Complete list of press releases

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In Georgia, according to EDF’s report, bald eagles are increasing in number, where 31 pairs occupied territories in 1997, up from 12 in 1990. On July 12, 1995, the bald eagle was reclassified from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. After vanishing entirely from the eastern US, the peregrine falcon is returning. An endangered peregrine pair nested in 1997 in Georgia. On August 26, 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the peregrine from the endangered species list. The once endangered American alligator, found in Georgia, has fully recovered and was removed from the endangered species list June 4, 1987. The Atlantic coast population of brown pelicans has recovered and was removed from the endangered species list February 4, 1985.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In Florida, bald eagles are increasing in number, where 874 pairs occupied territories in 1997, up from 535 in 1990. On July 12, 1995, the bald eagle was reclassified from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. The once endangered American alligator has fully recovered and was removed from the endangered species list June 4, 1987. The Florida population of brown pelicans has recovered and was removed from the endangered species list February 4, 1985. Creation of the 20,000-acre Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1997 protects habitat for endangered wood storks and sea turtles. Long-term nesting trends for the subpopulation of loggerhead sea turtles in Florida (about 90 percent of the US population) indicate that the species is improving in status. Green sea turtles’ nesting numbers in Florida have increased over the last ten years. Endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterflies have increased in number after captive breeding. Following Hurricane Andrew, only 17 were left in the wild; in late 1997, there were approximately 1,200.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In California, according to the EDF report, the endangered peregrine falcon reached a low of five to 10 pairs in the early 1970s. In 1997 they occupied 147 nesting sites in the state and the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the peregrine falcon from the endangered list. The Palos Verdes blue butterfly, which was once believed extinct, has increased from an estimated 100 at the time of its rediscovery to 400-1,000 in early 1997. The endangered least tern is rebounding in the Santa Monica Bay area, where a protective fence has led to an increase from 30 breeding pairs in 1977 to 375 pairs in 1997.

California condors are once again flying free over the state, after an intensive and successful captive breeding effort. As of November 1998, 22 birds were in the wild in California and more than 100 in captivity. The Aleutian goose population is rebounding, and bald eagles have increased from 93 pairs in 1990 to 142 pairs today. The once endangered gray whale has recovered and was removed from the endangered list on June 16, 1994.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In South Carolina, bald eagles are increasing in number, where 114 pairs occupied territories in 1997, up from 59 pairs in 1990. On July 12, 1995, the bald eagle was reclassified from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. A statewide Safe Harbor plan promises to improve habitat in South Carolina for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. By the end of 1998, a diverse group of landowners, including Mepkin Abbey and the Westvaco Corporation, had offered to enroll 84,000 acres, ensuring that they would maintain their land as red-cockaded woodpecker habitat without incurring additional regulatory burdens. The innovative Safe Harbor program was developed by EDF and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In May 1992, the first known East Coast nesting of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle took place on Litchfield Beach, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Fewer sea turtles have drowned in South Carolina waters, since Endangered Species Act protection led to the use of turtle excluder devices on shrimp fishing nets. Numbers of “stranded” sea turtles found ashore, after having drowned while trapped in fishing nets, dropped from an average of 224 a year during the 1980s, to an average of 127 in the years 1990-1998. After vanishing entirely from the eastern US, the peregrine falcon is returning. A pair of endangered peregrines occupied territory in 1997 in South Carolina. On August 26, 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the peregrine from the endangered species list. The once endangered American alligator has fully recovered and was removed from the endangered species list June 4, 1987.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

An endangered Hawaiian lobelia, one of many plants known as “haha” or by its scientific name Cyanea pinnatifida, was thought to be extinct before a single plant was discovered in 1992. Two pieces of that plant were used to clone hundreds of plants, some of which have been returned to a protected wild habitat, where the plant is doing well. The endangered Hawaiian hawk appears to be stable and is successfully nesting and foraging in both native and disturbed habitat. The species has benefited from Endangered Species Act prohibitions against take and Section 7 consultations, and it may be downlisted or removed from the endangered species list pending further survey results.

The Mauna Kea silversword, an endangered plant known from only three wild individuals in 1973, is improving in status. Seeds taken from two plants produced seedlings in cultivation, which were returned to the wild, increasing the species to over 800 individuals. Late in 1996, an additional tiny population comprised of five wild plants was discovered. With the help of captive breeding programs, the nene, or Hawaiian goose, has increased from fewer than 25 individuals known only on the Island of Hawaii to a few hundred on three islands.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In South Dakota, years after disappearing from the state, black-footed ferrets are once again doing well. Captive-bred ferrets were released in South Dakota in 1994, and the population is now multi-generational, with progeny of released ferrets giving rise to yet another generation. In 1998, 70 young were born in South Dakota. Bald eagles are now nesting in South Dakota, where no pairs were found in 1990. In 1997, eight pairs occupied territories. On July 12, 1995, the bald eagle was reclassified from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Today, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by releasing a state-by-state summary of progress being made to recover once-imperiled wild animals and plants. The well-known legislation, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 28, 1973, was approved nearly unanimously by both Houses of Congress.

“Citizens of every state in this nation can see firsthand in their own state examples of the progress being made in bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction,” said EDF senior ecologist Dr. David S. Wilcove. Examples of recovering wildlife in the illustrative, but not exhaustive, report range from little-known Hawaiian plants to gray wolves howling in Yellowstone and majestic bald eagles, which again soar over nearly every state.

In Wisconsin, for the first time since its 1991 listing as an endangered species, the winged mapleleaf mussel gave evidence of reproduction. Biologists found one and two year individuals and one gravid female. This species is found only in a small area of the St. Croix River in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Bald eagles are increasing in Wisconsin, where 645 pairs occupied territories in 1997, up from 358 in 1990. Since eagles are relatively numerous in Wisconsin, the state has donated them to other areas from which they have vanished, including the District of Columbia. On July 12, 1995, the bald eagle was reclassified from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Gray wolves are increasing in number and expanding their range in the western Great Lake States. At the end of the winter of 1997-1998, an estimated 180 wolves inhabited Wisconsin. Endangered peregrine falcons are increasing in number in Wisconsin, where surveyors counted 12 pairs in 1997. On August 26, 1998 the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the peregrine from the endangered species list.

“The accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act involve many Americans ? among them the intrepid biologists who scaled trees and cliffs to return bald eagles and peregrine falcons to states from which they had vanished, determined scientists and volunteers who protected sea turtles nesting on the nation’s beaches, the Nez Perce tribe which is overseeing the return of the wolf to Idaho forests, and a young man in California who turned back from a life on the streets to aid a rare butterfly,” said EDF’s Margaret McMillan, who compiled the report.

Though hailing the many successes achieved thus far, the EDF report also noted a critical need to improve conservation efforts on privately owned land. “Because most endangered species have most of their habitat on private land, it is essential that new approaches be found to enlist more landowners as active partners in conservation efforts,” said EDF economist Robert Bonnie. EDF itself has been instrumental in designing one successful new approach, “safe harbor” agreements. Under these, landowners restore or improve habitat, but do not incur additional land use restrictions as a result of endangered species taking up residence on their property as a result of the improvements. Over a million acres of private land has been entered into safe harbor agreements since the novel idea was embraced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt three years ago.

Ten years after the assassination of Brazilian rubber tapper Chico Mendes on December 22, 1988, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the National Council of Rubber Tappers of Brazil (CNS) announced the launch of an international campaign in defense of the Amazon rainforest and its people in Mendes’ memory.

The announcement came at a press conference held today at the Smithsonian Institution in which a panel of experts, including EDF senior scientist Stephan Schwartzman, displayed the latest NASA satellite images of Amazon destruction and discussed the future of the rainforest, the political climate in Brazil, and the fact that the unsustainable lending practices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have become the rainforest’s biggest threat.

The international campaign will promote extractive reserves. First conceived by Mendes, “extractive reserves” are forest reserves held in trust and managed by the people of forest communities, such as the rubber tappers, who make a living collecting wild rubber latex in the forest. Over twenty reserves have been created in last decade by the Brazilian government, covering some 9 million acres, but local communities across the region are calling for many more.

“The crisis of the Amazon, ecologically and socially, has never been worse,” said Schwartzman, “but the political conditions to change the future of the forest have never been better. Chico Mendes fell ten years ago, but his vision and leadership are still alive today.”

Mendes, an Amazon rubber tapper, was internationally recognized for leading a grassroots movement in defense of the rubber tappers and the forest against cattle ranchers, who in the 1970s and 80s cleared the Brazilian forest and drove out rubber tappers. His assassination by ranchers in 1988 caused massive international protests and focused the attention of the world on the destruction of the Amazon.

Now, contrary to all expectations, Mendes’ former colleagues and companions in the struggle have come to power in many parts of the Amazon. Mendes’ former advisor is due to take office on January 1 as governor of Mendes’ home state of Acre. The rubber tappers’ success supports Mendes’ view that forest protection is more likely than its destruction to lead to prosperity.

Just as Mendes’ former colleagues are being elected to office in Brazil, the country faces severe austerity and deep budget cuts in an agreement with the IMF to protect its currency. Brazilian environmental protection programs have been cut some 65%, and the government has, incredibly, cut out grant funds for protection from the G7 nations.

“Our organizations are discussing with the US Treasury how the IMF package can be made more consistent with existing commitments by Brazil, the G7 donors and the World Bank to protect the Amazon,” said Schwartzman.

In a move that will help America’s troubled fishing industry, a National Academy of Sciences panel today recommended that Congress lift a 1996 moratorium on individual fishing quotas, allowing regional fishery management councils to use modern market mechanisms to preserve US fisheries. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) supports transferable fishing quotas, under which an annual total allowable catch is divided into individual fishing quotas and distributed to fishermen, who may then enter and leave the fishery, or adjust their individual catch by buying and selling quota shares.

“Congress tied the hands of fishery managers two years ago when it put the moratorium in place. Today a panel of top experts told Congress to end the moratorium and save America’s fishing industry,” said Doug Hopkins, an EDF senior attorney. “EDF joins the Academy in calling on Congress to lift the moratorium and let regional fishery management councils get back to work. The nation’s fishery management councils urgently need this new tool to solve the problems of overfishing, overcapitalization and fish stock depletion. In too many fishing communities, old-style fishery management has failed, creating severe economic hardships and devastating social and ecological disruptions.”

“Current fishery management is a maze of confusing regulations that create many destructive economic incentives,” said Pete Emerson, an EDF senior economist. “But transferable fishing quotas give each fisherman a direct economic stake in the long term sustainability of the fishery. As initially lower catch levels allow depleted fish stocks to gradually rebuild, the value of transferable fishing quotas rises, reflecting a healthy fishery which can sustain higher catch levels, longer seasons and better fishing jobs.”

“Transferable fishing quotas can help eliminate ecologically destructive fishing practices,” said EDF senior scientist Rod Fujita. “They should bring an end to the ruinous ‘derby’ seasons ? some as short as only a few days a year ? that are common in many overcapitalized fisheries where too many boats are chasing too few fish. By spreading their fishing over a long season and matching their vessel size and gear to their quota, fishermen can reduce the incidental killing of non-targeted species and will have the time to use fishing gear and techniques that are less habitat-destructive.”

Congress passed the 1996 moratorium in response to questions about the potential social and economic effects of transferable fishing quotas. The Academy’s report recommends several responsible approaches, strongly endorsed by EDF, to assure transferable fishing quota plans are developed in an equitable and fair manner.

The nation’s groundwater will be better protected as of December 22 when federal requirements go into effect to upgrade leaking underground storage tank (LUST) systems. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today called the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements the minimum actions that tank owners and operators should take to prevent leaks, and said that the majority of regulated tanks have already upgraded to meet EPA’s standards.

“LUST is a serious problem, but it’s getting better as a result of EPA’s regulations,” said Lois Epstein, EDF senior engineer. “Hundreds of thousands of underground tanks and their piping have confirmed leaks that contaminate groundwater. Approximately 40 percent of the water the US uses in its cities and to irrigate farms comes from groundwater.” The number of leaking tank systems does not include home heating oil tanks and other tanks not federally regulated. Click here to view a map showing the percent of the population by state that drinks groundwater (1990 data).

To meet the EPA tank upgrade requirements, fuel tanks must have corrosion protection, and spill and overfill prevention features. EDF recommends, as several states already have required, that states go beyond the federal rules and require tank owners to install double-walled tanks and piping. “If gas stations do not upgrade their tanks and piping, they eventually will have contamination problems. Just as buildings need to meet electrical codes to avoid safety hazards, tanks need to upgrade to avoid environmental hazards.”

“These regulations only begin to protect the nation’s groundwater from oil contamination,” said Epstein. “We also need federal standards to prevent leaks from aboveground tanks, and we need standards to prevent leaks in the pipelines that carry oil.” According to industry statistics, more than eight of 10 monitored aboveground storage tank facilities, or tank farms, have leaks that are contaminating groundwater.

EDF has published a citizens’ guide to LUST. The guide details the new requirements and offers a plan for states and communities to address the problem of leaking tanks. To obtain a copy of the action guide, contact EDF.

Summary of EPA UST Program Regulations and EDF’s Recommended Improvements for State UST Programs, adapted from Citizen Action: An Ounce of Prevention, Part 2, from the Environmental Defense Fund.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today praised major strides made at the conclusion of negotiations in Buenos Aires on international efforts to control climate change, and called for strong measures by the US government to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).

At the end of round-the-clock negotiations that saw breakthrough decisions by Argentina and Kazakhstan to join industrialized nations in cutting their GHG emissions, and the United States’ decision to sign the Kyoto Protocol, delegates from 160 nations committed their governments to launch the next phase in the process of reducing emissions. They agreed to finalize, by no later than 2000, one set of rules to make it cheaper and easier to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and another to hold countries accountable when they emit more GHG than permitted.

“The decisions taken here in Buenos Aires show that governments have begun to roll up their sleeves and get down to the serious business of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said EDF executive director Fred Krupp. “Thanks to the innovative proposal by the Clinton Administration to include the trading of emissions in the Kyoto Protocol, countries and companies will have the opportunity to make those pollution cuts in the most cost-effective way possible and the incentives to make them even faster than required.”

“Today’s decisions bring the world one step closer to the reductions needed for a stable climate. Already, a number of the world’s largest companies have responded positively with commitments to reduce GHG emissions early,” said Krupp.

“Argentina and Kazakhstan made bold moves to push this negotiating process forward and make the Earth safer,” said Krupp. “These countries have shown that they will not allow a few obstructionist oil exporting countries to block efforts to protect their own, and the world’s, environment.”

“Many of the nations here have reiterated the seriousness of their intentions to address climate change. Now its time to turn that talk into action,” So far, this year has been the warmest on record, and scientists agree that human activities are affecting the climate. Our duty to future generations is to take steps now to reverse this trend,” said Krupp.

The Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national, NY-based nonprofit organization, represents 300,000 members. EDF links science, economics, and law to create innovative, equitable, and economically viable solutions to today’s environmental problems.

The North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund (NCEDF) today joined former NC Congressman Tim Valentine and a group of citizen and environmental activists to launch a powerful new web site as part of a campaign to clean up hog factories in North Carolina. The new web site, www.hogwatch.org, will contain free, readily accessible facts and figures on the serious environmental and public health impacts of factory hog farming, along with detailed information on each of the state’s more than 2,500 factory hog farms. This solution-oriented clearinghouse is also designed to provide real opportunities for citizens to influence important policy and regulatory decisions. Environmental and community groups are hopeful of major reforms in the 1999 NC General Assembly legislative session.

“The name of the web site conveys what environmental groups, community groups, and individual citizens are going to be doing ? hogwatching — until North Carolina solves the problems associated with factory hog farms,” said Jane Preyer, director of NCEDF. “This is a new tool in a broad-based campaign to resolve North Carolina’s hog problems once and for all.”

“North Carolinians have a right to know what’s going on in their own backyards. The site describes the hog problem in graphic detail,” said Dan Whittle, an NCEDF attorney. “We are putting the facts on-line and providing new ways for the public to make their voices heard by the Governor and legislators.”

“The passage of the moratorium extension is positive, and provides much needed momentum for putting solutions in place. But there is still much to be done. If North Carolina fails to act, we will be back to ground zero when the moratorium runs out on September 1, 1999,” said former Congressman Valentine, who’s been a leader in calling for tougher controls on factory hog farm pollution.

Special features on the web site include:

• Interactive high-tech maps that will show exactly how many hog factories are in each county, how many hogs they raise, and how much waste those hogs produce. Click on a county and you can see instantly where the hogs are and which companies own them. The maps also show the close proximity of factory farms to rivers, streams, and other waterways.

• Informative fact sheets on major issues associated with hog factories such as environmental impacts, summaries of important research and scientific data, a comparison of municipal waste and hog waste treatment, a virtual tour of a hog factory, status of government regulation of hog factories, and proposed solutions to clean up hog factories.

• Personal testimonials from citizens who live next door to hog factories, describing their experiences.

• A “poop counter” that shows the tremendous volume of hog waste being disposed of in North Carolina during every second of every day: Each hog generates over 10 pounds per day of hog waste, or 1.9 tons per year.
  • Together, the 10 million hogs in NC create 52,000 tons of waste per day, or 19 million tons per year. That’s more waste in one year from hogs than the human population of Charlotte produces in 58 years.

  • Total nitrogen pouring into North Carolina from hog factories is over 640,000 pounds per day. Hog factories emit more nitrogen pollution into the air in coastal NC than all NC municipal and industrial sources combined.

• Updates on pending legislation and rulemaking and an action tool enabling citizens to immediately send free email to key decision makers in North Carolina.

“The Hogwatch web site will serve as a place where the facts speak for themselves and myths and public relations rhetoric no longer rule,” said Whittle. ?Most importantly, this web site offers up real and lasting solutions.?

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today released a report, “Too Little, Too Late,” which finds that after one year the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission’s (TNRCC) voluntary pollution reduction program for many industrial facilities has done very little to improve air quality in Texas. The report includes comprehensive analyses of company pollution emissions records and permits which have been filed with the TNRCC. All of the companies were allowed to preview the EDF analysis and any inconsistency between TNRCC records and company records were resolved by adopting the company position.

In November of 1997 Governor George W. Bush announced that many so-called “grandfathered” industrial facilities in Texas, which were in existence before the 1971 Clean Air Act, would begin to voluntarily reduce their emissions. These facilities were exempted from the state’s clean air standards and permitting requirements. Today many of these grandfathered facilities remain unpermitted but continue to operate and are responsible for nearly 900,000 tons of pollutants released into Texas’ air.

By October of this year, Governor Bush’s office stated their initiative had “already resulted in dozens of plants reducing emissions the equivalent to the smog of 500,000 vehicles” (Dallas Morning News, Oct. 21, 1998). The emissions from 500,000 vehicles are roughly equivalent to 25,000 tons of emissions per year.

“Our analysis shows that only three of the companies have made any real cuts in emissions,” said Jim Marston, director of EDF’s Texas office. “And instead of the 25,000 tons a year that the governor says have been cut, the actual reduction is only one-sixth of that claimed.

“While the Governor has prompted some companies to think seriously about cleaning up their facilities, this program is not solving the problem,” Marston said. “This voluntary initiative has been held out as one of the crown jewels of the state’s environmental program, but on closer examination, so far it appears to be just cubic zirconium.”

The EDF report recommends three specific changes to the program to assure its success, including a deadline for ending the grandfather exemption, and requiring measurable reductions of emissions beyond what is expected by other regulatory requirements.

Read the full report.

Clean Water Action and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) released a report today documenting the threats animal feeding operations pose to public health and the environment in Colorado and at least 29 other states. The report is titled America’s Animal Factories: How States Fail to Prevent Pollution from Livestock Waste.

The report notes that currently Colorado has little to no regulation or enforcement power to protect the environment from animal factories. Luckily that is changing in Colorado. On November 3rd, voters passed Amendment 14, which regulates large hog operations.

“Amendment 14 was passed by voters from Bent County to Boulder County,” said Carmi McLean, director of Clean Water Action. “Now we need to ensure that this law is implemented in the way it was intended - to protect Colorado’s water and quality of life.”

“Right now, laws at the federal and local levels do not adequately protect the environment from the huge amount of waste generated by hog factories,” said Scott Ingvoldstad of the Environmental Defense Fund. “In Colorado, we have used the initiative process to go from worst to first in regulation of hog factories.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture will be holding a public hearing in Denver on December 14 to discuss national regulations on animal feeding operations.

For years minimal enforcement and lax regulations designed for family farmers have been exploited by factory farms. The report recommends ways to improve laws dealing with these large operations.

“These animal factories like to present themselves as the ‘new’ American family farm,” according to Dave Carter of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. “They come into the state promising economic growth, and are welcomed with taxpayer-subsidized incentives. But their impact on the quality of life is nothing like a true family farm.”

“This merger is not just about market share and the price of stocks, it’s about our shared environment and the price that the Exxon Mobil merger may exact from our future,” said Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund executive director. “Exxon and Mobil have both worked against international efforts to control global warming. It’s troubling to see that the world’s biggest oil company will be made up of big opponents of greenhouse gas reduction.”

“The newly created Exxon Mobil Corp.’s operations will have wide ranging environmental impacts. Protecting the Earth from global climate change, protecting our oceans, coastal areas and wildlife from oil spills, and the need to minimize the ecological impacts of oil exploration are all matters of great concern when considering the merger.”

“While some oil companies such as British Petroleum and Shell have made commitments to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, Exxon and Mobil have opposed the climate change protocol signed by at least 60 nations. Combining these two companies will make them bigger, but not necessarily better for the environment.”