As the dust settles after the turbulent outcome of the COP-15 climate summit in Copenhagen a few things are clear: No one is completely happy with the outcome.  Even President Obama described what he hammered out as being a “first step” and “not enough” to avoid disaster describing the Accord he worked out as the beginning of a process. The climate change denier community (and people playing that role in the US, Europe, Israel, etc… should be very nervous about the fact they are in close alliance with Saudia Arabia) must be upset at the reaffirmation  that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced in order to avoid  dangerous global warming – a conclusion that relies upon the mountain of science showing that global warming is very real and very dangerous. read more…

News flash:  The Vermont legislative committee reviewing the Douglas Administration’s 11th-hour proposal to open state parks, forests, and wildlife management and natural areas to ATV use voted unanimously to object to the rule.  The bi-partisan vote 7-0 signals major legislative concern about the policy change the agency is proposing–currently state lands are closed to ATVs except to enable handicap access in limited circumstances–and the manner in which the agency tried to make this change. Though this vote presents a major potential obstacle to the Agency’s plan to open state lands to this high-risk, high-impact activity, I’ve written before on this blog about how the Agency could still choose to move forward despite the objection.  For the full story read my “Riding Roughshod Part 2” post or check out the press read more…

So, what do we do? There’s no simple solution, but in Massachusetts the DEP is close to finalizing the revision for the Solid Waste Master Plan, with the intention of increasing the amount of waste diverted from landfills through more recycling and composting, and better all around materials management. The discussion also included the possibility of lifting a 20-year old moratorium on waste-to-energy facilities. Today the Patrick Administration signaled a strong commitment to responsible resource management by announcing that the incinerator moratorium will stand and resources will begin to be managed more thoughtfully. This is exciting news, because there are a lot of good options for responsible resource management that don’t involve traditional waste incineration. These include: Developing markets for recycled and reused materials, including building materials and asphalt as read more…

Well worth a listen.  Sue discusses recent big news about Cape Wind. 

Contact: Sue Reid, CLF Senior Attorney (617) 850-1740, sreid@clf.org Karen Wood, Director of Communications (617) 850-1722, kwood@clf.org Today marks a critical milestone for the 130-turbine Cape Wind offshore wind energy project as the project has reached an agreement with electric utility National Grid, in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, to negotiate a long-term commitment for the purchase of the project’s power. Cape Wind is one of New England’s most promising solutions for addressing climate change and reducing the region’s dependence on polluting fossil fuels. “By committing to ensure that Cape Wind’s emissions-free energy will be delivered to tens of thousands of Massachusetts homes and businesses, Cape Wind, National Grid and the Patrick Administration are leading the way to a clean energy future,” said CLF President John Kassel. read more…

Pretty amazing turnout at the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Wind Energy Workshop in Boston.   This is a very big room – and it has a A LOT of people in it.  Apparently pre-registration was over 650 people and more were registering at the door. One of the two keynote speakers was the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles (pinch hitting for Governor Deval Patrick who evidently is still “under the weather“) who alluded to the newspaper reports this morning about the announcement to be made today about Cape Wind. Update: Here is the announcement from the Governor’s office. Read CLF’s statement.

Much like a joy-riding ATVer testing the power of his off-road machine, the leadership of Vermont’s Natural Resources agency seems hell-bent on riding roughshod over any obstacle in the way of its proposal to open state-owned forests, parks, and wildlife areas to recreational ATV trails. As I wrote earlier on this blog, the agency leadership revved its engines and ran right over opposition from concerned members of the public who commented on the rule–by the agency’s own estimate, commenters opposed the proposal by a ratio of 4-to-1.  The professional objections of its own scientists, game wardens, and on-the-ground land managers didn’t slow agency leaders down either.  In public documents obtained by CLF and reported in the press, career Agency employees expressed concerns about the damage to public and private property caused by illegal ATV use that ANR read more…

If you’re like me, you’re genuinely afraid of the global-warming future we’re facing if humankind doesn’t get serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions A WHOLE LOT AND REAL FAST. Like Al Gore and spiritual leaders from many faiths, you and me understand that global warming is a moral issue.  We also understand that unchecked global warming will wreak (and is wreaking) havoc with almost all facets of our economy ranging from food supply to the insurance industry (and we’ve already seen with AIG how human decisions affecting the insurance industry ripple throughout the entire economy).  If all that wasn’t bad enough, scientists have also predicted that continued rises in greenhouse gas emissions will deepen (and in some cases already is deepening) other existing ecological crises like water pollution,  ocean acidification, and species extinction. So like me, read more…

From noon until 1:30PM, Boston University is hosting a forum for the U.S. Senate Candidates to discuss the environment and a new green economy. The forum, moderated by NECN-TV’s Jim Braude, is taking place at Meltcalf Trustee Center – and it is being streamed live online. Click here to watch the live stream.

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the special do-it-yourselfer roughneck in your life? Here is a rare deal for you. Now that the Montara drilling platform in the remote Timor Sea is just a smoldering wreck its likely to be on the market soon at bargain prices. They say it couldn’t fail, but this low mileage, state-of-the-art, everything but fire-proof deep sea drill rig set the international oil cartels abuzz with its flamboyant four day blaze that rendered the quarter-billion dollar roman candle into an island of charred and twisted metal. In fact, everyone but the American media seemed to follow the story of the three month long oil spill that preceded the grand finale inferno.  Actually, I don’t know what the future holds for the Montara rig (also referred to as “West Atlas” in some reports) but there has to be a read more…