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PA SECRETARY OF INTERIOR BABBITT TO SPEAK AT EPA CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL WARMING THREAT TO WILDLIFE

Release Date: 09/25/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1998
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR BABBITT TO SPEAK AT EPA CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL WARMING THREAT TO WILDLIFE


Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, will speak at an EPA conference at the Washington, D.C. National Zoo Oct. 7-8 on the dangers posed by climate change to world wildlife. Disturbing scientific reports and projections prompted EPA to hold the conference. For instance: (1) retreating Antarctic ice and increasing snowfall have been blamed for population declines in Adelie penguins; (2) changes in temperature and precipitation could cut the number of breeding ducks in half throughout the North Central U.S.; and (3) projected increases in mean annual air temperature could eliminate more than 50% of the habitat of brook trout in the southern Appalachian Mountains. EPA hopes this meeting titled, “Is Climate Changing Where the Wild Things Are?”, will increase awareness and understanding of the issue among policymakers, media, wildlife and outdoor enthusiasts, researchers and private citizens. Seventeen organizations are co-sponsoring the symposium, including Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, American Zoological and Aquarium Association, Ducks Unlimited Inc., National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund and the National Zoo. Other speakers include Dr. Stephen H. Schneider, Professor, Dept. of Biological Science, Stanford University, who will speak on “Consensus, Uncertainties, and Surprises in the Debate on the Science of Climate Change,” and Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Counselor to the Secretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Affairs of the Smithsonian Institution and originator of the PBS series “Nature.” EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Policy, David Gardiner, will also speak on “The Climate Change Debate Going Into Buenos Aires.” The conference will take place Oct. 7-8, at the Washington National Zoo. To register, call Monica Duda at 703-247-2410 or register online at: https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/conferences/wildlife/. For further technical information, call Susan Herrod Julius of EPA’s Office of Policy at 202-260-6022. For more information about the impacts of climate change to fish and birds, see EPA’s website at: https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/impacts. For general information on global warming, see EPA’s website at: https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming.

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