Environmental Defense (ED), formally Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), is a
Non-profit organization that raises $27.8
million in its total programs. They are supported mainly by
member donations and
grants.They have a staff of 170, which includes 75 full time
scientists,
economists and
attorneys. Their
headquarters are in
New York City with regional offices located in other major
cities in the
USA. The ED was founded in 1967 by volunteer
conservationists on
Long Island to ban the use of the
pesticide DDT. In 1972 DDT was banned by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, with help from the then EDF. The issues that the ED focuses on are broad range, stemming from regional to international. They have become a leader in advocating economic
incentives as a method to solve the
world’s environmental
problems.
One of their most
noteworthy programs is the
Safe Harbor Program. They sell it as “Mak[ing]
the Endangered species act work the way it was intended to work.” The program offers incentives to
private landowners, who have
endangered species on their property, to protect those species. The protection can include restoring the
habitats or creating
conflicts. Eighty one percent of America’s habitats are on private land, which creates great overlap for endangered species, this is why they have the program. Also “Nearly 90% of America’s
protected species have some of their habitat on private land.” Because of the wariness of
home owners to have an endangered species on their property (due to
government intervention) the species often go on
neglected. But with the Safe Harbor program the land owners can be more flexible. The Safe Harbor has helped the following species: The San Joaquin kit
fox; the northern Aplomado
falcon,
panthers in
Florida, golden-cheeked
warblers in
Texas and long leaf
pine forests in
Georgia.
They also have another project in motion, working with
BP-Amaco and
Shell to reduce
emissions and stop the release of
greenhouse gasses. Another program of ED’s is a protection of coastal waters (mainly in
California) from over
fishing. They helped pass a law that protects the
fish, as well as underwater habitats such as
coral reefs. The ED is pioneering safeguards in
factory farms in
Colorado and
North Carolina. These
farms produce massive, and harmful quantities of
animal waste. The ED has worked with
UPS to design
shipping packages and
envelopes that can be reused and otherwise better for the environment.
The various programs that ED has set-up make it one of the most influential environmental groups of the new century, but because it is member supported (like most environmental groups) it can only go on with support.
Quotes and information taken from the Enviromental Defense website www.edf.com
See how your town is doing at ED’s www.scorecard.com