Cranberries. Fall is the season for the sweet-tart fruit from this New England crop, grown and enjoyed across the region for generations. According to a recent story in the Portland Press Herald, this year’s crop looks especially abundant due to unusually warm weather. But these changes could come at a cost that’s greater than the price of cranberries to accompany your holiday turkey. According to a Cooperative Extension cranberry specialist quoted in the Press Herald, the reason for the bumper crop may be warmer weather related to climate change. What’s more, this trend could make it possible to successfully grow other crops not usually found in northern New England, like peaches. One farmer has already decided to plant kiwi. CLF is partnering with the American Farmland Trust and the New read more…

Note: This blog was originally posted on One World One Ocean as part of their National Sustainable Seafood Month Campaign.  When you buy a piece of cod, do you wonder how many are left in the ocean? Are you curious about what kind of gear was used to catch the fish? Gillnets? Hooks? Or, maybe it was a bottom trawler? Do you consider a different choice – maybe there is a more sustainable fish to buy? These are important questions to ask, but there’s something more basic to consider as well. Where do these fish live? What essential requirements do these animals have to survive and thrive in the ocean? Figuring out what “sustainable seafood” means is a familiar dilemma for New Englanders. We have some of the most productive fisheries in the world, read more…

This week on Talking Fish, WHOI scientist Sarah Cooley discusses the effects of ocean acidification on fisheries, the All About Aquaculture series continues with an explanation of the various types and methods of aquaculture, and a weekly update checks in on New England's Fish Talk in the News. read more..

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) reacted in the media (here and here) to news stories reporting that the federal review of the Northern Pass project has been tainted by DOE’s abdication of critical responsibilities to the project developer and permit applicant, NPT. It is frustrating, but not unexpected given what the document trail revealed, that DOE and NPT don’t see any problems with the permitting process to date. DOE says that it exercised independent judgment in selecting the contractor team and considered other contractors for the job (while it won’t say which ones or how many, apparently absent a FOIA request, which – if CLF’s last request is an indication – could take as long as a year). While it is clear read more…

On Tuesday the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced plans of tripling the share of travel by modes other than automobiles by 2030. Known in the transportation industry as “mode shift goals,” Massachusetts is one of the first states to unfold such a plan, as far as we know, Rhode Island is the only other state that also has such a goal. This is a big step (pedal stroke or Charlie Card swipe) in the right direction! We all know that reducing the number of crazy Massachusetts drivers is a goal in itself but it also improves our environment and strengthens our communities, not to mention decreases traffic and street congestion. As Rafael Mares, staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, told the Boston Globe, “[i]f you don’t ­reduce the read more…

Cod swim through the kelp forest on Cashes Ledge   The beauty, health, and wealth provided by the productivity of New England’s ocean is illustrated in the diversity of ocean and coastal habitat found in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, southern New England waters, and the far edge of the Outer Continental Shelf. New England’s ocean habitats provide a huge economic service, but only if the underlying ecological foundation is healthy and sustained. Pushing our ocean waters to produce more fish and seafood than is sustainable can lead to a severe decline in goods and services – as we are seeing with the most recent groundfish depletion crisis – or even to an unrecoverable collapse as has happened in eastern Canada. There are really two major components to a read more…

The new revelations of unfairness and bias in the federal environmental review of Northern Pass have struck a chord, garnering front-page coverage in the Union Leader and a story on New Hampshire Public Radio. You can join our fight for a fair review of Northern Pass. We have made it easy for you to take action and tell the United States Department of Energy (DOE) that New Hampshire deserves an unbiased process that follows the law – it will only take a couple of seconds. You can submit your comment to DOE here. To understand what’s at stake in the wake of these developments, it’s important to take a look back at the history of where we’ve been and what we’ve been fighting for. This week marks the second anniversary of the read more…

A year ago, CLF asked the Department of Energy (DOE) for documents regarding its environmental review of Northern Pass – the major power-line project proposed by Northern Pass Transmission LLC, or “NPT.” We fought for an open, rigorous, and impartial permitting process that would independently scrutinize all elements of the Northern Pass proposal. We wanted to be sure that’s what New Hampshire and the region would be getting from DOE and its new contractor team, which is charged with preparing the ever-crucial environmental impact statement or “EIS” – the document that analyzes the proposed project, all reasonable alternatives, and all related environmental and socio-economic impacts. read more..

This week the 2008 Farm Bill expired without a new Farm Bill to replace it. If you’re confused about what exactly this means for United States farmers and consumers then you’re in good company. At over 1,000 pages with 205 programs organized under 12 titles, the Farm Bill is a complex animal. The delayed 2012 Farm Bill (“Farm Bill”) is the latest in a long line of omnibus bills that temporarily suspend parts of the permanent 1949 Agricultural Act. Every five years when the Farm Bill expires, legislators need to pass a new one to take its place before its broad swath of agriculture, conservation, and nutrition programs are cut, leaving farmers and low income individuals out in the cold. While this delay certainly presents challenges, don’t panic! A delayed read more…

This week on TalkingFish.org, the first post in the All About Aquaculture series explores the history and current status of aquaculture; the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission could soon help depleted menhaden by setting a coastwide catch limit; catch up on what's happening with New England fisheries with the weekly Fish Talk in the News. read more..