Environmental Entrepreneurs is unique because we focus on the economic benefits of good environmental policies and we exclusively use volunteers to deliver our message. In preparing this article, we asked ten of our volunteers around the United States to describe why they chose E2 as their channel for environmental activism and how their volunteer activities with E2 have worked for them.

Wendy Abrams (Illinois)

Wendy Abrams is a principal shareholder in Medline Industries, Inc., the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies in the U.S. Wendy graduated from Brown University and received her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Wendy wanted to find an environmental group that embraced outside volunteers rather than one that worked exclusively through its employees. NRDC Trustee Laurie David told Wendy about E2. Wendy’s first involvement with E2 was supporting a lobbying trip to Washington, DC. As a representative of the business community, she felt she got better attention from legislators than most NGOs. "We care about costs and economic balance, not just the environmental benefits. E2 is a wonderful new face. I can feel passionate and get better educated through NRDC and E2." Wendy is just getting started developing a volunteer group in the Chicago area, focusing on climate change. There is growing political support from both Republicans and Democrats to address environmental issues. Wendy feels the Midwest, a region most environmental groups have neglected, is an untapped resource for activism. In building a presence in Chicago, Wendy has been focusing on educating people and making them comfortable with solutions. She says NRDC and E2 reports and publications have been a tremendous resource. One of Wendy’s goals is to redefine coal-powered electricity from being the main problem to being a solution for climate change. She believes it is good public policy to avoid building new plants that are immediately obsolete. "We’ll get business involved to weigh in on this issue. The truth is our long-term costs will go up if energy providers don’t take a long-term view of their investments." Wendy is currently meeting with health-care companies to try to build a coalition which will make clean energy purchases. "I liked the fact that this isn’t a nine-to-five job. You can put in as much time as you want. I’ve found myself wanting to put in the time because the issues are compelling."

Eric Bowen (California)

Eric Bowen is an attorney and investment banker who spends most his time these days on biodiesel projects. Eric is an avid snowboarder and telemark skier and enjoys spending time outdoors and cooking food to share with friends and family. Eric was introduced to E2 at the Cleantech Investors’ Conference. He was intrigued by the unique role and message of E2 and felt it was a good match for the times. Eric attended the October 2004 EcoSalon with George Lakoff, where he first heard about the biofuels project. Eric had been evaluating E2 for a year and was impressed with both the event and the people. Eric helped to shape the initial alternative fuels legislation, testified at the transportation hearing and lobbied at all levels. The time commitment was far more than he originally expected. Some weeks he would spend two to three days in Sacramento. It made other aspects of his life difficult, but it was a sacrifice he was glad to make. Eric expected some networking benefits, but the results have far exceeded his expectations. He has met wonderful new friends and colleagues and the project may have pushed his career toward biofuels in a way that otherwise might not have happened. His most memorable moment was testifying on AB 1007 before the transportation committee, where Chairwoman Jenny Oropeza closed the AB 1007 testimony by thanking him and E2, and confirming that there just are not enough business people engaged in the environmental debate. "The whole experience was very exciting, empowering and it reinforces my belief that individuals can affect change in public policy."

Sally Desipio (Oregon)

Sally Desipio is an award-winning producer of entertainment programming. She developed and produced television programming for CBS News, MTV Networks, and most recently for the prime time networks, before leaving last year to devote herself full time to raising awareness about environmental issues . She moved her family from Los Angeles to Oregon one year ago to in pursuit of a better quality of life. Sally worked closely with NRDC while living in Los Angeles as an active member of the Executive Forum created by NRDC Trustees Laurie David and Elizabeth Wiatt. While attending the NRDC trip to Baja to see gray whales, she told NRDC attorney Joel Reynolds she was moving to Oregon. Joel suggested contacting E2 to explore how she could continue being an activist. E2 co-founder Nicole Lederer helped Sally get started and focused on an effort in Oregon to adopt California’s Clean Car Bill (AB 1493). Sally commented, "This was the first group you didn’t have to earn your way into. Instead, I was immediately welcomed." The clean cars campaign in Oregon has been a stop-and-go process. The legislature gave Governor Ted Kulongoski a budget which prohibited funding the clean cars effort. In a move that surprised many, the governor vetoed the budget. Simultaneously with trying to create an E2 presence in Oregon, Sally is also learning about new issues and the political process. The governor is currently holding public hearings on clean cars legislation with the goal of a temporary rulemaking submitted by November, and then a six-month public comment period. Sally is supporting the governor’s process by encouraging media to view this as a business issue, not just an environmental issue. "It’s been a wonderful experience gaining new information and accessing new people. Everyone in Oregon is excited about E2."

Anna Halpern-Lande (California)

Anna Halpern-Lande is founder and principal consultant of Cyrnel LLC, a consulting firm specializing in renewable energy and clean technology companies. She is also the founder and Program Leader of the MIT Club of Northern California Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Program. Anna joined E2 after looking at several other groups; E2 caught her interest and attention because of its focus on environment policy that benefits the economy. In fact, she was so impressed with its mission that she joined even before attending her first E2 event. It was during the October 2004 EcoSalon featuring George Lakoff that Anna first learned E2 was starting a biofuels project. Since she had long been intrigued by the topic, she jumped at the opportunity to join the team. Since then Anna has played a major role in helping E2’s biofuels legislation (AB 1007) pass through California’s legislature. The amount of time she put into the project was "on the high-end, but it was well worth it." She helped move the project forward in every area, preparing the analysis and business case for the governor’s office and presenting it, shaping the initial legislation, testifying on E2’s behalf in front of the California Energy Commission and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, lobbying legislators, and working with biotech and agricultural industries to build support. For Anna, the most exciting part of the project was helping to get a new market off the ground. "It’s the right thing for the environment and the economy. This project has been a fantastic growth opportunity for me and, in fact, my career is now moving towards the biofuels industry." Anna feels E2 provides a wonderful framework to craft and implement solutions. While it has a strong affiliation with NRDC, it is still an independent business group. "E2 provides a fantastic framework - no one individual could have gotten this project done alone. E2 is very special because we are all members, and we can contribute to and shape policy. At E2, it is the volunteers who make things happen."

Carol Hazenfield (California)

Carol Hazenfield draws upon her 30 years in theater and business for her work as a communications coach. She specializes in persuasive speaker training and speech writing. Carol first heard of E2 when she and her husband moved next door to Co-founder Bob Epstein and asked him what he did. "Our main reason for joining E2 is the pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach." She’s excited to be part of a business voice and loves the fact that E2 is respectful of people’s time - events start on time, end on time and E2 delivers what it says it will. Carol attended numerous E2 events and heard outside and staff speakers, and saw disparities in the ways speakers connected with their audiences. This was an area in which she could offer her professional skills and potentially make a real impact. She calls it "persuasive speaker training - how to talk so the audience will listen." In addition to improving speakers’ vocal and physical skills , she also focuses on how to tell a better story. She says facts used more sparingly yield better effects. Carol was on a sabbatical at the time she proposed an NRDC speaker training program to Nicole Lederer. Providing training for 92 of the NRDC staff has been her main focus over the last year. She is ecstatic about the results. In addition to training the staff, her goal was to start a conversation within NRDC about how to better communicate with the public. She’s also worked with seven individuals on major presentations. "Most corporate training results in people getting trained and then putting it back in the drawer. It was fantastic to work with folks who take the training and carry it immediately into their work." "A side benefit of the project is learning a lot about environmental issues. I could even tell NRDC employees about each other’s projects! Everyone I met at NRDC has an unwavering belief that they will succeed. It was inspiring."

Steve MacKay (California)

Steve MacKay has been an R&D executive in Silicon Valley for the past 25 years, including time at Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems. He’s currently at an early stage start-up company working on The Next Big Thing. His interest in biofuels started early, since he was born in Michigan, where they grow a lot of corn and build a lot of cars. Given recent external events, Steve hopes the governor’s office will take a serious look at the potential of alternative fuels to reduce our use of oil. "When we started our project, we thought it would take two years to get legislation passed. The fact that we got it done in one year exceeded my expectations." Steve learned about E2 through another member, Mark Walden. Steve asked Mark how someone from high-tech could get involved in environmental issues while utilizing a business background. Steve joined E2 and got involved in the biofuels project. The connection to NRDC was important to Steve, as it makes E2 more than just another group of business enthusiasts. NRDC and its research helps amplify the energy from E2 - making it part of something bigger. Steve is particularly interested in the issues of global warming and technical solutions that can prevent it. "Biofuels are attractive because they are something we can utilize with current technology and current vehicle designs, and it does not have to take decades." The project was a chance for Steve to apply his technical expertise. The time commitment worked out well. He could devote a fair amount of time in spurts, but did not need to work on it every day. Steve’s first assignment was to explore ways of modeling alternative fuels for their petroleum reduction and greenhouse gas reductions. "We wanted to show the bill could be implemented and make a difference." "E2 is attractive because it covers a wide spectrum of individuals and their time availability. Some efforts take from ten minutes to an hour - all the way up to people who can work nearly full-time. You pick the level that works for you." Steve has met interesting people who helped show him that environmental protection and free-markets are not incompatible. "You can be a model capitalist yet hold strong beliefs on environmental issues and be effective in pursuing your business objectives." Along the way, Steve bought two hybrid cars and his next goal is to run them on biofuels. Steve’s now back full-time in a start-up, but he told his team that he is on stand-by to be in Sacramento if needed!

Wendy Neu (New Jersey)

As Vice president of Hugo Neu Corporation, one of the largest recyclers in the U.S., Wendy Neu has had the opportunity to promote and encourage environmental compliance in the recycling industry. Among her other interests are non-profit housing and advocacy for social/environmental issues. Wendy learned about E2 through her ongoing work with NRDC on recycling. NRDC’s Mark Izeman and Alan Hershkowitz introduced her to E2 when the group was less than a year old. Wendy was interested in finding a way she could volunteer and use her business skills. E2 opened up new areas for her. She had always been involved in local political work but never had the knowledge or information to work in a broader context. E2 brought her to a level that made her comfortable discussing the issues and gave her the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill. The training and material prepared by NRDC staff was invaluable. "The trips are a wonderful learning experience. When talking with public officials or regulators you start with a more credible background when you come from business. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but it is." Wendy believes E2 will make a difference over the long run. "NGOs are overwhelmed with the number of issues they must deal with. It’s up to us to start taking the initiative and leadership." "E2 has unlimited potential. One can find business people who want to do the right thing, but those people don’t necessarily have a vehicle for achieving it." Wendy thinks collaboration with private industry will be increasingly important, but environmental groups must tread carefully so the collaboration doesn’t compromise their priorities or values. What does it mean to have an "environmentally friendly landfill," as a certain large corporation is currently advertising? Wendy believes industry should develop standards about what it means to be green, but they can’t do it by themselves. They need outside organizations to help. Business will always do what costs the least, not what minimizes the long-term consequences. "Working in business can be isolating and I wanted a way to find others with similar environmental interests, and bring together business and the environment. This is the value of E2."

Paul Sellew (Massachusetts)

Paul Sellew serves as CEO of Fingerlakes Aquaculture, Inc., one of the largest producers in the country of farm-raised tilapia; and Chairman of the Environmental Credit Corporation, an aggregator of carbon credits derived from agriculture. Paul learned about E2 through E2 member Jay Baldwin and attended several events before joining. He liked the people and the values E2 represents. Paul’s first E2 activity was a lobbying trip to Washington, DC. His experience as CEO of Fingerlakes Aquaculture added to his credibility as he discussed ocean policies with lawmakers. He was impressed with the expertise of people working in Washington, but taken aback by how hard it is to get things done. Paul recently met with Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank. He appreciated the Congressman’s bluntness. Paul is gaining first-hand experience of combining business and environmental benefits. As Chairman of Environmental Credit Corporation, he has been developing a program to sell guaranteed carbon credits to dairy farmers who install methane digesters in their operations. "Everyone is busy, but I think it is important to spend the time to work on issues of broader concern. My values are consistent with E2’s - we can have a win for the economy and a win for the environment. That message is going to get stronger and stronger. It’s the right message."

Tim Sexton (California)

Tim Sexton is the founder of The Sexton Company which provides integrated brand experiences and implementation services to companies interested in "doing well by doing good." He has worked in senior management positions or consultant for motion picture studios, record labels, professional sports and Fortune 500 corporations. Tim first learned about E2 through conversations with NRDC Senior Scientist Allen Hershkowitz and E2 Co-Founder Nicole Lederer. He was attracted to E2’s strategy of engaging the business community to voice its belief that sound environmental policies stimulate innovation, grow the economy and create jobs. This belief aligned with the professional objectives of Tim’s business, which teaches brand behavior to corporations and institutions through the development, implementation and communication of programs which demonstrate "doing well by doing good." These efforts often involve ’greening’ and sustainable operating practices as tenets vital to authentic corporate positioning. Tim, who lives in Pacific Palisades, accepted the role of Chapter Leader for E2’s Southern California group in early 2004 because he saw an opportunity to help advance protecting the planet and insuring our children’s future as essential to the success of business. Since accepting the E2 role in Southern California, Tim successfully recruited new E2 members through focused networking, countless breakfast meetings, and hosting E2 events. Tim has assisted Southern California chapter members in playing important roles in supporting regional, as well as state-wide, E2 policy objectives. He has also represented Southern California on E2 advocacy trips to Sacramento, where his participation was critical in meetings with Los Angeles area legislators. Recently, he was the Executive Producer of the Live 8 concerts which raised global awareness of the consequences of extreme poverty. Live 8 involved more than 150 artists performing live in nine cities on four continents and was witnessed by a worldwide broadcast and internet audience of three billion people. Although Tim has been active in support of environmental causes for many years, he believes his learning and articulation on a variety of environmental issues has been sharpened and refined through conversations with his E2 and NRDC colleagues. "My involvement has enabled me to become a knowledgeable spokesman and evangelist on environmental issues and policies."

Marc Stolman (California)

Marc Stolman is a trial lawyer specializing in real estate and business matters. He lives in Marin County with his two children. Marc Stolman joined E2 because he wanted to help America find clean solutions to its energy problems. "I wanted to do something important. I’ve never heard of a lawyer on his death bed who wished he had billed more hours." Keith Raab of the Cleantech Venture Network recommended that Marc meet E2 co-founder Bob Epstein, and Marc was so impressed with the group’s unique mission, intelligent members and strong leaders that he volunteered to work with its biofuels committee. "I believed I could do more for the world working for E2 than for any other organization." He lobbied legislators, analyzed scientific data and worked with the team. Although it took many hours, he was happy he devoted the time. "It was an honor. I got to work with brilliant people, such as Anna Halperne-Lande, Eric Bowen and Steve MacKay." One of Marc’s responsibilities was to study the energy efficiency of ethanol, but he had no prior knowledge of the topic (See Ethanol and the Net Energy Debate). "Many people are afraid of science, but I just read everything written about the net energy of ethanol and I began to understand the arguments." He printed material, highlighted it, and reread it. The complex issues became simple for him. "Pretty soon, I knew as much about the topic as anyone else." Marc learned a lot about biofuels and politics, but he was a little disappointed with people who put party politics over issues. His goal was to get bipartisan support for AB 1007. He cared about Republican votes and was grateful for the warm receptions he received in Republican Assembly and Senate offices. He was happy the bill passed both houses with bipartisan support. Marc feels America must find ways to pollute less and reduce its reliance on petroleum. "These are two of the most important issues we face today."

The strength of E2 comes from our members. They all provide financial support to NRDC and participate to varying degrees in our alerts, letters and phone calls to public officials. We design these methods of involvement to take a minimum of our members’ time, but also produce results by being delivered personally by E2 members or NRDC staff. As this article shows, some of our members have time to do more and our goal is to provide an efficient way for them to contribute.

On September 26 at a New England EcoSalon hosted by Nixon-Peabody, E2 members heard Dr. Andrew Rosenberg, a member of the U.S. Oceans Commission, describe the problems facing the nation’s oceans and fisheries. Dr. Rosenberg emphasized the unanimous conclusion by the non-partisan, widely diverse group that our oceans are in peril. They recommend that the U.S. adopt a national ocean policy that takes an ecosystem-based approach to managing our oceans. Dr. Rosenberg, who was also the former deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service, pointed out that not only are there 90 percent fewer large fish in our oceans than there were 50 years ago, but also that a recent report in the journal Nature found that the ocean’s biodiversity has decreased by 50 percent. New England’s most iconic fish, the cod, is under severe pressure as stocks continued to decline as much as 25 percent since 2001. Cod is now at less than 15 percent of what is considered a sustainable level.

Dr. Rosenberg was joined by Roberta Elias, NRDC’s Ocean Policy Advocate. Roberta emphasized the importance of the role E2 can play by bringing a business voice to the debate, since some of the most important provisions of the current bill are under attack. Some members of Congress are calling for changes that would remove the requirement to rebuild overfished populations within ten years if biologically possible and would allow overfishing to continue for two years on overfished fish populations, instead of ending it immediately as currently required.

With bi-partisan support in both the California Senate and Assembly, the Alternative Fuels Bill (AB 1007) authored by Assembly Member Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) and sponsored by E2 and NRDC was sent to the Governor. This bill puts California on a path encouraging the development of transportation fuels which reduce our use of petroleum-based fuels and emissions of pollutants like greenhouse gases. The California Senate passed the bill 25-11 on September 6. The next day, the bill returned to the Assembly for concurrence where it received overwhelming support of 51-28.

In the weeks leading up to the final votes, E2 members were in Sacramento meeting with legislators and working with the governor’s office to make sure the implementation details were consistent with the Governor’s Integrated Energy Policy, which is being led by the California Energy Commission. In a year where very few environmental and economic bills were passed, we are especially pleased that AB 1007 not only passed, but had strong supporters from both parties.

Over 200 E2 members electronically signed a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger urging him to sign the legislation. Additional supporting signatures were gathered at our September 15th EcoSalon and the combined letters were hand-delivered to the governor’s office on September 20. The Governor signed AB 1007 today, September 29.

After some initial delay, the New York City Council voted to pass the Green Buildings Bill (Int. 324-A) on September 15. The bill will require most new construction by the City of New York to meet U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. These standards will ensure that site planning, energy and water efficiency, the use of renewable energy, and conservation of materials and resources are incorporated into future building projects. Under the bill, most city buildings will have to meet LEED silver standards and city schools will have to meet minimum LEED standards. The city plans $12 billion in new construction projects over the next ten years, so this new green building legislation is expected to lead to a massive infusion of investment in green buildings and materials (NYC Council press release). The bill was sponsored by City Council speaker Gifford Miller and Jim Gennaro, chair of the environment committee. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to sign it within the next month.

NRDC and E2 actively supported the bill. NRDC’s New York team helped draft the bill, fought off opposition from the timber industry, and worked closely with the New York City Apollo Labor-Environment-EJ coalition to successfully get the bill through. E2 members weighed in on the bill by signing letters to Gifford Miller and other City Council Members.

On September 15, more than 100 members and guests gathered at the Fort Mason headquarters of Next Course for an EcoSalon featuring California Senator Abel Maldonado (R-15th), California Association of Winegrape Growers president Karen Ross, and NRDC Sustainable Agriculture Project director Jonathan Kaplan. Senator Maldonado - whose district includes some of California’s most agriculturally productive counties - gave a passionate account of his experience as a farmer and a legislator, and inspired the audience by pledging to push for cooperation between farmers and environmentalists. Senator Maldonado also stated that E2’s efforts in Sacramento persuaded him to cast the lone Republican vote in the state Senate in favor of AB 1007, a biofuels bill E2 has been shepherding through the California legislature. Karen Ross described the California wine industry’s sustainable practices guidelines, and described the process that has resulted in 43 percent of California wine grapes being cultivated sustainably. Karen also discussed the economic opportunities and drivers that are expanding sustainability standards to other crop sectors in California’s agriculture industry. Jonathan Kaplan outlined agriculture’s impacts on air, water and public health, and described the collaborative process to address those problems in a roundtable he has helped convene between members of both the agriculture industry and environmental groups.

The event took place in the old Fort Mason Officer’s Club overlooking San Francisco Bay, courtesy of E2 member Larry Bain. Under the direction of Thom Fox, chef at Greens Restaurant, a variety of local sustainable food growers and purveyors provided refreshments.

Pictured above are Jay Baldwin, Tedd Saunders, Berl Hartman, Congressman Michael Capuano, Chris Kaneb, and Dan Goldman. On September 12, several E2 members met with Massachusetts Representative Michael Capuano (D-8th). Representative Capuano, whose district includes Cambridge, Sommerville, Chelsea and a large part of Boston, was especially interested in the activity of the Cleantech sector, since his district includes Harvard, MIT and several other universities. He said he believes in taking a pragmatic approach to environmental issues by showing bottom-line benefits. Representative Capuano, who has a strong environmental voting record, expressed frustration with the recent energy bill for failing to impose conservation measures such as CAFÉ (corporate average fuel economy) standards or including renewable portfolio standards. His view is that action will have to be driven at the state and local levels before Washington acts. We also discussed the problems of sustainable fishing and how more rapid recovery of fish stocks would benefit New England, an issue he promised to look into.

Hurricane Katrina has created one of the worst public health and environmental challenges in history: water systems destroyed, miles of toxic sludge, huge oil spills and higher energy prices. According to several local groups with whom NRDC is working in the Gulf area, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not adequately testing possible toxic sites to determine their relative risk to human health. What testing they have conducted has generally been done once or only twice at each location, even though toxicity levels can change with time as leaks occur, tanks rupture or water moves in from elsewhere. In addition, the EPA has not released any data - if such data indeed exists - for sites outside of New Orleans, including other highly industrialized areas in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

NRDC is also concerned about the lack of testing results for the drinking water in New Orleans and hundreds of other water supplies across the three affected states, where many communities are on boil-water orders (which will do little to remove oil, chemicals or other inorganic substances from water). Lastly, there is little or no public data for Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi, and most sites upstream of drinking water intakes. Local partners have asked NRDC to help pull together funds and personnel to conduct a first round of tests, which will begin now that Hurricane Rita has receded. Please contact Priscilla Bayley at pbayley@nrdc.org if you are interested in contributing toward this effort.

This is the first of several major projects NRDC will undertake to ensure the victims of the hurricane are not victimized again by unnecessary exposure to toxins and that the reconstruction effort happens in a way to ensure the safety and integrity of the areas inhabitants. A team of NRDC experts on health, toxic waste, urban design, coastal protection and energy released a report, After Katrina: New Solutions for Safe Communities and a Secure Energy Future, on September 21 that identifies key challenges, sets out recommendations for overcoming them and warns that many critical issues are absent from the public discussion. Recommendations include immediate federal assistance to repair hundreds of local drinking water and sewage treatment systems and a much more thorough assessment of chemical and biological hazards at hundreds of sites. It spotlights the need to restore natural coastal buffers that help take the punch of flooding and storm surge. The report raises important concerns over plans for expanded offshore drilling in the Gulf, and environmental justice for low-income communities that faced disproportionate environmental health risks long before Katrina struck. The report also urges lawmakers to reject pleas from special interest lobbyists to roll back existing health and environmental safeguards.

On September 20, NRDC’s Erik Olson, Public Health Attorney, and Albert Huang, Environmental Justice Attorney, led a conference call for NRDC and E2 members bringing participants up to date on the scale of the disaster and the clean-up effort required. NRDC has appointed a team of staff across a variety of specialties to work on the ground with local community groups in New Orleans. The team has determined that independent testing and monitoring of toxics levels in flooded areas will be the highest priority in preparing for the safe return of evacuees to their homes.

Comprehensive new fisheries legislation sent September 19 by the Bush administration to Congress defies key recommendations by the President’s own U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy intended to preserve and maintain viable, healthy fish stocks in seas around the world. The administration’s proposal is part of a process to overhaul the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Senate Commerce Committee and the House Resources Committee are also working on the reauthorization, which last occurred in 1996. According to NRDC’s analysis, the White House bill would allow overfishing to continue on already depleted fish populations; weaken current federal requirements that fisheries be rebuilt and managed in a sustainable way; and revoke the current requirement to rebuild an overfished species within ten years. It would also require that the reporting of bycatch - fish and other species hauled up unintentionally - only be conducted "to the extent practicable." In addition, the bill undermines public participation and transparency by closing off meetings and comment periods to citizens. (See NRDC press release.)

On September 15, NRDC announced the settlement of its lawsuit - filed along with the Audubon Society, Endangered Habitats League and the Sierra Club - challenging a proposed 14,000-unit Rancho Mission Viejo housing development in southern Orange County. The 22,000-acre project threatened to fragment and destroy some of Southern California’s last remaining open space. The settlement permanently preserves as open space a habitat block of roughly 12,000 acres in the San Mateo watershed, thereby preserving the last remaining intact coastal watershed in Southern California and one of the most important areas in California for the protection of such rare species as the gnatcatcher, arroyo toad and coastal cactus wren. The settlement will allow housing construction on 25 percent of the Ranch property and, in return, the Rancho Mission Viejo Company also agreed to preserve coastal sage scrub habitat in Chiquita Canyon; provide additional protection of, and connectivity to, the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy; retain ranching and farming on all areas of Rancho Mission Viejo, which has a rich agricultural heritage; develop a long-term funding strategy for the management, oversight and protection of all open space lands placed into conservation easements; and provide additional specific protections for threatened and endangered species.

Despite record energy prices and the continued threat of supply disruptions, federal government officials have repeatedly ignored legal deadlines requiring them to set new efficiency performance standards for air conditioners, furnaces and 20 other kinds of power-thirsty equipment on which businesses and consumers depend, according to a lawsuit filed in New York on September 7 by NRDC and two consumer organizations (See NRDC press release). The suit charges that the U.S. Department of Energy is at least six years, and in some cases 13 years, late in setting performance criteria ordered by Congress - a delay that is wasting billions of cubic feet of costly natural gas. All in all, according to NRDC, new standards could save enough energy each year to meet the needs of up to 12 million American households, and avoid the need for dozens of new electric power plants.

Thanks for your support. Comments, questions and introductions to possible new members are always welcome! Learn how to join E2 at how to join. To learn more about the leaders of E2 please read about the E2 co-founders. 

Bob Epstein and Nicole Lederer, Editors
bob@e2.org nicole@nicolelederer.com