Environmental Defense Fund

From SourceWatch

This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy.

 

Environmental Defense Fund (previously known as Environmental Defense before changing its name back to its original name) is a US-based Environmental organization. It describes itself as being “dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations. Among these rights are clean air and water, healthy and nourishing food, and a flourishing ecosystem. Guided by science, Environmental Defense evaluates environmental problems and works to create and advocate solutions that win lasting political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair.”

Sharon Beder notes that: “The influence of neoliberal think tanks on environmental policy has been pervasive. Yet their efforts to replace legislative solutions with free market programs have been accepted largely without scrutiny of the ideological agenda behind them. Many environmentalists have been persuaded by the rhetoric of free market environmentalism. For example the US Environmental Defense Fund has been at the forefront of the push for tradeable pollution rights and the Natural Resources Defense Council has also supported them.” [1]

• Arlie Schardt, Former Executive Director

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History

An article in In These Times described the beginnings of Environmental Defense:

“Created in 1967 by a small band of lawyers seeking to ban DDT, EDF [Environmental Defense Fund] evolved into George Bush’s favorite environmental group. The group is the premier advocate or market-oriented solutions to environmental problems. EDF was a cheerleader for NAFTA, and gets excited about pollution credits, emissions trading systems and user fees for recreational use of public lands. it hosts the Barbra Streisand Chair of Environmental Studies, the perch of scientist Michael Oppenheimer, who advocates buying up development rights in the Third World as a solution to global climate change. EDF convinced McDonalds in 1991 to reform its solid-waste disposal practices and to move from Styrofoam to paper packaging (but remained mum on quality of food, ecologically destructive ranching practices and abusive treatment of animals and workers.) In cooperation with major timber companies, the group developed a “paper-use task force,” whose recommendations discreetly ignored sustainable alternatives to paper such as industrial hemp and kenaf. Inc. magazine praised president Fred Krupp for his ability to “speak capitalism.” “^[1]

TXU Deal

As part of the estimated US$45 billion buyout, Texas utility TXU (now Luminant) settled a series of lawsuits with Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council and agreed to cancel 8 of its planned 11 new Texas coal-fired power plants as well as several new coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Virginia, back federal legislation to create a cap-and-trade system regulating CO2 emissions, and double spending on energy efficiency. In return, Environmental Defense and NRDC agreed not to campaign against TXU’s remaining three Texas coal-fired plants.^[2] In March 2007, TXU announced its official withdrawal of the air permit applications for the eight cancelled plants.^[3]

The following proposed Texas coal plants were cancelled in TXU deal:

• Big Brown 3
• Lake Creek 3
• Martin Lake 4
• Morgan Creek 7
• Monticello 4
• Tradinghouse 3 & 4
• Valley 4

The following plants were allowed to proceed:

• Oak Grove Plant
• Sandow Unit 5
• Sandy Creek Plant

Personnel

• Fred Krupp, President.
• David Yarnold, Executive Vice President
• Marcia Aronoff Vice President for Programs
• Cynthia Hampton Vice President for Marketing and Communications
• Steve Cochran Director of Strategic Communications

Contact details

257 Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 10010
Phone (Media Contact):
Donations/Membership 1-800-684-3322
Fax: (212) 505-2375
Email: media AT environmentaldefense.org
Email : general members AT environmentaldefense.org
Web: http://www.environmentaldefense.org

References

Other SourceWatch resources

• Citizen groups working on coal issues
• Big Green
• Chilling and Gassing with the Environmental Defense Fund
• Environmental Defense and Free Market Environmentalism
• Environmental Defense Dances With DuPont On Nanotechnology
• Environmental Resources Trust
• Environmental organizations
• Nongovernmental organizations
• Peter C. Goldmark – Directs the Climate and Air program
• Jane Lubchenco
• Luminant
• George M. Woodwell – founder

External links

• Jeffrey St. Clair and Bernardo Issel, “A field guide to the environmental movement“, In These Times, 28 July 1997.
• Jessica Bosanko, “Ad Council and Environmental Defense Launch Nation’s First Global Warming PSA Campaign,” Planet Save, March 23, 2006: “Leading Climate Scientists Say Campaign Is Urgently Needed; New Survey Reveals Public Willing to Change Habits to Reduce Climate Change.” Also see Ad Council and the Robertson Foundation.
• Daniel Brook, “Climate shift: Some environmental groups are sitting down with big business. But others say the fate of the planet is non-negotiable,” Boston Globe, March 18, 2007.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_Defense_Fund