TRANSCRIPT OF THE EMBASSY EARTH DAY PODCAST

22 April 2007
The United States Celebrates Earth Day. On the 37th anniversary of the first Earth Day America is tackling environmental problems at home and in Ukraine.

Hello, my name is Matt Habinowski and I work as the Environment, Science and Technology Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Today the United States celebrates Earth Day - we look back on the progress we have made over the past 37 years and look forward to the results our stewardship of the environment will bring. I would like to take a few minutes to discuss how far the United States has come in protecting the environment domestically and how we are responding to today's global environmental challenges, especially in Ukraine.

Thirty-seven years ago on the occasion of the first Earth Day the environment in the United States was bad and getting worse. The book Silent Spring had just exposed the dangers of pesticides to American wildlife. The badly polluted Cuyahoga River in Ohio was literally on fire, and in some cities air pollution was so bad residents changed their shirts twice a day. Later that year, President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and now thirty-seven years later, America has made significant progress combating pollution and safeguarding our natural resources. Moreover, this remarkable achievement came during a period of sustained economic growth and a forty-percent increase in our population. How did the United States accomplish this?

American success in protecting and improving our environment is thanks to the sustained, combined efforts of all elements of our society including the government, businesses, and civil society. The foundation of U.S. environmental policy comprises three major pieces of legislation: The Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. The Clean Air Act set emissions standards for automobiles and power plants, reducing their polluting emissions without harming our economy. Between 1970 when it was enacted and 2004 America's gross domestic product increased 187 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 171 percent, energy consumption increased 47 percent, and U.S. population grew by 40 percent. During the same time period, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 54 percent.

The Clean Water Act was similarly successful. It ended the practice of dumping pollutants without a permit into rivers and lakes, and set national standards for water quality. Today, rivers such as the Hudson in New York City, have been rehabilitated. People can use them for recreation and native species have returned.

The Endangered Species Act was another landmark piece of legislation which protected America's biodiversity. Perhaps its greatest success was in aiding the recovery of the previously endangered bald eagle, the symbol of the United States. When it became the national bird in 1782, there were an estimated 50,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles in North America. Unfortunately, use of the pesticide DDT severely impeded the eagles' ability to incubate their eggs and brought this number down to 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states in 1963. After protection from the Endangered Species Act and other laws, the lower 48 states now host 7066 bald eagle nesting pairs. This legislation combined with the hard work of America's public servants and business leaders delivered results. Our environment is cleaner, our animals safer, and our economy stronger after their efforts.

As the United States moved to protect its domestic environment, we gained increasing understanding of the international implications of pollution and environmental degradation and we began to work with countries around the world to safeguard the global environment. The United States was a major force behind the Montreal Protocol on Substances Which Deplete the Ozone Layer of 1987. This protocol resulted in a dramatic decline in the chlorofluorocarbons which attack the ozone layer and we are beginning to see its results as the ozone layer strengthens.

We are continuing our work today as the United States works to develop new, cleaner sources of energy. We have led a number of international efforts to bring clean forms of energy into use that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The United States helped start the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Initiative, which supports research and implementation of technologies to sequester carbon rather than release it into the atmosphere. Our Department of Energy is researching an emissions-free coal-fired power plant. The United States also has assisted efforts to bring hydrogen fuels into use through the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy that works with partner countries on ways to address a number of hurdles to introducing clean hydrogen fuel. The United States brings to these partnerships a vast amount of technical knowledge on climate change and cleaner energy that have resulted from President Bush's decision to devote 20 billion dollars to research on these issues.

In Ukraine, the United States is actively promoting the implementation of the latest energy efficiency technology in order to deliver real results. The goal is to reduce energy consumption through the marriage of environmental protection, economic development, and state-of-the-art innovation. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through the Methane-to-Markets Initiative, is introducing ways for Ukrainian landfill operators, farmers and coal mine operators to capture and use methane, a greenhouse gas that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. This initiative will reduce Ukraine’s carbon emissions while helping businesses and improving the country’s energy security. We are also eager to share our experience in developing cleaner biofuels, such as the corn-based ethanol being produced in America’s Midwest. We believe this is an area where Ukraine has great potential. A delegation of Ukrainian policymakers and agricultural experts has visited ethanol plants in the state of Minnesota and parliamentarians from our two countries hold regular discussions on how to get Ukraine’s biofuels industry started.

Over the 37 years since the first Earth Day, the United States has made great strides in protecting its environment while growing its economy and population. We have done this through an active partnership of government and the private sector to clean up our air, our water, and preserve our biological diversity. The United States recognizes there is still much more to be done and we are working today, with our partners around the world, to safeguard and improve our environment. Happy Earth Day!