Weekly News Roundup – September 16, 2011

Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s National Wildlife Federation news:

Loggerhead Sea Turtles Need Protections Enforced

September 16 – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today its decision to list five populations of the loggerhead sea turtles as endangered. The four other populations will continue to be listed as threatened.

Like all other sea turtles in U.S. waters, the loggerhead sea turtle continues to face tough challenges, first among them death by drowning in fishing gear due to inadequate protections and actions to save them,” said Doug Inkley, senior scientist with the National Wildlife Federation.

NWF Decries President Obama Delay on Climate Action

September 15 – Just days after shelving long needed action to reduce ozone and smog pollution that costs the nation billions, today the Obama administration said it was delaying action on climate change that would rein in carbon pollution from power plants. Joe Mendelson, NWF policy director, climate and energy programs said:

Delaying action puts our nation unacceptably at risk from the ravages of air pollution and climate change. With record summer heat, fires raging in Texas and unprecedented floods in the Northeast, the costly impacts of global warming have never been clearer.

New York Takes Major Step Forward on Offshore Wind

September 15 – New York’s leading environmental organizations and the National Wildlife Federation applauded Governor Cuomo today for taking action to restart the process for pursuing offshore wind energy.

Today, a lease application was submitted for the Long Island – New York City Offshore Wind Project  – a collaborative effort by New York Power Authority, Long Island Power Authority, and Con Edison to build an offshore wind farm 13 miles off the Rockaway Peninsula.  The move is a victory for clean energy development that will be critical to slowing the pace of global warming. Wind power is also a potential job engine that can boost sagging economies.

BP’s Negligence “Contributing Cause” of Gulf Oil Disaster 

September 14 – Two new reports blame a rush to drill for the explosion that led to the Gulf oil disaster that killed 11 workers, thousands of birds, hundreds of endangered sea turtles, and dozens of dolphins. First, a new federal government report points to BP’s corner-cutting as a key factor in the disaster. And from the Associated Press, new details on information BP may have ignored in its push to complete the ill-fated well.

This report confirms what we knew from the first days of the oil disaster when BP was pushing a deliberately and absurdly low estimate of the gusher’s size – that BP has put its own legal liability before the Gulf’s people and wildlife,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “It also demonstrates that Congress must pass comprehensive restoration legislation to make sure BP’s fines and penalties are dedicated to making the Gulf whole.”

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News