Bottlenose dolphins playing in the Pacific Ocean near New Zealand. georgeclerk / E+ / Getty Images
By Sarah Chasis
June 8 is World Oceans Day, dedicated to celebrating our beautiful, mysterious, and life-giving oceans.
As our oceans make up more than 70 percent of the earth's surface, their health drives the future of our planet. Oceans give us every other breath we take, provide a critical source of protein and a way of life for billions of people, contribute trillions of dollars to the world economy, and are home to 50 percent to 80 percent of this planet's life.
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<p>They are also time-honored places to escape the stresses of everyday life. To play with our families under the warm sun, beside the crashing waves. To wonder at the horizon and imagine the varied sea creatures swimming deep below the waves. Our oceans are cause for celebration, even when it may be difficult to celebrate.</p><p><em>To learn more about the link between climate and ocean health, watch NRDC's short film, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQHFPvqWHY" target="_blank">Our Ocean Planet</a>, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. The film premiered at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sandy-aylesworth/cop-24-california-announces-its-ocean-climate-contribution" target="_blank">Global Climate Action Summit</a>.</em></p>
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<p>This year has been one of bombshell environmental reports. Decades of gloomy <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> predictions couldn't prepare us for the latest <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/ipcc-climate-change-report-why-it-matters-everyone-planet" target="_blank">IPCC report's</a> screeching siren. We've disrupted the planet's climate through our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> addiction and only by slashing carbon emissions immediately do we have a shot of avoiding catastrophic effects — more superstorms, more drought, more extinction, more lives lost.</p><p>Last month's <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/susan-casey-lefkowitz/biodiversity-report-million-reasons-better-protect-our-natural-systems" target="_blank">U.N. biodiversity report</a> didn't offer up any silver linings, with the news that up to a million species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, because of human activity. Climate change wasn't even a leading cause of extinctions — habitat loss and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">overfishing</a> edge out climate impacts … for now.</p><p>It's a harsh message — decades of chronic overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction have stripped our seas of much of their diversity and abundance. Industrial and military ocean noise is on the rise, upsetting the ocean's delicate acoustic habitat and challenging the ability of marine wildlife to mate, find food, migrate, and, ultimately, survive. Carbon dioxide emissions have made <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/ocean-acidification-hotspots" target="_blank">oceans more acidic</a>, which makes it harder for shell-building organisms like oysters and scallops to grow their protective coverings and survive, and climate change's warmer waters bring <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-bleaching">coral bleaching</a>, mass marine wildlife migrations, an increase in dead zones and deoxygenation as we suffocate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a>. Unless we act, ocean ecosystems will continue to deteriorate or, in some cases, collapse entirely, and the consequences will reverberate through human society.</p><p>It's more than a bit scary and uncomfortable to think about.</p><p>But we can imagine another, better future where we protect nature — and, in turn, nature protects us. If we act now <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/katie-umekubo/biodiversity-report-not-all-gloom-and-doom" target="_blank">we can slow, stop, and reverse</a> biodiversity loss. And healthy oceans will help buffer against climate change. There are solutions — they're tried and true. We must cut carbon emissions, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lauren-kubiak/marine-biodiversity-dangerous-decline-finds-new-report" target="_blank">protect significant areas of land and ocean</a> and eliminate unsustainable fishing practices.</p><p>We know change is possible because we are making it happen. NRDC is securing protections for our oceans and the life it supports. Day after day, we'll keep fighting to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/save-whales-silence-seismic-blasting" target="_blank">protect whales</a>, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/elizabeth-murdock/nrdc-urges-us-push-nations-end-illegal-shark-fishing" target="_blank">sharks</a> and other <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/lawyer-fighting-save-two-worlds-most-endangered-species" target="_blank">endangered sea life</a>, to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nrdc/federal-court-protects-northeast-canyons-and-seamounts-marine-monument-status" target="_blank">secure our ocean sanctuaries</a>, to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2019/190425-1" target="_blank">fight harmful offshore drilling</a> and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/issues/stop-overfishing-and-restore-fisheries" target="_blank">stop overfishing</a>.</p><p>Watch this short film of just some of this year's victories:</p>
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<p>Just like our amazing blue world, these achievements are worth celebrating.</p><p>And help us fight for our oceans' health. We can do this, together.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What if We Treated Our Oceans as if They Matter? <a href="https://t.co/5QV5EPP5Vt">https://t.co/5QV5EPP5Vt</a></p>— The YEARS Project (@YEARSofLIVING) <a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/status/1117456240618164224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Sarah Chasis is senior director of the Oceans Division, Nature Program at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Oceans Do Us a 'Huge Service' by Absorbing Nearly a Third of ... ›
- World Oceans Day: Saving Our Seas Starts With You - EcoWatch ›
- On World Oceans Day, Attenborough Shares Serious But Hopeful ... ›
- Celebrate World Oceans Day From Home With the UN This Monday - EcoWatch ›
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Photos courtesy of Apricot Lane Farms
By Courtney Lindwall
Growing your own juicy tomatoes or crisp peppers sounds idyllic. But in practice, backyard farming can be daunting. Many gardeners dealing with pests, weeds and unpredictable weather quickly find themselves questioning whether they are working with nature or against it.
<p>Just ask John and Molly Chester, who bought a sandy, barren plot of land in Southern California eight years ago in the hopes of starting the farm of their dreams. New to farming, the couple relied on holistic, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/regenerative-agriculture" target="_self">regenerative</a> practices (and a lot of trial and error) to revive <a href="https://www.apricotlanefarms.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Apricot Lane Farms</a>. Through their hard work, the 214 acres are now a lush, largely regenerating ecosystem with fertile soil, diverse animal life and an abundant orchard with well over 75 varieties of fruit trees. Better yet: The farm never uses toxic, synthetically derived <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_self">pesticides</a>, which can kill <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil" target="_self">soil</a> microorganisms, harm pollinators and other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>, pollute waterways and make us sick.</p>
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John and Molly Chester
Yvette Roman
<p>The Chesters' story, recounted in the documentary <a href="https://www.biggestlittlefarmmovie.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Biggest Little Farm</em></a>, is a testament to the wisdom of nature's own fine-tuned systems — and the remarkable rewards that gardeners will reap if they follow its lead. Here's how to cultivate a bit of Apricot Lane Farms' success in your own backyard.</p>
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<h4>Feed Your Soil</h4><p>When the Chesters arrived at Apricot Lane Farms, the ground was dry, hard and mostly devoid of life. They knew they'd need to convert dead dirt back into soil before they could grow any crops. "When it's biologically diverse, soil is like this alchemizer of death into life, but you have to feed it," John said. Feeding the soil means building its biota — its below-the-surface ecosystem of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, which break down decaying organic matter and infuse the soil with nutrients for the next cycle of plant life.</p><p>If you find yourself with similarly unhealthy soil, the Chesters recommend worm compost tea: worm waste steeped in water to make a liquid fertilizer teeming with beneficial microorganisms. At Apricot Lane Farms, the couple built an entire vermicomposting (worm composting) facility, but you can make do at home. Just put some worm castings, i.e. the black earthy-looking particles in your compost bin (you can also purchase a bag of castings) into a bag made from old panty hose, cheesecloth or a porous T-shirt. Add the tea bag to a pitcher or bucket of water. "Brew" your tea by adding a sugar supply like molasses for the bacteria (which will feed and multiply) and a small aerator (like a bubbler you'd add to a fish aquarium), which will concentrate the beneficial aerobic microorganisms. Let it bubble for one to two days, stirring occasionally, until a layer of foam develops — a good sign of active microorganisms. Apply to your soil within 48 hours. (If you'd like more information before brewing your own, step-by-step <a href="https://www.popsci.com/brew-worm-tea" target="_blank">recipes</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZDFjtoJ3E" target="_blank">video tutorials</a> on making worm tea abound.)</p>
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<h4>Plant Cover Crops</h4><p>Cultivating native grasses, or simply refraining from ripping out last year's garden plants, will help you <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/pa/soils/health/?cid=nrcseprd1200408" target="_blank">maximize the number of living roots</a> in the ground, which offers many benefits to your soil. But by far the best means of nourishing and building up your soil is by planting cover crops. Farmers often plant them after the primary crop has been harvested or in areas that would otherwise be bare. And as John and Molly can attest, they're a critical component of any holistic farming practice. Not only do they protect exposed soil from the baking sun, which can kill critical fungal communities and other important microorganisms, but they also prevent erosion, naturally suppress weeds, improve soil quality, sequester carbon from the atmosphere and minimize flooding.</p>
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<p>Cover crops can also enrich your backyard garden. Many gardeners plant them in the fall, in order to protect the soil through the winter and into the spring. Cover crops can also carry nitrogen from the air down into the soil, eventually making it available for the roots of other plants. Come spring, you can then turn these plants into "green manure" by mixing them into the soil and letting them decompose, which releases beneficial nutrients. "Cover crops are protecting this complex universe beneath the ground," John said. "They're also creating soil structure with their roots and increasing oxygen so that you get healthy, aerated soil that is filled with aerobic bacteria instead of anaerobic." At Apricot Lane Farms, cover crops include a "cocktail of grasses and legumes," though the best species for your backyard will depend on climate and your garden's specific needs, be it weed resistance or soil regeneration.</p><p>A few common cover crop varieties to investigate:</p><ul><li>Hairy vetch: This legume is hearty, resilient and a powerful nitrogen fixer. Its long roots also help break up soil.</li><li>Buckwheat: Known as a "smotherer," this cover crop will naturally help keep weeds at bay while attracting pollinators. It can then easily be tilled into the soil.</li><li>Clover: The many species of this legume are known to be versatile and powerful nitrogen fixers.</li><li>Alfalfa: This crop's long roots help aerate and bring up nutrients deep within the soil.</li><li>Peas: These legumes taste good, yes, but they also fix nitrogen and crowd out weeds, too.</li><li>Marigold: Well known for its vibrant flowers, this plant also naturally controls pests like insects, frogs, fungi and weeds.</li></ul>
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<h4>Maintain Habitats for Pollinators and Other Native Wildlife</h4><p><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">Biodiversity</a> rules at Apricot Lane Farms. By planting hundreds of plant species with a wide variety of roles, the Chesters have invited in diverse animal life. "Think about an ecosystem as the planet's immune system," John said. "You're trying to imitate that biodiversity." In other words, a diverse ecosystem has better odds of being able to heal itself. Keeping as many pieces as possible of that ecosystem intact provides a natural check on any one plant, animal or disease running amok.</p><p>Here are some biodiversity boosters for your own backyard:</p><ul><li>Introduce native flowering species that provide food for visiting pollinators.</li><li>Hang a bee nesting box somewhere it can get sunlight and warmth.</li><li>Provide green, leafy plants for caterpillars to eat, such as <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/dont-stop-planting-milkweed" target="_blank">milkweed for the monarch butterfly</a>.</li><li>Set up a small wood pile, using brush or old logs, as shelter for lizards, fungi and snakes (the latter can eat other pests, like slugs or rodents).</li><li>Plant trees or shrubs that provide plenty of nesting and cover for birds, or set up a bird house.</li><li>Add a barn owl box or just a simple roosting perch to a pole. Owls and hawks help with rabbits and gophers.</li><li>If you have the space, create a reliable water source in the form of a pond or container garden, which will make your yard more attractive to birds, frogs and dragonflies. Stem the problem of mosquitoes by including goldfish or guppies, which eat the bugs.</li><li>Plant a diversity of cover crops. Instead of just using clover, for instance, mix your clover seeds with some hairy vetch, legumes and more to help your soil reap a diversity of benefits.</li></ul>
<h4>To Manage Pests, Play Detective, Then Look to Nature to Help Crack the Case</h4><p>Over the years, the Chesters have dealt with everything from snail infestations in the orchard to hungry coyotes picking off their chickens. But the challenges have only made them better problem solvers, says John. He suggests that every gardener facing an intrusion — whether by pest, predator or disease — ask a few questions before attempting to control it, especially through artificial means like pesticides or other harsh chemicals.</p><p>For starters, understand the source of the problem and what might be fueling it, he says. Then look at what its food is, and in turn what eats it. Finally, ask what conditions it does not like and what conditions benefit its predators.</p><p>With those answers, you may find a nature-friendly solution. <a href="https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/natural-slug-control/" target="_blank">Take slugs</a>, the bane of many a gardener. If they're chomping down on too many of your leafy plants, think first of what could provide a natural check. Toads and beetles will snack on the slugs if given the proper habitat themselves, potentially ridding you of your problem without requiring use of chemical pesticides. You can also address what snails don't like — sharp, rough ground — and put a layer of crushed eggshell around your plants, which act as a natural deterrent.</p><p>"You start to frame the complexity and context of the things you're trying to coexist with," John said. "It's not harmony you want," he added, but a "comfortable level of disharmony."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How (and Why) to Be a Seed Savior <a href="https://t.co/WLiyx5DXbY">https://t.co/WLiyx5DXbY</a></p>— APS (@plantdisease) <a href="https://twitter.com/plantdisease/status/1002958089178542082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Looking to take the next step? Consider connecting with a </em><em><a href="https://www.ahsgardening.org/gardening-resources/master-gardeners" target="_blank">master gardener program</a> </em><em>in your home state. These programs will not only help you hone your own green thumb but also set you up to train others in your community who want to make a difference in their backyard or garden plot.</em><span></span><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
- How You Can Help Regenerate the Planet in 2019, Starting With Soil ›
- It's Time to Get Rid of Your Lawn! - EcoWatch ›
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EPA’s Proposal for Limiting Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water Is Dangerous to Public Health
28 May 2019
Insights + Opinion
Pexels
After a decade of delay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally proposed a limit for levels of the toxic chemical perchlorate (a component of rocket fuel) in drinking water — except the newly proposed standard of 56 parts per billion is 10 to 50 times higher than what scientists recommend.
<p>"This is enough to make you sick — literally," said <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/erik-d-olson" target="_blank">Erik Olson</a>, senior director for Health and Food at NRDC, which <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/160218" target="_blank">sued the agency in early 2016</a> to force it to take action on perchlorate.</p><p>Widely used by the military and defense industries, as well as in fireworks and explosives, perchlorate is highly soluble in water and can move quickly into ground- and surface water once it reaches soil. Even low levels of exposure to the chemical can impair hormone production critical to brain development. "Fetuses and infants are especially vulnerable to harm from perchlorate," said Olson. The chemical has been detected in drinking water systems that serve up to 16.6 million Americans — posing significant health risks for children and pregnant women.</p><p>Multiple states have lower standards for perchlorate in drinking water that align with the science, like Massachusetts (2 parts per billion) and California (6 parts per billion).</p><p>"This is another <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration gift to polluters and water utilities that have lobbied to be off the hook for cleaning up the problem," Olson said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Millions of people across the U.S. have been exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/drinking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#drinking</a> water, according to a new report. <a href="https://t.co/5JsFj9IQQT">https://t.co/5JsFj9IQQT</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1127544497636814848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Support Ecowatch
Kim Sielbeck for NRDC
By Jodi Helmer
When it comes to meal preparation, I thought I was a pro: I make shopping lists, eat leftovers and bake overripe produce into breads or simmer them into jams. My husband, Jerry, and I even have a compost bin — but we still end up tossing plenty of food into the trash can. And every time we dump another spoiled yogurt or fuzzy zucchini, we tell ourselves, "We need to do better."
Jerry and I agreed to test Meal Prep Mate, a new tool from NRDC's Save the Food initiative, to see if the planning tools, recipes and storage tips could reduce our food waste. Entering information into the site's calculator on what proteins, produce and grains we planned to cook, plus how many people we were feeding and how many meals each person needed, helped us create a smarter shopping list, gave us suggestions for supplemental recipes using some of the same ingredients, and offered new ideas for spicing up our leftovers.
<p>I also learned a few new strategies for reducing food waste — an important goal when you consider that up to 40 percent of the food in America is wasted. In fact, discarded food is the top category of material in our landfills, contributing more to climate pollution than all of the cars in Georgia. Food waste happens at all stages of the food supply chain, from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/farming">farms</a> and processing facilities to supermarkets and restaurants, but 43 percent of food waste is generated at home.</p><p>That said, many of us think of tossing food as perfectly normal. But spending a couple of weeks using Meal Prep Mate helped change my mind about this. It also helped me to change my habits. Here's what I learned.</p><h4>Think beyond the recipe.</h4><p>Who hasn't spent hours scrolling through Pinterest drooling over recipes? Experimenting with new dishes is a great idea — and social media can help you find new favorites — but collecting everything needed for just one big meal can lead to a lot of leftover ingredients. After all, it's hard to buy just a splash of cream or a few stems of parsley.</p><p>Instead, choose recipes in duos or trios that use a lot of the same ingredients — and "think about using things in new and innovative ways," says NRDC sustainable food systems specialist <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/andrea-spacht" target="_blank">Andrea Spacht</a>. Use leftover stir-fry veggies in omelets; make pasta salad from the remaining half box of penne; chop up leftover roast chicken to make soup.</p><p>Meal Prep Mate offers suggestions for "remix recipes" that use extra food. I selected yogurt, berries and granola for breakfast and got a recipe for protein pancakes made by adding yogurt to pancake mix for a more filling morning meal; it turned out to be a great idea when we had a few tablespoons of yogurt in the bottom of the container. Pancakes with leftover berries: Yum!</p>
<h4>Pay attention to portions.</h4><p>Meal Prep Mate's planning tool suggested portion sizes for our stir-fry meal (the tool offers different recommendations for how much of any ingredient you'll need based on whether you're cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner), and its guidance was spot-on. Knowing I would need only one cup of chopped bell pepper (about one pepper) saved me from buying an extra "just in case" we needed it.</p><p>Spacht cautions that making several meals' worth of a dish to last all week may sound like a good idea, but lots of leftovers can lead to boredom. "You may end up with meal fatigue from having the same thing over and over," she says. To avoid this, consider how many days or nights of the same dish that you and your family will happily eat. Meal Prep will help you scale down the recipe accordingly. You'll be more excited about that tub of refrigerated chili or chicken enchiladas if it's the second time you're reheating a plateful instead of the third or fourth. And Meal Prep Mate has suggestions to help "remix" your meals; if you get tired of your meal plan, use your building blocks to create a whole new dish without wasting the food.</p>
<h4>Do a quick kitchen survey before shopping.</h4><p>Confession: Although Jerry and I are compulsive meal planners and list makers, we tend to do both without looking at what's already in stock in our kitchen. As a result, we often come home from the store with items we don't need. It's not a big deal to keep extra nonperishables like oats or quinoa, but buying extra mangoes or milk (and not consuming them quickly enough) creates waste.</p><p>We changed things up, first "shopping" in our refrigerator and pantry to see what items we had on hand that we could build our meals around. This helped us shorten the grocery list we were taking to the store, where we also followed Meal Prep Mate's suggestions for ideal quantities of food to bring home. The combination of strategies led us to reduce both our waste and our grocery bills.</p><p>"There is a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> benefit to paying attention to the foods that come into the house," Spacht points out. A lot of resources go into producing our food. According to a groundbreaking NRDC <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-2017-report.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>, wasted food uses 18 percent of farming fertilizer — the production and transport of which is an energy- and greenhouse gas–intensive process in itself — and generates 2.6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. It also consumes a lot of water: A whopping 21 percent of agricultural water goes toward food we end up tossing.</p>
<h4>Don't forget about breakfast.</h4><p>Even the most enthusiastic meal planners tend to focus on dinner and take what Spacht calls an "ad hoc approach" to the other meals of the day. I'll admit to making a meticulous shopping list for all of our evening meals and guessing at how much bread, bananas and eggs we need to get through the week (and I'm often wrong).</p><p>"When you plan for some meals and have an 'anything goes' approach to others, you miss opportunities to potentially reduce a lot of food waste," Spacht says.</p>
<h4>Look at the calendar<em>.</em></h4><p>We shop once a week — but that doesn't mean we always need enough food for seven days. I forget that lunch with a girlfriend or ordering pizza with our nieces means fewer meals we need to prepare. Spacht suggests looking at the calendar to determine the number of days you'll actually need meals instead of assuming that you'll always need to plan for a full week.</p>
<h4>Study up on storage.</h4><p>Improper storage is one of the main reasons that food spoils in our kitchens. Save the Food offers a <a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank">comprehensive guide to food storage</a> that will help you prolong the life of your produce, pantry staples and everything in between. For example, did you know that wrapping meat in two layers of plastic prevents freezer burn? And that natural nut butters will last up to three months after opening when stored in the refrigerator? That's twice as long as it will last if kept in a cabinet.</p><p>"Rather than tossing food because you're not sure if it's still safe to eat, learn how to store food so it'll last longer," Spacht says. "It's such an easy step to cut down on food waste."</p><p>Since using Meal Prep Mate, I've also gained a new appreciation for my freezer. Jerry and I keep chickens, which means lots of eggs. Thanks to the tool, we now know that lightly beaten eggs can be frozen in an airtight container. We've already added a few batches to our freezer — which gives me an idea for next weekend's brunch plans.</p>
<div id="bd592" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="N9EP5W1576664033"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1078142427813343233" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Fight Against Food Waste Starts at Home https://t.co/V4OFzAV2eo</div> — TIPA-Corp (@TIPA-Corp)<a href="https://twitter.com/TIPACorp/statuses/1078142427813343233">1545884160.0</a></blockquote></div>
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- Food Waste Set to Increase by 33 Percent Within 10 Years - EcoWatch ›
- Austin Bans Restaurants From Throwing Food Waste Into Landfills ... ›
- 20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste - EcoWatch ›
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59 Craft Breweries Tell EPA Dirty Water Proposal Threatens Key Ingredient 'on Which Our Livelihoods Depend'
07 March 2019
Popular
The New Belgium Brewing Company is one of the 59 craft breweries that sent a letter the EPA. Jacob Biba / The Washington Post / Getty Images
By Becky Hammer
Thursday a group of 59 craft breweries sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opposing the agencies' "Dirty Water Rule" proposal to slash clean water protections for waterways around the country.
<p>These brewers, who are partners in NRDC's <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/brewers-clean-water" target="_blank">Brewers for Clean Water</a> campaign, are standing up for safeguards that protect the sources of clean water on which their businesses depend.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5b4b1f754ff8e474a2c50bb93aa05317"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1187771774734001" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
Here's what they said ...
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTI1ODA0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTQ4OTczMX0.R300UoeKWQdlBKwfFP8wMAYYppwpWIYV6CiASGoDUII/img.jpg?width=980" id="f53ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ec7768dbcc538620d7c1758f2c761133" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Pexels
<p>Mr. Andrew Wheeler, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency<br></p><p>Mr. R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works, U.S. Department of the Army</p><p>Dear Administrator Wheeler and Assistant Secretary James:</p><p>We oppose your proposal to substantially limit the number of waterways receiving protection under the Clean Water Act. This rule would endanger critical wetlands and streams across the country — waterways that our craft breweries depend on to provide the clean water we use to brew our beer.</p><p>Beer is mostly water, so the quality of our source water significantly affects our finished product. Compounds present in brewing water can affect pH, color, aroma, and taste. Sulfates make hops taste astringent, while chlorine can create a medicinal off-flavor. The presence of bacteria can spoil a batch of beer. Even small chemical disruptions in our water supply can influence factors like shelf life and foam pattern.</p><p>Unexpected changes in water quality — due to pollution in our source water, or a change in the treatment process at our local drinking water plant — can threaten our brewing process and our bottom line. We need reliable sources of clean water to consistently produce the great beer that is key to our success. It is thanks in part to this important natural resource that the craft brewing industry contributes about $76.2 billion to the U.S. economy each year, along with more than 500,000 jobs.</p><p>For years, craft brewers have been asking for more clean water protections, not fewer. We supported the 2015 Clean Water Rule because it helped protect the sources of drinking water for 117 million Americans from pollution and destruction, providing certainty that we would continue to have access to the clean water on which our livelihoods depend. Importantly, that rule was based on sound science. The record showed that the waters it protected had biological, chemical, and physical connections to larger downstream waterways.</p><p>This proposed rule, to the contrary, ignores the overwhelming scientific evidence that protecting small streams and wetlands is essential to ensuring the quality of America's water sources. It would prohibit applying federal pollution-control safeguards to rain-dependent streams and exclude wetlands that do not have a surface connection to other protected waters. It also invites polluters to ask for even greater rollbacks, such as eliminating protections for seasonally-flowing streams.</p><p>We strongly oppose these proposed changes, which would affect millions of miles of streams and most of the nation's wetlands. Science shows that protecting these waters is important to downstream water quality. We must maintain clear protections for the vulnerable waterways that provide our most important ingredient.</p><p>We are depending on you not to roll back the safeguards established under the Clean Water Act. Protecting clean water is central to our long-term business success. Moreover, it is vital to the health and the economy of the communities where we live and work.</p><p>Thank you for considering our views on this important matter.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Allagash Brewing Company (Maine)</p><p>Alliance Brewing Company (Tennessee)</p><p>Andersonville Brewing (Illinois)</p><p>Asheville Brewing Company (North Carolina)</p><p>Avery Brewing Company (Colorado)</p><p>Bang Brewing (Minnesota)</p><p>Blue Point Brewing Company (New York)</p><p>Brewery Techne (Pennsylvania)</p><p>Brewery Vivant (Michigan)</p><p>Brooklyn Brewery (New York)</p><p>Bull City Burger and Brewery (North Carolina)</p><p>Clinch River Brewing (Tennessee)</p><p>Corridor Brewery & Provisions (Illinois)</p><p>Cypress and Grove Brewing Company (Florida)</p><p>DryHop Brewers (Illinois)</p><p>Earth Bread + Brewery (Pennsylvania)</p><p>Engrained Brewery & Restaurant (Illinois)</p><p>Fiddlin' Fish Brewing Company (North Carolina)</p><p>Flossmoor Station Brewing Company (Illinois)</p><p>Forest City Brewery (Ohio)</p><p>Founders Brewing Company (Michigan)</p><p>Fremont Brewing (Washington)</p><p>Grand Rapids Brewing Company (Michigan)</p><p>Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio)</p><p>Greenstar Organic Brewing (Illinois)</p><p>Half Acre Beer (Illinois)</p><p>Half Moon Bay Brewing Company (California)</p><p>HopCat (Michigan)</p><p>Horse & Dragon Brewing Company (Colorado)</p><p>Lakefront Brewery (Wisconsin)</p><p>Land-Grant Brewing Company (Ohio)</p><p>Lost Rhino Brewing Company (Virginia)</p><p>Maine Beer Company (Maine)</p><p>Maui Brewing Company (Hawaii)</p><p>Naked River Brewing Company (Tennessee)</p><p>New Belgium Brewing (Colorado)</p><p>Odell Brewing Company (Colorado)</p><p>Old Bust Head Brewing Company (Virginia)</p><p>One World Brewing (North Carolina)</p><p>Revolution Brewing (Illinois)</p><p>Right Brain Brewery (Michigan)</p><p>Rising Tide Brewing Company (Maine)</p><p>Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery (Illinois)</p><p>Sailfish Brewing Company (Florida)</p><p>Saltwater Brewery (Florida)</p><p>Sanctuary Brewing Company (North Carolina)</p><p>Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (California)</p><p>Sleepy Dog Brewery (Arizona)</p><p>Smartmouth Brewing Company (Virginia)</p><p>Starr Hill Brewery (Virginia)</p><p>SweetWater Brewing Company (Georgia)</p><p>Temperance Beer Co. (Illinois)</p><p>Two Brothers Brewing Company (Illinois)</p><p>Upslope Brewing Company (Colorado)</p><p>Wild Onion Brewery (Illinois)</p><p>Wild Wolf Brewing Company (Virginia)</p><p>Wolf Hills Brewing Company (Virginia)</p><p>Wrightsville Beach Brewery (North Carolina)</p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://act.nrdc.org/letter/clean-water-rule-181211?_ga=2.158877434.1529848697.1551818542-1706921315.1548072482" target="_blank">Here's how you can weigh in, too!</a></p>
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The Issue With Tissue and Toilet Paper: How the U.S. Is Flushing Forests Away
21 February 2019
Insights + Opinion
Morning fog over a boreal forest in Alaska. Alan Majchrowicz / Stockbyte / Getty Images
By Jennifer Skene and Shelley Vinyard
For most people, toilet paper only becomes an issue when it unexpectedly runs out. Otherwise, it's cheap and it's convenient, something we don't need to think twice about. But toilet paper's ubiquity and low sticker price belie a much, much higher cost: it is taking a dramatic and irreversible toll on the Canadian boreal forest, and our global climate. As a new report from NRDC and Stand.earth outlines, when you flush that toilet paper, chances are you are flushing away part of a majestic, old-growth tree ripped from the ground, and destined for the drain. This is why NRDC is calling on Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Charmin, to end this wasteful and destructive practice by changing the way it makes its toilet paper through solutions that other companies have already embraced.
<p>The Canadian boreal forest is the largest intact forest in the world, holding immense value for Indigenous Peoples, species and the climate. It is home to over 600 Indigenous communities whose cultures have remained inextricably linked to the forest for millennia, and is habitat for iconic species like the boreal caribou, Canada lynx and American marten. In addition, the forest is critical in the fight against <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, storing the carbon equivalent of nearly twice the world's recoverable oil reserves in its soil.</p><p>Yet, this forest is under severe threat from industrial logging operations that push further into intact boreal forests each day. Between 1996 and 2015, more than 28 million acres of boreal forest were logged, an area roughly the size of Ohio. Each year, boreal logging emits hundreds of millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere, dramatically accelerating the pace of climate change.</p><p>Much of this logging goes to feed global demand for tissue pulp—especially in the U.S. The Canadian boreal is a major source of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp, the U.S.'s most favored grade of virgin softwood pulp for tissue products. The U.S. is a particularly voracious consumer of tissue. Over the last 150 years, since toilet paper was first invented, Americans have developed an insatiable demand for these coiled white rolls. The average four-person household in the U.S. uses over 100 pounds of toilet paper a year, far outpacing the rest of the world and driving a dangerous "tree-to-toilet pipeline" whereby trees are converted into pulp, turned into toilet paper, and flushed away.</p><p>Fortunately, alternatives to the "tree-to-toilet" pipeline already exist. Tissue products made from recycled materials are far more sustainable because they do not rely on clearcutting forests and they emit one-third the greenhouse gases as tissue products made from virgin fiber.</p><p>NRDC and Stand.earth have developed the scorecard below to inform consumers of which brands lead on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainability</a>, and which lag behind. Companies like Seventh Generation and Natural Value have brands that perform well because they use a high percentage of recycled material. The biggest tissue producers—Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark and Georgia-Pacific—perform poorly because their brands like Charmin contain zero recycled content, irresponsibly relying exclusively on virgin pulp even as threats to our forests mount.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTIxNTUxNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjM1OTM3Nn0.VJsGhOScvDRF79v9Cxqe4ARC7LZv-UgevbyFY4e3bX0/img.png?width=980" id="d19f3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d22a6bd349bc045b13e5d133d1c18fdb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
</p><p>Consumers have power in their pocketbooks and can make a big difference through their toilet paper purchasing decisions. By following this scorecard, you can minimize the environmental toll your everyday toilet paper use is having on the planet. In addition, you can urge Procter & Gamble, which produces Charmin, to transition to a more responsible alternative by embracing tissue made from recycled content and sustainable alternative fibers for their at-home toilet paper.<br></p><p>Now, more than ever, we need to protect our remaining forests. Given toilet paper's extreme cost to Indigenous Peoples, the global climate, species and forests like the boreal, tissue companies need to act as global citizens and usher the world into a more sustainable, sensible paradigm that does not rely on trees for creating their products. Just as we need to abandon coal, plastic straws and other devastating practices, the tree-to-toilet pipeline must end. For the good of communities, species, and the climate, we cannot afford to keep flushing our vital forest ecosystems away.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="fe95a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IV0N051576662717"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1078017657134301186" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">10 Most Intriguing #Forest Stories of #2018 https://t.co/X4uir1BpaG @WoodlandTrust @FSC_IC</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1078017657134301186">1545854412.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Americans Are Calling for Climate Action, and the New House Leadership Is Listening
07 February 2019
Insights + Opinion
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts appear before the House Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 6. C-SPAN
By Rhea Suh
Wednesday marked a watershed moment in the national fight against the growing dangers of climate change, with two governors—a southern Democrat and a northeastern Republican—kicking off the first of a raft of hearings on the central environmental challenge of our time.
Appearing before the House Natural Resources Committee, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts laid out the stakes, for the people of their states and for the country, in standing up to this global scourge, in a hearing aptly titled "Climate Change: Impacts and the Need to Act."
<p>The same morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change hosted <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-hearings-congress-2628254656.html" target="_blank">its first climate hearing in six years,</a> focusing on the <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-time-for-action-addressing-the-environmental-and-economic" target="_blank">environmental and economic effects </a>of our warming planet. </p><p>You read that right: The Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change hadn't held a climate hearing in six years. That's an appalling abdication of responsibility by Republican leaders in Congress and their banner carrier, President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a>, who delivered another disappointing State of the Union address last night without once mentioning the mounting perils of climate change.<br></p><p>No one is surprised, but let's be clear. A president who ignores threats that gather before our very eyes is failing at job one for any leader: to prepare our people for a brighter, more hopeful, and more secure tomorrow.</p><p>A great tide, though, is turning. In the House, where Trump delivered his speech, new leadership is listening to the American people, about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-usa-poll/more-americans-view-climate-change-as-imminent-threat-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1OC1FX" target="_blank">seven in ten of whom understand the growing dangers</a> of climate change and expect national action to fight it.</p><p>Wednesday's climate hearings are the first of nearly a dozen already scheduled in the House or expected in the weeks ahead. The link between climate change and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> health is the focus of <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/full-february-hearing-schedule-announced_thursday-hearing-in-water-oceans-and-wildlife-panel-will-focus-on-climate-change-and-ocean-health" target="_blank">a hearing Thursday afternoon before the Committee on Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife</a>. And climate change will be very much on the agenda when the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/energy-trends-and-outlook" target="_blank">holds a hearing Thursday morning on "Energy Trends and Outlook</a>." Among the witnesses: <a href="https://www.cfr.org/experts/amy-myers-jaffe" target="_blank">Amy Myers Jaffe</a>, program director for energy security and climate change with the Council on Foreign Relations, and <a href="https://www.csis.org/people/ethan-zindler" target="_blank">Ethan Zindler</a>, head of Americas and policy analysis for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.</p><p>The House Natural Resources Committee is making a major push to frame up the environmental justice aspects of the climate debate, with a stress on whose stories are being heard, whose are being ignored, and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ActOnClimate?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">how all voices might be raised.</a> With that approach being emphasized at the level of the full committee, the subcommittees—<a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/federal-lands" target="_blank">Federal Lands</a>; <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/energy-and-mineral-resources" target="_blank">Energy and Mineral Resources</a>; <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/indian-insular-and-alaska-native-affairs" target="_blank">Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs</a>; <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/oversight-and-investigations" target="_blank">Oversight and Investigations</a>; and <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/water-power-and-oceans" target="_blank">Water, Power, and Oceans</a>—are each planning climate hearings to address areas of their specific jurisdiction.</p><p>These hearings are important. They provide a way for our political leaders and the American people to connect the dots between what the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a> is telling us about climate change and what we're reading about in our papers, watching on our televisions, and seeing out our kitchen windows. And they provide expert guidance to policymakers searching for solutions to this overarching environmental challenge.</p><p>We just wrapped up the hottest four years since global record keeping began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported Wednesday morning. The impacts are all around us. <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/techrpt83_Global_and_Regional_SLR_Scenarios_for_the_US_final.pdf" target="_blank">Seas are rising</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/24/world/asia/living-in-chinas-expanding-deserts.html" target="_blank">Croplands are turning to deserts</a>. We're<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/07/12/earth-is-on-its-way-to-the-biggest-mass-extinction-since-the-dinosaurs-scientists-warn/?utm_term=.2b4b6f64c171" target="_blank"> losing entire species faster than at any other time since the dinosaurs disappeared </a>some 60 million years ago. Storms, floods and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/27/climate/wildfire-global-warming.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR0vN6-h0zWGDuCfL36vecYW17l-siHXa6oDYnwRfF1XmYyDA7T7kIgzj6k" target="_blank">wildfires</a> are raging. The <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/latest-news/coral-bleaching/2017/significant-coral-decline-and-habitat-loss-on-the-great-barrier-reef" target="_blank">Great Barrier Reef is dying</a>.</p><p>All of this will get worse—much worse—unless we cut the dangerous carbon pollution that's driving this global scourge. And we haven't got much time.</p><p>That's why <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">NRDC</a> is so excited about the movement to create a Green New Deal, a comprehensive slate of policies aimed at helping us shift, as quickly as possible, to 100 percent <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">clean energy</a> in a way that provides a just and equitable transition away from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">dirty fuels</a> of the past and to cleaner, smarter ways to power our future.</p><p>Developing a Green New Deal will take time. Some of the broad contours will start to take shape, though, in the form of a joint House-Senate resolution being crafted by <a href="https://www.markey.senate.gov/" target="_blank">Senator Ed Markey</a> (D-MA) and <a href="https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/" target="_blank">Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> (D-NY). We're thrilled by the new urgency and the new ideas behind this national movement for change, and we look forward to seeing an ambitious plan.</p><p>What's coming together is a national call to action for the policies we need in order to rapidly move to a thriving clean-energy economy that creates millions of high-quality American jobs, reduces inequality and poverty, and safeguards our communities from environmental harm. Every American needs to get behind the growing momentum for climate action that will capture the urgency of the moment, rise to the challenge we face and promote the low-carbon transition we need.</p><p>We must press for <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/clean-energy-and-climate-action-agenda-new-congress" target="_blank">congressional action that enables the country to keep the promise we made </a>as part of the landmark 2015 <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>. We cannot break that promise and leave our children to pay the price. </p><p>And we need to work, through the new House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and all the House committees that have jurisdiction in areas that impact our climate future, to put in place the policies that can help us invest in the just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy.</p><p>We're excited to see what unfolds in the coming weeks and months, on Capitol Hill and across the country. What's important is that we seize this moment to build on the growing momentum for action—while we've still got time.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="36571" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3D88QN1576663271"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1093509183520030720" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">House Democrats Hold First Climate Change Hearings in More Than 5 Years https://t.co/4D2hSxq1Q9</div> — Marjorie Leach-Parker (@Marjorie Leach-Parker)<a href="https://twitter.com/mleachparker/statuses/1093509183520030720">1549547880.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Conceptual photo of tap water represented as a dangerous chemical. Zirafek / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Jennifer Sass
Yet again, our government scientists—the oft neglected but so important brain trust of our nation—bring the public some very important new data. Pesticide water monitoring experts at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) paired up with scientists from the University of Iowa in a federally funded collaboration to track neonicotinoid pesticides or " neonics" in tap water, including the potential to form chlorinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from the pesticides and their metabolites that may be more toxic than the original compounds. And the news isn't good.
<p>Following up on previous research finding <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/%2010.1021/acs.estlett.7b00081" target="_blank">neonicotinoids in tap water</a> (Klarich et al. 2017), the scientists now explore whether the neonic compounds or their metabolites that are generated in the environment are transformed into disinfection byproducts during common, important <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water">drinking water</a> treatment processes used to protect public health, such as chlorination (<a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00706" target="_blank">Klarich Wong et al. 2019</a>). <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00706" target="_blank">This paper</a> is the first report of two known metabolites of imidacloprid in tap water; desnitro-imidacloprid and imidacloprid-urea. This is especially concerning because desnitro-imidacloprid is about 319 times more toxic to mammals than imidacloprid, so even much lower levels could be harmful.</p><p>In addition to discovering the presence of the two metabolites in tap water, the authors demonstrate the likelihood that these metabolites are further transformed to a new form of neonic-derived chlorinated disinfection byproduct during routine water treatment processes. The scientists simulated the conditions that would occur during realistic drinking water conditions, to show under laboratory conditions that chlorinated chemicals are produced.</p><p>These new chlorinated contaminants are untested, untracked and potentially harmful. In other words, their potential impacts on human health could be a big deal! Other types of disinfection byproducts in drinking water are highly toxic, linked to a risk of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/chlorination-byproducts.html" target="_blank">cancer</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235225/" target="_blank">birth defects</a>.</p><p>Those potential harms could also be a big deal risk-wise because neonics are the most widely used insecticides on the market. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) and other regulatory agencies have been disregarding the potential for neonics to harm vertebrates, because their mechanism of toxicity was thought to be insect-selective. Unfortunately, this caused a regulatory blind spot in the harm they do to beneficial insects like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a>, and aquatic invertebrate species that provide a critical food source for amphibians, fish and other aquatic vertebrates. The reason the metabolites (for example, desnitro-imidacloprid) raise a red flag is that science now demonstrates that the insect-selective toxicity is altered, causing them to be more toxic to vertebrates including people and other mammals.</p><p>See <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/compound_listing.php" target="_blank">USGS Pesticide Use Maps</a> for the most current information, but note USGS's disclaimer that beginning in 2015 the data reports no longer include seed treatment uses of pesticides; for the neonics this represents somewhere around 90 percent of total pounds of neonic pesticides used in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture">agriculture</a>—a very serious under-reporting. See below for imidacloprid (note the drop-off since 2015 due to failure to include seed treatments).</p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTE0NzI0NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzQ4OTUyOX0.lyb1hvQrz8nUDRLmHgNQpBbTIqTG91ucw5bz7QeG-LQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="33a19" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ba54dc44b79a2f244efd8bf7a529b956" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">USGS Pesticide Use Map - imidacloprid</small></p>
<p>The <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70201737" target="_blank">study report</a> authors note that although the chlorinated disinfection byproducts derived from neonics have an unknown toxicity profile, it is possible that they may be <em>more toxic</em> than the parent compound. Thus, the authors recommend in the article that the "greater potential toxicity and frequent presence in these water samples of neonicotinoid metabolites demonstrates the need to consider their fate and persistence in drinking water treatment systems (ex. during chlorination and other treatment processes) and their potential effects on human health." NRDC agrees! That's why we are asking EPA to include all the neonic metabolites and chlorinated products in its <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/schedule-review-neonicotinoid-pesticides" target="_blank">human health risk assessment</a> of the neonic pesticides, due later this year.<br></p><p>In addition to surface water and drinking water contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf501397m#showRef" target="_blank">neonics inside fruits and vegetables</a>, where they can't be simply washed off due to their systemic nature. And emerging science suggests a link with neonic exposure and potential disorders including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18080902" target="_blank">neurobehavioral impairments</a> in animal studies, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24456651" target="_blank">autism-like effects</a> in prenatally exposed children (see <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonicotinoid-pesticides-bad-bees-and-may-be-bad-people-too" target="_blank">my blog</a> for details).</p><p>In addition to including all relevant neonic metabolites in its risk assessment, EPA should also assess the cumulative risks from all the neonic pesticides and their toxic metabolites together. It is alarming that EPA seems to have no plan for conducting a cumulative risk assessment for this toxic and persistent class of pesticides.</p><p>The scientific evidence of harm is piling up—EPA must pay attention!</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="a74f8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="N6TT5V1576661871"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1062102815919751168" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">10 Things You Always Wanted to Know About #Neonics https://t.co/uRzBC3NlVx @NRDC @bpncamp @pesticideaction</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1062102815919751168">1542060018.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Jennifer Sass is a senior scientist in the Federal Toxics, Health and Food, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em><br></p>
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'Absolutely Unconscionable': Trump EPA Refuses to Limit Toxic Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water
30 January 2019
Health + Wellness
Under the Trump administration, the EPA will decline to regulate a pair of toxic chemicals linked to various forms of cancer. EPA
By Jessica Corbett
In a decision deemed by critics unsurprising but also "absolutely unconscionable," the Trump administration's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly plans to refrain from regulating a pair of toxic chemicals linked to kidney and testicular cancer, even though they are contaminating millions of Americans' drinking water.
Sources familiar with an unreleased draft plan approved last month by acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told Politico that the chemicals PFOA and PFOS will remain unregulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning that "utilities will face no federal requirements for testing for and removing the chemicals from drinking water supplies, although several states have pursued or are pursuing their own limits."
<p>The chemicals "have been used for decades in products such as Teflon-coated cookware and military firefighting foam, and are present in the bloodstreams of an estimated 98 percent of Americans," Politico pointed out. That means, given that they have "contaminated groundwater near hundreds of military bases and chemical plants," any intensive regulation of them would force companies such as <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/23/political-chemicals-cleanup-3m-1012445" target="_blank">3M</a> as well as the Defense Department to spend billions of dollars on cleanup efforts.</p><p>"If these sources are right, the EPA is essentially telling the more than 110 million Americans whose water is likely contaminated with PFAS: 'Drink up, folks,'" <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/sources-trump-epa-won-t-set-drinking-water-limit-pfas-chemicals" target="_blank">warned</a> Environmental Working Group senior scientist David Andrews, Ph.D. "The most efficient and equitable way to remove these chemicals from the nation's drinking water supply is to use the agency's authority to set legal limits ... It's a national problem, and it needs a national solution."</p><p>"It is absolutely unconscionable for the Trump administration to refuse to even start the process of setting a limit on these poisonous chemicals," <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2019/190128-0" target="_blank">declared</a> Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council (<a href="https://www.nrdc.org" target="_blank">NRDC</a>). "Communities around the country need swift, meaningful action from the government. Punting responsibility to the private sector and states is a total abdication of EPA's role in protecting the American people."</p><p>"Sadly, it's no surprise the Trump administration is failing to protect Americans from these dangerous chemicals," Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter said in a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/01/29/trump-failing-protect-drinking-water-ignoring-dangerous-chemicals-pfoa-and-pfos" target="_blank">statement</a>.<br></p><p>"It's time for state governments and Congress to step up, since it's obvious we can't rely on Andrew Wheeler and Trump's EPA to protect us from dangerous chemicals in our drinking water," she added, calling on federal lawmakers to enact the Water Accountability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability (WATER) Act.</p><p>"More than ever, we need strong federal legislation to protect drinking water," Hauter said. <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1673" target="_blank">The WATER Act</a> "would upgrade our aging infrastructure and help keep vital water systems under local public control. But it would also provide funding to help keep drinking water safe from toxins like PFOA and PFOS, in spite of this administration's failure to act."</p><p>The news out of the EPA on Monday came after the agency and White House <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/toxic-chemicals-study-blocked-2569008321.html" target="_blank">blocked</a> the release of a federal study on PFOA and PFOS last year over concerns that it would produce a "public relations nightmare." The move was widely condemned by public health experts, reporters, and American lawmakers, with critics charging that then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was "more worried about journalists than poisoning millions of Americans."</p><p>Noting that decision and, more broadly, the federal government's failures to protect the American public from industry pollution during the Trump era, Hauter concluded, "This administration prioritizes corporate profits over public safety, pure and simple."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="17fac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5SPYB81576663710"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1081299732192997376" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This year will be pivotal for water and environmental justice. We need as many activists as possible making as much… https://t.co/JI7ILdRzeN</div> — Clean Water Action (@Clean Water Action)<a href="https://twitter.com/cleanh2oaction/statuses/1081299732192997376">1546636920.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/29/absolutely-unconscionable-trump-epa-refuses-limit-toxic-chemicals-contaminate" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><br></p>
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George the Snail, the last of his species, Achatinella apexfulva, died on Jan. 2. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
By Jason Bittel
On January 2, a snail named George shriveled up and died in his tank at the University of Hawaii. He was 14 years old, which for a land snail is pretty long in the tooth (or in George's case, radula). But in all of his years, George never sired any offspring. There were simply no mating partners to be found. In fact, George was the last known member of his species, Achatinella apexfulva. And the moment he slimed off this mortal coil, 2019 experienced its first documented extinction.
While George's death came as a bit of a surprise (it's tough to tell when a snail is ill), the extinction of his species has been a long time coming.
<p>"Researchers and conservationists have been looking for this species [in the wild] for over 20 years and haven't had any luck with finding them," says <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> biologist David Sischo, the coordinator of Hawaii's <a href="https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/hip/sep/" target="_blank">Snail Extinction Prevention Program</a>.</p><p>Scientists actually thought <em>A. apexfulva</em> had already gone extinct back in the 1990s, until 10 of them were found in 1997 and brought under the university's care. The idea was to set up a captive population whose progeny researchers could one day release into the wild. Unfortunately, none of the baby snails hatched in the lab lasted very long—except George, who was named after the late "<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/reptile-tears" target="_blank">Lonesome George</a>," the Pinta Island tortoise who was also the last of his kind.</p><p>While <em>A. apexfulva</em> has the distinction of being the first to die out this year, it is one of several hundred land snails to disappear from the Hawaiian Islands over recent decades. The archipelago was once home to about 750 land snail species—as many as you'd find in all of continental North America, says Sischo. Unfortunately, <a href="https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/hip/sep/" target="_blank">only around 10 percent remain</a>, all of which are federally protected.</p><p>Such losses may not seem all that crucial at a time when <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">species</a> that are, shall we say, slightly more charismatic than your average mollusk—<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/big-cats-big-trouble" target="_blank">tigers</a>, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/locking-horns" target="_blank">rhinos</a> and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/whats-happening-north-atlantic-right-whale-just-plain-wrong" target="_blank">North Atlantic right whales</a>—are struggling to keep their dwindling populations viable. But the people of Hawaii feel differently.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODA1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzQ1MTQ4Mn0.DhrVZx5Nnc2VR4tVeTTH86N7kMlKSjFjHwu4rM4EOrk/img.jpg?width=980" id="11fca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0571ac7cd35d0558e1d2f726a713c200" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The Hawaiian tree snail Partulina mighelsiana</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources</small></p>
<p>In the Hawaiian culture, snails were thought to have voices and sing in the night, and the names of many native snails reflect this. For instance, <em>Kani kua mauna</em> translates to "<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=sO7KSEgvXvwC&pg=PA392&lpg=PA392&dq=Kani+kua+mauna+snail&source=bl&ots=nUyAOPRYI4&sig=ACfU3U3gAEnl8ILIUA5FYhbucxG88tAQJQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM-siQp_PfAhXvdN8KHeCwCLsQ6AEwBXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Kani%20kua%20mauna%20snail&f=false" target="_blank">music on the mountain ridges</a>," and <em>Kani kanahele</em> means "voice of the forest." There's no scientific evidence to suggest that Hawaii's land snails can actually sing, and some experts believe that people were hearing crickets and misattributing the sounds to snails, which were much larger and easier to spot. Either way, the association stuck.<br></p><p>"Hawaiians didn't have a written language, and they passed on their genealogy through chant and through hula," said Sischo, referring to the traditional style of dance. "Snails personified that ability to pass on your genealogy, if you were a good chanter or singer. Even today, if someone called you a snail, it would be a compliment," he says. "It was a good omen to see or hear a snail."</p><p>But as it turns out, seeing a giant African land snail was a very bad omen for the islands' native ecosystems. Hawaiians began importing these oversize snails in 1936 because they looked cool in backyard gardens. The decorative giants, however, eventually escaped the garden and took to the wild, where they found a bounty of fruits and vegetables, including those in farmers' fields and orchards. By 1955, the invasive snails had caused so much damage that the state's agricultural sector decided to fight back by—wait for it—introducing another non-native snail.</p><p>Rosy wolfsnails hail from Florida, where they've earned a reputation for hunting down and gobbling up other snails and slugs. When other snails can't be found, rosy wolfsnails even eat each other, resulting in the nickname "cannibal snails."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODA1Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTM5MTA0NX0.E092i2uLVmad0CaznCi9j-A267MkHir_Qps9ztdFPeA/img.jpg?width=980" id="dc067" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="62f37cba8d286df60699d02d5155634e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The rosy wolfsnail hails from Florida, where it has earned a reputation for hunting down and eating other snails and slugs.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Marcel Holyoak via Flickr</small></p>
<p>You see where this is going, don't you? Instead of focusing on Hawaii's invasive giant African land snails, the rosy wolfpacks mowed down all the native snails they could find. This massacre didn't play out just in Hawaii, by the way. A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24444057_Not_Knowing_Not_Recording_Not_Listing_Numerous_Unnoticed_Mollusk_Extinctions" target="_blank">2009 study</a> found that of the 400 mollusk extinctions known to have occurred on oceanic islands, rosy wolfsnails were responsible for 134 of them. This is what happens when your wildlife management decisions mimic the logic of the song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNwmzDlyCt8" target="_blank">I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly</a>."<br></p><p>To be fair, cannibal snails don't deserve all the blame. Rats, which came to Hawaii as stowaways on ships, also eat native snails, as do Jackson's chameleons, which came from Kenya through the pet trade. And the practice of threading snail shells onto certain ceremonial leis didn't help either. While this tradition itself probably didn't cause any extinctions, when mid-nineteenth-century Europeans began coveting snail-shell leis as souvenirs, things got out of hand. The demand led to people gathering up the gastropods in the <a href="https://hanahou.com/14.2/kahuli-homecoming" target="_blank">hundreds of thousands</a>. (FYI: It is now a federal offense to collect native snail shells.)</p><p>So, what will happen to Hawaii's ecology now that George and so many of his native cousins are gone? Sischo says it isn't clear. Because these volcanic islands more or less exploded out of the sea, they never had their own species of earthworms to break down plant matter—but they did have snails to take up the job of detritivore. As these species disappear, the process by which nutrients are processed and returned to the soil will be altered in ways we don't yet understand. The islands have other native snails, like <em>A. apexfulva, </em>that graze on the algae and fungi that accumulate on plants. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej201752" target="_blank">Scientists have shown</a> that trees with grazer snails tend to have less biofilm on them and support a greater diversity of fungi, algae and bacteria. Take the grazers away, says Sischo, and everything gets a lot more mundane, which could affect the plants' health.</p><p>Conservationists are still searching for more Georges in the wild, but the probability of finding one is very slim and gets slimmer every day. However, there may be hope for other snails on the ropes. Hawaii's Snail Extinction Prevention Program is currently holding in captivity 30 species from five islands. All 30 are either extinct in the wild or close to it, but unlike George, many of these survivors are getting it on.</p><p>"We are actively reintroducing four protected species now," says Sischo, "and we have quite a bit now that we'll be reintroducing back into the wild in the next few years. So it's not all bad news."</p><p>He says his organization is also "manning the lifeboat" by removing invasive species where they exist and adding predator-proof fencing to areas that are still relatively pristine.</p><p>Will future Hawaiians sing stories about saving the islands' snails one day? Only time will tell.</p>
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</p><div id="d3b66" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LAEVEE1576663965"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1085541431983464449" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">2018 left us with a mixed bag of hope and foreboding. With recent history in mind, what does 2019 have in store? He… https://t.co/oHxlJDDbgg</div> — Rhea Suh (@Rhea Suh)<a href="https://twitter.com/RheaSuh/statuses/1085541431983464449">1547648220.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Jason Bittel writes the Species Watch column for <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/we-made-it-only-two-days-new-year-species-went-extinct" target="_blank">onEarth</a>.</em><br></p>
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A tree found severed in half in an act of vandalism in Joshua Tree National Park. Gina Ferazzi / Los AngelesTimes / Getty Images
By Rhea Suh
One month on, the longest and most senseless U.S. government shutdown in history is taking a grave and growing toll on the environment and public health.
Food inspectors have been idled or are working without pay, increasing the risk we'll get sick from eating produce, meat and poultry that isn't properly checked. National parks and public wilderness lands are overrun by vandals, overtaken by off-road joyriders, and overflowing with trash. Federal testing of air and water quality, as well as monitoring of pollution levels from factories, incinerators and other sources, is on hold or sharply curtailed. Citizen input on critical environmental issues is being hindered. Vital research and data collection are being sidelined.
<p>We're treating career public servants like temp workers, with 800,000 federal workers placed on furlough—committed professionals, forbidden to do their jobs or required to work without pay. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/us/politics/government-shutdown-economy.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage" target="_blank">White House economists are warning that the shutdown has become a drag</a> on the national economy, as government employees lose out on $200 million in forgone wages for every day they're idled.</p><p>And for what? </p><p>President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> refuses to sign congressional budget legislation funding about one-fourth of the government unless it contains some $5 billion to build a border wall. That hasn't drawn the congressional support required to pass, and about <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2592" target="_blank">six in ten Americans oppose</a> spending money to build the wall.</p><p>Everyone wants border security—<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rhea-suh/we-must-stop-madness" target="_blank">provided it's humane and lawful</a>. But when U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show that<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/11/us/politics/trump-border-crisis-reality.html" target="_blank"> illegal crossings at the U.S.–Mexico border are near a 50-year low</a>, who could blame Congress for not squandering taxpayer money on Trump's wall? In any event, it's hard to think of a reason ever to shut down the government and make Americans pay the price.</p><p>U.S. Army veteran Angel Stephensen, a furloughed federal worker performing airport security without pay, spoke for much of the nation this week when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/09/working-tsa-is-tough-enough-now-im-not-even-getting-paid-it/?utm_term=.8f58a4c3811d" target="_blank">she told The Washington Post</a>, "We're political pawns being held hostage by a tyrant."</p><p>That's not putting America first. It's putting wall before country, with real costs to Americans everywhere.<br></p><p>In Arizona, the <a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/shutdown-takes-invisible-toll-on-arizona-environment-11108422" target="_blank">U.S. Geological Survey has had to put critical work on hold</a>, suspending monitoring on the Colorado River for contamination from uranium mines upstream from the iconic Grand Canyon. In <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm" target="_blank">Grand Canyon National Park</a>, meanwhile, work on some $330 million worth of needed road and building maintenance has been brought to a halt.</p><p>The shutdown of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lab in Georgia has put a stop to the monitoring of drinking water and surface water quality from the rivers and streams <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060111599" target="_blank">in North Carolina's Lower Cape Fear watershed</a>. This web of rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands run hard by some of <a href="https://www.capefearriverwatch.org/advocacy/cafos" target="_blank">the most intensive industrial hog, turkey and chicken operations in the country</a>, as well as large industrial polluters. As a result, large parts of the Cape Fear River basin are heavily contaminated with high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, toxic chemicals and organic waste laden with disease-causing bacteria. </p><p>In Alabama, <a href="https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2019/01/birmingham-superfund-cleanup-suspended-by-shutdown.html" target="_blank">federal employees had to halt their work cleaning up arsenic, lead and other toxic pollution from industrial operations</a> in a mostly African-American community on the northern outskirts of Birmingham. As at hundreds of other Superfund sites—areas contaminated with toxic chemicals and other hazardous waste from factories, processing plants, landfills and abandoned mines—federal cleanup efforts have been put on hold by the government shutdown.</p><p>In Virginia, research on <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/01/government-shutdown-snaps-one-longest-monitoring-studies-national-parks" target="_blank">trout and other critical watershed concerns in Shenandoah National Park</a> has been interrupted for the longest time in the 40-year history of the program. "This is the biggest [sampling] gap we've had," <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/01/us-government-shutdown-starts-take-bite-out-science" target="_blank">ecologist Jeff Atkins told Science magazine</a>. "Now, there is always going to be this hole." Atkins's lament echoes that of researchers across the country facing curtailments of studies into everything from <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/12/government-shutdown-halts-long-running-isle-royale-wolf-moose-research/" target="_blank">wolf and moose populations in Michigan</a> to <a href="http://www.wlrn.org/post/shutdown-impact-south-florida-everglades-threatened-hurricane-research-halted" target="_blank">hurricane impacts in Florida</a>.</p><p>At the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm" target="_blank">Joshua Tree National Park</a> in Southern California, protected desert trees that typically live 150 years or longer have been chopped down by vandals to clear the path for illegal driving with off-road vehicles. Rather than close all national parks, as has happened during past shutdowns, the U.S. Department of the Interior has allowed them to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/joshua-tree-national-park-open-2625719456.html">remain open</a>, subject to the discretion of local superintendents. Turns out, though, we need National Park Service staff to keep the parks clean, safe and protected from harm.</p><p>The same goes for protected federal wilderness lands. In one such region in Montana, <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2381951/illegal-activity-national-parks" target="_blank">outlaw snowmobilers have raced through prohibited areas</a>, putting skiers at risk and courting lasting damage to fragile landscapes and irreplaceable habitat.</p><p>In parks across the country, with facilities closed or clogged beyond use, visitors have relieved themselves in the open, despoiling natural areas and creating sanitation issues. "It's a free-for-all," Dakota Snider, who works near Yosemite National Park, told <a href="http://time.com/5491266/garbage-damage-environment-national-parks-government-shutdown/" target="_blank">Time magazine</a>. "It's so heartbreaking. There is more trash and human waste and disregard for the rules than I've seen in my four years living here."</p><p>With public hearings postponed, or public comment deadlines approaching, citizens are unable to reach EPA officials to locate information or get answers to questions. Critical community input has gone lacking on an array of important projects that can have lasting impact, including <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/011019-us-blm-delays-anwr-lease-hearings-comment-deadline-remains-in-place" target="_blank">proposed gas and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge</a>; needed cleanup of lead contamination from a demolished housing site sitting atop an abandoned smelter in East Chicago; and remediation of a landfill containing hazardous waste in Nassau, New York.<br></p><p>Furloughs at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Interior Department agency that oversees offshore energy development, <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/delays-in-offshore-wind-development-feared-due-to-shutdown" target="_blank">have put East Coast wind farm development on hold,</a> as three public hearings on a proposed project off the Massachusetts coast have been scratched. </p><p>Somehow, though, the Interior managed to scare up the funds to recall furloughed workers to continue processing lease applications for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands</a> in Colorado and elsewhere. For clean energy, in other words, the government is closed; for fossil fuels, it's open for business.</p><p>Across the country, we depend on inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make sure our food is safe and doesn't spread disease. Most of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/health/shutdown-fda-food-inspections.html" target="_blank">inspectors for both agencies have been furloughed</a> or are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/health/shutdown-fda-food-safety.html" target="_blank">working without pay</a>, and much of this vital work isn't being done.</p><p>The risks are real. Last year alone, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/multistate-outbreaks/outbreaks-list.html" target="_blank">U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated 22 multistate foodborne outbreaks,</a> the most in at least a dozen years, ranging from salmonella in raw chicken and turkey to <em>E. coli</em> in ground beef and romaine lettuce. And now we're taking food inspectors off the beat?</p><p>Let's get real. There's little our government does that touches our daily lives more directly than protecting the environment and public health. We depend, all of us, on a functioning government to perform the inspections, monitoring and enforcement these protections require. And we rely on competent civil servants to staff the national parks and oversee the public lands and waters that belong, in every sense, to you and me.</p><p>Making sure these services are provided, in a professional and reliable way, is not some favor to be granted at the president's pleasure, nor some bargaining chip to force spending on pet projects that lack majority support. Rendering the services we pay for through our taxes is a basic requirement of governance, the heart of the civil compact that ties free and independent people to government by the consent of the governed. </p><p>Trump has broken faith with that pact. It's time to get our government up and working again, as every American has the right to expect. Time to restore the great promise that guides what President Lincoln called "government of the people, by the people, for the people."</p>
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</p><div id="3ccfc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="T0RBY91576663885"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1078496810493198336" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">How the #GovernmentShutdown Could Impact the Nation’s Environment https://t.co/7OBrP0EHJQ</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1078496810493198336">1545968651.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Rhea Suh is president of the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em><br></p>
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EPA Acting Administrator Wheeler / EPA
By Ana Unruh Cohen
As the longest government shut down in history drags on, and the experts protecting our air and water remain off the job, the Senate is barreling forward to put Andrew Wheeler at the wheel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He is unfit for this public trust.
In his seven-month tenure as the acting administrator at EPA, Wheeler's relentlessly pushed to advance the pro-polluter agenda launched by Scott Pruitt, the worst administrator in the agency's storied 48-year history. Wheeler may lack Pruitt's scandals, but he's no improvement.
<p>Time and again, Wheeler has demonstrated just as much loyalty to polluters and just as much commitment to reining in the EPA's crucial work on clean air, clean water, toxics and climate action, along with supporting the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration's proposals to slash EPA staff and starve its budget. </p><p>The former lobbyist for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>, oil and gas has flouted the mission of the EPA, broken the law, put polluters' interests first and left the rest of us to pay the price. If senators look closely at his record and his actions over the last year, they'll urge President Trump to nominate someone else. </p><p>Instead of repairing the damage Pruitt wrought on our health and environment, Wheeler has doubled down, taking more than a dozen actions to <em>increase</em> climate-harming pollution. He has proposed to dismantle critical protections against toxic water pollution nationwide. He has done nothing to reduce pollutants tainting our air or <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water">drinking water</a>. The Natural Resources Defense Council and allies have taken Wheeler to court in numerous cases where EPA has violated the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and more.</p><p>Those pollutants have consequences for our health. They increase childhood asthma attacks and respiratory illnesses for adults. They cause disease, cancer and impair children's brain development. And they trigger ailments that keep hundreds of thousands of Americans home sick and away from work or school.</p><p>Also under his leadership, the EPA has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/09/21/the-energy-202-trump-s-epa-is-targeting-rules-for-yet-another-greenhouse-gas/5ba3eda31b326b7c8a8d158e/?utm_term=.84b8fd42b7e7" target="_blank">announced plans</a> to weaken limits on leakage of climate-harming hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, from refrigeration and air-conditioning units.</p><p>At the behest of coal baron Robert Murray, who delivered a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/09/climate/document-Murray-Energy-Action-Plan.html" target="_blank">wish list</a> to the Trump administration early last year, Wheeler moved in December to sabotage federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which limit emissions of brain poisons mercury and lead, and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/editorial-board-memo-epa-set-roll-back-lifesaving-mercury-air-toxics-safeguards-big-coal" target="_blank">stand to prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths</a>.</p><p>Wheeler has still not finalized a two-year old proposal to ban the deadly paint stripper <a href="https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/12/carper-schumer-demand-overdue-epa-action-to-ban-deadly-paint-stripping-chemical" target="_blank">methylene chloride</a>, which has, in recent decades, caused <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/us-deaths-from-methylene-chloride/" target="_blank">dozens</a> of deaths and serious illnesses. Meanwhile, nearly a dozen major retailers including Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart have committed to stop carrying it on their shelves. Wheeler's also fighting a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/08/09/federal-appeals-court-orders-epa-ban-controversial-pesticide/?utm_term=.5b66aba4a099" target="_blank">federal court order last August</a> to ban <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/10/pesticide-ban-court-says-epa-violated-law-chlorpyrifos-harmful-babies/954921002/" target="_blank">chlorpyrifos</a>, a pesticide that at even tiny levels of exposure can damage babies' brains. Furthermore, his agency's reviews of new chemicals fail to comply with the law or protect the public.</p><p>Wheeler started off on bad footing almost from Day One.</p><p>Within two weeks of being named acting administrator, he moved to ease <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-eases-rules-on-how-coal-ash-waste-is-stored-across-the-us/2018/07/17/740e4b9a-89d3-11e8-85ae-511bc1146b0b_story.html?utm_term=.fa9be0efdb49" target="_blank">rules dictating how coal ash</a>, which has contaminated waterways in Tennessee and North Carolina in recent years, is stored at more than 400 coal-fired power plants around the country.</p><p>Bowing to the auto industry, Wheeler also partly defended a move initiated by Pruitt to ease restrictions on the number of new trucks that can be sold using old, refurbished engines that fail to meet modern emissions standards. This dirty truck loophole enables some well-connected industry players to bypass clean air safeguards. Wheeler issued a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-07/documents/memo_re_withdrawal_of_conditional_naa_regarding_small_manufacturers_of_glider_vehicles_07-26-2018.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a> last July saying <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/climate/wheeler-pruitt-glider-truck-reversal.html" target="_blank">EPA would close</a> this dirty truck loophole but said he remained interested in some form of a rollback.</p><p>Then last August, Wheeler pressed ahead on another Pruitt initiative, to kill the Clean Power Plan, the landmark strategy to limit climate-damaging carbon pollution from power plants. Wheeler rolled out a so-called replacement called the Affordable Clean Energy rule. This <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/trump-epas-dirty-power-plan-coming-soon" target="_blank">Dirty Power Plan</a> would gut the Clean Power Plan, cost more, pollute more and fail to promote clean energy.</p><p>As fall rolled around, Wheeler proposed a rollback of standards limiting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> emissions from new oil and gas facilities, which 13 state attorneys general blasted as illegal in a December <a href="http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/state-impact/press-publications/press-releases/ags-comment-letter-nsps-standards" target="_blank">lawsuit.</a> These common sense standards required oil and gas companies to monitor their equipment for leaks twice a year at well sites, four times per year at compressor stations, and that leaks are repaired within 30 days.</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/vijay-limaye/methane-leaks-oil-gas-exploration-health-nightmare" target="_blank">New research</a> has shown that within the next seven years, 2,000 Americans could die each year from methane pollution from these facilities. The oil and gas sector is the largest source of methane pollution, which traps <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/issues/reduce-methane-pollution-and-leaks" target="_blank">more than 80 times</a> as much heat as carbon dioxide, making it a serious contributor to climate change.</p><p>Wheeler also backed Pruitt's actions to weaken clean car standards that have reduced <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/luke-tonachel/pruitt-moves-weaken-clean-car-standards" target="_blank">230 million tons of pollution</a> that drives climate change, and has saved consumers more than $49 billion at the pump. In an attack on state's rights to protect people from pollution, he's resisted demands by California to allow the state to keep in place its tougher clean vehicle standards.</p><p>Under Wheeler, the EPA in December upped a Pruitt-initiated attack on clean water proposing a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/12/11/675477583/trump-epa-proposes-big-changes-to-federal-water-protections" target="_blank">Dirty Water Rule</a> that would put at risk rivers and streams that are the source for drinking water for tens of millions of Americans—and strike at the heart of the Clean Water Act itself.</p><p>There's more of this ignominious record. In October, Wheeler <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060102455" target="_blank">fired a panel of scientists</a> who had served on EPA science advisory board assessing air quality standards for particulate matter, which contributes to asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments. He rolled out a plan to ostensibly limit children's exposure to brain-damaging lead. But it's a toothless show of concern; It doesn't promise to take any specific enforcement or regulatory action within any specific time, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/12/19/678270138/critics-call-trump-administration-plan-to-reduce-lead-exposure-toothless" target="_blank">noted NRDC health expert Erik Olson</a>.</p><p>In all of these Wheeler-led initiatives, he's violated the public trust and put Americans at risk. NRDC and allies are going to see him in court if he continues down this reckless path. </p><p>But why would the Senate confirm him as our top environmental steward? It should reject his nomination and demand better, a leader for the EPA committed to its mission to safeguard our health and environment, not to shoring up polluters' profits.</p>
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</p><div id="74d97" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="S502B61576662189"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1080042035795640321" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EPA Bows to Coal Industry, Moves to Weaken Mercury & Air Toxics Standards https://t.co/FHeaVdxKWt</div> — Enviro Voter Project (@Enviro Voter Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/Enviro_Voter/statuses/1080042035795640321">1546337062.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Ana Unruh Cohen is the managing director of government affairs for <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">NRDC</a> and the NRDC Action Fund.</em><br></p>
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Nancy Pelosi takes the gavel from House minority leader Kevin McCarthy after being elected House speaker. SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images
By Rhea Suh
Minutes after opening the 116th Congress last week, incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi issued a stirring call to national action on what she called "the existential threat of our time: the climate crisis."
In Pelosi we have a leader who is listening to the science—and to the American people across the country as they rally around the urgent need for effective action to stem this global scourge.
<p>Aided by that rising chorus and the growing movement calling for a Green New Deal, the new Democratic majority in the House has launched an assertive effort to use its power to help avert climate catastrophe, a threat the previous majority ignored.</p><p>After two years of watching the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration retreat from climate progress at home and abroad, we've come to a national moment of hope. There's a long road ahead. But now's the time for every American who cares about leaving our children a livable world to stand up, speak out, and add their voice to the growing momentum for progress.</p><p>Blockbuster reports last fall from leading climate scientists, both <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rhea-suh/most-definitive-report-climate-change-america" target="_blank">in the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/natural-resources-defense-council/were-running-out-of-time-211177371779" target="_blank">around the world</a>, made clear the dire straits we're in and the links between <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> and inequality. <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/techrpt83_Global_and_Regional_SLR_Scenarios_for_the_US_final.pdf" target="_blank">Seas are rising</a>, threatening our coastal communities and all they support. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/24/world/asia/living-in-chinas-expanding-deserts.html" target="_blank">Croplands are turning to desert</a>, threatening ranches and farms across the American heartland. <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/E6089" target="_blank">Entire species are dying off </a>faster than at any other time since the dinosaurs disappeared some 65 million years ago. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/climate/hurricane-michael-climate-change.html" target="_blank">Storms</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/science/wildfires-season-global-warming.html" target="_blank">wildfires</a> and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/11/14/global-warming-makes-biblical-rain-like-hurricane-harvey-much-more-likely/862270001/" target="_blank">floods are raging</a>. The <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/latest-news/coral-bleaching/2017/significant-coral-decline-and-habitat-loss-on-the-great-barrier-reef" target="_blank">Great Barrier Reef is dying</a>. </p><p>All over the world, the impacts fall first and hardest on those with the fewest resources to take care of themselves. In our country, low-income communities and people of color often bear the greatest burden of climate hazard and harm.</p><p>All of this will get much worse, the science tells us, unless we move quickly and deliberately to cut the dangerous carbon pollution that is driving global climate change. And we must do so in a way that creates good jobs and promotes secure livelihoods for our families.</p><p>We've made progress, but not nearly enough. Growing frustration over congressional inaction was <a href="https://medium.com/natural-resources-defense-council/a-historic-vote-and-the-way-forward-e9c7636eb5a1" target="_blank">a key reason voters handed Democrats a House majority</a> in the midterm elections last fall, after eight years of Republican control. The new majority has gotten the message. Now it's on us to work with them and hold them to account. </p><p>On the same day Pelosi assumed the speaker's gavel, using her opening speech to spotlight the urgent need for climate action, the new House voted to create a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. That's an important step forward. The select committee can help provide the focus and attention the climate crisis deserves, even as standing committees that work on the issue move forward with areas they oversee. Three House committees—<a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/" target="_blank">Natural Resources</a>; <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/pallone-announces-first-three-energy-and-commerce-hearings" target="_blank">Energy and Commerce</a> and <a href="https://science.house.gov/" target="_blank">Science, Space, and Technology</a>—plan hearings on climate change. </p><p>"The entire Congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet and the future," Pelosi said in remarks that drew a standing ovation on the packed House floor. Casting the issue as a matter of public health, national security, economic prosperity and moral stewardship, she said congressional inaction was out of step with American priorities. "The American people understand the urgency," Pelosi said. "The people are ahead of the Congress. The Congress must join them."</p><p>Independent polling tells the story. Seven in ten Americans understand the growing dangers of climate change and expect the government to take action, <a href="https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_112918/" target="_blank">a November poll by Monmouth University</a> found.</p><p>The House has undergone a sea change, with climate action near the top of the agenda for the largest group of new members in history. The House freshmen elected in November are far younger and more diverse and feature more women, as a group, than the incumbents they'll be working alongside. Of the 101 newly elected House members, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html" target="_blank">two-thirds are Democrats, 42 are women, 24 are people of color, and 22</a> have served in the military or the Central Intelligence Agency.</p><p>They didn't run to anchor the status quo. "They're going to shake this place up," California representative Jackie Speier <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-congress-freshmen-20190103-story.html" target="_blank">told the Los Angeles Times</a><u>.</u><br></p><p>On the climate front, that's already happening. Led by climate activists like 29-year-old New York representative <a href="https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/" target="_blank">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a>, the youngest woman ever elected to the House, this group is demanding an overarching legislative package that puts us on the path to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/issues/clean-energy" target="_blank">a clean energy future</a> that's equitable and just.</p><p>At the grassroots level, the fast-growing, youth-oriented <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a> is calling for a Green New Deal, a comprehensive slate of policy measures that promote a just and equitable transition away from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>, oil and natural gas and the climate-wrecking carbon pollution that comes from burning those <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a>. Demand for climate action, in fact, is rising across generational, geographic, and even partisan lines.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTA3MzY4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTM3NDEyM30.hFodm942YExaB2TKu_8Sjwr7X92PWSa0pb__ZIBwbGU/img.jpg?width=980" id="66fa2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="04f7331cd0930f009211737c452034c6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Members of the Sunrise Movement protest at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, December 2018</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Becker1999 / Flickr</small></p><p>There's no question we need a comprehensive national effort to speed that transition. Already, some <a href="https://www.e2.org/cleanjobsamerica/" target="_blank">3.2 million Americans</a> go to work each day helping us to do exactly that. The right policy mix can help us create jobs for many millions more, by tying those efforts to a national mission that advances innovation and makes use of the world's most talented and committed workforce.<br></p><p>The Select Committee on the Climate Crisis must help us get that right. That means thorough hearings and investigations into the Trump administration's long record of suppressing science; rolling back commonsense rules that clean up our dirty power plants, trucks and cars; and putting polluter interests ahead of the national interest in averting climate catastrophe. It means transparent and inclusive proceedings that bring in the voices of low-income communities, people of color and others already living on the front lines of climate disaster. It means legislative policy solutions that promote a just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy by, for example, speeding the shift to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fuel-efficiency-standards-dont-just-help-curb-climate-change-they-also-create-jobs" target="_blank">more-efficient cars</a>, homes and workplaces powered by <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/renewable-energy-clean-facts" target="_blank">clean, homegrown American energy from the wind and sun</a>. And <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/americas-clean-energy-frontier-pathway-safer-climate-future" target="_blank">we must cut carbon pollution</a> entirely, or offset it enough to achieve net zero emissions, by 2050 at the latest.</p><p>It's encouraging that the woman chosen to chair the select committee, Florida representative Kathy Castor, is a longtime climate advocate and clean energy champion who has pledged to work with proponents of a Green New Deal. "There's some fabulous proposals in the Green New Deal," Castor <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/422559-likely-chairwoman-defends-house-climate-panel-from-critics" target="_blank">told </a><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/422559-likely-chairwoman-defends-house-climate-panel-from-critics" target="_blank">The Hill</a> last month. "This will be a committee clearly in the spirit of the Green New Deal."</p><p>It's important to bear in mind what the House is up against. Its investigative work must hold to account <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/7/18069940/election-results-2018-energy-carbon-fracking-ballot-initiatives" target="_blank">fossil fuel interests that have thwarted climate action</a>. Since the select committee lacks subpoena power, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/417615-house-dems-probe-trumps-climate-rollbacks" target="_blank">the standing committees should be prepared to use their authority</a> if necessary.</p><p>And, of course, the GOP-controlled Senate and White House continue to deny the climate realities before our very eyes and promote the fossil fuels that are driving the crisis. That's why it's so important that we raise our voices and step up our engagement to help support the work of the new House majority, make sure the country understands how important it is and keep the focus on the action we need.</p><p>At the same time, there's much progress we can make even in this divided Congress. Leaders in both houses have called out national infrastructure investment as a bipartisan priority. A forward-looking infrastructure package should help us to modernize the nation's electrical grid so we can make better use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar">solar</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind">wind</a> power, adopt building and design approaches that make our communities more resilient in the face of climate-related hazard and ongoing harm, and prioritize electric charging stations to better service the growing number of electric car owners.</p><p>There's also broad support for increasing investment in research and development to help ensure that American workers are winners in the fast-growing clean energy market, expected to attract <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/batteries-boom-enables-world-get-half-electricity-wind-solar-2050/" target="_blank">$8.4 trillion in global investment</a> over just the next three decades.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6cc0eefcb2f737e5bbde9e6a07cd3854"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/nrdc.org/videos/169531360653930/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>There's hard work ahead, to be sure. What's important is that, at last, we have House leadership that understands the stakes—for our families, our communities and our country—in standing up to climate change. We have leadership that understands the clock is ticking and we're running out of time to get this right. And we have leadership that's listening to the American people, who expect our government to take action to fight the central environmental challenge of our time.<br></p><p>"We have no illusions that our work will be easy, and that all of us in this chamber will always agree," Pelosi said. "But let us pledge that when we disagree, we respect each other—and we respect the truth."</p><p>Count us on board with that pledge as well.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="dd6ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EH437O1576663293"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1081541620615577600" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"The people are ahead of the Congress. The Congress must join them." @speakerpelosi @sunrisemvmt @usrepkcastor
https://t.co/hoy3K4FMcy</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1081541620615577600">1546694591.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Rhea Suh is president of the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em><br></p>
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