Scientists call for safeguarding America's natural resources from the threats of global warming
More than 200 scientists offer recommendations to new administration
(01/29/2009) - WASHINGTON – Recognizing that for the first time in eight years science finally has the ear of the administration, more than 200 scientists are calling upon President Obama to work with Congress to address the causes of global warming and the growing impacts it is already having on America’s wildlife and natural ecosystems.In a letter to President Obama delivered Tuesday, renowned scientists such as Dr. Edward O. Wilson and Dr. Thomas Lovejoy provided recommendations based on Beyond Cutting Emissions: Protecting Wildlife and Ecosystems in a Warming World, a new report by Defenders of Wildlife. Beyond Emissions offers a roadmap for how the next administration can help America’s wildlife and ecosystems survive the impacts of global warming.
“In recent days the Obama administration has taken important strides towards reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency,” said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “We hope these actions will be followed by America assuming a leadership role in tackling the damaging effects of global warming, including those impacts that threaten the natural ecosystems and wildlife that we rely on for our food, drinking water, economic health and quality of life.”
Marked damage and disruption are already threatening our ecosystems and wildlife populations, ranging from melting of polar ice caps to increased drought and warming of rivers, lakes and streams. The basic life-sustaining services provided by ecosystems, such as purifying air and water, are being compromised, threatening human communities around the country and the world.
“A healthy environment and a healthy community go hand in hand,” said Schlickeisen. “If America’s natural ecosystems and wildlife are not protected from the growing impact of global warming, our economic growth and public health will also be at risk.”
Beyond Cutting Emissions details why a new conservation paradigm – one that has ecosystem resiliency at its core – is necessary if wildlife, natural systems and human communities are to survive the changes wrought by a warming world.
This report recommends the following key requirements:Clear federal policy direction to make addressing global warming’s impacts a top priority of federal, state and tribal natural resource agencies; A coordinated national strategy for addressing this complex and cross-cutting challenge; Enhanced scientific capacity to build the foundation of knowledge about climate-induced alternatives to core ecosystem processes necessary to guide effective management actions; and Significant and sustained dedicated federal funding to implement the conservation strategy necessary to ensure fish, wildlife, and natural ecosystems survive the unavoidable impacts of global warming, which should be achieved by dedicating a portion of the revenues from a climate cap-and-trade system.
Any legislation that addresses global warming will be incomplete if it does not include measures to protect the natural systems that sustain us all. America urgently needs adequate funding, planning, increased scientific knowledge and policy direction in order to restore and safeguard its wildlife and natural ecosystems and secure a healthy environmental future.
“Global warming is imposing on us the greatest conservation challenge of our time,” Schlickeisen concluded. “The Obama administration should heed the advice of over 200 scientists calling for early and swift action to reduce carbon emissions and at the same time safeguard wildlife, and ecosystems – and thus future generations - from the impacts of global warming. The price of inaction and delay would be beyond current comprehension.”
Read scientist letter and Beyond Cutting Emissions.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
Contact(s):
Erin McCallum, (202)772-3217
