Climate of Our Future

OCEAN CONSERVANCY

Ocean Conservancy Applauds Appointments, New White House Post Focused Solely on Environmental Issues; Makes Push for Ocean Health to Top the Agenda December 15, 2008 Media Contact: Tim McHugh Washington, DC – Ocean Conservancy is praising today’s announcement that a new post has been created within the White House to serve as a clearinghouse for all environmental matters. Climate, energy, water, and air quality issues will now have a more prominent seat at the table when matters of national import are discussed and decided. This announcement, on the heels of the unveiling of new economic and national security teams, makes clear that environmental concerns will now be front and center in the Obama Administration. And with former two-term Environmental Protection Agency head Carol Browner serving in this post – a long-term champion for the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act – the Administration has an advocate for oceans and marine environmental quality and protection as well as more land based concerns. “Today’s announcement of the ‘green team’ represents the start of a real sea change in Washington. Carol Browner is a model choice to assume the responsibilities of this new and important position within the Administration. New Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will put renewable energy and climate change front and center at the Department of Energy, a Department that can now be proudly environmental-friendly. This new energy post, paired with today’s announcements of Lisa Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and Nancy Sutley as Chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, shows that the Obama Administration does not intent to put the environment in the backseat. The ocean is the first victim of climate change, and we expect progress on building back its resiliency from our new environmental team,” explained Vikki Spruill, Ocean Conservancy President and CEO. “The next four years will be pivotal ones for the oceans and the climate. The ocean is the engine that drives our climate, supplying much of the air we breath and the food we eat. We need a tested champion for the oceans to lead the environmental team within the White House. Now is the time for this green team to step up and prove that they are the ocean champions that we need.” Ocean Conservancy is the world’s foremost advocate for the oceans. Through science-based advocacy, research, and public education, we inform, inspire and empower people to speak and act for the oceans. Ocean Conservancy is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has offices in New England, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and the Pacific, with support from more than half a million members and volunteers.