Dear Colleague,
I am writing to ask you to sign onto an important
letter that is being co-led by E.O. Wilson and
Tom Lovejoy (attached). Addressed to Carol
Browner, incoming Special Assistant to the
President for Energy & Climate Change, the letter
calls on the new administration to not only act
immediately to reduce emissions but also to
address climate changes impacts on the natural
world, which we have already set underway.
Thankfully, the national dialogue has shifted
from denying climate change to asking how we can
best reduce the drivers of climate change. This
letter calls attention to the fact that we must
also act swiftly to address climate changes
impacts on the natural resource base that
sustains us all. This effort will take national
policy direction, enhanced scientific capacity,
and long-term dedicated funding. These findings
and recommendations are highlighted in a recent
report, Beyond Cutting Emissions: Protecting
Wildlife and Ecosystems in a Warming World
available at Defenders of Wildlifes website
(<http://www.defenders.org/warmingworld>www.defenders.org/warmingworld).
Beyond Cutting Emissions summarizes compelling
scientific evidence that, while essential,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not
sufficient to sustain wildlife and our natural
legacy threatened by global warming. The report
explains why the nation must also take immediate
action to lessen the impacts of the warming we
have already set underway. A new conservation
paradigm one that has ecosystem resiliency at
its core is necessary if wildlife, natural
resources and, ultimately, people are to survive
the changes wrought by a warming world. Success
will require a stronger scientific foundation to
inform sound management decisions for our
nations wildlife, lands, and waters. This
report concludes with sound policy
recommendations for formulating a comprehensive national response:
- Clear federal policy direction to make
addressing climate change impacts due to
anthropogenic global warming 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 core ecosystem
processes necessary to guide effective management actions; and
- Significant and sustained dedicated
federal funding to implement the conservation
measures 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.
To sign-on, or if you have any questions, please
email Isra Pananon at Defenders of Wildlife
(<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected])
with your name (as you would like it to be
listed), your title, and your
affiliation. Please contact us by January 23, if
you would like to join this critical letter.
Also, please feel free to let me know if you are
interested in staying involved with future
efforts, such as contacting your member of
Congress, to ensure wildlife and natural
resources survive climate changes impacts.
Thank you for all your work that helps to advance
the application of sound science in decision-making.
Jean
***********************************************
Jean Brennan, PhD
Senior Climate Change Scientist
Defenders of Wildlife
1130 17th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036-4604
Phone: 1-202-682-9400 ext 162
Web:
<https://mi8owa.mi8.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.defenders.org/>www.defenders.org
Email: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
January 28, 2009
Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Dear Ms. Browner,
At this important and exciting time of political
and policy transition, we would like to
commend to your consideration and early response
the challenge and recommendations
highlighted in Beyond Cutting Emissions:
Protecting Wildlife and Ecosystems in a Warming World, a
new report by Defenders of Wildlife. We hope that
an early priority of the Obama
Administration will be to work with Congress to
address the pressing need to make wildlife
and natural resources more resilient to global warming.
Human-induced global warming is already upon us.
It is profoundly impacting the wildlife
and natural resources our society depends upon
for survival. Serious damage and disruption
is now occurring to ecosystems and wildlife
populations, ranging from melting of polar ice
caps to increased drought and warming of rivers,
lakes, and streams. Wildlife, natural
resources and humans are threatened as the basic
life-sustaining services provided by
ecosystems, such as purifying air and water and
pollinating crops, are compromised. This
damage has significant economic implications. For
example, the outdoor recreation industry,
including fishing, hunting, wildlife watching,
hiking and other outdoor pursuits that rely
heavily on healthy wildlife populations, forests,
rivers and ecosystems contribute $730 billion
annually to the U.S. economy, support nearly 6.5
million jobs and generate $88 billion in
state and national tax revenue.
Beyond Cutting Emissions summarizes compelling
scientific evidence that, while essential,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not
sufficient to sustain wildlife and our natural legacy
threatened by global warming. The report explains
why the nation must also take immediate
action to lessen the impacts of the warming we have already set underway. A new
conservation paradigm one that has ecosystem
resiliency at its core is necessary if
wildlife, natural resources and, ultimately,
people are to survive the changes wrought by a
warming world. Success will require a stronger
scientific foundation to inform sound
management decisions for our nations wildlife, lands, and waters.
This report concludes with sound policy
recommendations for formulating a comprehensive
national response:
· Clear federal policy direction to make
addressing global warmings 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 core
ecosystem processes necessary to guide effective management actions; and
· Significant and sustained dedicated federal
funding to implement the conservation
measures 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.
The climate change impacts due to global warming
represent the greatest conservation
challenge of our time. Our nation must take early
action to reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions driving global warming and deal with
the consequences of warming that are
already impacting our wildlife, natural resources
and, ultimately, our well-being. We urge
you and the Obama Administration to work with
Congress to address the serious policy
issues highlighted in Beyond Cutting Emissions.
Sincerely,
Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D.
Pellegrino University Research Professor
Harvard University
Thomas Lovejoy, Ph.D.
President
The H. John Heinz III Center for Science,
Economics, and the Environment
