Environmental Defense Fund’s mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends.
Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.
2012 Aspen Environment Forum: THE PATH FORWARD FOR NATURAL GAS
Topics: aef2012, Aspen Environment Forum
Publication Date: 06/23/2012
The environmental impacts of natural gas development are real. Public trust for the industry is eroding and its license to operate is at risk. Strong voices —from leading companies responding to the crisis of confidence, as well as from investors, suppliers, customers, NGOs, and other stakeholders —are joining in a powerful call for real action to get the rules right. Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund, served on the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board on shale gas and is among those leading the way forward on this highly charged issue. He’ll share his views on the challenges and opportunities of shale gas.
Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund in conversation with Alex Chadwick, Host and Senior Correspondent, BURN
Selected milestones
1967: A small group of scientists incorporates our organization as Environmental Defense Fund after winning a ban on the pesticide DDT.
1970: EDF helps bring all hunted whales onto the U.S. endangered species list and opens an office in Washington, D.C.
1975: EDF hires Zach Willey, the first Ph.D. economist to work full-time at an environmental organization.
1977: Our campaign curbs the use of the hazardous flame retardant TRIS in children’s sleepwear.
1985: We help convince federal regulators to end the use of leaded gasoline.
1990: The Clean Air Act uses EDF’s innovative market-based approach to cut air pollution, leading to a 52% drop in acid rain between 1990–2008.
1991: McDonald’s accepts the recommendation of our joint task force, eventually eliminating more than 150,000 tons of packaging waste.
1995: We launch our Safe Harbor program to give landowners new incentives to protect endangered wildlife. Today more than 4 million acres of habitat are being protected.
1996: EDF helps the Panará Indians of Brazil win protection for their homeland, saving 1.2 million acres of Amazon rainforest.
2002: EDF helps win passage of California’s first-in-the-nation law to reduce global warming emissions from cars and trucks.
2004: Our partnership with Fed Ex puts hybrid electric trucks on the road. The new trucks cut smog-causing emissions by 65%, reduce soot by 96% and get 50% better mileage.
2006: Regulators approve EDF’s proposed management method, catch shares, to end commercial overfishing of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Catch-share programs have made fisheries more sustainable while increasing per-boat revenues by 80%.
2006: We help win permanent protection for a chain of pristine islands in Hawaii, forming the world’s largest marine reserve.
2007: Our hard-hitting campaign against the Texas utility TXU leads to a landmark buyout deal that blocks a new wave of dirty coal plants.
2009: We help win major reforms in California water law to provide water for California’s farms and growing population while leaving enough in rivers for wildlife. The New York Times called it the “most comprehensive” water package since the 1960s.
Image Source: http://www.edf.org
