Environmental Protection

Environmental Programs

The Federal Government has established programs aimed at reducing pollution and increasing recycling within the United States. Below is an excerpt from a 1998 executive order:

Federal initiatives

Executive order

A 1998 Executive Order,Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition, was an important endorsement of the EPP concept. The document outlines multiple steps that can be taken to improve the environment. Greening the Government may be downloaded or located in the Federal Register as Executive Order 13101. The intent of the Executive Order was to incorporate waste and pollution prevention and recycling into daily operations of the federal government and to establish policies favoring the acquisition and use of recycled products and environmentally preferable products and services. Among the highlights of the order:

• Purchasing should be consistent with the demands of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Each executive agency’s daily operations should plan to increase and expand markets for recovered materials through greater federal government preference and demand for such products.
• Purchasing preference that prevent pollution whenever feasible are national policy.
• Pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled.
• Pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should be treated in an environmentally safe manner.
• Agencies should comply with processes for acquisition and use of environmentally preferable products and services.
• Agencies should implement cost-effective procurement programs that favor the purchase of these products and services.

http://www.campaignearth.org
Campaign Earth supports all levels of participation. Whether you take the monthly challenge or read our tutorial on global warming, your involvement is a necessary part of the solution.

No doom and gloom!! When was the last time depression got you really motivated? Campaign Earth is here to inspire with realistic action steps and stories of success.

A place to be heard. Every month, Campaign Earth brings you the thoughts and ideas of fellow members.

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http://www.unep.org
United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP: The Organizational Mission

To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
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http://www.usda.gov

The USDA Water and Environment Programs
Water and Environmental Programs (W E P) provides loans, grants and loan guarantees for drinking water, sanitary sewer, solid waste and storm drainage facilities in rural areas and cities and towns of 10,000 or less. Public bodies, non-profit organizations and recognized Indian tribes may qualify for assistance. W E P also makes grants to nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance and training to assist rural communities with their water, wastewater, and solid waste problems.

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http://www.gsa.gov
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/programView.do?programId=8362&programPage=%2Fep%2Fprogram%2FgsaOverview.jsp&P=PLAE&pageTypeId=8195&ooid=8571&channelId=-13907

GSA Environment Program Overview
The Public Buildings Service’s environmental goal is to eliminate all damage to the environment resulting from its operations. The challenge is to achieve this while continuing to provide superior workplaces for a million federal employees across the United States.

GSA is responsible for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and disposal of thousands of federally owned real estates. Each of these activities has potential environmental and health impacts.

The GSA Environment Program works in coordination with the Sustainable Design and Energy programs to ensure that GSA makes continuous progress toward its ultimate goal. Through the execution of the Core Management Areas and collaboration with other governmental and nongovernmental organizations worldwide, the GSA Environment Program serves as a resource and center of expertise for all GSA organizations.

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United States EPA Environmental Finance Program
http://www.epa.gov/efinpage/efp.htm
BACKGROUND
One of the major challenges of the 21st century is obtaining funds for environmental programs. The costs of environmental protection are growing rapidly. Yet our nation's ability to meet these rising costs is falling behind -- and the financing gap is widening. Consequently, the nation needs to make the effort to develop long-term funding strategies.

Because we live in times of diminishing resources and competing priorities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed the Environmental Finance Program to assist communities in their search for creative approaches to funding their environmental projects.

The Environmental Finance Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides financial technical assistance to the regulated community and advice and recommendations to the Agency on environmental finance issues, trends, and options.
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Earth 911
http://www.earth911.org

It is the mission of Earth 911 to empower the public with community-specific resources to improve their quality of life. While sustainable prevention programs are by far the best way to protect our nation’s environment, the costs associated with many of these programs can be astronomical. That is why the use of this Public and Private Sector Partnership is so important in effectuating prevention ideals. Through the Partnership, economies of scale and scope are achieved, promoting this public service across the nation and centralizing environmental resources into one user-friendly network.

Through a single toll-free phone call to 1-800-CLEANUP or the use of this Web site, you can access several sections of community-specific environmental information at no cost to the user or taxpayer.
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U.S. Army Environmental Center
http://www.aec.army.mil/usaec

Our Vision. We want to excel as the Army's point organization for implementing environmental programs that enhance Army training and operations while protecting the environment.
Our Mission. As a field-operating agency of the ACSIM, we implement the environmental program for the Army by providing a broad range of innovative and cost-effective products and services in support of Army training, operations, and sound stewardship.
North American Association for Environmental Education
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http://eelink.net
EE-Link ~ Environmental Education on the Internet, a resource designed to support students, teachers and professionals that support K-12 environmental education. Browse and search this site for a wealth of information and links on Environmental Education!!
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United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.