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Weekly News Roundup – February 10, 2012
Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news:
Major Milestone for Sustainable Biofuels
February 10 – The NCS International announced on Thursday that it has certified the world’s first biofuels operation to achieve certification against the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB).
The RSB has developed a third-party certification system for biofuels sustainability standards, encompassing environmental, social and economic principles and criteria through an open, transparent, and multi-stakeholder process. National Wildlife Federation played a key role in establishing this global standard for the voluntary certification of biofuels and hopes the new system will promote good practices on the ground, and eventually help end biofuels production practices that are harmful to the climate and environment.
Coalition to Next President: Commit to Action on Great Lakes, Asian Carp
“Millions of people are counting on the next president of the United States to stand up for the Great Lakes,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.
BP Profits Highlight Need for Congress to Pass RESTORE Act
February 7 – Reports today indicate that BP made a major profit for 2011. BP announced that it made a profit of $25.7 billion during the 2011 calendar year. BP’s fourth-quarter profits alone reached $7.69 billion, up 38 percent from 2010. The company made $3 million every hour during 2011.
“BP made nearly $26 billion and the Gulf still waits to be restored,” said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of conservation and education with National Wildlife Federation.
February 7 – Today the Forest Footprint Disclosure project and the National Wildlife Federation announced the results of the 2011 disclosure survey which asks companies whether they use products linked to deforestation, and what they are doing about it. The number of U.S. companies volunteering to disclose their impacts on forests almost doubled in 2011, with The Walt Disney Company and Johnson & Johnson topping the list of notable additions this year.
“More and more, consumers want to know that the products they buy at the store are not doing harm to the planet,” said Barbara Bramble, NWF international policy advisor.
Tar Sands Development to Lead to Poisoning of Wolves
February 6 – As the Obama administration decides whether to give the go-ahead to the 1,700-mile Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas, wildlife biologists have sounded a new alarm: expanding oil and gas production is contributing to the decline of caribou herds in Alberta.
Incredibly, Canada’s proposed solution to habitat destruction from tar sands development is to destroy the wolves that prey on caribou, instead of protecting their habitat. Two particularly repugnant methods of destroying wolves – shooting wolves from helicopters and poisoning wolves with baits laced with strychnine – would be carried out in response to the caribou declines.
And here are highlights from NWF in the News:
- Associated Press: Group asks candidates to support Asian carp fight
- Los Angeles Times: Canada responds to caribou decline with plan to kill wolves
- The Portland Press Herald: Conservation advocates voice fears about oil pipeline
For more, visit www.nwf.org/News
