Weekly News Roundup – December 2, 2011

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

Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign Launches New Website

November 28 – Conservation groups today launched a new website, www.MississippiRiverDelta.org, focused on restoring one of America’s greatest natural resources, the Mississippi River Delta. The site houses scientific information, public policy analysis, cultural and historical summaries, and Delta Dispatches, a news blog about restoration efforts in the delta.

NWF’s Kids Magazines Go Digital

November 30 – For over 40 years, National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick magazine has entertained and educated generations of children about the wonders of wildlife. Now Rick, and NWF’s other children’s magazines (Big Backyard and Wild Animal Baby) are going digital so they can be available to kids on their Nook by Barnes & Noble. This comes just in time for holiday gift-giving, when so many subscriptions to the children’s magazines are purchased by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and family friends.

Climate Change: The Ethical Dimension

November 30 – Citing the human and economic costs that the United States is already paying for its failure to act to curb climate changing emissions, the Climate Ethics Campaign today launched a campaign demanding that U.S. leadership recognize their moral and ethical obligation to aggressively respond to climate change. The campaign launch was timed to coincide with the first week of international climate talks now underway in Durban, South Africa.

EPA Releases Vessel General Permit to Improve Regulations on Ballast Discharges

December 1 – Late Wednesday, the federal government took another tentative step toward protecting the Great Lakes and vulnerable coastal waters from the scourge of invasive species with proposed limitations on their chief delivery vehicle: ballast water dumping by commercial vessels. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new national permit to deal with discharges of ballast water that are a normal part of operating freighters and other large commercial vessels. As a result of a legal settlement, that permit will limit the number of invasive species that vessels can dump in the Great Lakes and other water bodies. Unfortunately, EPA’s new limits are pegged to standards established by the International Maritime Organization, which while supported by the shipping industry, are not strict enough to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive organisms which currently cost the eight Great Lakes states over $1 billion every five years.

Michigan Governor Snyder Stands Up to Protect the Great Lakes

December 1 – National Wildlife Federation today strongly supported Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s veto of HB 4326, a bill that would have weakened the ability of the Governor and the agencies he directs, like the Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Natural Resources, from creating rules that protect Michigan’s natural resources and our Great Lakes.

“Governor Snyder has delivered an early holiday gift that is particularly meaningful for the Great Lakes.” said Andy Buchsbaum, Regional Executive Director with National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News: