If you're not doing something to use water more efficiently, you are a part of the problem.
Water conservation isn't in the forefront of the minds of most people and that is fine as long as you do something sometimes. Every drop counts and no effort is to little; in fact any effort is better than no effort.
Improving water efficiency doesn't mean you have to spend money or get elaborate in your efforts. In fact some of the most effective actions are absolutely free. That's right, you can do simple things everyday and it doesn't cost anothing. What can you do? Stop taking water for granted and change some habits. It really is just that simple.
As citizens it is our responsibility to use water wisely in our daily lives. In fact its not even just about how we use water, but how we use power, food, vehicles, etc, etc. Every aspect of how we live our lives, everyday, impacts global fresh water resources.
Remember; every drop counts, and no effort is to little. Do what you can, when you, while you can and tell others to do the same.
I am always interested in hearing about water saving ideas that have worked for others so don't be bashful; share your efforts and successes with others and let me know what you do to help save water.
Here is a tip to help get you started with something that can make a huge impact on a growing global crisis; stop buying bottled water!
Check out my latest audioboo @ Water Matters with AquaPro
Thanks for stopping by, and Happy New Year,
AP
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo contain known carcinogens
Parents Alert; please read the following World Wire Report regarding baby shampoo from Johnson & Johnson.
AP
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "WORLD-WIRE@ens-news.net" <WORLD-WIRE@ens-news.net>
Date: Dec 15, 2011 1:51 PM
Subject: Multiple Carcinogens in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo
To: <aquapro@askaquapro.com>
Multiple Carcinogens in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo
CHICAGO, IL, December 15, 2011 –/WORLD-WIRE/– The Cancer
Prevention Coalition today congratulated the Campaign for Safe
Cosmetics for securing a 11/15/11 agreement with Johnson & Johnson
"for reducing or gradually phasing out – trace amounts of
potentially cancer-causing chemicals" from Baby Shampoo, "one of
its signature products." However, this agreement is limited and
restricted to the U.S. market.
"There are two carcinogenic ingredients in Johnson & Johnson's
Baby Shampoo, dioxane and quaternium 15," says Samuel S. Epstein,
M.D., who chairs the Cancer Prevention Coalition.
"Dioxane is a well-recognized contaminant in alcohol ethoxylates, a
group of four ingredients, laureths, oleths, polyethylene glycol and
polysorbates," Dr. Epstein explains. "Quaternium 15 is a precursor
of two carcinogens, formaldehyde and nitrosamine. Johnson & Johnson
has committed to "reducing or gradual phasing out" dioxane and
quaternium-15 in their U.S., but not in their international,
products."
However limited, Dr. Epstein finds Johnson & Johnson's response to
be "in sharp and disturbing contrast to the silence of the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)."
This federal agency has still failed to enforce the explicit
requirements of the 1938 Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, Dr.
Epstein points out. This directs the FDA to require that "the label
of a cosmetic product shall bear a warning statement to prevent a
health hazard that may be associated with the product."
The regulatory failure of the FDA extends to its failure to respond to
the Cancer Prevention Coalition's extensively documented 1996
Citizen Petition "Seeking A Cancer Warning On Cosmetic Products
Containing (the carcinogen) Diethanolamine," says Dr. Epstein.
He says the FDA's regulatory failure extends still further to the
Coalition's 2008 Petition, "Seeking A (ovarian) Cancer Warning On
Talc Products Used By Premenopausal for Women's Genital Dusting."
Both Petitions, endorsed by leading cancer prevention experts,
requested the FDA to ban or suspend approval of these products which
still pose an "Imminent Hazard," or minimally to require their
labeling with a "Caution" or other such warning. However, the FDA
has still failed to respond.
"Concerns on the cancer risks of talc, dioxane, formaldehyde,
nitrosamine, and ethylene oxide, besides other prohibited and
restricted carcinogenic ingredients in cosmetics and personal care
products, are not new," Dr. Epstein says. "They were detailed in
my 2001 "Unreasonable Risk: How To Avoid Cancer From Cosmetics and
Personal Care Products," and 2009 "Healthy Beauty" books."
As published in the February 25, 2011 Science Insider editorial,
"Advancing Regulatory Science," FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret
Hamburg, claimed that FDA's regulations must be based on "better
predictive models – functional genomics, proteomics, and
metabolomics," rather than "high dose animal
studies – unchanged for decades."
"Dr. Hamburg's dismissal of standard carcinogenicity tests is
bizarre," says Dr. Epstein. "Their scientific validity has been
endorsed by other Federal regulatory agencies, the National Toxicology
Program, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, besides the
April 2010 President's Cancer Panel."
"Furthermore, as stipulated in the 1938 Federal Food Drug and
Cosmetic Act, the FDA is charged with regulating food, drugs, and
cosmetics based on standard toxicology and carcinogenicity tests.
Moreover, the FDA is not charged with, let alone capable of developing
irrelevant 'tests that incorporate the mechanistic underpinnings of
disease,'" Dr. Epstein points out.
As warned by Senator Edward Kennedy at the 1997 Senate Hearings on the
FDA Reform Bill, "The cosmetics industry has borrowed a page from
the playbook of the tobacco industry by putting profits ahead of
public health."
Dr. Epstein emphasizes, "This warning remains current."
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. is professor emeritus of Environmental and
Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago School
of Public Health; Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition; and
former President of the Rachel Carson Trust. His awards include the
1998 Right Livelihood Award and the 2005 Albert Schweitzer Golden
Grand Medal for International Contributions to Cancer Prevention. He
is the author of over 270 scientific articles and 20 books on the
causes and prevention of cancer, including the Unreasonable Risk Book:
How To Avoid Cancer from Cosmetics and Personal Care Products, The
Neways Story (2001, Environmental Toxicology), the groundbreaking The
Politics of Cancer (1979, Doubleday Books), Healthy Beauty: Your Guide
to Ingredients to Avoid and Products You Can Trust (2010, BenBella
Books), and National Cancer Institute And American Cancer Society:
Criminal Indifference to Cancer Prevention and Conflicts of Interest
(2011, Xlibris Publishing).
CONTACT:
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition
Professor emeritus Environmental & Occupational Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health
Chicago, Illinois
Tel: 312-996-2297
Email: epstein@uic.edu <javascript:location.href=>
http://www.preventcancer.com
Join CPC on Facebook
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From: "WORLD-WIRE@ens-news.net" <WORLD-WIRE@ens-news.net>
Date: Dec 15, 2011 1:51 PM
Subject: Multiple Carcinogens in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo
To: <aquapro@askaquapro.com>
Multiple Carcinogens in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo
CHICAGO, IL, December 15, 2011 –/WORLD-WIRE/– The Cancer
Prevention Coalition today congratulated the Campaign for Safe
Cosmetics for securing a 11/15/11 agreement with Johnson & Johnson
"for reducing or gradually phasing out – trace amounts of
potentially cancer-causing chemicals" from Baby Shampoo, "one of
its signature products." However, this agreement is limited and
restricted to the U.S. market.
"There are two carcinogenic ingredients in Johnson & Johnson's
Baby Shampoo, dioxane and quaternium 15," says Samuel S. Epstein,
M.D., who chairs the Cancer Prevention Coalition.
"Dioxane is a well-recognized contaminant in alcohol ethoxylates, a
group of four ingredients, laureths, oleths, polyethylene glycol and
polysorbates," Dr. Epstein explains. "Quaternium 15 is a precursor
of two carcinogens, formaldehyde and nitrosamine. Johnson & Johnson
has committed to "reducing or gradual phasing out" dioxane and
quaternium-15 in their U.S., but not in their international,
products."
However limited, Dr. Epstein finds Johnson & Johnson's response to
be "in sharp and disturbing contrast to the silence of the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)."
This federal agency has still failed to enforce the explicit
requirements of the 1938 Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, Dr.
Epstein points out. This directs the FDA to require that "the label
of a cosmetic product shall bear a warning statement to prevent a
health hazard that may be associated with the product."
The regulatory failure of the FDA extends to its failure to respond to
the Cancer Prevention Coalition's extensively documented 1996
Citizen Petition "Seeking A Cancer Warning On Cosmetic Products
Containing (the carcinogen) Diethanolamine," says Dr. Epstein.
He says the FDA's regulatory failure extends still further to the
Coalition's 2008 Petition, "Seeking A (ovarian) Cancer Warning On
Talc Products Used By Premenopausal for Women's Genital Dusting."
Both Petitions, endorsed by leading cancer prevention experts,
requested the FDA to ban or suspend approval of these products which
still pose an "Imminent Hazard," or minimally to require their
labeling with a "Caution" or other such warning. However, the FDA
has still failed to respond.
"Concerns on the cancer risks of talc, dioxane, formaldehyde,
nitrosamine, and ethylene oxide, besides other prohibited and
restricted carcinogenic ingredients in cosmetics and personal care
products, are not new," Dr. Epstein says. "They were detailed in
my 2001 "Unreasonable Risk: How To Avoid Cancer From Cosmetics and
Personal Care Products," and 2009 "Healthy Beauty" books."
As published in the February 25, 2011 Science Insider editorial,
"Advancing Regulatory Science," FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret
Hamburg, claimed that FDA's regulations must be based on "better
predictive models – functional genomics, proteomics, and
metabolomics," rather than "high dose animal
studies – unchanged for decades."
"Dr. Hamburg's dismissal of standard carcinogenicity tests is
bizarre," says Dr. Epstein. "Their scientific validity has been
endorsed by other Federal regulatory agencies, the National Toxicology
Program, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, besides the
April 2010 President's Cancer Panel."
"Furthermore, as stipulated in the 1938 Federal Food Drug and
Cosmetic Act, the FDA is charged with regulating food, drugs, and
cosmetics based on standard toxicology and carcinogenicity tests.
Moreover, the FDA is not charged with, let alone capable of developing
irrelevant 'tests that incorporate the mechanistic underpinnings of
disease,'" Dr. Epstein points out.
As warned by Senator Edward Kennedy at the 1997 Senate Hearings on the
FDA Reform Bill, "The cosmetics industry has borrowed a page from
the playbook of the tobacco industry by putting profits ahead of
public health."
Dr. Epstein emphasizes, "This warning remains current."
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. is professor emeritus of Environmental and
Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago School
of Public Health; Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition; and
former President of the Rachel Carson Trust. His awards include the
1998 Right Livelihood Award and the 2005 Albert Schweitzer Golden
Grand Medal for International Contributions to Cancer Prevention. He
is the author of over 270 scientific articles and 20 books on the
causes and prevention of cancer, including the Unreasonable Risk Book:
How To Avoid Cancer from Cosmetics and Personal Care Products, The
Neways Story (2001, Environmental Toxicology), the groundbreaking The
Politics of Cancer (1979, Doubleday Books), Healthy Beauty: Your Guide
to Ingredients to Avoid and Products You Can Trust (2010, BenBella
Books), and National Cancer Institute And American Cancer Society:
Criminal Indifference to Cancer Prevention and Conflicts of Interest
(2011, Xlibris Publishing).
CONTACT:
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition
Professor emeritus Environmental & Occupational Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health
Chicago, Illinois
Tel: 312-996-2297
Email: epstein@uic.edu <javascript:location.href=>
http://www.preventcancer.com
Join CPC on Facebook
--
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Friday, December 9, 2011
ENVIRO-NEWS: Members Named to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Dec 9, 2011 4:27 PM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] Members Named to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>
USDA
Release No. 0510.11
Contact:
Adam Fetcher, DOI, (202) 208-6416
Jim Brownlee, USDA (202) 720-4623
Members Named to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee
Advisory committee will help build foundation for next generation of conservationists
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2011 - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced an important step in the creation of a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC), an organization called for in President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Report. Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack named members of a newly-established federal advisory committee that will provide recommendations on how to build on the important ongoing work of local, state, federal and non-profit youth conservation corps that engage young Americans in hands-on service and job training experiences on public lands and open spaces.
21CSC will empower young people - including low-income, underserved and diverse youth and returning veterans - with valuable training and work experience, while accomplishing important conservation and restoration work for America's great outdoors, waterways and cultural heritage sites.
"The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps will be a way for our nation's young people to work on conservation and outdoor recreation initiatives that drive America's economy and to find new ways to connect to their communities and build their careers," Salazar said. "The conservation-service movement is steeped in rich history dating back to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. I am confident that this committee of dedicated individuals with vast experience in conservation, outdoor recreation and youth employment will create a system to train and employ the next generation of conservationists."
The committee - composed of representatives of the nation's conservation, service and workforce development groups along with representatives from federal agencies - will provide Salazar and Vilsack advice on a framework for the Conservation Service Corps' organizational structure; certification criteria for Corps providers and members; strategies to overcome existing barriers to successful program implementation; partnership opportunities with outside organizations and pathways for Corps participants to pursue future conservation, community engagement and natural resource careers.
"We heard from people across the country about the importance and urgency of connecting our young people with America's Great Outdoors," said Secretary Vilsack. "Providing meaningful work opportunities on our public lands will help youth gain important skills, develop our next generation of conservation stewards, and accomplish needed work related to our natural and cultural resources. This committee will help the Federal Government to work more effectively and efficiently with our partners to accomplish these goals."
Today's announcement builds on the promise made to the American public during the America's Great Outdoors listening sessions to take their recommendations and move them forward, as well as Secretary Salazar's initiative to establish youth employment and education as a priority for Interior by creating the Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors. Interior is the only federal agency to have a Secretarial-level office dedicated to providing Department-wide leadership, coordination, direction and oversight of youth employment and education programs.
Public lands managed by Interior draw more than 400 million visits a year. According to some recent non-governmental estimates, outdoor recreation, conservation and heritage initiatives support as many as 8.4 million jobs and provide as much as $1 trillion in annual economic benefits. Additionally, one in twenty U.S. jobs are in the recreation economy - more than there are doctors, lawyers, or teachers.
The Secretaries announced the appointment of the following individuals - whose terms begin immediately - to serve on the council.
Mary Ellen Ardouny (The Corps Network)
Henry Bruell (Southwest Conservation Corps)
Michael Collins (REI)
Dr. Quenton Dokken (Gulf of Mexico Foundation)
Laura Herrin (The Student Conservation Association)
Destry Jarvis (Private Consultant)
Na'Taki Osborne Jelks (The National Wildlife Federation)
David Muraki (California Conservation Corps)
Glenn Odenbrett (Great Lakes Education Network)
Daniella Pereira (City of New York Parks and Recreation)
Lee Ramsayer (Monster Worldwide)
Jerrad Schendel (Green Development Coalition)
Dana Valdez (Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks)
Charles Van Genderen (Montana Wildlife and Parks)
Carol Ann Wren (Cook Inlet Tribal Council)
Myra Blakely (Environmental Protection Agency)
Michael Ensch (Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Meryl Harrell (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Justin Johnson (Office of Personnel Management)
Melissa Koenigsberg (U.S. Department of the Interior)
Asim Mishra (Corporation for National and Community Service)
Brian Pawlak (Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
The official Charter for the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Advisory Committee can be found on the 21CSC AC website: www.doi.gov/21CSC
#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (Voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
#
[USDA news releases are available in the "Newsroom" section at
http://www.usda.gov/ .]
***********************************************
Enviro-News is a service of the Water Quality
Information Center at the National Agricultural
Library. The center's Web site is at
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/.
The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) agreement,
nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of
the item. See
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/environews.shtml#disclaimer
You can contact the list owner at
owner-Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov.
***********************************************
From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Dec 9, 2011 4:27 PM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] Members Named to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>
USDA
Release No. 0510.11
Contact:
Adam Fetcher, DOI, (202) 208-6416
Jim Brownlee, USDA (202) 720-4623
Members Named to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee
Advisory committee will help build foundation for next generation of conservationists
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2011 - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced an important step in the creation of a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC), an organization called for in President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Report. Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack named members of a newly-established federal advisory committee that will provide recommendations on how to build on the important ongoing work of local, state, federal and non-profit youth conservation corps that engage young Americans in hands-on service and job training experiences on public lands and open spaces.
21CSC will empower young people - including low-income, underserved and diverse youth and returning veterans - with valuable training and work experience, while accomplishing important conservation and restoration work for America's great outdoors, waterways and cultural heritage sites.
"The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps will be a way for our nation's young people to work on conservation and outdoor recreation initiatives that drive America's economy and to find new ways to connect to their communities and build their careers," Salazar said. "The conservation-service movement is steeped in rich history dating back to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. I am confident that this committee of dedicated individuals with vast experience in conservation, outdoor recreation and youth employment will create a system to train and employ the next generation of conservationists."
The committee - composed of representatives of the nation's conservation, service and workforce development groups along with representatives from federal agencies - will provide Salazar and Vilsack advice on a framework for the Conservation Service Corps' organizational structure; certification criteria for Corps providers and members; strategies to overcome existing barriers to successful program implementation; partnership opportunities with outside organizations and pathways for Corps participants to pursue future conservation, community engagement and natural resource careers.
"We heard from people across the country about the importance and urgency of connecting our young people with America's Great Outdoors," said Secretary Vilsack. "Providing meaningful work opportunities on our public lands will help youth gain important skills, develop our next generation of conservation stewards, and accomplish needed work related to our natural and cultural resources. This committee will help the Federal Government to work more effectively and efficiently with our partners to accomplish these goals."
Today's announcement builds on the promise made to the American public during the America's Great Outdoors listening sessions to take their recommendations and move them forward, as well as Secretary Salazar's initiative to establish youth employment and education as a priority for Interior by creating the Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors. Interior is the only federal agency to have a Secretarial-level office dedicated to providing Department-wide leadership, coordination, direction and oversight of youth employment and education programs.
Public lands managed by Interior draw more than 400 million visits a year. According to some recent non-governmental estimates, outdoor recreation, conservation and heritage initiatives support as many as 8.4 million jobs and provide as much as $1 trillion in annual economic benefits. Additionally, one in twenty U.S. jobs are in the recreation economy - more than there are doctors, lawyers, or teachers.
The Secretaries announced the appointment of the following individuals - whose terms begin immediately - to serve on the council.
Mary Ellen Ardouny (The Corps Network)
Henry Bruell (Southwest Conservation Corps)
Michael Collins (REI)
Dr. Quenton Dokken (Gulf of Mexico Foundation)
Laura Herrin (The Student Conservation Association)
Destry Jarvis (Private Consultant)
Na'Taki Osborne Jelks (The National Wildlife Federation)
David Muraki (California Conservation Corps)
Glenn Odenbrett (Great Lakes Education Network)
Daniella Pereira (City of New York Parks and Recreation)
Lee Ramsayer (Monster Worldwide)
Jerrad Schendel (Green Development Coalition)
Dana Valdez (Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks)
Charles Van Genderen (Montana Wildlife and Parks)
Carol Ann Wren (Cook Inlet Tribal Council)
Myra Blakely (Environmental Protection Agency)
Michael Ensch (Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Meryl Harrell (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Justin Johnson (Office of Personnel Management)
Melissa Koenigsberg (U.S. Department of the Interior)
Asim Mishra (Corporation for National and Community Service)
Brian Pawlak (Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
The official Charter for the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Advisory Committee can be found on the 21CSC AC website: www.doi.gov/21CSC
#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (Voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
#
[USDA news releases are available in the "Newsroom" section at
http://www.usda.gov/ .]
***********************************************
Enviro-News is a service of the Water Quality
Information Center at the National Agricultural
Library. The center's Web site is at
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/.
The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) agreement,
nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of
the item. See
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/environews.shtml#disclaimer
You can contact the list owner at
owner-Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov.
***********************************************
Monday, December 5, 2011
ENVIRO-NEWS: Strategy for Reversing Ecosystem Deterioration in the Gulf of Mexico
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Dec 5, 2011 11:33 AM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>
From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa@govdelivery.com]
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 9:43 AM
Subject: News Release (HQ): Task Force Established by President Obama Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
CONTACT:
Alisha Johnson
Johnson.alisha@epa.gov
202-564-4373
Jody Fagan
USDA Gulf of Mexico Initiative
202-720-3210
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2011
Task Force Established by President Obama Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
USDA $50 million financial assistance for restoration projects announced as Task Force efforts shift from planning to action
WASHINGTON – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force today released its final strategy for long term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast, following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region. EPA Administrator and Task Force Chair Lisa P. Jackson, partnering with Task Force Co-Chair Garret Graves, made the announcement today during keynote remarks at the 2011 State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit in Houston. Administrator Jackson was joined by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman and several other Task Force members.
The Task Force delivered the final strategy on Friday, Dec. 2 to President Barack Obama, who established the Task Force by executive order, to continue the Administration's ongoing commitment to the Gulf region. The group is made up of representatives from the five Gulf States and 11 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, White House Council on Environmental Quality, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy and White House Domestic Policy Council.
The strategy is the first restoration blueprint ever developed for the Gulf to include input from states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of involved citizens and organizations across the region. The plan represents a commitment by all parties to continue to work together in an unprecedented collaboration to prepare the Gulf region to transition from response to recovery and address the decades-long decline that the Gulf's ecosystem has endured.
"After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this Task Force brought together people from across the Gulf Coast in unparalleled ways to talk about how we tackle both the immediate environmental devastation, as well as the long-term deterioration that has for decades threatened the health, the environment and the economy of the people who call this place home. It has all come to this moment – when we move from planning and researching to supporting real, homegrown actions aimed at restoring this vital ecosystem," said Administrator Jackson.
With the release of the final strategy today, the Task Force marks the beginning of the implementation phase of the strategy by announcing new initiatives, including $50 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service to help agricultural producers in seven Gulf Coast river basins improve water quality, increase water conservation and enhance wildlife habitat.
USDA's multi-year environmental restoration effort, known as the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, or GoMI, represents a 1,100% increase in financial assistance for Gulf priority watersheds.
"Restoring the Gulf Coast ecosystem needs to begin immediately and USDA's assistance is an important first step in placing the Task Force strategy into action", said USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman. "This collaborative voluntary effort will leverage contributions and commitments from farmers, communities, and all levels of government to improve water quality. A healthy water supply is not only vital for the people of the Gulf, but also for the estuaries, fisheries, and wildlife that are the foundation of the local economy."
The Task Force has also begun reviewing existing policy, program and regulatory issues that are slowing down restoration progress, particularly in the habitat restoration area. The Task Force will continue to explore innovative ways to implement restoration, measure success and support the restoration with science.
Additionally, the Task Force will also open a local office, headed by Task Force Executive Director John Hankinson, in the Gulf Coast in mid-December.
Representatives from across the Gulf voiced their support for the work of the Task Force.
"To ensure the future health of the Gulf, its economy, and its residents, the nation must start the work of creating a sustainably healthy and productive landscape and seascape – not only stopping the ongoing degradation but beginning the process of reversing that which has already occurred" said Senator Bob Graham and William K. Reilly, Co-Chairs of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. "Working with the people of the Gulf, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force has undertaken the challenge of developing an ecosystem restoration strategy to guide the long term collaboration necessary to reverse the trend of environmental degradation in the Gulf. The country needs to make the commitments called for. And it needs to make them now."
"The Task Force went to great lengths to involve local leaders in the fact finding process leading up to the release of the report" said Mayor Randy Roach of Lake Charles, Louisiana. "When you read the report it is obvious that they listened to what they heard and addressed our concerns in a very straightforward manner. This report is an important document that outlines the challenges of recovery and the opportunities we have to develop a true intergovernmental approach to address the needs and interests of the people of the Gulf Coast region."
"The Task Force's Strategy clearly recognizes the critical importance of the Gulf natural resources to our regional economy and workforce," said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. "In partnership with all Gulf Coast states and several federal agencies and with full input from key parties throughout the region the Task Force has detailed a specific list of coastal restoration priorities that protects the businesses and individual livelihoods along the coast and across the country, in the fishing, shipping, energy production and tourism industries, that are reliant upon a vital Gulf coast."
"For the first time in man's history on earth, what we do, can and will determine the fate of one of the world's great treasures. The choice is ours", said Dr. Larry McKinney, Executive Director of the Harte Research Institute in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The natural resources of the Gulf's ecosystem are vital to many of the region's industries that directly support economic progress and job creation, including tourism and recreation, seafood production and sales, energy production and navigation and commerce. Among the key priorities of the strategy are:
1) Stopping the Loss of Critical Wetlands, Sand Barriers and Beaches
The strategy recommends placing ecosystem restoration on an equal footing with historic uses such as navigation and flood damage reduction by approaching water resource management decisions in a far more comprehensive manner that will bypass harm to wetlands, barrier islands and beaches. The strategy also recommends implementation of several congressionally authorized projects in the Gulf that are intended to reverse the trend of wetlands loss.
2) Reducing the Flow of Excess Nutrients into the Gulf
The strategy calls for working in the Gulf and upstream in the Mississippi watershed to reduce the flow of excess nutrients into the Gulf by supporting state nutrient reduction frameworks, new nutrient reduction approaches, and targeted watershed work to reduce agricultural and urban sources of excess nutrients.
3) Enhancing Resiliency among Coastal Communities
The strategy calls for enhancing the quality of life of Gulf residents by working in partnership with the Gulf with coastal communities. The strategy specifically recommends working with each of the States to build the integrated capacity needed through effective coastal improvement plans to better secure the future of their coastal communities and to implement existing efforts underway.
The final strategy was developed following more than 40 public meetings throughout the Gulf to listen to the concerns of the public. To review the final strategy, please visit: www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce
R355
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The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
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From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Dec 5, 2011 11:33 AM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>
From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa@govdelivery.com]
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 9:43 AM
Subject: News Release (HQ): Task Force Established by President Obama Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
CONTACT:
Alisha Johnson
Johnson.alisha@epa.gov
202-564-4373
Jody Fagan
USDA Gulf of Mexico Initiative
202-720-3210
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2011
Task Force Established by President Obama Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem
USDA $50 million financial assistance for restoration projects announced as Task Force efforts shift from planning to action
WASHINGTON – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force today released its final strategy for long term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast, following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region. EPA Administrator and Task Force Chair Lisa P. Jackson, partnering with Task Force Co-Chair Garret Graves, made the announcement today during keynote remarks at the 2011 State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit in Houston. Administrator Jackson was joined by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman and several other Task Force members.
The Task Force delivered the final strategy on Friday, Dec. 2 to President Barack Obama, who established the Task Force by executive order, to continue the Administration's ongoing commitment to the Gulf region. The group is made up of representatives from the five Gulf States and 11 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, White House Council on Environmental Quality, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy and White House Domestic Policy Council.
The strategy is the first restoration blueprint ever developed for the Gulf to include input from states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of involved citizens and organizations across the region. The plan represents a commitment by all parties to continue to work together in an unprecedented collaboration to prepare the Gulf region to transition from response to recovery and address the decades-long decline that the Gulf's ecosystem has endured.
"After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this Task Force brought together people from across the Gulf Coast in unparalleled ways to talk about how we tackle both the immediate environmental devastation, as well as the long-term deterioration that has for decades threatened the health, the environment and the economy of the people who call this place home. It has all come to this moment – when we move from planning and researching to supporting real, homegrown actions aimed at restoring this vital ecosystem," said Administrator Jackson.
With the release of the final strategy today, the Task Force marks the beginning of the implementation phase of the strategy by announcing new initiatives, including $50 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service to help agricultural producers in seven Gulf Coast river basins improve water quality, increase water conservation and enhance wildlife habitat.
USDA's multi-year environmental restoration effort, known as the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, or GoMI, represents a 1,100% increase in financial assistance for Gulf priority watersheds.
"Restoring the Gulf Coast ecosystem needs to begin immediately and USDA's assistance is an important first step in placing the Task Force strategy into action", said USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman. "This collaborative voluntary effort will leverage contributions and commitments from farmers, communities, and all levels of government to improve water quality. A healthy water supply is not only vital for the people of the Gulf, but also for the estuaries, fisheries, and wildlife that are the foundation of the local economy."
The Task Force has also begun reviewing existing policy, program and regulatory issues that are slowing down restoration progress, particularly in the habitat restoration area. The Task Force will continue to explore innovative ways to implement restoration, measure success and support the restoration with science.
Additionally, the Task Force will also open a local office, headed by Task Force Executive Director John Hankinson, in the Gulf Coast in mid-December.
Representatives from across the Gulf voiced their support for the work of the Task Force.
"To ensure the future health of the Gulf, its economy, and its residents, the nation must start the work of creating a sustainably healthy and productive landscape and seascape – not only stopping the ongoing degradation but beginning the process of reversing that which has already occurred" said Senator Bob Graham and William K. Reilly, Co-Chairs of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. "Working with the people of the Gulf, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force has undertaken the challenge of developing an ecosystem restoration strategy to guide the long term collaboration necessary to reverse the trend of environmental degradation in the Gulf. The country needs to make the commitments called for. And it needs to make them now."
"The Task Force went to great lengths to involve local leaders in the fact finding process leading up to the release of the report" said Mayor Randy Roach of Lake Charles, Louisiana. "When you read the report it is obvious that they listened to what they heard and addressed our concerns in a very straightforward manner. This report is an important document that outlines the challenges of recovery and the opportunities we have to develop a true intergovernmental approach to address the needs and interests of the people of the Gulf Coast region."
"The Task Force's Strategy clearly recognizes the critical importance of the Gulf natural resources to our regional economy and workforce," said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. "In partnership with all Gulf Coast states and several federal agencies and with full input from key parties throughout the region the Task Force has detailed a specific list of coastal restoration priorities that protects the businesses and individual livelihoods along the coast and across the country, in the fishing, shipping, energy production and tourism industries, that are reliant upon a vital Gulf coast."
"For the first time in man's history on earth, what we do, can and will determine the fate of one of the world's great treasures. The choice is ours", said Dr. Larry McKinney, Executive Director of the Harte Research Institute in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The natural resources of the Gulf's ecosystem are vital to many of the region's industries that directly support economic progress and job creation, including tourism and recreation, seafood production and sales, energy production and navigation and commerce. Among the key priorities of the strategy are:
1) Stopping the Loss of Critical Wetlands, Sand Barriers and Beaches
The strategy recommends placing ecosystem restoration on an equal footing with historic uses such as navigation and flood damage reduction by approaching water resource management decisions in a far more comprehensive manner that will bypass harm to wetlands, barrier islands and beaches. The strategy also recommends implementation of several congressionally authorized projects in the Gulf that are intended to reverse the trend of wetlands loss.
2) Reducing the Flow of Excess Nutrients into the Gulf
The strategy calls for working in the Gulf and upstream in the Mississippi watershed to reduce the flow of excess nutrients into the Gulf by supporting state nutrient reduction frameworks, new nutrient reduction approaches, and targeted watershed work to reduce agricultural and urban sources of excess nutrients.
3) Enhancing Resiliency among Coastal Communities
The strategy calls for enhancing the quality of life of Gulf residents by working in partnership with the Gulf with coastal communities. The strategy specifically recommends working with each of the States to build the integrated capacity needed through effective coastal improvement plans to better secure the future of their coastal communities and to implement existing efforts underway.
The final strategy was developed following more than 40 public meetings throughout the Gulf to listen to the concerns of the public. To review the final strategy, please visit: www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce
R355
Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.
[deletions]
***********************************************
Enviro-News is a service of the Water Quality
Information Center at the National Agricultural
Library. The center's Web site is at
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/.
The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) agreement,
nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of
the item. See
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/environews.shtml#disclaimer
You can contact the list owner at
owner-Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov.
***********************************************
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