This Carbon Cap bill is the biggest load of shit to ever come through Congress and that is saying something. Ducks Unlimited should not have supported it in any way shape or form. Anything for a buck, eh DU?

Conserving waterfowl and wetlands amid climate change

House of Representatives passes climate bill with waterfowl benefits

A report produced by Ducks Unlimited's science staff in 2007 outlined potential impacts of climate change on the North American waterfowl resource. The impacts are serious and range from the disappearance of coastal habitats in all four flyways to changing the water patterns on the breeding grounds of North America. On Friday night, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would in part mitigate the effects of climate warming. Provisions suggested by Ducks Unlimited and a group of other sportsmen's conservation organizations were included to make waterfowl's future brighter should the provisions be enacted into law. The legislation creates a framework for reducing greenhouses gases. Most importantly from Ducks Unlimited's perspective, it will assist with the protection and restoration of fish and wildlife species, habitats, ecosystems and ecological processes threatened by climate change.
This legislation is important in several ways. It funds several programs crucial to the conservation of America's waterfowl including the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Also, numerous offset projects were included in the legislation that will have substantial conservation value to waterfowl and other wildlife and provide financial support to farmers and other rural landowners. Private landowners will be eligible to receive incentive payments for carbon-reducing land-use practices such as peatland and wetland management, conservation of grassland and forested land and afforestation and reforestation projects.
DU appreciates the inclusion of offset projects essential for waterfowl and other wildlife and funding for natural resources adaptation in this legislation. We look forward to working with members of the Senate and House as well as the administration as this process moves forward.


Background on climate change

The impacts of global climate change have received wide media attention in recent years. Scientists predict that climate change will affect almost every aspect of our environment, including North America's wetlands and waterfowl. It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the earth, which has always experienced climate variation, is now undergoing a period of rapid climate change that is enhanced by human-caused atmospheric carbon enrichment during the past 100 years. Projections for the next 100 years indicate extensive warming in many areas, changing patterns of precipitation, accelerating sea level rise, changes in the timing and length of the seasons, declining snow packs and increasing frequency and intensity of severe weather events. Ducks Unlimited will need to plan for the effects of climate change if wetland and waterfowl management objectives are to be achieved and support policy efforts that enhance the resiliency and sustainability of wildlife and their habitats to climate change. The potential consequences of climate change are significant, and we are taking steps to keep informed and incorporate climate change into our conservation planning. To learn more, click here to read Conserving Waterfowl and Wetlands Amid Climate Change.