Anyone who follows CLF’s work knows about plans being pushed to move oil derived from tar sands in Canada through pipelines that would cut across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  The purpose of the these pipelines is simple and clear: to allow this oil to reach the sea and foreign markets that can only be reached by oil tanker. It is easy to understand why the Canadian oil industry, and the multi-national petroleum companies with big Canadian investments, want to move the oil extracted from the Tar Sands of Western Canada out to the larger world markets: doing so will mean they make A LOT of money.  The Canadian petroleum industry has explained this for us all very helpfully in an ad found on page 2 of the June-July 2013 read more…

On the cusp of the Northern Pass transmission project’s fourth year, it is no closer to community acceptance, government approvals, or construction. But, for the first time since 2011, the permitting process is moving forward once again, as are the developer’s efforts to sell the project to a skeptical Granite State. That means new opportunities to register your concerns with the federal agency reviewing the project and to provide feedback directly to the people on the developer’s team. Here is a Northern Pass update. Recent Developments The project came back from a long lull this summer, with the developer, Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT), announcing a slightly revised “new” route, initiating a new statewide marketing campaign (complete with long-discredited talking points), holding “open houses” for some towns that would be read more…

There are few more important, and more obscure, agencies in Washington D.C. than the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the regulator of the wholesale electricity transmission systems and “bulk” (imagine big quantities, like giant tubs from Costco) U.S. electricity markets. FERC oversees an incredibly complex electricity system.  Our grid meshes together rural systems, where power lines stretch hundreds of miles without interruption, with dense and sophisticated urban networks where millions of people are packed together and drawing power to charge cell phones, watch television, use computers, and make  hospitals, factories, homes and offices all hum. The age of the elements of these incredibly diverse systems range from “physically touched by Thomas Edison” to “installed hours ago” with all that suggests in terms of technological sophistication. On top of that physical complexity read more…

If your doctor puts you on a diet to prevent major health problems, it is a bad idea to fill your pantry with potato chips. Simply hoping you don’t eat the chips staring you in the face is a bad way to try losing weight. Likewise, if you want to reduce fossil fuels and combat climate change, it is a bad idea to blindly expand pipelines that deliver these fuels to your doorstep and beyond. These are pipes that will be in place for the next 50 to 100 years. In that timeframe we need to move away from dirty fossil fuels, including fracked gas. In Vermont, the proponents of a proposed gas pipeline expansion are sadly ignoring the long term impacts. Instead of proposing a project that actually meets our read more…

This week on Talking Fish, two recent NOAA decisions put ecologically crucial herring at risk; green crabs are one of the world's worst invasive species; in Fish Talk in the News, the Science and Statistical Committee discusses yellowtail and haddock assessments. read more..

Good policy and good action by government is dependent on having good people in charge. Down in Washington we now have proof that even in the age of grid-lock and partisan warfare a competent, professional and effective leader can rise to a critical position in our government to lead and manage the crucial energy and climate transition underway. That proof came last month when Massachusetts native (and resident) Gina McCarthy was sworn in as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after a record-setting delay. Many members of the CLF staff have years of experience working with Gina during her long career in Massachusetts state government and then her successful run as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. There are a few hallmarks of Gina’s work and method read more…

In recent years, chickens have come home to roost in backyards across the country. While the numbers are hard to document, cities and towns all over the U.S. are taking up the issue and modifying their laws to allow backyard chickens. Nearly every week in the news, a story appears reporting another town or city considering amendments to local laws that would allow backyard chickens. However, in 2012 an outbreak of salmonella that was traced back to several backyard flocks, made at least one NPR blogger wary of the recent trend – dubbing backyard chickens “cute, trendy spreaders of salmonella.” read more..

A version of this article first appeared in the Sunday August 11 edition of the Rutland Herald /Times Argus. A cleaner energy future looks bright. It means less pollution, lower costs and better service. Getting there takes some work. It’s a pretty good bet that a cleaner energy future includes lots more “distributed generation” and fewer large, centralized power plants. Think about your PC or MacBook in place of a huge central computer, or your cellphone — and computer — in your pocket. Examples of distributed generation include solar panels on roofs of homes and parking garages and community wind power. Linking these sources together so they can power our cars, run our refrigerators and keep us cool is a challenge — one that we must embrace. Failing to meet it read more…

This week on Talking Fish, NOAA's Okeanos Explorer brings incredible live footage of New England's ocean floor to your computer; in Fish Talk in the News, lobster shell disease and southern species move north in response to warmer waters. read more..

Despite a long history of industrial pollution, the Lower Mystic continues to be fished by local residents. Although there is a fish advisory upstream, which suggests that fishermen catch and release only, the Lower Mystic doesn’t have its own fish advisory. Rather it falls under the general fish advisory for the Boston Harbor. However, contaminated sediment, combined with significant ongoing water pollution from sewage overflows and stormwater, raises serious doubt whether the Boston Harbor fish advisory, which was based on sampling in Quincy Bay and has not been updated since 1988, is adequate for this area. What this means is that residents can continue to fish in the Lower Mystic, although they lack the necessary information to determine whether or not the fish they catch are safe to eat. Now, read more…