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m e d i apress releasesEarth Day 2000: Annual Progress Report
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The consumer clearinghouse for the environmental decade, Earth Day 2000, has released Countdown 2000, its annual report on global progress toward the ambitious goals for healing our planet set by environmental leaders 10 years ago.
This year’s report is the culmination of a decade spent tracking this progress toward ensuring healthy water, protecting biological diversity and the planet’s atmosphere, promoting sustainable agriculture as well as developing renewable energy technologies. Unfortunately, while there has been success in moving toward a few of these goals, the majority have not seen any progress–and we have actually lost ground on some.
"Saving the environment is one of our greatest challenges. Despite growing citizen concern and efforts, it remains difficult to get corporations and elected officials to follow their lead," said Wendy Wendlandt, President of Earth Day 2000. "Governments continue to squander water resources while corporations pillage the planet’s natural resources and deplete the soil’s fertility with intensive farming. And our increasingly voracious energy consumption is taking its toll as well," noted Wendlandt.
As an example, the report reveals that very little progress has been made to reduce the atmosphere’s burden of carbon dioxide pollution. Vehicles, power plants and agriculture continue to load our sky with greenhouse gases, leading many scientists to predict that the average global temperature may rise by as much as six degrees. Despite the global community agreeing to a 5.2% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, so far the 55 industrialized countries responsible for 55% of the pollution have not all ratified the protocol.
"Fortunately, changes in our economy and culture may make positive environmental change more easily attainable. The Internet, for one, promises to allow the rapid dissemination of information and the ability to mobilize a global community," said Wendlandt.
Based on that premise, Earth Day 2000 is launching a new campaign at the dawn of the 21st century called ecopledge.com. The campaign will ask individual corporations to make a specific change in their practice in order to reduce their impact on the environment. Consumers, investors and students pledge not to buy from, invest in or work for these corporations if they fail to take this simple action.
Earth Day 2000 will also continue to help consumers lead environmentally friendly lifestyles. In addition to the Countdown 2000 Report, Earth Day 2000 produces a bi-monthly newsletter.
The Consumer Clearinghouse for the Environmental Decade
11965 Venice Blvd., Suite 408
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(877) EARTH-46
march 2000