Here they are! Some of Brian’s first ever pictures of Cashes Ledge. Every picture tells a story - but we are lucky enough to have some real stories to tell about these awesome pictures. We caught up with Brian shortly after he visited Cashes Ledge and asked him about the dive. Brian filled us in on some of the exciting details of this bona fide ocean odyssey: read more..

Since assuming the role of Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper six months ago, I have devoted all my time and effort to protecting the Great Bay estuary – a remarkable resource that is threatened by pollution from aging wastewater treatment plants and untreated stormwater.  What I said then holds true today – the threats to the Bay have never been clearer, and the opportunity to fix them never greater. To create a stronger voice for Great Bay, I am pleased to announce that a coalition of organizations, including a business and a municipality, has come together under the name Rescue Great Bay to demand immediate solutions to clean up the estuary. Rescue Great Bay’s founding members are the New Hampshire Coastal Protection Partnership, EcoMovement, Winnicut River Watershed Coalition, Trout Unlimited-Great Bay Chapter, read more…

When Vermont’s Governor Shumlin announced last year that the outdated, expensive and ill-conceived Circ Highway would not be built as planned, it opened the door for lower cost and less polluting solutions that would actually help folks get around and not just pave over farmland, forests, and wetlands. In the first round a number of good solutions are advancing, including the Crescent Connector in Essex Junction which transforms a small downtown with thoughtful design, making it easier and more pleasant to walk, shop, get around and not simply drive in traffic. Unfortunately, for the next phase, some officials still seem stuck in the dark ages. When presented with an evaluation by the County’s transportation planning officials that building portions of the old highway would be expensive, have the same environmental problems read more…

Innovation – a word commonly used, and commonly associated with big money and big business. But as 15 year old Jack Thomas Andraka, recent winner of an Intel prize for his cancer detection technology, demonstrated: innovation is unfolding in unlikely places. We should nurture these innovations, and we must do more to leverage these breakthroughs. read more..

Most people don’t realize that oysters are only found in estuaries. At one time, oysters thrived throughout the Great Bay estuary and were highly desired for human consumption. Because oysters filter the water to feed, they also help to remove pollutants and nutrients and play an important role in keeping our estuaries clean. Unfortunately, it is increasingly difficult to find oysters in the Great Bay estuary due to disease and siltation. In the mid-1990s, the introduction of two parasitic protozoans – Dermo and MSX – caused a large-scale die-off of adult oysters.  Since then habitat changes due to excess siltation from numerous storm events – an impact of Climate Change – has furthered reduced populations. Forty years ago, there were approximately one thousand acres of oysters in the estuary; today, read more…

This Week on TalkingFish.org: Peter Baker writes about the need for stricter regulations on New England's industrial Atlantic herring fishery, and our weekly collection of fish stories in the news. read more..

Last week I stood in front of a group of young, energetic and extremely well qualified people and welcomed them as CLF’s 2012 summer interns – an act being repeated thousands of times around the country this summer. As I looked across the room at this highly talented group of young people, two thoughts occurred to me: among them are our future leaders, and our movement – the environmental movement – will be very different when they are standing in my position, welcoming interns to their organizations in the years ahead. read more..

Success! After two prior attempts foiled by bad weather and rough seas, last weekend Brian Skerry at last reached Cashes Ledge and was able to explore this extraordinary, ecologically important seascape – a first for the peripatetic Skerry. For two days Brian and his crew swam in Cashes’ unearthly kelp forests, among its waving amber fronds and remarkable red cod, making pictures that will reveal the mysteries and beauty of this unique New England treasure so far unknown to most. read more..

Moving to a clean energy future means keeping the dirty stuff out. If you are cleaning house in a dust storm, the first thing you do is close the door.  Environmental groups gathered to show the need to close the door in New England on tar sands oil – the dirtiest of dirty oil. We are moving in the wrong direction to bring oil in and through New England that increases global warming pollution even more.   Tar sands are a carbon bomb that will catapult us past several dangerous climate tipping points. It has no part in our region’s clean energy future. A new report, Going in Reverse: The Tar Sands Threat to Central Canada and New England, outlines an array of threats associated with tar sands. In late May, read more…

Conservation Law Foundation filed an Amicus (Friend of the Court) brief on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, New England Coalition, Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Public Interest Research Group in support of the State’s appeal to overturn the decision of Judge Murtha that Vermont has no say regarding Vermont Yankee. Not so fast. As the Brief notes, the Vermont Legislature has clear authority to determine whether to allow the continued operation of Vermont Yankee. Vermont’s laws do not conflict with federal law and they are part of a decade of energy legislation focused on moving Vermont’s power supply away from older and more polluting power sources, like Vermont Yankee.  There is a much longer history here. Vermont Yankee is a tired old nuclear plant and its owners are untrustworthy. Our brief read more…