Complete list of press releases

Environmental Defense today criticized the Bush administration for weakening proposed energy efficiency standards for central air conditioners.

“Rolling back energy efficiency standards for air conditioning at a time when energy costs and concerns about rolling blackouts are growing simply doesn’t make sense,” said Environmental Defense executive director, Fred Krupp. “Today’s decision is a real missed opportunity, which will only make America more polluted.”

“The proposed standards have support from industry and state government,” said Krupp. “In fact, New York, California, and the Texas Public Utility Commission, whose chair was appointed by President Bush, all supported the stronger standards.”

“The American people expect progress, not backsliding on the environment,” said Krupp. “Increased energy efficiency protects the environment and saves people money by reducing their electricity bills. A strong effort on air conditioners would have helped clean the air, save money and slow global warming; today’s rollback does just the opposite,” said Krupp.

“The proposed standards were only due to go into effect in 2006, and all of the major air conditioner manufacturers are already selling models today that meet or beat the tougher standards, so clearly technology isn’t a problem,” said Krupp. “The administration’s failure to hold the line on energy efficiency is bad for the American economy and for America’s environment.”

Metal mining and electric utilities, which reported for only the second year, accounted for 51% and 15% of all releases nationwide.

Despite the TRI program’s superior results in helping reduce pollution, President Bush’s proposed budget issued on April 9 cuts the program by nearly 4%. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is contemplating rescinding a rule that would expand reporting of lead releases to TRI, and EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice may decide not to appeal a January decision in federal court in Colorado that would eliminate nearly all reporting to TRI by the mining industry.

While Environmental Defense praised EPA for the early release of TRI summary data compared to previous years, Environmental Defense senior engineer Lois Epstein emphasized that the use of the data by stakeholders is what is most important.

“The TRI right-to-know program represents the best of government, a program that shows excellent results at low cost for taxpayers. TRI data are the only data that EPA provides on ongoing facility operations that cover air, water, and land releases of toxic chemicals. EPA needs to expand its right-to-know program, not diminish it,” said Epstein.

See Environmental Defense’s use of TRI data in www.scorecard.org and the ranking portions of www.environmentaldefense.org

According to Environmental Defense, critical TRI needs requiring increased funding include: improvements in data quality, better reporting on pollution prevention results, integration of TRI data with other EPA databases, lowering the threshold for reporting of other persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals in addition to lead, and expanding data requirements to fill needed reporting gaps.

“ForMyWorld offers people across America facts and advice tailored specifically to their communities, so users can access information quite literally about their own backyards,” said Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp.

ForMyWorld offers customized “Neighborhood Reports” with detailed local data. Each report contains ways to take action in your community to improve your environment. Users can receive reports on four different topics:

? Pollution studies levels of contaminants in local air, waters and soils, as well as local toxic manufacturing emissions;
? Nature provides a detailed overview of native fauna, from indigenous birds to common area snakes, in addition to information on local natural recreation areas;
? Recycling rounds-up area recycling centers for everything from junk mail to motor oil to used batteries;
? Gardening supplies facts about native plants and monthly gardening tips.

ForMyWorld also provides content for the Animals & Environment section of the AOL Time Warner Foundation web site Helping.org, the most comprehensive e-philanthropy portal in cyberspace. Helping.org links AOL’s 27 million members and others to giving and volunteering opportunities.

Major ForMyWorld funding comes from the Packard Foundation and the Surdna Foundation. The site contains no banner ads or e-commerce. Environmental Defense has created web banner public service announcements (PSA’s) with The Advertising Council, the nation’s largest producer of public service ads. These PSA’s, which are being developed pro bono by volunteer ad agency McCann-Erickson/New York, are part of a comprehensive Environmental Defense PSA campaign aimed at providing information about everyday steps that can be taken to help preserve the environment. Radio and television PSA’s are also in development.

“The Internet is the ultimate expression of ‘think global, act local,’” said Krupp. “The web gives Environmental Defense and the National Wildlife Federation the unique chance to offer pooled resources in a way we’d never be able to do offline.”

“People look to our organizations to give them the information they need to discover and care for the world around them,” said NWF President and CEO Mark Van Putten. “The Internet gives us an ideal opportunity to give people the information they want and the opportunity to make a difference for their community, their nation and their world.”

ForMyWorld features:

Peter Benchley, author of “Jaws,” introduces and narrates a three-dimensional animated map of the Channel Islands marine sanctuary off the California coast and provides an overview of the growing movement to protect and preserve marine sanctuaries around the world.

Wildcam, live, streaming video of wildlife, including elephant seals off the coast of California, Steller sea lions, a seabird rookery featuring puffins in Alaska, and brown bears in Alaska feeding on salmon.

Eco-Trip Contest, users can register to win one of two eco-trips — to Yellowstone National Park in Montana or to Canyonlands, Utah, one of the world’s premier mountain biking and hiking areas.

Environmental Defense acts as managing partner of ForMyWorld. Content providers include eNature.com, recently acquired by the National Wildlife Federation; Gardening.com; Earth’s 911; and many others. A group of editorial advisors comprised of distinguished environmentalists, scientists, public policy experts and journalists helps guide our development. A full list of the advisors is available at www.formyworld.com on the web.

Environmental Defense today praised U.S. Senate leaders for supporting a budget amendment to commit $4.5 billion over 10 years to fund climate change programs. Among other things, this amendment, which passed on a voice vote, ensures that the budget includes sufficient funding for the U.S. to fully engage with the international community in ongoing negotiations under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), James Jeffords (R-VT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) showed important leadership in supporting funding for climate change programs,” said Environmental Defense legislative director Elizabeth Thompson. “Cuts in the current administration budget proposal could seriously undermine efforts to understand and respond to the threat of global climate change. Today’s amendment will help to ensure these programs can go forward.”

Just a few weeks ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the threat from global warming has grown and that Earth’s climate, its species, and many of its countries are already feeling the effects.

Environmental Defense today praised Senate leaders for passing a budget amendment to increase farm conservation programs by $1.3 billion. The amendment was sponsored by senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). These funds, along with another increase of $350 million for water quality programs agreed to early in the week, combine for a total increase of $1.65 billion, almost a doubling of this type of conservation spending.

“If Congress keeps these funds in its final budget, this increase could translate into hundreds of thousands of acres of restored wetlands, greater habitat for endangered species, and some real improvements in water quality,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Tim Searchinger. “Senators Smith, Harkin, Leahy and Snowe deserve great credit.”

“This commitment is a step toward reform of federal farm programs that recognizes farmers can provide not only food and fiber, but clean water and wildlife habitat, and a barrier against urban sprawl,” said Searchinger.

This conservation funding increase is not included in the budget adopted earlier by the House of Representatives. “It will be critical for the senators to keep the pressure on to keep these funds in a final budget,” said Searchinger.

Conservation groups today hailed the California legislature’s passage of two bills (SBX-5 and ABX-29) to ramp up investments in energy conservation in California, but called upon Governor Davis to make sure the bills are fully funded and rapidly implemented.

“These two bills are the centerpieces of a sound strategy for bringing California’s energy crisis under control,” said Doug Linney, Representative for the Coordinated Energy Campaign. “These bills had the strong support of the state’s environmental organizations, but consumer groups also saw these bills as essential. These bills, plus the Governor’s recognition of how important conservation is, made yesterday a red-letter day for California ratepayers.”

“These are the fastest, cheapest, cleanest things California can do to get through the summer without blackouts and dirtier air,” said Jim Martin, a senior policy analyst for Environmental Defense. “These bills are simple common sense.”

“The Governor should fully fund these bills and then get them and other measures already in the pipeline implemented at warp speed. Our analysis clearly shows one thing: conservation, and a lot of it, is the only thing that will keep the lights on this summer in California,” said Nancy Ryan, an economist at Environmental Defense.

“That means the Governor has a vital role to play in making sure these bills are fully funded and very aggressively implemented,” said Linney. “Every day we delay in implementing these programs is a lost opportunity to save 20 megawatts of electricity.”

North Carolina Environmental Defense praised clean smokestacks legislation expected to be introduced in both houses of the N.C. General Assembly today, calling the action a major step in the right direction for safeguarding public health and cleaning up the state’s outdated power plants.

The bill is based on recommendations in the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Plan, which was released in early March by a coalition of environmental and public health groups. The bill is expected to be introduced in the House by Rep. Martin Nesbitt (D-Buncombe) and in the Senate by Sen. Steven Metcalf (D-Buncombe).

“Senator Metcalf and Representative Nesbitt are leading the fight against dirty air. When this bill becomes law, North Carolina will take a major step toward safeguarding public health and cleaning up the state’s outdated power plants,” said Michael Shore, Southeast air quality manager for North Carolina Environmental Defense. “Polluted air costs the state about $3.5 billion annually in health care costs, loss of life, agriculture losses and decreased tourism. The state has a unique opportunity to be a leader in cleaning up air pollution, and North Carolina’s actions should drive other states to take measures to reduce the dirty air that drifts our way.”

The clean smokestacks bill recommends significant year-round reductions in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The bill also calls for studies to evaluate the need to reduce mercury and greenhouse gas emissions. Power plants emit 45% of airborne emissions of NOx , 82% of SO2, and 65% of mercury in North Carolina.

As the U.S. Senate prepares to debate a 10-year budget blueprint, a bipartisan group of 25 Senators today sent a letter to the Senate’s Budget Committee chairmen urging more funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation assistance programs.

A recent Environmental Defense report, based on USDA information, found that most farmers seeking conservation assistance from the government are turned away because of a lack of funds. “Farmland and ranchland cover 55% of the American landscape, dramatically impacting water quality, food safety, wildlife habitat, and the pace of sprawl,” said Environmental Defense water resources specialist Scott Faber. “Federal spending for USDA conservation programs must be increased to meet demand from farmers and ranchers for financial and technical assistance, and to address many of these pressing environmental challenges.” The report can be found at www.environmentaldefense.org

“Helping farmers and ranchers meet public demand for clean water and air, open space, wildlife habitat as well as safe, fresh food should become the basis for renewing our public commitment to agriculture,” the Senators wrote today to Senate Budget Committee Chairmen Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Kent Conrad (D-ND).

The budget resolution before the Senate this week will serve as a blueprint when Congress reauthorizes federal farm programs next year.

Senators joining the letter include Jim Jeffords (R-VT), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Max Baucus (D-MT), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Max Cleland (D-GA), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Tom Daschle (D-SD), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Harry Reid (D-NV), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Boosting funding for conservation programs will also ensure that U.S. farm spending meets new limits imposed by international trade agreements, the letter said. The Senators urged their colleagues to seize the “opportunity to put farm policy back on track and develop new approaches that work for producers, consumers and taxpayers.”

Responding to nationally televised claims by the American Chemistry Council that its products have been “carefully scrutinized” for safety, Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp today asked the chemical industry’s top official to prove it or publicly back down.

Krupp reminded Fred Webber, head of the industry association previously known as the Chemical Manufacturers Association, that Webber himself had spoken up for the urgent need to test industrial chemicals, after his own group’s exhaustive study confirmed that less than 10% of top-selling U.S. chemicals could show even preliminary test results in the public record.

The documentary “Trade Secrets” by journalist Bill Moyers, which aired last night on public television, was immediately followed by an on-camera discussion including American Chemistry Council spokesman Terry Yosie. Yosie insisted to Moyers that the public could rely on chemicals having been tested.

In fact, Krupp wrote to Webber, “what brought the American Chemistry Council to sit down with environmentalists was exactly the opposite: joint recognition that most of the industry’s top-selling chemicals have not been tested,” and a sense of urgency about starting to fill “the enormous gap of ignorance about chemical hazards.”

Krupp called on Webber to produce test results for the 9,000 chemical products his spokesman had referred to on Moyers’ program, or “issue a public retraction and admission” that Yosie had misled the public.

A peer-reviewed study published in today’s BioScience underscores the need for further air pollution reductions to protect ecosystems from acid rain. The study chronicles the effects of acid rain on sensitive ecosystems in the Northeast, estimates the impacts of pollution reductions currently required under the Clean Air Act, and projects the ecosystem benefits from further cuts.

“The conclusions of the study are compelling,” said Michael Oppenheimer, chief scientist of Environmental Defense. “It shows that pollution cuts to date are a good beginning, rather than the solution, to the Northeast’s acid rain problem. The study documents the need for further reductions in air pollution that harms ecosystems in the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and throughout the Northeast.”

Acid rain occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the atmosphere react with water and air pollutants to form acidic compounds. In the U.S., power plants produce nearly 70% of annual SO2 emissions and 25% of annual NOx emissions. The transportation sector — including passenger cars and trucks, large diesel trucks and buses, and nonroad engines — is responsible for about 50% of the nation’s annual NOx emissions.

The study reports that:

• Across the Northeast, acid deposition alters soils, stresses forest vegetation, acidifies lakes and streams, and harms fish and other aquatic life.

• Acid deposition has contributed to the decline of red spruce trees throughout the eastern U.S. and sugar maple trees in central and western Pennsylvania.

• Conservatively, 41% of Adirondack region lakes and 15% of New England lakes exhibit chronic and/or episodic acidification; 83% of the impacted lakes are acidic due to acid deposition.

• Current SO2 pollution reduction requirements for power plants are having a positive effect but will not adequately protect acid-sensitive ecosystems.

• An additional 80% reduction in SO2 pollution from power plants would facilitate the recovery of sensitive northeastern ecosystems in 20-25 years.

  The full study can be found at: www.aibs.org/biosciencelibrary/vol51/mar01special.ldml and a summary can be found at: www.hbrook.sr.unh.edu/hbfound/hbfound.htm.

A peer-reviewed study published in today’s BioScience underscores the need for further air pollution reductions to protect ecosystems from acid rain. The study chronicles the effects of acid rain on sensitive ecosystems in the Northeast, estimates the impacts of pollution reductions currently required under the Clean Air Act, and projects the ecosystem benefits from further cuts.

“The conclusions of the study are compelling,” said Michael Oppenheimer, chief scientist of Environmental Defense. “It shows that pollution cuts to date are a good beginning, rather than the solution, to the Northeast’s acid rain problem. The study documents the need for further reductions in air pollution that harms ecosystems in the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and throughout the Northeast.”

Acid rain occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the atmosphere react with water and air pollutants to form acidic compounds. In the U.S., power plants produce nearly 70% of annual SO2 emissions and 25% of annual NOx emissions. The transportation sector — including passenger cars and trucks, large diesel trucks and buses, and nonroad engines — is responsible for about 50% of the nation’s annual NOx emissions.

The study reports that:

• Across the Northeast, acid deposition alters soils, stresses forest vegetation, acidifies lakes and streams, and harms fish and other aquatic life.

• Acid deposition has contributed to the decline of red spruce trees throughout the eastern U.S. and sugar maple trees in central and western Pennsylvania.

• Conservatively, 41% of Adirondack region lakes and 15% of New England lakes exhibit chronic and/or episodic acidification; 83% of the impacted lakes are acidic due to acid deposition.

• Current SO2 pollution reduction requirements for power plants are having a positive effect but will not adequately protect acid-sensitive ecosystems.

• An additional 80% reduction in SO2 pollution from power plants would facilitate the recovery of sensitive northeastern ecosystems in 20-25 years.

  The full study can be found at: www.aibs.org/biosciencelibrary/vol51/mar01special.ldml and a summary can be found at: www.hbrook.sr.unh.edu/hbfound/hbfound.htm.

A PBS investigative report on the chemical industry by Bill Moyers, set to air Monday, includes a companion website on PBS.org that features Environmental Defense’s award-winning Scorecard website as a primary resource. Scorecard provides free, in-depth profiles on 6,800 chemicals, showing the known and suspected health hazards of each, detailing where and how it is used, and noting whether the chemical has actually been tested for health effects. See “About the Chemicals” at www.Scorecard.org/chemical-profiles.

The website also lets users find out about chemical pollution in their own neighborhoods, simply by typing in a zipcode at www.Scorecard.org. “Scorecard is meant to be an antidote to chemical confusion,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney David Roe. “It lets you cut through the fog in seconds instead of months.”

“One key fallacy about the chemical industry is the assumption that it knows which ones of its thousands of chemicals are toxic,” said Roe. In fact, as Environmental Defense found in its groundbreaking Toxic Ignorance study in 1997, even basic health effects information is lacking for most of the top-volume chemicals now in commercial use. The www.Scorecard.org site shows the testing status of thousands of top-volume chemicals.

Following the Environmental Defense study, more than 400 chemical manufacturers agreed to provide accelerated hazard screening for 2,000 top-selling chemicals that they manufacture, in a unique challenge program established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with Environmental Defense and the Chemical Manufacturers Association (now known as the American Chemistry Council).

“The picture is bad enough for chemicals known to be toxic, but until more chemicals are tested, no one can say with certainty how big the picture really is,” said Roe.

North Carolina Environmental Defense today announced that Dr. David McNaught has joined the organization as a senior policy analyst for water quality issues in North Carolina and the southeast United States.

McNaught most recently served as executive director of the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Under his leadership, the fund allocated $170 million to 182 community projects to protect or restore water quality and committed $40 million to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to restore 100,000 acres of ecologically sensitive farmland.

“We are pleased to add Dave to the Environmental Defense team,” said Jane Preyer, director of the North Carolina Environmental Defense office. “His analytical skills, creativity and indefatigable passion for protecting our environment will be a big asset in our work on water quality issues.”

“Environmental Defense has an impressive record of achieving real progress on water quality issues in the southeast,” said McNaught. “North Carolina and the entire region must work diligently to solve water quality problems and protect this critical natural resource.”

McNaught received master’s degrees in sociology and environmental sciences from Wake Forest University and the University of Montana and a Ph.D. in social theory from the University of Florida. In addition to his work with the Clean Water Trust Fund, McNaught was executive director of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation and served on the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission.

McNaught will be based in the Raleigh offices of Environmental Defense and can be reached at 919 881-2601 or at dmcnaught@environmentaldefense.org by email.

Environmental Defense sharply criticized a statement made late yesterday by President Bush reversing his earlier commitment, made during the presidential campaign, to curb emissions of all key pollutants from electric power plants, including carbon dioxide, which is a major contributor to global warming. The statement was contained in a letter from the President to Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb). The letter also reiterated the administration’s opposition to the Kyoto Protocol, which was also stated during the campaign.

“Not only has the administration reneged on a campaign commitment, but in opposing the Kyoto Protocol and power plant pollution controls, it has effectively blocked the only two proposed vehicles for fighting global warming, the key environmental threat of this century, while offering no alternative path to protect the planet,” said Fred Krupp, executive director of Environmental Defense.

“By raising the specter of scientific uncertainty, this position effectively rejects the judgment of the world’s leading climate scientists, confirmed just weeks ago in the assessment released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. That report warned that the threat from global warming has grown and that Earth’s climate, its species, and many of its countries are already feeling its effects,” said Dr. Michael Oppenheimer, chief scientist of Environmental Defense.

“We urge the administration to reconsider its position and work with the bipartisan Congressional coalition developing legislation to control carbon dioxide from power plants, while playing an active role in negotiations, due to resume in July, aimed at improving and finalizing the Kyoto Protocol,” said Joe Goffman, senior attorney at Environmental Defense. “As the world’s last remaining superpower, and the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, the United States has a special obligation to lead on this issue. The international community and forward thinking elements of the business community are already taking this problem on, it’s time for the new administration to face its responsibilities on global warming as well.”