Craig Pittman, Giving green the business - Covering the Green Economy

Giving “Green” the Business
… or, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Paving Paradise
Series on Florida’s vanishing wetlands May 2005-Dec 2006
Won top awards for investigative enviro journalism
Led to book contract with University Press of Florida

They Won’t Say No
Between 1999 and 2003, the Corps approved more than 12,000 wetland permits in Florida
Number of permits denied: one .
Efforts to mitigate with man-made wetlands fail repeatedly

Mitigation Banking
Touted as free-enterprise solution to wetland losses
Congress & state spending millions on it
Florida permits: Surprise!

How it’s supposed to work
Entrepreneur buys drained swamp
Restores flow, replants wetland flora
Gets credits from regulators
Sells credits to developers to make up for destroying wetlands elsewhere

When Dry Is “Wet’’
Florida gives credit for dry land as if it were swamp
One bank: 90% of credits for dry land
What about no net loss? “Good luck with that!”

From top dog to bad apple
Ecobank in 1996: Top dog firm hailed by both Republicans and Democrats as industry leader
Ten years later Ecobank is “the bad apple” of the industry
Bankruptcy records led to discovery of civil court case that exposed how Ecobank really did its business
Records showed Ecobank paid politicians for help landing big-money contracts with government agencies

… .and one more thing
Turns out Ecobank founders started as developers
They ran the 1st Florida company charged criminally with DESTROYING wetlands

What if there’s no restoration?
More credits for dry land than wet
Did no restoration
Got all 138 credits for preserving land, not for restoring swamps
Flunks the “no net loss” test

Where do you mitigate?
Restored 1,600 acres of wetlands
Mitigation bank lies a mile off coast
Selling credits for projects up to 30 miles away on mainland
Study: Island restoration not a replacement for mainland wetland functions

Who’s minding the store?
Sundew “the poster child” for agency neglect
In 5 years, owner sold 60 credits but did no restoration
GAO: Sundew one of 10 Florida banks Corps never inspected

And what about the wildlife?
Florida panther: State animal & most endangered mammal east of the Mississippi
Fish & Wildlife Service hasn’t blocked a single development in panther habitat since 1993
Result: 40,000 acres of habitat paved over

Solution: Species banking
Preserve ranch land & sell credits to developers…but:
Bank on 4,000A not occupied by panthers selling credits to developers of habitat
Land worth $713,000 selling $144M in credits
FWS: Ranch important as dispersal zone

The bottom line
Banks allow regulators to OK environmentally destructive projects
But regulatory oversight lacking
Some banks miss point of why they’re allowed
End result: Mitigation banks don’t achieve same result as just saying no

Read the book & the blog
http://www.pavingparadise.org

Craig Pittman, Giving green the business - Covering the Green Economy

by Reynolds Center for Business Journalism on Jun 24, 2010

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Craig Pittman, Giving green the business - Covering the Green Economy — Presentation Transcript