Don’t put off by a decade what needs to be started today
by Margaret O’Gorman, Executive Director
Last week Senators Kerry and Lieberman released a draft of their new Senate energy bill called “The American Power Act.” At the heart of this bill is an effort to develop new American energy, create American jobs and protect American communities. These are all laudable goals made even more laudable when placed against the job loss and community damage occurring in the Gulf right as a result of our continued reliance on old energy.
“The American Power Act” is a serious effort to address global climate change and thanks to the hard work of a national coalition called “Teaming with Wildlife,” of which Conserve Wildlife Foundation is a member, it contains language that not only promotes better energy policies but also the need to help our natural resources during these times of changing climate.
The bill, like its predecessor passed by the House of Representatives, seeks to set aside funding to protect and restore species, habitats and ecosystems threatened by the impact of climate change. It also proposes programs focused on water systems, floods, wildland fires and coasts.
“Climate change is impacting our wildlife populations now and will impact our populations in greater ways as the changes in climate become more pronounced.”
These inclusions are very important because they recognize the impact of a changing climate on our natural resources – the lands, plants and animals that add value to our lives, both economic and intrinsic.
The inclusion of this language happened because of the strong coalition of groups and individuals dedicated to wildlife and natural resource protection in this country but the timing of the funding leaves a lot to be desired. In the Kerry Lieberman bill, allocations (funding) for Safeguarding Natural Resources/Community Protection, doesn’t start until 2019. Allocations start at 0.75% in 2019, increasing to 3% by 2030. It is unclear how this translates in to actual dollars, but most importantly there is no funding for nearly a decade. This is unacceptable.
The other worrying part of this draft bill is whether the funding to establish programs to address impacts to natural resources is dedicated or not. This is unclear in the bill’s current wording and is also unacceptable.
Climate change is impacting our wildlife populations now and, under the most conservative scenarios, will impact our populations in greater ways as the changes in climate become more pronounced. New Jersey species at risk include the shorebirds that are already teetering on the edge of extinction due to the decimation of their stopover food source; beach nesting birds like the piping plover that is already fighting for beach space as sea-level rise continues to threaten its habitat. Other species like the bog turtle and eastern salamander are threatened by loss of habitat from changing seasonal patterns and endangered raptors face losses every breeding season from storm events that used to happen every 100 years and are now much more frequent.
Senators Kerry and Lieberman should be thanked for introducing this important bill but they, and all other Senators, should be encouraged to remove the ten-year delay for wildlife and natural resources and insist that such funding should be dedicated to help our natural systems adapt to a world where a changing climate could spell extinction if steps are not taken to mitigate where possible and allow adaptations where necessary.
If you’ve a minute today, contact your New Jersey Senator and tell him we can’t put off for ten years what needs to be done today.
Credit: The National Wildlife Federation’s analysis of the bill informed this article.