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Washington Watch, 5/19/2010

New Climate Change Legislation Introduced in US Senate

Childhood Obesity Task Force Unveils Action Plan

New Climate Change Legislation Introduced in US Senate

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released their long-awaited Senate climate change bill on Wednesday, May 12. The new proposal is a significant departure from previous climate bills, and has drawn and unprecedented level of industry support as well as broad support from the environmental community and other interests. Despite very significant political hurdles, the bill is in serious play due to this unusual level of industry support, driven in part by impending EPA regulation of carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act that will occur in 2011 if climate legislation does not pass. Most regulated entities fear EPA regulation more than cap and trade!

Key features of the new Kerry-Lieberman bill that are of interest to The Trust for Public Land (TPL):

• Dedicated climate natural resource adaptation funding averaging $1.2B annually through 2035. This funding is directed to a range of federal conservation programs including LWCF and the Forest Legacy Program, for projects that can help protect natural resources from climate change. However, under the new Kerry-Lieberman bill this funding does not start until 2019-a significant change from previous House and Senate versions which all delivered funding starting in 2012.
• Establishes a carbon offsets market open to a range of project types including "avoided conversion" through conservation easements or fee purchase to protect highly threatened lands.
• Establishes a USDA Carbon Conservation Program to fund carbon-friendly management practices by private landowners and to pay for conservation easements-awarded on a competitive basis-that will protect lands from development that have strong existing carbon stores and future sequestration potential. While this program was not funded in the Kerry-Lieberman bill as introduced, TPL is working actively with the American Forest Foundation and other partners to restore the $600M annually that was directed to this program in an earlier version of the Senate climate bill.
• Almost $2B per year of funding for "clean transportation" projects, including bike paths and other non-motorized transportation infrastructure.
• Increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF): The bill authorizes new offshore oil drilling, and directs 12.5% of revenues to LWCF federal and stateside using the same concept that has funded LWCF for the past 45 years.

Perhaps most importantly, the bill offers a real path forward to slow climate change. Please stay tuned as TPL works hard to help move this important legislation forward!

Childhood Obesity Task Force Unveils Action Plan

The Childhood Obesity Task Force, established through First lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, just released its report Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. The report includes 70 specific recommendations, with some very encouraging words related to city parks and their connection to the health and well being of children.

The Task Force report recognizes that parks and playgrounds in a community can provide opportunities to run and play and may increase unstructured physical activity. Therefore, if children can easily access safe parks and playgrounds, they are more likely to engage in recreational physical activity there. The report recommends increasing the number of safe and accessible parks and playgrounds, particularly in underserved and low-income communities. The report notes that one way this can be accomplished is through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF funds would be used to increase use of and access to parks and open space in low-income neighborhoods and communities that receive funding, and by expanding Tribes' access to funding and strengthening their capacity to compete for funding.

Getting children more physically active, through access to healthy and safe parks, will help tackle the challenge of childhood obesity. TPL is working on several fronts to advance knowledge about and consideration of the role of parks in addressing healthy communities. For more information on what TPL has been doing in Washington to advance this knowledge, visit Washington Watch, 4/26/2010.