WASHINGTON -- April 26 -- In keeping with this year’s newly launched international Earth Day theme of protecting our children and our future, the Campaign for Environmental Literacy today announced a petition to restore $14 million in funding for environmental education (EE) that was completely eliminated by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the FY 2006 federal budget proposal.

“The federal government currently spends less than an estimated $.48 per person per year on this essential education,”said James L. Elder, coordinator of the Campaign for Environmental Literacy. “Unless the government makes a greater investment in environmental education, Americans will remain unable to achieve an improved environment, a more vibrant economy, better-planned communities, and even optimal human health—a frightening reality given that our children’s future is inextricable from the vitality of our environment.”

For example, childhood asthma is dramatically exacerbated by air pollution, which in turn is largely caused by emissions from engines such as car engines. Therefore, the driving habits and choices Americans make greatly affect the health of millions of children. Wide-spread environmental education can significantly influence such choices, and thus make children’s (as well as adults’) lives safer and healthier.

“Despite its obvious importance, the environmental education field is consistently under attack from special interest groups,” said Elder. “That’s why we’re asking citizens to use our website to fight back and demand restoration of $14 million in funding for environmental education. It’s time for the 95% of the American public who consistently tell pollsters we want environmental education in our classrooms to stand up and be counted by Congress.”

The campaign’s website, www.FundEE.org allows individuals to quickly and easily send an email to their Members of Congress, ask a friend to take action, and find talking points about the issue. The Campaign has also successfully mobilized prominent EE organizations—including theAmerican Zoo and Aquarium Association, National Wildlife Federation, the National Audubon Society,National Council for Science and the Environment, and the World Wildlife Fund—to collectively act as signatories on a letter to Congress, demanding restoration of the funds.

“Despite the best efforts of Earth Day and environmental education groups, indications are that this country suffers from a massive environmental literacy gap—and it is growing, just at the very moment in time when we need it to be shrinking,” concluded Elder. “We are forcing the next generation to solve all the environmental problems that we have been unable or unwilling to address ourselves: shouldn’t we be at least giving them the most basic tool—a degree of understanding and knowledge—with which to tackle such a daunting task?”

The Campaign for Environmental Literacy is a non-profit organization dedicated to securing and increasing the amount of federal funding dedicated to environmental education. For more information, please see our website at www.FundEE.org.

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