Take Action:
|
|
|
Celebrate and Accelerate:
Federal Government Actions
The nation's air is much cleaner today than it was 30 years ago.
Remarkably, this progress has occurred even while, during the
same 30 year period, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product increased
161 percent, energy consumption increased 42 percent, and vehicle
miles traveled increased 149 percent. Over the last 30 years,
total emissions of six principal air pollutants have decreased
by nearly 25 percent, resulting in lower concentrations of these
pollutants in ambient air. Rates of annual wetland losses have
decreased from almost 500,000 acres a year three decades ago to
a loss of less than 100,000 acres averaged annually since 1986.
An increasing number of people are served by community water systems
that meet all health-based drinking water standards. In 2002,
states reported that 94 percent of the population served by community
water systems were served by systems that met all health-based
standards, up from 79 percent in 1993.
Brownfields Program
President Bush signed historic bipartisan brownfields legislation
in 2002, accelerating the cleanup of brownfields to better protect
public health, create jobs, and revitalize communities. A new
round of Brownfields Job Training Grants will teach lead and asbestos
abatement, mold remediation, environmental sampling and related
skills to individuals living in low-income areas near Brownfields
sites in 16 communities around the nation. Information
about revitalized sites, grants, and the Brownfields Job Training
Program is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields/.
Land Conservation and Stewardship
-
Healthy Forests
Initiative
www.fs.fed.us/projects/hfi
On December 3, 2003, President Bush signed legislation
implementing key provisions of his Healthy Forests Initiative.
The President's initiative is helping restore the health
and vitality of forests and rangelands, and helping reduce
the threat of catastrophic wildfires. This is benefiting
communities and wildlife habitats.
-
National Parks
www.nps.gov
Restoring the Quality of Our Cultural, Natural, and Historic
Resources. The President is fulfilling his commitment
to address the park maintenance backlog. To meet his commitment
of $4.9 billion over five years for park maintenance and
construction, the President has secured $ 2.8 billion,
and proposed $ 1.1 billion in his FY 2005 budget, for
a total of $3.9 billion to date. Additionally, for the
first time in history, the National Park Service will
have a full condition assessment and a facility condition
index to prioritize ongoing maintenance needs.
-
2002 Farm Bill:
Helping America's Farmers Conserve Their Lands
www.usda.gov/farmbill/
President Bush supported and signed into law a Farm Bill
that enhances conservation and environmental stewardship.
Under this Administration, funding has nearly doubled
for these effective programs. The Farm Bill conservation
programs are providing up to $38 billion over a decade
to restore millions of acres of wetlands, protect habitats,
conserve water, and improve streams and rivers near working
farms and ranches.
-
Increased Funding for Cooperative Conservation. The President's
FY 2005 budget proposes $507 million for cooperative conservation
programs at the Department of the Interior. Within that
request is $130 million for the Cooperative Conservation
Initiative (CCI), a 25 percent increase over last year.
Through CCI activities, the Department of the Interior's
land managers are joining with communities, non-profits,
states, and citizens to remove invasive species, reduce
stream bank erosion, and enhance habitat for threatened
and endangered species.
Improving Our Air Quality
-
Clear Skies Initiative
www.epa.gov/clearskies
President Bush's initiative, which has been introduced
in Congress, would dramatically improve air quality by
reducing power plants' emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxide, and mercury, by approximately 70 percent over the
next 15 years, more than any other clean air initiative.
This historic proposal will bring cleaner air to Americans
faster, more reliably, and more cost-effectively than
under current law.
-
Interstate
Air Quality Rule.
www.epa.gov/air/interstateairquality/
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a
proposal to require coal-burning power plants to make
the steepest emissions cuts in over a decade. The Interstate
Air Quality Rule will require power plants to substantially
reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen
oxide (NOx). SO2 emissions will be cut by nearly 70 percent
and NOx emissions will be cut by approximately 50 percent.
-
Mandating a Cut in
Mercury Emissions for the First Time Ever
www.epa.gov/mercury/
Mercury emissions from power plants are not currently
regulated. For the first time ever, a cut in mercury emissions
from these sources will be mandated. These cuts will be
achieved by using either a proven market-based, cap-and-trade
approach that will better assure compliance and enforceability,
or a more traditional command-and-control approach utilizing
Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT). Both proposals
are currently receiving public comment.
-
Reduction in Emissions
from Non-Road Heavy-Duty Diesels
www.epa.gov/nonroad/
In April 2003, EPA issued a proposed rule that will dramatically
reduce pollution from heavy-duty diesel engines used in
construction, agricultural, and industrial equipment.
This will prevent up to 9,600 premature deaths, 8,300
hospitalizations, 16,000 heart attacks, 5,700 children's
asthma-related emergency room visits, 260,000 respiratory
problems in children, and nearly a million work days lost
due to illness. Soot and NOx emissions will decrease by
more than 90 percent by 2014, and the sulfur content of
diesel fuel will be cut 99 percent by 2010.
-
Fuel Savings From Light Trucks
For the first time in a decade, the Administration raised
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for SUVs,
vans and pick-up trucks. Reforms are also underway that
will save more fuel while protecting consumer safety and
American jobs.
Improving the Quality of our Waters
-
EPA Administrator Mike
Leavitt and White House Council on Environmental
Quality Chairman James Connaughton announce funding
for the Great Lakes |
Substantially Increased Funding for the Great Lakes
More than one-tenth of the population of the United States
and one-quarter of the population of Canada live around the
Great Lakes. The Great Lakes themselves are the largest system
of fresh surface water on Earth, containing roughly 18 percent
of the world supply. The President's FY 2005 budget includes
an unprecedented $45 million for the Great Lakes Legacy Program,
almost five times the 2004 level of funding. These additional
funds will allow EPA, in conjunction with its community partners,
to begin remediating contaminated sediments at six sites.
Sediment remediation will help keep toxics such as polychlorinated
biphenyls and heavy metals from entering the food chain, where
they could cause adverse effects on human health and the environment.
-
Water 2025
The President's FY 2005 budget includes $21 million, an
increase of $13.3 million, for Water 2025, a program that
strategically addresses the problem of competing demands
for a finite water supply. Water 2025 will help States,
tribes, and local communities improve conservation, implement
efficiencies, and monitor water resources. In some cases,
collaborative approaches and market-based transfers can
use water banks or other means to meet emerging needs.
Federal investments in research and development will provide
more affordable water treatment technologies, such as
desalination, to increase water supplies in critical areas.
A Growth-Oriented Approach to Global Climate Change: A Synopsis
-
18 Percent Cut
in Greenhouse Gas Intensity
www.climatetechnology.gov
President Bush has committed America to meeting the challenge
of long-term global climate change by reducing the ratio
of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output by 18 percent
by 2012 compared to 2002. Greenhouse gas intensity is
the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output.
-
$4.1 Billion in Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and
Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Vehicles
The President has called for tax incentives totaling $4.1
billion through 2009 to spur the use of clean, renewable
energy, and energy-efficient technologies, such as hybrid
and fuel-cell vehicles, residential solar heating systems,
renewable energy produced from landfill gas, wind, or
biomass, and efficient combined heat and power systems.
-
42 Percent Increase
in Climate Change Research Funding
www.climatescience.gov
The President's FY 2005 budget includes $238 million for
the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), a $70 million,
or 42 percent, increase over 2004. This funding level
includes $57 million to accelerate efforts to advance
understanding of the role of aerosols on climate, better
quantify carbon sources, and improve the technology and
infrastructure used to observe and model climate variations.
The CCRI focuses on reducing significant uncertainties
in climate science, improving global climate observing
systems, and developing resources to support policymaking
and resource management.
-
Federal
Energy and Carbon Sequestration Programs
www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/
The United States is sponsoring, with international and
private-sector partners, a $1 billion, 10-year demonstration
project to create the world's first coal-based, zero-emissions
electricity and hydrogen power plant (FutureGen). This
project is designed to dramatically reduce air pollution
and capture and store greenhouse gases. Through the President's
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, the first car driven by a child
born today could be powered by pollution-free fuel cells.
The Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and the FreedomCAR Partnership
will provide $1.7 billion over the next five years to
develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells, a hydrogen infrastructure,
and advanced automobile technologies that emit no greenhouse
gases.
-
Climate VISION Partnership
www.climatevision.gov
In February 2003, President Bush announced that leading
firms from 12 major industrial sectors and the membership
of the Business Roundtable have committed to work with
four Cabinet agencies (DOE, EPA, DOT, and USDA) to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade. Participating
industries included America's electric utilities; petroleum
refiners and natural gas producers; automobile, iron and
steel, chemical and magnesium manufacturers; forest and
paper producers; railroads; and the cement, mining, aluminum,
and semiconductor industries.
-
President's
Initiative Against Illegal Logging
In July 2003, Secretary of State Powell launched the President's
Initiative Against Illegal Logging to assist developing
nations in combating illegal logging, including the sale
and export of illegally harvested timber, and in fighting
corruption in the forest sector. The initiative represents
the most comprehensive strategy undertaken by any nation
to address this critical sustainable development challenge,
and reinforces the leadership role of the U.S. in taking
action to counter the problem and preserve forest resources
that store carbon.
|