Complete list of press releases

Switching to recycled paperboard packaging can cut costs, demonstrate environmental leadership, and maintain package quality, according to a new report by the Alliance for Environmental Innovation. The report, “Greener Cartons: A Buyer’s Guide to Recycled-Content Paperboard,” is available at www.environmentaldefense.org on the web

“The quality, variety, and availability of recycled-content paperboard have improved dramatically in recent years,” said Bruce Hammond, Alliance paperboard project manager. “The best recycled paperboards now compete head-on with bleached virgin boards in terms of performance and appearance, but usually cost less.”

Paperboard is used to make the folding cartons that package a broad range of consumer products, from over-the-counter medicines to fast food, software, and cereal. More than half the products on supermarket shelves are now packaged in recycled paperboard.

Kodak made the switch from virgin to recycled-content paperboard a decade ago. “Today’s film cartons contain a minimum 75% post-consumer content and the company has realized significant cost savings from the changeover,” said Kodak senior packaging engineer, Gaylynn Durkin.

Other top brand names that are packaged in recycled-content paperboard include Warner Bros. videos and DVDs, Excedrin and Celebrex painkillers, Clairol Natural Instincts and Wella haircolor, UPS and FedEx overnight shipping envelopes, Duracell batteries, Hewlett-Packard printer cartridges, and Gillette Sensor shaving cartridges.

“The post-consumer content of the paperboard is what creates the greatest environmental savings,” said Hammond. “Companies have several different types of recycled-content paperboard to choose from, including paperboards that layer recycled materials between outer layers of virgin fibers, as well as board made from 100% recovered materials.”

The Alliance calculates that switching to only 35% postconsumer recycled-content for U.S. medicine and cosmetic cartons would create the following annual environmental benefits:
- 156,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided — the amount of greenhouse gas pollution from 27,000 cars driven 200 miles a week
- 2.6 billion gallons of wastewater avoided — the discharge from 27,000 households
- 510,000 fewer tons of trees used — the trees required to make the copy paper used by 11 million people
- 106,000 tons of solid waste avoided — the trash generated by 49,000 households

Environmental Defense today expressed support for new conservation legislation sponsored by U.S. Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Conservation Assistance and Regional Equity Act (CARE) would increase funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs to $5 billion annually.

“This innovative legislation will reward willing landowners who work to meet environmental challenges while also ensuring that federal conservation programs benefit every region, not just those that produce certain crops,” said Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp. “Without an increase in funding from CARE, farmers and ranchers will continue to be turned away when they seek federal conservation assistance. This shortfall in funding equals missed opportunities to improve wildlife habitat, to clean up polluted lakes and rivers, and to protect farmland threatened by growth.”

The CARE proposal commits $5 billion in annual funding to USDA conservation programs, including $1 billion for water quality incentives, $350 million for farmland preservation efforts, and $320 million for wildlife habitat incentives. The legislation would also provide enough annual funding to restore 250,000 acres of wetlands and reward farmers who conserve water to help dwindling fish stocks.

“Farmers and ranchers are already willing to play a lead role in protecting water quality, restoring wildlife habitat, and serving as a frontline against sprawl,” said Krupp. “But when they seek federal conservation assistance, most are turned away due to a severe shortage of funds. Seventy percent of ranchers and farmers who apply for federal aid to protect waterways are rejected because of funding shortfalls, and that’s just one example. The goal of CARE is to end this backlog and allow more individual landowners, in more states, to help protect the environment.”

In addition to rewarding farmers who participate in USDA’s voluntary incentive-based conservation programs, funding under CARE can also contribute to farm income in other ways, including payments to preserve lands threatened by urban growth. By increasing the number of farmers eligible for conservation payments, the bill would promote greater regional equity.

Under current spending, only certain agricultural products are eligible for traditional income support payments. Consequently, farmers in 15 commodity-crop states receive 75% of all USDA spending, while large farm states like New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, and California receive very little USDA assistance.

The Clean Car Campaign has joined forces with automotive dealerships, state and city officials, and environmental organizations across the nation today to kick off a “Switch-the-Switch” event to help protect the public and the environment from toxic mercury. Participating automotive dealerships will replace convenience lighting mercury switches with mercury-free alternatives in customer vehicles for free during the event, and state and city officials will replace mercury switches in government vehicle fleets.

The Clean Car Campaign today also called on auto manufacturers to establish a national program to recover mercury in vehicles. “The Clean Car Campaign commends the leadership of the dealers and fleet managers participating in this week’s event; we now need the industry as a whole to step up to the plate and offer this important service to help protect our environment and our health,” said Dean Menke of Environmental Defense, a member of the Clean Car Campaign.

Mercury is a highly toxic substance that can cause severe nervous system problems in humans and wildlife. Mercury switches used until recently in hood and trunk convenience lighting are the most common source of mercury in cars. These switches contribute to the estimated 200 tons of mercury in vehicles on the road today. Much of this mercury will be released to the environment when the vehicles are scrapped, unless auto manufacturers offer a safe and effective program to collect this toxic substance.

“It’s time for auto manufacturers to take responsibility for the tons of mercury in vehicles now on the road,” said Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project, a Clean Car Campaign member.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control, over 375,000 children born in the U.S. each year are at risk for neurodevelopment problems, from mild learning disabilities to mental retardation, because of exposure to mercury in the womb. Despite the extreme danger, the U.S. auto industry continues to routinely use mercury in cars, even though practical alternatives are widely available.

“Switch-the-Switch” events are taking place at dealerships and government fleets in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Clean Car Campaign is working to keep the mercury collected from the switches from being resold and placed into new products through the donated services of Comus, Int. and Bethlehem Apparatus to receive, collect and store the mercury on an interim basis of at least one year.

Environmental Defense today praised the leadership shown by Japan, Russia, and the European Union (EU) in finalizing rules at negotiations in Morocco to implement the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Today’s action by more than 170 countries paves the way for ratification by individual nations, which could put the Protocol into effect as early as next year.

“Earth is already beginning to show the effects of global climate change, and responsible nations are taking action,” said Environmental Defense chief scientist Michael Oppenheimer. “As the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gas pollution, it’s well past time for the United States to join the broad-based international coalition against global warming. Because the science on this issue is clear, the administration should immediately reconsider its position”

Despite international scientific assessments that show global warming gases have reached their highest level in more than 400,000 years, the Bush administration withdrew the U.S. from the Kyoto Protocol earlier this year. Other political leaders have taken steps to address global climate challenge. In August Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) pledged to develop legislation to cap U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. But without a limit on carbon dioxide emissions, U.S. industries are not likely to respond to business opportunities in the emissions market.

“While the climate negotiators deserve praise for preserving the fundamental strengths of the Kyoto Protocol — binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized nations and creation of an international emissions trading market — some of their decisions may reduce the market’s ability to deliver the full range of environmental and economic benefits that might otherwise have been achieved,” said Joseph Goffman, Environmental Defense senior attorney. “By significantly reducing the role of forest carbon sinks in meeting countries’ emissions limitation obligations, the negotiators lost a critical opportunity to integrate climate protection and biodiversity enhancement into the protocol. These issues will have to be re-visited should the U.S. move to re-engage the Kyoto process in the future.”

Along with Congress, some states have also expressed interest in legislation that would require reductions in emissions that contribute to global warming. This week, with gubernatorial, industry and environmental support, legislation to cap greenhouse gas pollution from power plants was introduced in the New Hampshire legislature. Some 20 other states have legislative proposals under consideration.

“As we have seen with the successful effort to reduce acid rain in the U.S., the ability of countries to bank credits is essential for the creation of both the environmental and economic benefits of emissions trading,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Joseph Goffman. “The nations of the Umbrella group are right to insist that this innovative approach remain a part of the global warming framework that was created in Kyoto.”

Citing the success of credit banking in the reduction of sulfur dioxide, a key component in acid rain, Goffman rejected arguments that the concept could be scrapped in order to reach agreement.

“Eliminating the ability for nations to save their emissions credits will actually lead to more global warming, not less,” Goffman said. “If they cannot be banked for later use, credits will simply flood the marketplace, driving down their value and encouraging the release of more greenhouse gasses, instead of spurring investment in additional reductions.”

Environmental Defense today praised the Austin Idea Network and Austin Chamber of Commerce for joining the Austin Clean Air Partners program. The program was initiated by Mayor Watson in 1998 and was initially designed by the Clean Air Force and Environmental Defense.

The program contains a number of cutting-edge ideas including:
- commitments to reduce emissions by a quantified amount;
- commitments by businesses to be responsible for not only emissions from their plant or company owned vehicles, but also the indirect emissions associated with their operations, such as the emissions related to employee commutes;
- the use of strategies that not only reduce ozone, but also simultaneously alleviate other environmental and community problems, such as the emission of greenhouse gases and traffic congestion at no additional costs;
- employer provided incentives and benefits to employees to reduce single occupancy commuter vehicles that cost businesses little or nothing to implement.

“There is one area where the program needs improvement and that is with regard to public accountability,” said Jim Marston, director of the Texas Office of Environmental Defense. “Transparency about how the claimed pollution reductions are achieved will lend the program greater creditability with the public.”

Environmental Defense will assume the role of assuring public accountability of the Clean Air Partners project. Every six months we will ask each of the Clean Air Partners to disclose which strategies they are implementing as part of the program and the success of each. We will compile and analyze that data and publicize which strategies are working most successfully on our website and elsewhere. We will delineate which Clean Air Partners are willing to disclose the information necessary for the public to be confident of the validity of their claimed emission reductions and are deserving of public recognition and acclaim.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) farm bill proposal is an improvement over farm legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but still falls short of meeting conservation goals and achieving regional equity according to Environmental Defense.

“Under the current system, the majority of U.S. farmers are routinely rejected when they seek conservation funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including 70% of those seeking water quality grants and more than 500,000 farmers who have offered to restore lost wetlands. Unfortunately, the Harkin proposal still falls short of meeting the demand for participation in existing conservation programs,” said Environmental Defense attorney Tim Searchinger.

While the Harkin legislation seeks to fund restoration of 250,000 acres of wetlands and retains current limits of feedlots subsidies, Environmental Defense is calling on Harkin to increase funding for water quality and wildlife habitat incentives as well as expand open space preservation and other conservation programs under the USDA.

“Farmers and ranchers are willing to do their part to help the environment, but we need to provide them with adequate tools and better incentives,” said Environmental Defense water resource specialist Scott Faber. “The last farm bill dedicated 30% of farm spending to conservation programs, but Senator Harkin’s proposal would spend less than 20% of USDA funds to reward farmers who help the environment.”

The Harkin bill will provide $3.5 billion in annual average spending for traditional USDA conservation programs during the years covered by the bill, a figure that is far below the $4.2 billion in funding proposed by Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) or the $5 billion in annual funding to be proposed this week by Senators Pat Leahy (D-VT) and Harry Reid (D-NV).

Environmental Defense is also concerned that Senator Harkin’s income subsidy proposals do not reduce incentives that have led to crop surpluses in the past and contributed to the destruction of environmentally sensitive lands through the production of row crops like corn and soybeans, a concern that is also shared by the Bush administration.

Environmental Defense today praised Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman for approving a long awaited Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (C.R.E.P.) for Wisconsin.

“This C.R.E.P. brings nearly $200 million in federal funding to Wisconsin to solve problems of polluted runoff to impaired streams and habitat loss,” said Tim Searchinger, senior attorney for Environmental Defense. “The C.R.E.P. also seeks to reduce phosphorous, nitrogen, and sediment pollution by buffering thousands of miles of streams which have been harmed by agricultural runoff. At the same time, the program will address the dramatic decline of the prairie chicken, meadowlark, and other Wisconsin grassland birds through the restoration of up to 15,000 acres of critical habitat.”

The program combines significant federal and state funds to solve environmental issues such as restoring the health of a river system, through the establishment of voluntary contracts with farmers willing to make improvements on their land. The Wisconsin C.R.E.P., which has been the focus of efforts by Environmental Defense since the late 1990’s, will merge $45 million in state and private non-governmental funding with $198 million in federal funding to restore streamside and grassland habitat and filter polluted runoff before it reaches impaired rivers and streams.

“As we have already seen with Spring Creek in Rock County, and at other sites in Wisconsin, establishing riparian buffers and adding fencing can revive ailing waterways and turn them into sparkling, self-sustaining trout streams,” said Searchinger. “The benefit of the C.R.E.P. is that it will simultaneously apply these proven measures to hundreds of streams throughout the state. In addition, it will also benefit grassland bird populations in the Midwest whose numbers have plummeted as a result of native prairie loss and conversion or intensified use of farm pastures and meadows.”

Environmental Defense today praised House and Senate Conferees for including continued protection against expanded offshore drilling in key coastal waters as part of the Department of Interior’s Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002.

“We are heartened that the congressional negotiators determined that this was not the time to arbitrarily jeopardize our coastal natural treasures,” said Richard Charter, marine conservation advocate with Environmental Defense. “The conservation ethic is deeply rooted in America’s core values and preservation of our national parklands and spectacular coastlines remains a high public priority.”

Among the key provisions in the bill is a one-year extension of a moratorium on new offshore drilling lease sales in sensitive coastal waters that will now be in place until October 1, 2002. The congressional offshore leasing moratorium was first adopted in 1982 in response to the aggressive drilling plans of former Interior Secretary James Watt. The congressional moratorium, now renewed for the twentieth consecutive year, currently protects the east and west coasts, parts of southern Florida, and the fishery-rich waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. An amendment added by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) also strengthens existing restrictions on so-called “pre-lease” activities.

However, conferees stripped the bill of a House provision that would have delayed new offshore leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, including off of Florida’s Panhandle and Gulf Coast, for six months. As a result, the Interior Department is now cleared by Congress to proceed with a 1.5 million-acre lease sale in a controversial new area where endangered Sperm whales are frequently found.

“While we are disappointed that the Eastern Gulf of Mexico will now be open to new drilling activities, it is our hope that the Department of Interior will apply sound science in taking the steps necessary to protect sensitive biological resources in that area,” Charter said.

The national environmental group also praised Lugar, ranking Republican on the Senate Agricultural Committee, and the administration for proposing farm subsidy reforms that would reduce incentives to convert wetlands and other environmentally sensitive areas to corn, soybean, or other row crop production.

“Farm policy should help all farmers and all regions, including Midwestern grain farmers, and reward farmers when they help the environment. Senator Lugar’s bold proposal reflects these principles and we look forward to these ideas being incorporated into farm legislation as it moves through the Senate,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Timothy Searchinger.

According to Searchinger, only 30% of farmers are currently eligible for federal subsidies, and large producers collect most of these payments. By contrast, under the new Lugar proposal all U.S. farmers are eligible for conservation payments and other assistance.

“Revamping subsidy programs to discourage the production of huge crop surpluses and the conversion of environmentally sensitive lands is a courageous step for which Senator Lugar deserves a great deal of credit,” Searchinger said. “We hope that Senator Lugar will be able to work together with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), who has championed USDA conservation programs and has pledged to make conservation the centerpiece of the next Farm Bill.”

Environmental Defense is pleased to announce the publication this month of Remains Of A Rainbow: Rare Plants And Animals Of Hawai`i, published by the National Geographic Society in association with Environmental Defense. The book features portraits of some of the rarest creatures on Earth by award-winning photographers David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton, who have studied with famed photographer Richard Avedon and now photograph imperiled species to help save them.

Sadly, Hawai`i is the epicenter of the biodiversity crisis in the U.S. More plants and animals there are threatened with extinction than anywhere else. Environmental Defense has supported Susan and David’s work on Remains of a Rainbow because we believe giving a “face” to these rare and faraway creatures is critical to saving them. Without caring intervention from humans, these species will disappear — a few already have. The stunning photographs of Susan and David reveal the unique personality of each plant and animal, helping people get to know them and recognize the importance of protecting them.

Environmental Defense works in close partnership with Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, Hawai`i’s fishermen, and environmentalists to protect endangered species in the vast and remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a pristine network of largely uninhabited shoals and atolls reaching 1,200 miles from the main islands and comprising 70% of the coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction. The 84 million acre Northwest Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve is the last safe haven for endangered monk seals, sea turtles, and over 14 million sea birds. The Reserve — designed to protect the reef ecosystem and the small existing fishery — is an essential spawning ground for the marine life on which the state’s $700 million marine tourism industry depends.

Environmental Defense has also worked to develop cutting-edge solutions for protecting threatened plants and animals throughout the United States, including Safe Harbor agreements that encourage private landowners to protect endangered species without fear of new regulations and red tape. Landowner incentives to protect endangered species are critical in Hawai`i, where the vast majority of the land is privately owned. The endangered Hawaiian nene goose, Hawai`i’s state bird, is being reintroduced this year on private ranchland in Moloka`i under such an agreement. In fact, Hawai`i has proposed more Safe Harbor agreements than any other state.

Susan and David faced personal peril in Hawai`i to bring the wonders of these creatures to light. They balanced on a razorback ridge in a rainstorm in one case to photograph a newly discovered, very rare plant, the Cyrtandra paliku, and in the process helped discover a beautiful flightless cricket not yet known to science.

Find out more about their adventures and the work of Environmental Defense to protect these plants and animals by calling Allison Cobb in the press office of Environmental Defense at 212 505-2100 to arrange interviews and get photo permissions. Selected photos and more information can be found at www.environmentaldefense.org.

Norm Thompson Outfitters, in partnership with the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, announced today that it has switched to paper with a minimum of 10% postconsumer recycled content in all of its catalogs.

The switch is the culmination of Norm Thompson Outfitters’ partnership with the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, a nonprofit environmental group. Research completed during the partnership determined that paper with 10% postconsumer recycled content is widely available from major suppliers, is priced competitively with virgin paper, prints as well as virgin paper, and has no impact on customer response. For a full report of the project results, visit www.EnvironmentalDefense.org

“Norm Thompson Outfitters is committed to using paper with the highest level of postconsumer recycled content that meets our business needs,” said company president Rebecca L. Jewett. “By using recycled paper, we can reduce our burden on the environment while maintaining profitability. We expect that recycled paper will become the industry standard for catalogs, starting with 10% postconsumer recycled content, and moving to higher levels over time.”

“Switching to postconsumer recycled paper helps protect forests and wildlife, reduces energy use and pollution associated with paper production, and cuts waste sent to landfills and incinerators. We applaud Norm Thompson Outfitters’ leadership in moving to recycled paper and encourage other catalogers to follow suit,” said Victoria Mills, project manager at the Alliance for Environmental Innovation.

The Alliance calculates that Norm Thompson Outfitters’ move to recycled paper will achieve the following annual environmental improvements:
- 4,400 fewer tons of wood consumed — the amount needed to produce a year’s worth of copy paper for 94,000 people
- 20 billion BTUs of energy saved — enough to supply 190 households for a year
- 11.7 million gallons of wastewater avoided — the annual discharges of 120 households
- 990 tons of solid waste prevented — the trash produced annually by 460 households

Norm Thompson Outfitters is also taking steps to use less paper, and working with its paper suppliers to support cleaner manufacturing and environmentally preferable forest management practices.

Norm Thompson Outfitters is a retailer of apparel, gifts, and home items through its catalogs (Norm Thompson, Solutions, Early Winters, and Waterfront Living), stores in Oregon, and web sites. The company was awarded the Direct Marketing Association’s Robert Rodale Environmental Mailer of the Year award in both 2000 and 2001. To learn more about the company’s environmental initiatives, please visit www.normthompson.com.

Safe Harbor agreements are a new conservation tool that allows landowners to create or improve habitat for endangered species on their land without fear of new restrictions. Such agreements have been struck with several hundred landowners on approximately 2 million acres of land in other states. Paramount Farming Company, the landowner proposing to help protect the kit fox, is the first major agricultural grower to seek a Safe Harbor agreement.

“Paramount Farming Company is to be strongly commended for being the first to embrace this new conservation tool in California,” said Michael Bean, chair of the Environmental Defense Wildlife program and a leading authority on the Endangered Species Act.

Small populations of kit foxes live on grassland to the east and west of Paramount’s agricultural fields in Kern County. The foxes are highly vulnerable to coyotes, but under the agreement, Paramount will allow a series of artificial “escape dens” to be installed across a portion of its land. The entrances to these artificial dens are large enough to allow the kit foxes to enter but small enough to keep the coyotes out.

The agreement aims to reduce kit fox mortality and increase the fox’s ability to traverse the farm fields safely. The artificial dens were installed late last year in anticipation of eventual approval of the agreement and will be uncapped and made available to kit foxes as soon as the agreement receives final approval. See the Federal Register notice.

“Safe Harbor is one of the few endangered species conservation strategies that has been praised by environmental groups, as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Western Governors’ Association,” said Bean.

“For the first time, researchers, policy makers and stakeholders from the United States and Mexico have come together to learn about the delta and steps already underway to protect and restore it,” noted Michael Cohen, Senior Associate at the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. “Yet this symposium is only a first step. Now that we all know the condition of the delta, we must take action to ensure that the delta’s needs are met. The principles and recommendations devised by some 20 groups from Mexico and U.S. will guide us in the right direction as we begin the work of meeting these needs,” continued Michael Cohen.

One Percent of River Flow Could Save Delta

“This is an important conference because water users in the U.S. and Mexico have finally acknowledged that, despite their best intentions, too much Colorado River water is being used along the way,” said Ed Glenn, Professor of Soil, water, and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. The good news according to professor Glenn: “As little as 1 percent of the river’s flow might be enough to preserve key habitats.”

“The symposium and treaty amendment give cause for hope,” concurred David Hogan, Urban Wildlands and Rivers Program Coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity. “But not one drop of water is legally dedicated to nature, so we look forward to working with others to strike a balance between water for agriculture, cities and the delta environment.”

“This conference is a strong indicator of how committed the two governments are to seriously addressing the imperative of Delta restoration,” said William Snape, Vice President for Legal Affairs at Defenders of Wildlife. But “The delta needs water now,” added Lisa Force, Program Director for Living Rivers. “If we’re not careful, the delta could be studied literally to death. The Mexican and U.S. governments and Colorado River water users need to commit to secured flows for the delta, as prescribed by the science already completed, while further studies proceed.”

Participants at the conference pointed to the cooperation between U.S. and Mexican stakeholders as a key part of any solution: “Getting a good understanding of water and environmental laws in the U.S. and Mexico is an important ingredient to solving the problems in the delta,” said Steve Glazer, Chair of the Sierra Club Colorado River Task Force.

Jennifer Pitt, Senior Analyst with Environmental Defense added that, “the international border creates a real challenge to good ecosystem management, but if the United States and Mexico can continue the dialogue started here, there is hope for the river.”

River Restoration Faces a Host of Challenges

The symposium is an important first step towards delta conservation, but other activities in the U.S. may limit the effectiveness of Minute 306, as the agreement between Mexico and the U.S. to cooperate on Colorado River Delta restoration is called.

Among these challenges: The Bureau of Reclamation has recently approved the Interim Surplus Guidelines and water-banking regulations, which will markedly reduce the delta-nourishing floods that once spilled from Hoover Dam. And the U.S.-based Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program may also significantly undermine the success of the agreement.

“The state’s multi-species program is a real threat to the delta because contracts under the program will tie up any water which might otherwise be available for delta conservation,” stated David Hogan of Center for Biological Diversity.

“Both the U.S. and Mexican governments need to step up to the plate on delta restoration. With the principles contained in the binational declaration, we have created a framework for moving forward,” summed Pam Hyde, Director of Policy for Southwest Rivers. “But the question remains: Do we have the political will to protect and restore this unique area for future generations?”

“The revised bill is a balanced, fair solution to North Carolina’s worsening air pollution problem,” said Michael Shore, Southeast air quality manager for North Carolina Environmental Defense. “Senator Metcalf, Representative Nesbitt, and Governor Mike Easley deserve credit for their leadership in cleaning up North Carolina’s dirty air. Now the House of Representatives must act responsibly and give the Clean Smokestacks Bill its full vote of confidence.”

“The broad coalition of organizations working to pass the Clean Smokestacks Bill include health, tourism, energy generating utilities, environmentalists, fish farmers, and many local governments,” said Shore. “But manufacturers and their powerful lobbyists are fighting the bill.”

The bill is based on the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Plan that was developed by a statewide environmental coalition. The bill will require emission cuts in year-round nitrogen oxides by 72% and sulfur dioxide by 73% from 1998 levels. Controlling these pollutants will also substantially reduce toxic mercury emissions. The reductions will occur over the next 12 years.