EPA Award Winners Speak Out on Global Warming
WASHINGTON (May 1, 2007) – All five American winners of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Climate Protection Awards have joined forces to call on EPA to act now to control global warming pollution, allow California and 13 other states to move forward with pollution limits, and comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark global warming decision.
The award winners include actor and director Robert Redford; the Reverend Sally Bingham, founder of the Regeneration Project; and King County Executive Ron Sims from Washington State. Their statement to EPA is below.
To read more about the winners, go to http://www.epa.gov/cppd/awards/2007winners.html.
Redford, a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the other winners have also submitted this statement as a public comment on California’s waiver request, pending before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to allow California and other states to move forward with global warming pollution standards for new cars and trucks that would reduce heat-trapping emissions by 30 percent by 2016.
Joint Statement by 2007 EPA Climate Protection Award Recipients*
May 1st, 2007
As recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Climate Protection Award, we acknowledge the agency's early history of leadership and action on crucial environmental issues of our time, starting with its effective enforcement of the Clean Air and Water Acts in the early 1970s. During many Administrations, EPA's actions very literally changed the landscape of America, clearing the air, purifying our lakes and streams, and promoting environmental protection globally. In particular, we would like to recognize those many career agency employees who have shown enormous dedication to making our environment a better place for our children and grandchildren.
Today, climate change has emerged as the most pressing issue of our time, environmental or otherwise. As activists in the search for solutions, we all recognize the importance of bold leadership at this critical time. And it’s for this reason that we call on the EPA to act, without further delay, to implement climate solutions that will protect our economy, our coastlines, and our children. In particular, we respectfully ask that the EPA grant a waiver to California to allow it and other states to implement the California global warming pollution standards and substantially enlarge the market for low-emission vehicles in the U.S. This waiver is essential if we are going to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals. We also call upon EPA to comply with the Supreme Court's landmark global warming decision by promptly setting national standards for the heat-trapping emissions from vehicles and power plants, because they so clearly contribute to global warming. We awardees promise to continue to work tirelessly to solve the climate problem; offer our support to this important agency as we move forward; and urge EPA to become a leader in battling global climate change.
Reverend Sally Bingham, San Francisco, California
Robert Parkhurst, Campbell, California
Robert Redford, Sundance, Utah
Auden Schendler, Aspen, Colorado
Ron Sims, King County, Washington
* Submitted as a public comment on California’s waiver request pending with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Docket # EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0173, comment period ending June 15, 2007).