Natural Resources Bulletin - April 29, 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

(National Wildlife Federation)

In This Issue:

1.   Spotlight on Health and Children and the Outdoors

2.   No Child Left Inside Act Re-Introduced on Earth Day

3.   NWF Testifies on Climate Change Education

4.   Interior Establishes Youth Office

5.   Capitol Hill Briefs

6.   States Advance Policies on Reconnecting Children and Nature

 

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1. Spotlight on Health and Children and the Outdoors:

 

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was confirmed by the Senate as the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to her confirmation, on April 13th, Governor Sebelius unveiled an Executive Order calling for the creation of a Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature. This coalition will help to create and carry out a comprehensive state plan to connect children with nature and promote healthier lives. This is great news for Kansas and very encouraging for the national movement to connect children with the outdoors since Sebelius, in her new position, will set the direction of federal health policy.

 

With Secretary Sebelius’ confirmation yesterday, it is likely that a new Surgeon General will soon be named as well. We hope to make the health benefits of outdoor time a priority for the new Surgeon General by sending a public petition signed by more than 20,000 Americans and a sign-on letter signed by more than 180 public health, medical, youth, education, parks, recreation, built environment, and conservation organizations, asking the Surgeon General’s office to make outdoor time a part of its official recommendations for healthy living.

 

The need for healthier lifestyles in general was highlighted at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill that focused on the state of obesity in the United States. The hearing, conducted by a Subcommittee of the House Committee on Agriculture, included key testimony from experts in the field, including William Dietz, Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Center for Disease Control.  Dietz pointed out that while there is a need for all American's to eat nutritiously and maintain active lifestyles, it is especially important for children and adolescents who are developing habits they are likely to maintain for a lifetime. In his testimony, Dietz used examples of communities that have created outdoor walking and bike paths and community gardens to encourage exercise and healthy eating. This testimony clearly demonstrated that reconnecting children with nature can be a part of an integrated approach to combating childhood obesity.

 

View Secretary Sebelius’ bio:

http://www.hhs.gov/secretarysebelius.html

 

Find the Surgeon General Citizens Petition and other ways to take action here:

http://www.nwf.org/beoutthere/takeaction.html

 

View Governor Sebelius’ Executive Order:

http://www.governor.ks.gov/executive/orders/exec_order0902.htm

 

View a front page article on the creation of the Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature:

 http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1149646.html

 

Read about NWF’s state policy guide:

http://www.nwf.org/beoutthere/docs/Children and the Outdoors State Policy Solutions Guide - Final.pdf

 

Read transcripts from the March 26th testimony on obesity in America:

http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/statements.html

 

 

2. No Child Left Inside Act Re-Introduced on Earth Day:

 

On Earth Day, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) introduced the No Child Left Inside Act (NCLI) of 2009 in the Senate and House. The bill, backed by 43 original co-sponsors in the House and 12 original co-sponsors in the Senate, will significantly strengthen environmental education in schools across America. The 2009 versions are very similar to the bills introduced last year with a few minor changes. Late last year the legislation was passed in the House by a vote of 293 to 109, but was not ultimately passed by the Senate because there was not enough time left in the session before the Presidential election. 

 

The bill is supported by the No Child Left Inside Coalition, a partnership of more than 1,300 conservation, education, and other organizations, representing more than 45 million Americans. The central new policy in this legislation is the incentive for states to create or update a State Environmental Literacy Plan.  Environmental Literacy Plans can be developed to meet the needs of each state and systemically advance environmental education through the K-12 education system.

 

View NWF press statement:

http://www.nwf.org/news/story.cfm?pageId=CA3BDF3E-5056-A868-A0A176C5FB74B49E

 

To read the bill, search for S.866 and H.R.2054 on the Library of Congress site:

http://thomas.loc.gov/

 

Tell your members of Congress to support NCLI:

http://online.nwf.org/NCLI09

 

Learn more about the No Child Left Inside Coalition:

http://www.nclicoalition.org

 

 

3. NWF Testifies on Climate Change:

 

On Thursday April 2nd, Kevin Coyle, the Vice President for Education and Training at NWF, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. Coyle spoke in favor of increased funding for environmental education and climate change education at NOAA, NSF and NASA (agencies under the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction). In total, Coyle recommended an increase of $40.8 million for key programs, including $12 million for a new climate change education program at NOAA, and a doubling of the budgets for climate change education programs at NSF and NASA from $10 million to $20 million per agency. Coyle also advocated for increased funding for the Environmental Literacy Grants and Bay Watershed Education and Training programs at NOAA.

 

Coyle pointed out that even as we move towards a clean energy economy, the majority of the Americans do not understand the causes or consequences of climate change. Coyle cited studies showing that less than half the population recognizes that the cars and appliances they use contribute to global warming, and that most Americans do not know how electricity is generated. Bolstering environmental education and climate change education is critical as we continue to move as a nation towards a new green economy.

 

See an interview with Kevin Coyle prior to the testimony:

http://blogs.nwf.org/arctic_promise/2009/04/nwfs-kevin-coyle-previews-climate-education-testimony.html

 

Read the testimony:

http://appropriations.house.gov/witness_testimony/CJS/Witness_04_02_09/Nat_Wildlife_Federation.pdf

 

Read an NWF press statement:

http://www.nwf.org/news/story.cfm?pageId=63AB52A8-5056-A868-A0FDE552BCE5D668

 

 

4. Interior Establishes Youth Office

 

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced yesterday that he will establish an Office of Youth to provide Department-wide leadership for programs to educate, engage and employ youth.  Money from the economic stimulus will be used to hire about 5,000 young people this summer across the country.  "The purpose of the office will be to build our programs, to expand opportunities for young people, teach them to hunt and fish, and coordinate our efforts across the bureaus," Salazar said. "We can and we must do more to use our great landscapes as classrooms and pathways for opportunity for America's children of all backgrounds." 

 

The Office of Youth that Secretary Salazar is creating will coordinate a new department-wide youth program to introduce young Americans from all backgrounds to the beauty, values and importance of our national parks and monuments, refuges, public and tribal lands, consistent with policies established by law, and to promote an ethic of and appreciation for volunteerism and conservation among young people.  Salazar cited a similar program he helped start in Colorado, the Youth in Natural Resources Program.

 

View the press release from the Department of the Interior:

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/042809b.html

 

 

5. Capitol Hill Briefs

 

On April 3rd, a Dear Colleague letter supporting the University Sustainability Program and led by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) was sent to Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education. The first time letter was signed by a total of 31 House members supporting the funding of this important sustainability education grant program.

 

Also on April 3rd, a Dear Colleague letter supporting environmental education at the EPA and led by Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) was sent to Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mike Simpson (R-ID) of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment. This letter, supporting funding for environmental education through the Office of Education at the EPA, was supported by 27 members of the House.  Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) has also circulated a similar letter in the Senate which remains open for signatures.

 

On April 2nd Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1926, a bill to authorize the National Science Foundation to establish a global warming education program. The bill, called the Global Warming Education Act, cites that educating people on the causes and consequences of global warming will help promote renewable energies, energy efficiency, and conservation. Honda continued his support for global warming education by penning a letter to Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Ed Markey (D-MA) Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, requesting that they make education a major component of our nation’s climate change policy.

 

Recently, in a step towards preparing a workforce to fill the growing number of renewable energy and “green” jobs, an amendment introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) was successfully added to the 2009 energy bill. The amendment, based on the Community College Sustainability Act introduced during the 110th Congress, will authorize $100 million per year for five years to fund job-training and education programs for sustainable and alternative energy technologies at the nation’s 1,200 community colleges.

 

Learn about the University Sustainability Program:

http://www.fundee.org/campaigns/usp/

 

View an Education Week blog about the Global Warming Education Act:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2009/04/global_warming_at_nsf.html

 

Learn more about the Wyden Community College Amendment:

http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=310903

 

 

6. States Advance Policies on Reconnecting Children with Nature

 

More and more state governments are taking action to get children outdoors.  In Maryland, on April 21st, Governor Martin O’Malley announced the final draft of the Maryland’s Children in Nature Partnership plan. The announcement was made at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center outside of Annapolis. The report is the result of an Executive Order set forth by O’Malley on earth day in 2008, tasking a 21 member board, led by Superintendent of School Dr. Nancy Grasmick and Department of Resources secretary John R. Griffin, to create a plan filled with creative ways to enable children to get outside and learn about nature and make environmental literacy a part of every curriculum. Highlights of the final document include: an environmental literacy high school graduation requirement, making natural play areas available to all Maryland children, and a commitment that every K-12 student in Maryland will have an outdoor education experience every year. Both of these initiatives are important steps in the right direction and make environmental education policy a state and federal issue.

 

As mentioned in the first story of this month’s bulletin, Kansas has established the Kansas Coalition for Children and Nature which will be working towards the creation of a comprehensive plan to connect children to the outdoors.

 

As written about in last month’s bulletin, key environmental and recreation community leaders sent letters to all 50 Governors asking that they declare June “Great Outdoors Month” in their individual states. Last year, 40 Governors took advantage of the chance to encourage their constituents to reconnect with nature and enjoy the great outdoors.  So far this year 11 Governor’s have already declared June “Great Outdoors Month!”

 

In Florida, Governor Charlie Crist signed a resolution encouraging children to spend time outdoors. Included in the resolution is a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights and encouragement for Floridians to participate in Get Outdoors Florida! events.

 

Read an Executive Summary of the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature Plan:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/download/cin_exec_summary.pdf

 

Read the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature Report in its entirety:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/download/CIN_DOC_FINAL_ForWeb.pdf

 

Read an article about the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature report:

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/04/22-25/OMalley-Kids-need-more-outdoor-education.html

 

View a front page article on the creation of the Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature:

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1149646.html

 

Read the 2009 Great Outdoors Month governors proclamations:

http://www.funoutdoors.com/node/view/2284

 

Read Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s resolution:

http://www.getoutdoorsflorida.com/Documents/resolution.pdf