|FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE|
|Date:||April 1, 2009|
|Contact:||Kathleen O'Neil, Associate Director, Media Relations National Parks Conservation Association 202-419-3717|
Energy Bill Would Take Needed Steps on Climate Change
Draft Bill Would Help Protect National Parks, Wildlife
Statement by Mark Wenzler, Director of Clean Air and Climate Programs:
“I am pleased that Representatives Waxman and Markey have drafted energy legislation that will take important steps toward cleaner energy production and a more stable economy while reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
“The bill includes encouraging steps to address the effects of climate change, including threats to wildlife. Climate change could cause the greatest damage to our National Park System we have ever seen. We can already see its effects, from animals that are running out of cooler habitats to disappearing glaciers and acres of brown, dying pine forests weakened by drought and insects.
“There is broad consensus that we need to take action now to reform our energy policies to reduce future climate change damage, and to help mitigate its effects.”