***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

January 17, 2009
Contact: Lisa Swann
202 518-0044 ext. 14
202 368-5033

Earth Day Network Testifies at Conference of Mayors: Demands More Green Provisions in Stimulus, Healthy Food for Children

(Washington, DC) – Earth Day Network today urged the United States Conference of Mayors to focus first on funding green investments in the comprehensive stimulus package, citing the opportunity to create a new, green economy that will stimulate the creation of green jobs and stem global warming. Earth Day Network panelists assured conference participants that green renovation and construction of our nation’s public schools and public buildings, along with investments in renewable energy and clean transportation will go a long way toward building a new economic future based on sustainability.

Earth Day Network featured two sets of panelists at the conference, one speaking on the Hunger and Homelessness Task Force and one on the Climate Protection Task Force. On the Hunger and Homelessness panel, Danielle Hollar, head researcher at the Agatston Research Foundation, and Melissa Mahoney, Baltimore City Public School Dietician, spoke about how to provide high-quality food to children at a time when schools’ budgets are shrinking. EDN’s Climate Protection panelists, green-schools expert Greg Kats and EDN President Kathleen Rogers, spoke about the need for green schools and green jobs, drawing links between the health of the environment and the economy.

In light of present economic distress, green jobs were a major topic at the Conference of Mayors meeting this week in Washington. The US Conference of Mayors recently released a comprehensive green jobs report that forecasts 4.2 million green jobs from investments in renewable energy, green retrofitting of buildings, and green transportation over the next 20 years, many of which are ready to go. The renewable energy and energy efficiency industries created 8.5 million jobs in 2006, generating nearly $970 billion in revenue.

“America’s mayors agree that investing in a green future will bring the type of job growth we need,” said Rogers. “We need President Obama’s firm commitment to a green, renewable future for our children and the green jobs that will follow. Americans have shown a willingness to embrace a new energy future and we need to meet them halfway.”

“Simply funding ‘shovel-ready’ projects for roads and bridges will lead us nowhere - unless we first start building bridges between our economic, climate and education concerns,” Rogers added. “We need a road to a sustainable, green economy, not a dead end,” said Rogers.

Earth Day Network and its 19,000 partner groups are calling for a firm commitment to focus on extensive funding in the stimulus package for green infrastructure -- starting with implementing parts of the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act.

The bill calls for providing nearly $7-billion over the next five years to help states build and renovate schools to make them healthier, more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Eligibility for federal funds is determined by a need-based formula. The bill passed with wide bipartisan support twice last year.

“Greening and repairing America’s schools would create 300,000 jobs in the construction industry, and help stimulate the growth of green technology and energy efficiency,” said Rogers. “Moreover, an investment in educational services will generate significantly more jobs – over 23 jobs per $1 million invested – than spending in any other public infrastructure sector.”

However, the provision for greening schools in the latest version of the stimulus package falls short, requiring that only 25 percent of all funds for modernization, renovation, or repairs go into projects that are verified by an energy certification program such as LEED for Schools. Earth Day Network and its supporters, however, want 100 percent of the funds allocated to green-certified schools.

Earth Day Network’s goals for improving the National School Lunch Program include moving the entire program to Health and Homeland Security from the Department of Agriculture, improving the nutritional and caloric requirements for school lunch and breakfast, dramatically increasing the fruits and vegetables program, forcing more competition between national school lunch providers and local suppliers, requiring exhaustive school-food labeling, changing the eligibility criteria to include 1.5 million more children, and providing nutrition education for both parents and their children.

About Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net, grew out of the original Earth Day in 1970. The non-profit organization seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. It pursues these goals through education, politics, and consumer activism. Earth Day Network has a global reach with a network of more than 17,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

The 40th Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22, 2009.