The Nature Conservancy’s Advice for President Obama
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has published a letter to president-elect Obama, providing advice on tackling environmental issues.
The letter, which was written by Mark Tercek TNC’s president and CEO, urges the new president to provide strong leadership in dealing with this matter.
Tercek says to Obama,
The degradation of our environment is by no means inevitable. With your leadership, the United States can build on its rich conservation tradition to create a framework of healthy air, land and water that will protect natural systems, and around which the next generations of Americans can build secure and rewarding lives.
Priority Items
The letter also outlines TNCs current highest priority action items which are:
- Stabilizing Earth’s climate through the passage of greenhouse gas cap-and-trade legislation, investments in energy conservation and cleaner energy technology, and the design and siting of energy facilities to minimize environmental impacts
- Conserving the most environmentally important natural resource lands
- Connecting and caring for our heritage of Federal lands
- Ensuring the health of water resources
- Working cooperatively with other countries to negotiate a new global climate treaty
Tercek says that all of these recommendations are achievable politically and practically. He adds that much is already underway, and even more can be done with innovation and new ideas.
Tereck asks the President to play a central role in convincing the public and private sectors, urban and rural interests that they all share and must take responsibility for our one connected environment.
Funding
On the subject of funding, TNC suggests:
- the leasing of federally-owned energy resources
- the conversion to a lower-carbon economy
- offsets to unavoidable environmental damage from energy and infrastructure projects
Our experience tells us that expenditures on the environment are not costs but investments in the future.
About The Nature Conservancy
TNC is a conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.
The organization threats to conservation involving climate change, fire, fresh water, forests, invasive species, and marine ecosystems.
TNC’s mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Since its inception in 1951, TNC has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide. TNC currently operates in 30 countries around the world and has more than a million members. more than 100 marine projects around the world.
Tags: Conservation, nature conservancy
