New Study Examines Air Pollution’s Effects on Ecosystems; Finds Widespread, Serious Impacts

Report Highlights Necessary Changes in Air Quality Standards and Regulations

Wilmington, Delaware — July 21, 2008 — All ecosystems in the eastern United States, including Delaware, are negatively affected by air pollution, according to a report released today.

From streams and rivers to forests and wetlands, air pollution reduces the benefits these ecosystems provide to society, and damages human health and local economies. Sulfur, nitrogen, mercury and ground-level ozone not only contaminate the air we breathe, they also enter the soil and water, causing a complex set of problems, according to scientists at The Nature Conservancy and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

“We have yet to fully understand all the impacts of these pollutants, but what we’ve found so far is alarming,” said Dr. Tim Tear, a Nature Conservancy scientist and co-author of the report. “The problem is extremely widespread; the more we looked, the worse it seemed to get.”

The report, Threats From Above: Air Pollution Impacts on Ecosystems and Biological Diversity in the Eastern United States, assessed the impacts of four major pollutants on six ecosystem types in areas that receive some of the nation’s highest levels of atmospheric deposition (air pollution deposited to the landscape). These areas are often located downwind from large power plants, industrial and urban pollution sources.

Roger Jones, State Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Delaware Chapter notes that, “This is a huge and complicated problem that affects every single ecosystem in the Eastern United States. Impacts on Delaware’s forests, river and freshwater wetland habitats could be troubling.”

This pollution report does not surprise Delaware’s Senator Thomas R. Carper who stated, “The Nature Conservancy and Cary Institute report further shows that we need to act now to reduce air pollution and protect human health, as well as the health of our environment. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has continually delayed any real action to reduce air pollution. In the coming weeks and months, I will be working with my colleagues in Congress to build more support for my Clean Air Planning Act, which would reduce the four major pollutants from power plants, and finally start to clean up the air we breathe.”

Air quality standards in the United States are determined by direct impacts to human health, with regulations targeting emission levels – what leaves tail pipes and smoke stacks. They do not take into account where airborne pollution is actually deposited in the landscape or how this pollution compromises our soil and water resources, natural habitats or the species that live in them.

The report includes a call to action for the United States to establish critical air pollution loads that are based on preserving healthy ecosystems. Critical loads identify the maximum level of pollutant deposition that ecosystems can handle before harmful effects occur. Some agencies have already established critical loads for particular landscapes, such as the nitrogen target load established at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Jones further emphasized, “what this report has demonstrated is that air pollution has serious impacts on our ecosystems and the biodiversity they support as well. The report recommends, and I concur, that now is the time to begin to evaluate the use of pollution loading limits from atmospheric deposition to conserve our biological resources. The Nature Conservancy is committed to work with regulators and elected officials to address this issue."

The report also calls for a more integrated and comprehensive national program for monitoring air pollution and its effects, including measurements of air, water, soil, habitats and wildlife.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invests tens of millions of dollars each year in land protection for the purpose of conserving global biological diversity. Last month, TNC announced an agreement to purchase 320,000 acres of forestland for $510 million --the largest private land conservation sale in U.S. history. However, this report, “Threats From Above” makes it very clear that habitats and landscapes cannot be conserved by land protection alone – action to reduce air pollution must be part of the solution.

For more information, view the report at www.ecostudies.org/Threats_from_Above.pdf.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a private, not-for-profit environmental research and education organization in Millbrook, NY. For over twenty-five years, Cary Institute scientists have been investigating the complex interactions that govern the natural world. Their objective findings lead to more effective policy decisions and increased environmental literacy. Focal areas include air and water pollution, climate change, invasive species, and the ecological dimensions of infectious disease. Learn more at www.ecostudies.org.