Dear CLF Supporter,

New England’s waters are in crisis. Nutrient pollution is a huge problem for our region; inadequately-treated wastewater, fertilizer-laden runoff from industrial farms, roadways, and sprawl development are fueling deadly algae blooms in some of our most cherished waters—like Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, Cape Cod’s bay and estuaries, and the Great Bay, located between New Hampshire and Maine. These algae blooms suffocate and kill fish, shellfish and other aquatic life, creating vast “dead zones.”

Nutrient pollution is bad news. But there is a silver lining to this scummy, man-made problem: It’s solvable. For years, CLF has been working to reverse nutrient pollution in waters throughout New England. And there’s even more good news; today, you have the opportunity to make a REAL impact on nutrient pollution by symbolically adopting a mile of shoreline for $10:

Adopting a mile of shoreline may seem like a drop in the bucket, but it gives CLF and our advocates the resources we need to tackle and solve this problem; it is the very underpinning of our most crucial clean water work.

When you adopt a mile of shoreline for $10, you will fund:

• Lake Champlain LakeKeeper Program: CLF’s LakeKeeper, affiliated with the Waterkeeper Alliance, is the eyes and ears of Lake Champlain, dedicated to protecting this irreplaceable natural treasure. Part watchdog, part scientist and part public advocate, the LakeKeeper engages citizens, businesses and state and local authorities in doing their part to keep Lake Champlain clean.
• Clean Water Enforcement: All over New England, violation of water quality regulations is rampant, resulting in severely degraded waterways. Due to a combination of lax government oversight and insufficient resources, clean water can no longer be taken for granted. This is especially true in low-income communities, which bear a disproportionate burden of water pollution. CLF is putting feet on the ground to hold polluters accountable, wherever they are, for compliance with clean water laws in an effort to restore vital water quality to all New Englanders.
• Nutrient Pollution Advocacy: Nutrient pollution is a relatively recent, man-made scourge—an insidious by-product of industrial agriculture and wastewater treatment operations—that is threatening New England’s great salt and freshwater bodies. It is also entirely solvable. CLF is tirelessly pursuing up-to-date, science-based limits on how much nitrogen and phosphorus can be discharged without sacrificing water quality and stricter controls at the source to keep the pollutants out of our waterways.

Nutrient pollution is a solvable problem and CLF is securing important victories all across our region. In Vermont, as a result of CLF’s advocacy, the city of South Burlington voluntarily cut in half the nutrient pollution that could be discharged into Lake Champlain from its sewage treatment plant. In Massachusetts, the EPA introduced controls for nitrogen in the 2008 permit for the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District, over the objections of the district. The permit was recently upheld despite continued pressure from the district. The bottom line: Nutrient pollution, with your support, is a problem that we can solve!

Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. Literally. We are quickly approaching the point of no return for some of our region’s more fragile waterways. We need you to act now, before our October 8 deadline, to reverse nutrient pollution in New England. It takes just $10.

Today, you can make a real difference in New England’s nutrient pollution crisis by adopting one mile (or more!) of shoreline. We’re counting on you.

Sincerely,

Chris Kilian

P.S. Please click the “like” button below to share this important message with your friends on Facebook!

Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided to uphold the comprehensive permit for Cape Wind’s transmission lines issued by the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB)–a welcome and much-anticipated milestone for the nation’s first major offshore wind energy project. CLF has been actively involved in moving the ball forward on Cape Wind throughout its nine-year review and permitting process, and we’re thrilled that Cape Wind will finally have an opportunity to to move forward and provide Massachusetts with clean, renewable power.

Here’s what CLF Staff Attorney Shanna Cleveland had to say on the subject:

“The Court thoroughly reviewed the extensive record in this case and correctly concluded that the state siting board rigorously scrutinized the project and fulfilled its obligation to safeguard the public trust. Cape Wind will provide electricity without producing any harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and its clean energy benefits are expected to significantly outweigh its impacts. The Court’s affirmation of Cape Wind’s comprehensive state permit is a significant step on the path toward a clean energy future for New England and the nation.”

Check out clf.org for the full press statement>>

Using the authority given it by Congress in the Clean Air Act, and affirmed by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Massachusetts v. EPA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to address the threat to the public health and environment from the greenhouse gases damaging our climate. But, as David Jenkins of Republicans for Environmental Protection describes on the Frum Forum website that effort is under attack by an effort led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

The full piece is well worth reading but the punchline is of special interests to New Englanders who are represented by Senators Scott Brown (R-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) or Judd Gregg (R-NH) who voted for Sen. Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act/Big Oil Bailout/EPA rollback the first time it got to the Senate floor:

Murkowski’s framing insinuates that her resolution is paving the way for Congress to take action . . . Unfortunately, that is not what is going on here . . . Murkowski has not been pushing at all for legislation to price carbon, and efforts by sponsors of such legislation to gain her support have been unsuccessful.

Instead she is putting all of her energy and passion into preempting EPA. “You attack it at all fronts,” Murkowski recently told Politico. “You go the judicial route. You go the legislative route.”

. . .

It is time for any member of Congress who still supports Senator Murkowski’s endeavor—or similar efforts—to drop all pretenses and tell the voters why they support the unfettered polluting of our life-sustaining atmosphere.

If you were listening to Maine Public Radio yesterday (whether because you are on vacation or because you live there) you might have caught this piece about plans to develop a sub-sea cable from Maine to Boston.

Bottom line: In order to meet the climate and energy goals that science and sound policy dictate we will need to build thousands of megawatts of clean renewable generation (as well as becoming much more efficient and many other key steps) and the infrastructure to support it.  And a sub-sea cable could be part of that solution, if it is done right.

Through a recently released tool authored by the World Resources Institute as part of Google’s Public Data Explorer, users are able to visualize greenhouse gas emissions like never before:

On a per capita basis, New England states are leading the pack with some of the lowest numbers.

Why?

1. New England states tend to be more efficient in our use of electricity and natural gas.
2. As our states are more compact and developed, New Englanders generally drive less.
3. New Englanders typically drive more efficient vehicles.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding:

Of course, there’s still plenty of room for improvement – and in this midst of this climate crisis, we’re all going to have to do much better to turn things around.

Yesterday, an exciting and inspiring delegation of emerging leaders from the international environmental community paid a visit to CLF’s Boston office. The delegation was sponsored by the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through short-term visits such as this one. The group was in the U.S. to learn how environmental law is implemented and enforced here, and they chose CLF specifically as the group to advise them. WorldBoston, a local nonprofit organization, organized the Boston portion of the delegation’s visit to the U.S.

The fifteen delegation participants came from the world over – Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Serbia, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam and the West Bank. While all do work related to the environment, the list of their careers was as diverse as the list of their nationalities! Scientists, professors, elected officials, government employees, NGO officers and other professions gathered around the conference table to hear CLF attorneys speak about their work advocating for environmental policies and taking violators of those policies to court.

Massachusetts Advocacy Center director Peter Shelley kicked off the meeting, welcoming the guests and providing them with an introduction to CLF’s mission, program areas, and organizational structure. He then transitioned into a discussion of CLF’s legal work, explaining that in the U.S., we have important legal tools available that allow organizations such as CLF to bring lawsuits against polluters and even the government, and that allow them to recoup the costs of their legal fees if they win. Attorneys Shanna Cleveland, Seth Kaplan, and Cynthia Liebman also discussed their work at CLF and their experiences with the U.S. legal system. Delegates expressed keen interest in the strategies discussed and shared thoughts on the contrasts between the legal system in the U.S. and in their own nations. Everyone expressed agreement that government is not always as transparent as it claims to be (although another benefit of the U.S. legal system that was discussed is our tremendous access to data through environmental review procedures and Freedom of Information Act requests).

The event was a great success, and the morning flew by amid the discussion. CLF was honored to host such a motivated and interesting group of people, and we hope that the delegation enjoyed learning from us as much as we enjoyed learning from them.

On an appropriately wet and windy afternoon yesterday in Boston, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act with a vote of 101-52. Modeled after the bill passed by the Senate in February, the Act will streamline the siting process for wind energy projects, making it easier for developers and local authorities alike to incorporate well-designed wind power initiatives into the plan to meet the state’s energy demand. The new legislation is a major step towards building a clean energy economy for Massachusetts and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The bill will now head to a House-Senate conference committee for further discussion.

Here’s what Sue Reid, director of CLF’s Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Change Program, had to say on the issue:

“Massachusetts needs to tap into its abundant wind energy resources in order to meet its clean energy goals. We are delighted that the Massachusetts House of Representatives has joined the Senate in passing this wind siting reform bill that is crucial to meeting the state’s energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving our natural resources. This new legislation will make it easier to develop well-designed wind energy projects. Today’s vote represents a key victory in the state’s ongoing efforts to reduce our dependence on dirty fossil-fuel fired power in Massachusetts.”

Read CLF’s full press statement>>
Learn more about CLF’s renewable energy initiatives in MA and throughout New England>>

Another radioactive fish was found near the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in southern Vermont.

This is the second time a fish contaminated with Strontium-90 was found in the Connecticut River.

Vermont Yankee officials defy common sense.  They continue to claim there is no connection between the contaminated fish and the nuclear reactor on the banks of the river.

CLF refutes these silly claims.  In testimony CLF filed with the Vermont Public Service Board last Friday, CLF refutes claims that contamination is not moving with water through the ground.

CLF’s expert showed that radioactive isotopes are not limited to areas near the leak.  Instead, they migrated through the site with the release of tritium.  Hydrogeologist Stratton French testified:

“A more likely explanation for their occurence at these distant locations is that these radioisotopes migrated beyond the release point along groundwater flow pathways.  This conclusion is supported by Entergy VY’s own sampling data.”

COME TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD PUBLIC HEARING ON THURSDAY EVENING

AT 7:00 p.m. at the  BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL.

Tell the Public Service Board whether you think.  Should the plant should be closed before 2012 in response to the continued leaks?  This is your chance for your voice to be heard.

Massachusetts State House in downtown Boston.

Last night, in keeping with the long and rich tradition of Massachusetts political debate, the candidates in this fall’s gubernatorial election appeared at Boston’s Old South Meeting House to discuss the most pressing environmental issues facing the Commonwealth. Several hundred people attended the Gubernatorial Forum on Energy and the Environment, which was sponsored by CLF and a coalition of other local environmental organizations. Governor Deval Patrick (Democrat), Dr. Jill Stein (Green-Rainbow Party), State Treasurer Tim Cahill (Independent) and State Representative Brad Jones (appearing as a representative for Republican Charlie Baker’s campaign) appeared in succession, each presenting opening remarks and then answering questions from panelists and audience members. The forum was moderated by George Bachrach, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and panelists included Beth Daley of the Boston Globe and Steve Curwood of Public Radio’s “Living on Earth.”

Governor Deval Patrick appeared first, highlighting his administration’s environmental achievements on climate change mitigation and land conservation, among other programs, and voicing his continued support for the Cape Wind project to put offshore wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound. Dr. Jill Stein spoke next, presenting herself as a Beacon Hill outsider and charging the current administration with not taking sufficiently strong action on issues such as greenhouse gas reduction and funding for environmental programs. Treasurer Tim Cahill took the podium third and struck an honest tone, explaining that while his lack of party affiliation would allow him to consider all sides of a debate, in a conflict between protecting the environment and growing the economy, he would take a pro-growth stance. Finally, Rep. Brad Jones appeared on behalf of Republican candidate Charlie Baker, who was absent due to a prior commitment. The audience was keen to hear Rep. Jones’s response to questions about Baker’s previous remarks that some interpreted as skeptical of climate change. Rep. Jones explained that while Baker does not believe he has the technical knowledge to discuss the science of climate change, he does support renewable energy projects.

The overtones of a struggling economy were heard throughout the forum as candidates disucssed such issues as green jobs, a dwindling state budget, and of course, the economic viability of renewable energy. While Governor Patrick defended his decision to offer tax incentives to companies to create green jobs, Dr. Stein argued that the money spent on tax breaks should instead be used to close the funding gap for state environmental programs. While the Governor discussed the future economic and environmental benefits of Cape Wind, Treasurer Cahill declared offshore wind to be a prohibitively expensive technology.

The audience, for its part, was respectful but responsive, asking detailed questions and frequently interrupting candidates’ statements with supportive applause. While the event was capped at two hours, there’s no doubt that it could have gone on much longer. All in all, it was a successful airing of the candidates’ environmental views. Thanks to the groups, candidates, moderator, and panelists who made it possible and to all of the concerned citizens who attended the event!

Click here to watch video clips, courtesy of ELM.