Environmental Defense Fund

The Pioneer Team Founders pictured right to left.

Art Cooley, Charlie Wurster, and Dennis Puleston.

In the 1960’s the pesiticide DDT was widely being used.

This pesticide was threatening the survival of birds like the osprey, bald eagle, and peregrine.

It also worked its way up the food chain, endangering people too.

A small Long Island group appealed to the county to stop using DDT, but the mosquito control commission continued the use.

The Development In 1966 the Scientist teamed

up with a lawyer, and went to court on behalf of the environment.

The court imposed a ban on DDT.

After the victory, appeals for help poured in from across the country, and it was more than the small group could address.

In 1967 the group organized more formally, and incorporated as Environmental Defense Fund.

Mission

As a Nonprofit Environmental Advocacy Group, Environmental Defense Fund’s mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

Who is part of the Group?• Environmental Defense

Fund is comprised of over 400 Scientist, Economist, and other professionals.

• Additionally the group is supported by more than 750,000 donors.

BenefitsBenefits are limited to employees of Environmental Defense Fund, but as a donor you will know that you are fighting global warming, protecting endangered species, restoring our oceans, cleaning up toxic pollution, and promoting tough health and safety standards for clean air and clean water.

• MedicalEDF offers an affordable and comprehensive health care plan. The plan covers a range of services, including doctor visits, hospitalization, prenatal programs and prescription drug programs.• DentalEDF's dental plan helps pay for a range of dental services, and is designed to encourage regular, preventive treatment.• Vision InsuranceThe plan covers ophthalmologists, optometrists, glasses and contact lenses, and provides a discount on laser correction surgery.• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)EDF's Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts allow employees to have money deducted from their pay on a pre-tax basis to be used for eligible out-of-pocket expenses. This program allows employees to reduce their income taxes and increase discretionary income for expenses such as prescription co-pays and day care.• Disability ProtectionWe provide income replacement for short- and long-term disabilities, including pregnancy, illness or injury. Employees also receive up to nine paid sick days each year.• Life InsuranceThe amount of life insurance staff are eligible to receive depends on their length of service at EDF. In addition to receiving group term life insurance, employees may elect additional supplemental life insurance coverage for themselves, their spouse/partner and children.• Retirement PlansTo help employees save for retirement, EDF offers a 403(b) plan that includes a mandatory 2% contribution. In addition, EDF contributes 3%, 5%, or 8% based on seniority or career level. Employees may also make additional voluntarily contributions up to the IRS annual maximum.• A 457(b) plan is also available to eligible employees.

Texas Energy Efficiency

• SB 1125, a measure authored by state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas. It changes the goals of the state energy-efficiency program for transmission companies like Oncor or Centerpoint. Instead of requiring those companies to reduce their customers' electricity use by 30 percent of the annual growth in demand, they will eventually be required instead to reduce their usage by 0.4 percent of each company's overall annual load.

• SB 1125 was passed, and effective as of September 1, 2011.

The graph above displays the Texas Energy Efficiency Accomplishment Report between 2003 and 2011.

State Energy Efficiency PolicySince 1999, Texas law has required electric utilities to meet energy efficiency goals, which became the nation's first EERS.  In 2010, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) increased the goals from 20% of electric demand growth to 25% growth in demand in 2012 and 30% in 2013 and beyond, and later adopted S.B. 1125, which will eventually require utilities to meet EERS targets based on peak demand rather than growth in demand. While the goals have increased modestly in recent years, they are still far below most other EERS policies and as a result, utility energy efficiency program investments and savings in Texas are below the national average.

Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) establish specific, long-term targets for energy savings that utilities or non-utility program administrators must meet through customer energy efficiency programs. An EERS can apply to either electricity or natural gas utilities, or both, depending on the state, and can be adopted through either legislation or regulation. An EERS is similar in concept to a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) or Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). While an RES requires that electric utilities generate a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources, an EERS requires that they achieve a percentage reduction in energy sales from energy efficiency measures. As of July 2013, twenty-five states have fully-funded policies in place that establish specific energy savings targets that utilities or non-utility program administrators must meet through customer energy efficiency programs. The strongest EERS requirements exist in Massachusetts and Vermont, which require almost 2.5% savings annually. For a complete summary of state-level EERS policies and impacts, see the State EERS Policy Brief.A federal EERS would complement existing state-level energy efficiency standards by setting a national goal for energy savings that would be implemented over a specific period of time.  The American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009. (which did not become law) proposed a 5% efficiency target, with an option for governors to petition that an additional 3% of the reductions come from efficiency in their state. Because business-as-usual projections for efficiency savings in 2020 are already close to 5% of nationwide electricity sales, ACEEE views a 10% requirement as a more appropriate target, and one which would have a significant and positive impact on our economy. The proposed EERS in the Senate bill (ACELA), however, would have only required 4% savings by 2020, which would have produced no new energy savings, according to ACEEE.At both the federal and state levels, an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard is a critical policy that lays the foundation for sustained investment in energy efficiency. The long-term goals associated with an EERS send a clear signal to market actors about the importance of energy efficiency in utility program planning, creating a level of certainty that encourages large-scale investment in cost-effective energy efficiency.

National Energy Efficiency Standards

National Energy Efficiency Scorecard

Presidential Energy Efficiency

President Obama released his $3.77 trillion fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget proposal on April 10, 2013. This budget, the first since his reelection, reflects the priorities President Obama put forward during his campaign, in particular, the Administration's commitment to investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. The proposed 2014 budget increases funding for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) renewable energy and energy efficiency technology programs by more than 59 percent above 2012 enacted levels, to a total of $3.5 billion. According to the White House, it also increases funding for clean energy technology programs across all agencies by 30 percent, to approximately $7.9 billion.Highlights include a $2 billion Energy Security Trust to help transition the nation off oil, a new Race to the Top program for energy efficiency and grid modernization, $2 billion towards a satellite system that would improve weather forecasts and climate modeling and $5 billion for basic research in energy (a 5.7 percent increase over 2012). The budget also repeats the President's call for the elimination of $4 billion in fossil fuel subsidies.This fact sheet outlines the Obama administration’s FY 2014 budget request for several clean energy and transportation programs within key agencies. In most cases, comparisons are made to 2012 actual (or current) figures, as the final 2013 appropriations had not been enacted when the budget was drafted.

The President’s FY 2014 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE) is $28.4 billion, an increase of about 8 percent over FY 2012 current levels. The proposed budget increases funding for clean energy deployment, research and development and advanced manufacturing. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) would receive$2.8 billion, an increase of almost 56 percent from 2012 appropriated levels. In addition, the budget outlines a new Presidential goal of doubling energy productivity by 2030 from 2010 levels. To support the goal, the FY 2014 request includes a one-time, $200 million Race to the Top competitive grant program that challenges states to cut energy waste, support energy efficiency and modernize their grids.The budget request increases the Electric Delivery and Energy Reliability budget 24.1 percent to $169 million, including$20 million for the creation of a new electricity systems hub. The Fossil Energy budget would grow by 15 percent to $638 million, including $276.6 million for carbon capture and storage R&D. The Office of Nuclear Energy, which includes R&D for advanced small modular reactors, is funded at $735 million. The DOE science budget increases 4.4 percent from FY 2012 to $5.2 billion. The budget also provides $379 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an increase of 38 percent.

Texas Water Legislation

• HB4 Relating to the administration of the Texas Water Development Board and the funding of water projects by the board and other entities; authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds.

• HB4 was passed, and effective as of May 28th, 2013.

Texas Water Legislation Policy

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that proper funding in the form ofmeaningful and adequate financial assistance is available toprovide an adequate water supply for the future of this state.To accomplish that purpose, this Act creates the statewater implementation fund for Texas. The fund is intended to serveas a water infrastructure bank in order to enhance the financingcapabilities of the Texas Water Development Board underconstitutionally created programs and revenue bond programs. Thefund provides a source of revenue or security for those programs andprovides a revolving cash flow mechanism that recycles money usedin board programs back to the fund to provide protection for thefund’s corpus. Money in the fund will be available immediately toprovide support for low-interest loans, longer repayment terms forloans, incremental repurchase terms for projects in which the stateowns an interest, and deferral of loan payments. In addition, thisAct creates the state water implementation revenue fund for Texasfor use in managing revenue bonds issued by the board that are83R9086 SMH-D 1supported by the state water implementation fund for Texas.

National Water Legislation Policy A national water legislation policy like Hb4 is not in place. The majority of the nation has not experienced droughts like Texas. The nation’s water policies are dedicated more towards quality, and standards of water not funds needed to supply an adequate water supply like in Texas. Additionally, in the presidential debates funds needed for maintaining adequate water supplies are not being discussed.

How Does the Environmental Defense Fund Influence Policy Decisions?

Online PetitionsLaunching Powerful

Websites Corporate Partnerships

ADVISORY COMMITTEES55 PEOPLE ON 32 COMMITTEESInformation covers through 2011 table shows employees of "environmental defense fund" that sat on federal advisory committees.

AgencyRepresentation

Environmental Protection Agency 43 people on 16 committeesDepartment of Energy 3 people on 4 committeesOffice of the United States Trade Representative 4 people on 3 committeesDepartment of Defense 1 person on 2 committeesDepartment of the Interior 2 people on 2 committeesDepartment of State 2 people on 2 committeesDepartment of the Treasury 1 person on 1 committeeDepartment of Agriculture 1 person on 1 committeeDepartment of Transportation 1 person on 1 committee

How Does Environmental Defense Fund Lobby?By placing employees on many federal advisory committees, EDF is able to lobby on a national and state level.

Environmental Defense Fund - Notable Environmental AchievementsOver 4 decades, the Environmental Defense

Fund grew to be one of the United States' most important environmental type advocates, numbering over five thousand staff members, economists and scientists, more than any other green and environmental organization of its kind.

The Environmental Defense Fund continues to advocate environmental alternatives to current policies, using all methods of non-violent intervention available. They work towards go green solutions with community, government and business groups, making court appearances as needed.

1975 - successfully advocate an economic model to Californian energy regulators to find alternative energy sources to nuclear and coal power

1985 - successfully get US regulators to eliminate lead from gasoline

1987 - successfully advocated the international treaty to get rid of CFC chemicals that are harming the planet's ozone layer

1989 - successfully created a conservation, green irrigation water plan for Western cities

1990 - successfully created an acid rain reduction design used in the Clean Air Act 

1991 - successfully convinces McDonalds to accept joint recommendations to eliminate package waste in excess of three million pounds

1997 - successfully creates a cap/trade solution adopted for the US proposal for global warming solutions for the Kyoto Accord

2000 - successfully partners with the world's biggest corporations to reduce and limit greenhouse gas type emissions

2002 - successfully produce scientific evidence that protected marine environments increase populations of fish

2002 - successfully help California to pass the first national, vehicle, global warming gas emissions law

2003 - successfully advocated an end to the market, catch share, fisheries methods used by the US Congress

2005 - successfully spurred the reduction of nitrogen oxide and sulphur pollution through the US Clean Air Interstate Rule

2007 - successfully wins a Supreme Court ruling to curb pollution from global warming

2007 - successfully blocked TXU (Texas) from building new coal plants

2008 - successfully assisted the US government's international ruling to reduce diesel fuel consumption by ocean vessels by over 80%

Public Opinion

The public has a divided opinion on environmental defense, but the Environmental Defense Fund fights for all environmental issues regardless of opposition.

On many levels opposition hinders the fight for environmental defense, because of lack of knowledge. However with science, and many knowledgeable defenders at helm the Environmental Defense Fund continues to protect our natural systems.

Works Cited• "Environmental Defense Fund." Environmental Defense Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Slides 2-6

• Galbraith, Kate. "Texas Passes Bills Promoting Energy Efficiency | The Texas Tribune." The Texas Tribune. N.p., 7 June 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 7

• "State Energy Efficiency Policy Database." ACEEE. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 8

• "ACEEE | Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS)." ACEEE | Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 9

• "Environmental and Energy Study Institute." Issue Brief: Obama Administration FY 2014 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 10

• Ritter, Price, Johnson, and Miller of Comal. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 11-12

• "Environmental Defense Fund." Environmental Defense Fund. N.p., 8 June 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Slide 15-16