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COUNTING DOWN TO EARTH DAY 2000

ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT RELEASED AS DEADLINE NEARS

Contact Wendy Wendlandt
11965 Venice Blvd., #408,
Los Angeles, CA, 90066
(310) 397-5270 ,
(310) 391-0053 fax

For Release:

COUNTING DOWN TO EARTH DAY 2000

ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT RELEASED AS DEADLINE NEARS

Earth Day 2000 released its annual progress report on the state of the planet to coincide with Earth Day 1999, the 29th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

"The planet remains in disrepair as we approach the new millennium," said Wendy Wendlandt, President of Earth Day 2000.

This year's report, the seventh since Earth Day 1990, reports on progress towards the goals laid out by leading environmentalists on Earth Day 1990. The report details progress on meeting basic human needs; enhancing and protecting biological diversity; creating a safe, sustainable energy system; protecting the planet's atmosphere; ensuring healthy water; promoting international cooperation; and reducing waste and water pollution.

In almost no case are we meeting the benchmarks set by experts in 1990. For instance, in order to reduce our dependence on fossil and nuclear fuels, and create a safe and sustainable energy system, experts say we need to increase renewable energy generation to 20% of the total energy production by the year 2000. The report notes that solar and wind power, two of the most promising sources of renewable energy, contribute less than 1% of the world’s energy.

"We are losing the race to save the planet," said Wendlandt. "We have the technology to win, but we lack the political will. As we end this millennium, we must continue to press the timber companies to stop logging old-growth forests, corporate polluters to reduce their use of toxic chemicals and governments to expand support for renewable energy programs."

Earth Day 2000 is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to sustain and strengthen the spirit of Earth Day during the Environmental Decade of the 1990s by helping people make choices in their everyday lives that protect the environment. The organization's aim: a cleaner and healthier planet to celebrate on the 30th anniversary of Earth Day in the year 2000. In addition to the Countdown 2000 report, Earth Day 2000 produces a bimonthly newsletter and coordinates the Truth in Environmental Advertising Campaign, exposing companies which portray themselves as "green" but fail to practice environmental preservation. The organization's Web page is www.earthdayresources.org.


 

Earth Day 2000 is the Consumer Clearinghouse for the Environmental Decade. The organization will be working to ensure that Earth Day 2000 does not become another opportunity for corporate greenwashing.

11965 Venice Blvd., #408, Los Angeles, CA, 90066 (310) 397-5270 , (310) 391-0053 fax Earth-day2000@egroups.com

 

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