HISD Celebrates New Collaboration with National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA Program

October 26 –  The Houston Independent School District and National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program have established a new collaboration that will help close achievement gaps for disadvantaged students and improve science and math learning through the use of outdoor environmental education.

The new Eco-Schools USA initiative will expand on the current Schoolyard Habitat program between HISD and NWF. It will also allow for further expansion and development of the Green School Challenge, launched in December 2011, by helping schools make their buildings and campuses more eco-friendly.

200+ Scientists Call on Obama Administration to “Look Before You Leap” on Potentially Invasive Energy Crops

October 22 - More than 200 scientists from across the country sent a letter to the Obama administration today urging them to take a “look before you leap” approach to potentially invasive plants grown for bioenergy, warning that some of the crops being considered for large-scale energy plantings may actually be highly invasive and potentially harmful to native species. The letter was sent in response to news that EPA is close to finalizing a rule which would allow fuel made from two known noxious weeds, Arundo donax and napiergrass, to count toward federally-mandated renewable fuels targets.

“Many of today’s most problematic invasive plants – from kudzu to purple loosestrife – were intentionally imported and released into the environment for horticultural, agricultural, conservation, and forestry purposes. These invasive species already cost billions of dollars a year in the United States and are one of the primary threats to North America’s native species and ecosystems. It is imperative that we learn from our past mistakes by preventing intentional introduction of energy crops that may create the next invasive species catastrophe – particularly when introductions are funded by taxpayer dollars,” states the letter.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Fox Business: The Risks of an Oil Spill in Straits of Mackinac (video)
• Great Falls Tribune: National Wildlife Federation seeks dialogue on bison in ranch country
• The Intelligencer: Haycock earns prestigious environmental certification
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Conservation a top priority for hunters, anglers
• The Wichita Eagle: Conservation lands await farm bill approval
• Denver Post: Presidential candidates should make energy and public lands in the West a priority (OpEd)
• Public News Service (TX): “Miracle Plants” or “Noxious Weeds”? EPA Weighs Status of Invasive Species

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

The endangered Least Bell’s Vireo is one of many native species negatively affected by giant reed. Photo credit: Flickr, Steve Maslowski/USFWS

The EPA is currently in the final stages of approving a very problematic rule that would actually provide incentives for companies to plant certain invasive species. The rule would allow a plant called Arundo donax (also known as Giant Reed, Colorado River Reed, and Giant Cane), a known invasive species, to qualify as an “advanced biofuel feedstock” under the Renewable Fuel Standard. This means that producers would get money from the federal government for growing giant reed as a source to create biofuel.

Growing plants for energy can potentially be a cleaner and less harmful alternative to fossil fuels, but only if it is done responsibly. Planting a species that has been listed as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species is not responsible.

What would the impacts of this rule be?

This USDA map shows the predicted distribution of Arundo donax. As you can see, much of the U.S. is suitable for the species. Credit: USDA APHIS.

“If a species with such a well-documented track record of escape and negative impacts can be considered, then apparently no plant, no matter how invasive, will be off the table for future consideration. It certainly would set a terrible precedent.”

State and local groups across the country are particularly worried that if giant reed is planted on a large scale for biofuels, the results could be devastating:

“Should Arundo donax reach the Columbia River, an environmental disaster of unimaginable proportions would follow.” - The Native Plant Society of Oregon

“The large planting of invasive giant reed presents an incalculable risk to the people and ecosystems of Alabama. The potential for irreparable damage to the state’s natural ecosystems, which provide vital ecological services to the present and future citizens of Alabama, is great.” – The Alabama Invasive Plant Council

Read a letter signed by 100 local, state, regional, and national groups from across the country opposing the proposed rule.

What is Giant Reed?

Giant reed (Arundo donax), also known as giant cane, is a large, fast-growing grass that is native to India and can grow up to 30 feet tall. Because it grows very quickly and can get quite large, there has been a lot of interest in using giant reed to create biofuels, and companies in Oregon, Florida, and North Carolina have already planting it for this purpose. Unfortunately, the very same characteristics that make giant reed attractive as a biofuel crop make it a very highly invasive species.

Giant reed has been placed on noxious weed lists in Texas, California, Colorado, and Nevada and has been noted as either invasive or a serious risk in New Mexico, Alabama, and South Carolina. USDA, in their June 2012 weed risk assessment, concluded with very high certainty that giant reed is a high risk species, noting that it is a “highly invasive grass” and a “serious environmental weed.”

Giant reed has invaded vast areas along rivers in Texas, as seen in this aerial view near Big Bend National Park. Credit: John Goolsby, USDA

Once giant reed has taken hold, control is difficult and costly. In California, costs range between $5,000 and $17,000 per acre to eradicate the weed. Other estimates put that cost as high as $25,000 per acre.

Given the clear risks associated with growing giant reed for energy, the last thing we need is to be spending taxpayer-funded money encouraging producers to plant this stuff. There is still time for EPA to hit pause and fix the rule before finalizing it. If they do not, that $120 billion figure will only rise further.

1. Highlight of the Week: One Year Later, What’s Working, and Who’s Not
2. Quote: Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ), former EPA administrator
3. Economic Story of the Week: NYC Studies Cost of Cutting 80 Percent GHGs
4. Editorial of the Week: Amid oil spills, melting ice and radiation, signs of hope on Earth Day
5. Spilled Toxins, Worth Crying Over
6. Report Card Day for Midwest Energy
7. 50 Stories in 50 States
8. Protecting a Vanishing Ecosystem
9. Happening this Week

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Highlight of the Week

One Year Later, What’s working, and Who’s Not

It’s difficult to believe that a whole year has passed since the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. While so much has happened – and yet so little in Congress – in the last year, it’s clear that the story of recovery in the Gulf is far from over.

Crews scrape oil out of marshes, via NWF

After introducing over 150 bills to improve offshore drilling safety, holding 60 hearings on fault and damage payment Congress has still yet to adopt any oil spill legislation.  House Natural Resources Committee chairman Doc Hastings marked the anniversary with a call to speed drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

But the President’s Oil Spill Commission and Congressmen and women including Steve Scalise (R-LA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Kathy Castor (D-Fla), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) are recommending that Congress should direct 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the disaster to support implementation of Gulf-wide coastal restoration.

At a news conference with Scalise and conservation leaders, National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger said, “One year into the Gulf oil disaster, the oil is still here, the promises are forgotten, and Congress still hasn’t done its job. The only fair and right solution is for those fines to go to the Gulf region to help the people and communities hurt by the disaster.”

The National Wildlife Federation is already working with a number of organizations through grants and volunteer projects to help rebuild habitat on the Gulf Coast. With a spotlight shining on the region again this spring, now is the time for continued action to restore the Gulf. From planting native marsh grasses to restoring dunes to enhancing bird habitat, volunteers are making a difference in coastal Louisiana.

More on this: Reuters, CNN, Associated Press, PBS, Press-Register

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Quote:

Christine Todd Whitman

“Too often the debate about climate breaks down over cost, with many Americans rightfully concerned about what limiting pollution would do to our economy. There will be costs to our economic security from climate change—and significant ones at that—if we do nothing but continue with business as usual.”

-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ), former EPA administrator.

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Economic Story of the Week

NYC Studies Cost of Cutting 80 Percent GHGs

NYC encourages alternative commuting, via Spencer T. on Flickr

Mayor Bloomberg is rolling out 132 new initiatives as part of PlaNYC to improve air and water quality and curb greenhouse gas emissions in New York City. The NYC government will undertake a study to determine the feasibility and cost of cutting greenhouse gas output by 80 percent by 2050.

Emissions are already 13 percent below 2007 levels due in part to improvements in transit systems, tree plantings as part of the Million Trees NYC project, encouraging bike commuting, and adding hundreds of acres of new open space and parks. The city also plans to create an “energy efficiency finance corporation” to fund building retrofits by using $37.5 million in federal stimulus spending.

These and other NYC initiatives to incorporate climate change projections into management programs are forward thinking in light of the newly released American Security Project reports, which analyze and project possible economic losses due to unmitigated climate change on a state-by-state basis. The “Pay Now, Pay Later” reports present the costly negative impacts that will affect communities, public health, national security, and the economy.

More on this story: Associated Press, ClimateWire, SustainableBusiness, Energy Matters

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Editorial of the Week

Amid oil spills, melting ice and radiation, signs of hope on Earth Day

(Miami Herald)

It takes careful peering through the fumes to discern the bright spots, yet they’re there: cleaner air, better gas mileage, new regulations against mercury pollution, more people trying to green up their lifestyles and more….The most interesting development of last year is the extraordinary event in the Gulf. The public paid attention and the media paid attention for weeks and months. But what is Congress doing? Mesmerized, the nation watched 200 million gallons of black gold gush out and smear priceless wetlands. (More…)

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Spilled Toxins, Worth Crying Over

On the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil disaster, another energy industry spill contaminated streams and threatened water supplies in Pennsylvania.

A failure at a natural gas well owned by the Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of Pennsylvania’s biggest shale gas producers, spewed chemical-laced water into a nearby stream until workers stemmed the tide two days later. The well was plugged using a mixture of plastic, ground-up tires, and heavy mud, reminiscent of BP’s effort to seal its own gusher last year.

This accident, which caused the evacuation of local families, is sparking vociferous debate over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and confirms concerns over the safety of drilling. The company has not yet determined the cause of the blowout and has suspended fracking on its wells in Pennsylvania as drilling techniques and possible water supply contamination are investigated.

More on this story: Reuters

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Report Card Day for Midwest Energy

According to a new report released by the National Wildlife Federation, the Midwest has all the tools to be a leader in the clean energy economy, but will need to step up its efforts to compete effectively in the new energy economy.

“Unfinished Business: What the Midwest Needs to do to Lead in the Clean Energy Economy” issues letter grades throughout the region, evaluating regional progress or shortfalls in meeting clean energy goals established by a bipartisan group of Midwestern governors and stakeholders in 2007 and 2009 to turn around the economic prospects of the region.

“The Midwest has seen some important successes—but overall is not reaching its potential to lead in the clean energy economy,” said Zoe Lipman, senior manager of transportation solutions at the National Wildlife Federation. “This report affirms that the Midwest has the natural resources, human capital, and sophisticated manufacturing base to lead in the clean energy economy. Our message to public officials: We have a roadmap. Let’s use it.”

The report finds that clean energy policies are already benefiting parts of the Midwest, creating thousands of jobs and generating revenue for cash-strapped cities. But the region needs to move much faster to become a leader in clean energy manufacturing and use.

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50 Stories in 50 States

In honor of Earth Day the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a blog series of 50 stories for 50 consecutive weekdays that will explore how a quickly changing climate is impacting America’s fish and wildlife.

The series’ inaugural example features the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Once a nesting ground for loggerhead sea turtles, American oystercatchers, Wilson’s Plovers and terns, the sea has risen more than one foot in 100 years on one side while human population and urban development encroach on the other.

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Protecting a Vanishing Ecosystem

Prairie Potholes of the American Midwest, via USFWS Flickr

The National Wildlife Federation is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a bid to protect America’s vanishing grasslands. The EPA is ignoring laws designed to protect the fragile ecosystem from harmful and unnecessary agricultural production.

The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) created by Congress and implemented by the EPA requires a certain amount of transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain renewable fuel, such as corn ethanol. In crafting the RFS, Congress clearly recognizes the need to protect America’s grasslands by limiting biofuel feedstock production and harvesting to agricultural lands. In other words, natural ecosystems, like grasslands, are not supposed to be converted for agricultural uses. However, the EPA is flaunting this important provision by adopting an “aggregate compliance approach”, which allows protected ecosystems to be destroyed for biofuels production.

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Happening this Week

Congress is in recess until May 1.

Wednesday, April 27

Briefing Developing Sustainable Biomass Supplies: A Step toward Energy, Economic, and Environmental Security, Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) 2:00 – 3:30 p.m., 1302 Longworth House Office Building

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