases: target setting, measuring emissions, rules governing reduction activities, and accountability.  The report concludes that a comprehensive program that is strong in all four elements is most likely to deliver both environmental and economic performance. 

The report also describes some of the PCA companies’ specific practices in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as whether decision-making is highly centralized or relatively autonomous.  The elements and practices identified in the report are not meant to be comprehensive nor a recommendation of best practices.  Rather, the report is meant to demonstrate how greenhouse gas management programs might be structured and how specific challenges have been overcome.  With time and experience, some of these techniques will endure and eventually gain wide support to be deemed best practice. 

CONTACT: Melinda Taylor (512) 478-5161

(AUSTIN — March 28,) Environmental Defense and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today honored two families from the Texas Hill Country who have agreed to manage their ranches for the benefit of the endangered black-capped vireo and golden-cheeked warbler.

The vireo and the warbler are small, colorful song birds that nest in Central Texas in the Spring and early Summer and spend the rest of the year in Mexico and Central America. The ceremony celebrated the first two landowners to enroll in Environmental Defense’s Safe Harbor Program, which provides incentives for private landowners who try to make their property hospitable to endangered species.

“For too long in Texas the philosophy about endangered species on private lands has been ‘Shoot, shovel and shut-up,’ ” said Melinda Taylor, senior attorney for Environmental Defense. “The Safe Harbor program has created a new philosophy, and these two families have made a commitment to conservation that should be a model for landowners across the state.”

The two landowners being honored at the event — Cal and Hobby Porcher from Somervell County and the Russell Family from Williamson County — have agreed to remove excess brush, exclude cattle from the bird’s nesting areas, and plant oak trees, shrubs and other plants used by the birds for nesting and as food sources. In return for their commitment, they will be covered by Environmental Defense’s Safe Harbor permit. Issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the permit gives participating landowners the flexibility to manage their lands for endangered species for a set period of time, and then undo the habitat improvements in the future without incurring legal liability.

“The flexibility of this program made this a much easier decision,” said Kerry Russell, one of the owners of the Russell Family Trust property in Williamson County. “We hope that by participating in the Safe Harbor Program we can demonstrate to other landowners that endangered species management can be compatible with good ranch management.”

Representatives from Environmental Defense and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service look forward to future permits for private land owners. “Our goal for these birds is to bring them back from the brink of extinction, so that they can be removed from the endangered species list,” said David Frederick, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services office in Austin. “We are convinced that Safe Harbor is an important tool that conservation groups and private landowners can use to advance that goal.

“Texas has an amazing amount of biodiversity, with more than 7,000 documented plant and vertebrate animal species” said David Wolfe, senior scientist for Environmental Defense. “Virtually all of that biodiversity occurs on private lands. This program illustrates that land acquisition is not our only option for conservation, and that private land owners, given an incentive, want to help preserve our environment.”

(March 26, 2002 — Washington, DC)  Today a three-judge panel of the United States Federal Court of Appeals ruled for the second time on critical new health-based clean air standards, firmly rejecting industry’s renewed challenges to overturn the standards.  On May 14, 1999, the same panel of judges ruled 2-1 that the standards were unconstitutional, only to be reversed in a unanimous decision by the United States Supreme Court on February 27, 2001.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the clean air standards at issue in 1997 to protect public health by limiting nationwide pollution levels of smog (ground-level ozone) and fine, sooty particles.

“It is a public health imperative that the Bush administration, our nation’s governors and mayors across the country take immediate action to begin making these clean air standards a reality,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton. “For nearly five years, the legal wrangling by industry lawyers has delayed critical progress in delivering cleaner, healthier air to the millions of Americans that will be protected by these standards.” 

When EPA issued the standards in 1997, it estimated that when implemented the standards would protect 125 million Americans from adverse health effects of air pollution and each year would prevent

15,000 premature deaths,
350,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and
1 million cases of significantly decreased lung function in children.

Since then, a body of scientific research has only strengthened the medical basis for the standards.  On March 6, 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study of 500,000 people across the country finding that prolonged exposure to air contaminated with fine particles significantly raises the risk of dying of lung cancer or other heart and lung diseases.  Other recent studies have linked the pollutants at issue with increased risk of asthma in children (The Lancet, 2002; JAMA, 2001) (ozone); acute stroke mortality (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2002) (particulates and ozone); and birth defects (American Journal of Epidemiology, 2002) (ozone).  A study of the 90 largest U.S. cities found strong evidence linking daily increases in particulate pollution at contemporary levels to increases in daily death rates, and in hospital admissions of the elderly (Health Effects Institute, 2000).  Another study has indicated that chronic exposure to particulate pollution may shorten lives by one to three years (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2000).  

Environmental Defense led a coalition of environmental organizations in helping to successfully defend the clean air standards in two related cases before the United States Supreme Court. 

(21 March, 2002 — Washington)  Environmental Defense endorsed legislation introduced today by Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Harry Reid (D-NV) to create a nationwide environmental health tracking network through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Environmental Defense also endorsed companion legislation introduced in the House by Reprentatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Peter King (R-NY), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY).

“For most chronic diseases other than cancer, the data needed to provide a coherent national picture just don’t exist today, and even the cancer data are not truly comprehensive,” said Karen Florini, senior attorney with Environmental Defense. 

“States are literally all over the map in terms of the quality and extent of their chronic-disease data programs, and even those with effective programs don’t necessarily collect this information in a form that is compatible with data from other states.  As a result, efforts by scientists and policymakers to understand the causes of chronic health problems are gravely hampered. The programs established by this bill will go a long way toward fixing this Tower of Babel.  Senators Clinton and Reid are to be congratulated for their leadership on this vital issue, as are Representatives Pelosi, King, Tubbs, Jones and Slaughter.”

The nationwide network will set minimum standards for state networks, coordinate and compile data from state networks, and make such data available to the public.  The network will include information on chronic conditions and environmental, behavioral, and other factors.  The bill also provides funding and technical assistance for state data programs.

The legislation also calls for creation of a rapid response service at CDC that will develop and implement measures for reacting swiftly to environmental health concerns, and expansion of CDC’s ongoing collection and reporting of biomonitoring data (i.e., levels of toxic substances found in human tissues).

Contact: Michael Bean 202 387-3500

David Cherry 202 387-3500

At a hearing today before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, Environmental Defense senior attorney Michael Bean said Congress must work more closely with private landowners and provide more resources for science in order to meet federal obligations to aid the recovery of endangered species nationwide.

“Private landowners are essential for the recovery of many endangered species, but more must be done to encourage their participation in this effort, including meaningful incentives for land management,” Bean said. “Federal and state agencies must also be provided with adequate resources to make speedy and intelligent decisions about habitat and species recovery.”

Wednesday’s hearing on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) focused on two new bills, H.R. 2829, introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), and H.R. 3705, introduced by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA). Both bills call for changes in the way science and data are used by federal agencies during listing decisions and recovery activities related to endangered species. In his testimony, Bean questioned the approach taken by both measures and whether they will have the desired effect.

“The two bills before the committee today would make aspects of the Endangered Species Act more complex, rather than simpler, and would slow agency decision-making, rather than speeding it up. These measures also fail to provide new resources to meet federal obligations and do nothing to create positive incentives for conservation by private landowners,” Bean said.

Reports this week also indicate that the Bush administration is considering changes in critical habitat designations currently used to protect species in many parts of the country — a move that could have a significant impact on wildlife management efforts.

“The administration’s repeated contention that removal of critical habitat will make little practical difference in light of the other provisions of the Endangered Species Act necessarily assumes that the administration will make a serious and vigorous effort to enforce those other provisions. To date, there is scant evidence of any such effort,” Bean said.

Contact: Janine Bloomfield 617 723-5111

Allison Cobb 212 505-2100

Environmental Defense senior scientist Dr. Janine Bloomfield:

”Indications are that significantly warmer ocean and air temperatures in recent decades have led to a startlingly quick breakup of this Antarctic ice shelf. This is exactly the kind of condition scientists tell us is likely to become more and more common with global climate change.

“The rapid disappearance of ice shelves that have existed for thousands of years is a chilling reminder that emitting ever-increasing amounts of greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere is like conducting a vast uncontrolled experiment on Earth, with no turning back. The United States, as the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, must re-join the rest of the world in the effort to control this pollution and avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of global warming.”

Contact: Tim Searchinger 202 387-3500

Scott Faber 202 387-3500

Environmental Defense today criticized an agreement between House and Senate farm bill negotiators to limit conservation spending to $17.1 billion.

“We’re surprised that this agreement ignores the needs of farmers and ranchers in the Northeast, Northwest, Florida and California,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Tim Searchinger.

“Senate negotiators have cut the programs that benefit the public and most family farmers in order to give billions more to the country’s largest cotton and grain farmers,” said Environmental Defense agricultural expert Scott Faber. “I guess $120 billion divided mostly among a few thousand large cotton and grain producers is just not enough.”

While the original Senate farm bill included $21.3 billion in new spending for voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs, negotiators today reached final agreement on spending levels which included only $1.1 billion more than the $16 billion House farm bill figure.

Under the agreement, farmers who grow feed grains, cotton and rice would receive 70% of farm bill funds even though they represent just 30% of the nation’s farmers. Data from the Department of Agriculture indicates that two thirds of these funds go to only 3% of the nation’s farms.

“The agreement squanders an enormous opportunity to help the environment,” said Searchinger. “Because of this approach, thousands of rivers will remain polluted, millions of acres of farm and ranchland will be lost to sprawl and many endangered species will lose a chance of recovery.”

Environmental Defense had urged House and Senate negotiators to focus more new spending on existing conservation programs such as the Wetlands Reserve Program, which pays farmers to restore lost wetlands and faces a 500,000 acre backlog. Nationally, farmers face a $4 billion conservation backlog when they apply to existing USDA programs to help the environment.

“We should focus conservation funds on proven programs that help farmers take new steps to help the environment,” said Searchinger.

“Members of the U.S. Senate who supported the Levin-Bond-Stabenow amendment cannot claim to have done anything today to address fuel efficiency, energy security, or the needs of the environment. This was a vote for dependence on unstable sources of oil and increased global warming pollution. And it continues a pattern in Congress of seeking to stop any progress on achieving real fuel savings,” said Environmental Defense senior fellow John DeCicco.

“The Department of Transportation (DOT) has long had the regulatory authority to raise fuel economy standards, particularly for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and other light trucks. However, DOT has generally alternated between “rubber stamping” assertions that automakers were doing everything they could to improve gas mileage, and doing even less because of Congressional restrictions. The Levin-Bond-Stabenow amendment, backed by members of both parties and the Bush Administration, was designed to continue this do-nothing approach. America deserves better.

“The need for energy security is even clearer today than it was during the oil crises of the 1970s. Given the all too real security threats the nation faces due to unchecked oil dependence, and the growing problem of global warming, the Senate vote represents a shameful shirking of responsibility to the American public.

“With both houses now opting for a do-nothing approach, it falls to the Administration to demonstrate that it can and will address this critical issue in a meaningful way.