Forest funding ‘could put billions in wrong hands.’
| EPA document ties public health problems to global warming; White House tried to bury analysis. Government scientists detailed a rising death toll from heat waves, wildfires, disease and smog caused by global warming in an analysis the White House buried so it could avoid regulating greenhouse gases. |
| Forest funding ‘could put billions in wrong hands.’ The rush to protect forests as a way to tackle global warming could see billions of pounds handed over to corrupt politicians, criminals and polluting industries, experts have warned. |
| Bush decision on oil backed by industry. The oil industry applauded President Bush’s announcement Monday that he would lift an executive ban on offshore drilling, even though no drilling will take place unless Congress lifts its own ban. |
| Lawmakers cheer call for drilling. Oklahoma lawmakers praised the move by President Bush to lift the executive ban on offshore oil and gas drilling Monday, but the political stalemate over expanding domestic production showed no sign of ending. |
| Press Release: Senate Passage of Bill to Join International Treaty to Cut Toxic Ship Pollution Praised by Leading Environmental Group
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Janea Scott – (213) 223-2186 or jscott@edf.org
Sean Crowley – (202) 550-6524-c or scrowley@edf.org
(Washington, D.C. – June 27, 2008) The U.S. Senate last night passed, by unanimous consent, legislation that will allow the U.S. to join an international treaty that could dramatically cut ocean ship pollution that causes tens of thousands of global deaths annually. “The Marine Pollution Prevention Act of 2008” (H.R. 802), was passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives last year.
“This action could be a sea change that ultimately helps steer us to cleaner, healthier air for the millions of Americans harmed by toxic air pollution from U.S. and foreign-flagged ships,” said Janea Scott, a senior attorney for Environmental Defense Fund based in Los Angeles. “This action will help our country secure protective international standards for large ocean-going ships. We urge our government to immediately complete the critical process of ratifying the MARPOL treaty.”
Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly known as “MARPOL,” is an international treaty that governs air pollution from large ocean-going ships.
Large ocean-going ships are a major source of soot, sulfur dioxide and smog-forming pollution that are associated with premature deaths, hospital visits, and asthma attacks that exact a heavy toll on human health for millions of Americans. About ninety percent of the ships that dock at U.S. ports are foreign-flagged international vessels.
Shipping-related soot emissions contribute to approximately 60,000 global deaths annually, with impacts concentrated in coastal regions on major trade routes.
The U.S. government has proposed protective measures for international adoption as part of the MARPOL treaty that would achieve vital progress in reducing the high emissions from these ships. This clean air blueprint will be considered at a key meeting of the International Maritime Organization in October. |
| Nation of climate sinners. Chief executive of the Climate Institute, John Connor, said research suggested the opportunity to cut the cost of reducing emissions would be squandered unless individuals and companies improved their energy use. |
| Press Release: Ag Secretary Urged to Reject Early Release of Land in Conservation Reserve Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331-w or scrowley@edf.org
Britt Lundgren, 202-492-1063-c, blundgren@edf.org
(Washington, DC – Wednesday, July 9, 2008) Fifteen conservation groups today sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer strongly urging him to reject pressure from Congress and producer groups “to allow the penalty-free early release of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).” USDA has been urged to release up to 24 million acres from CRP – roughly three-fourths of the land currently enrolled in the program – and put it back into production. This move would result in a loss of billions of dollars of taxpayer investment in conservation on these lands.
“A penalty-free early release of the magnitude you are considering – millions of acres – would deliver a devastating blow to the nation’s soil, water, and wildlife habitat, and significantly increase global warming,” said the letter. “Because most CRP lands are marginal for cropping, even if all CRP acres were brought back into commodity production, the impact on aggregate commodity supplies and prices would be modest… We urge you to protect the taxpayers’ investment in soil quality, water quality, and wildlife habitat and not allow landowners to leave CRP contracts early without fully reimbursing the Treasury for the taxpayer-funded investment in those lands.”
CRP is a federal program designed to reward farmers who take fragile land out of production and plant grasses or trees or restore wetlands on the land in exchange for rental and federal cost-share payments. Currently, CRP enrollees who terminate their contract prior to the end of its 10- to 15-year term must reimburse the federal government for the rental and cost-share payments they have received, plus interest, and a penalty of 25 percent of the total rental payments received. The recent CRP proposals would waive all these costs for landowners.
The letter opposing these proposals is signed by Environmental Defense Fund, The Minnesota Project, Sierra Club, Center for Native Ecosystems, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Partners for Sustainable Pollination, Environmental Working Group, Pollinator Partnership, Defenders of Wildlife, American Farmland Trust, World Wildlife Fund, American Rivers, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and American Bee Keeping Federation.
The full letter text is below.
July 9, 2008
The Honorable Ed Schafer
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Dear Secretary Schafer:
We strongly urge you to reject proposals to allow the penalty-free early release of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Early release of even a modest number of acres from CRP would waste the money American taxpayers have invested in restoring those lands to grassland or other cover and would eliminate the benefits to soil, water, wildlife and the public that the lands provide. A penalty-free early release of the magnitude you are considering – millions of acres – would deliver a devastating blow to the nation’s soil, water, and wildlife habitat, and significantly increase global warming. The resulting damages could cost taxpayers substantially.
The oldest of the farm bill’s voluntary conservation incentives programs, CRP is a federal program designed to reward farmers who take fragile land out of production and plant grasses or trees or restore wetlands on the land in exchange for rental payments and federal cost-share payments. Since its creation in 1985, CRP has been responsible for reducing hundreds of millions of tons of erosion each year, reducing pollution in our nation’s waterways. CRP is also an important reservoir for wildlife, and has had significant benefits for populations of ducks, grassland birds, and other species. Keeping land in CRP is also critical in the fight against global warming. Allowing millions of acres out of CRP prior to the end of the contract period would quickly erase many of the gains that have been made with CRP and will likely create new problems.
Because most CRP lands are marginal for cropping, even if all CRP acres were brought back into commodity production, the impact on aggregate commodity supplies and prices would be modest. On the other hand, the impacts to soil, water, wildlife, the public, and the recreational industry that has developed around wildlife such as pheasants and waterfowl produced on these lands would be substantial. We urge you to protect the taxpayers’ investment in soil quality, water quality, and wildlife habitat and not allow landowners to leave CRP contracts early without fully reimbursing the Treasury for the taxpayer-funded investment in those lands.
Sincerely,
Environmental Defense Fund
The Minnesota Project
Sierra Club
Center for Native Ecosystems
National Wildlife Federation
National Audubon Society
Partners for Sustainable Pollination
Environmental Working Group
Pollinator Partnership
Defenders of Wildlife
American Farmland Trust
World Wildlife Fund
American Rivers
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
American Bee Keeping Federation
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| Wyoming’s Grasslands: Vital Habitat for Birds Wyoming has vast tracts of untilled native grasslands — more than 8 million acres. These areas are ideal habitat for grassland bird species such as the Mountain Plover and the Bobolink.The state’s rangeland has enormous potential to revive dwindling populations of grassland birds, whose numbers have decreased across the U.S. for the last 30 years.Our new report [PDF] shows how Wyoming’s grasslands, mostly in private hands and used for livestock grazing, can be well managed to help wildlife while keeping agricultural operations productive. NRCS conservation funding can play a key role in recovering birdsWorking closely with private ranchers is crucial. The largest funding source for assisting private landowners for conservation on rangelands is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS works with private landowners to implement Farm Bill programs that support voluntary conservation practices and management on their land.By properly aligning its practices with the needs of declining grassland birds, NRCS can play a vital role in their recovery. Incentive programs can improve bird habitatEnvironmental Defense Fund staff evaluated NRCS’s planning and spending practices for its private lands incentive programs in Wyoming between 2003 and 2007. Our findings indicate that NRCS has done much to incorporate basic grassland bird priorities into its state-level planning.But there are still many opportunities for improvement. See full analysis [PDF] for our findings and key recommendations for harmonizing range management and wildfire goals.A few examples of improvements that NRCS programs can make to help birds are highlighted below.
Wyoming’s grasslands represent one of the best hopes for grassland bird habitat and preservation. Ensuring that the twin rangeland and wildlife goals of NRCS work in concert can double the benefits of limited funding resources.Download full report: Are Wyoming Range Practices Working at Cross-purposes with Wildlife Habitat Goals? [PDF] |