In the last of a long and loud chorus of concern for the MBTA’s draconian service cuts and drastic fare increases, today is the last opportunity for members of the public to testify or comment formally on the MBTA’s proposals. If you have concerns, take a moment to share them. Some of us use the MBTA regularly, but all of us need it. read more..

Stormwater pollution continues to be one of the greatest threats to the health of the Great Bay estuary. Fortunately, innovative approaches to development can dramatically reduce and even eliminate polluted runoff and the damage it can cause to our water bodies. We have a great example of innovation here in the estuary’s watershed, in Greenland. In 2003, a large retail development was proposed to be built on the banks of Pickering Brook, roughly a mile upstream of Great Bay. CLF voiced major concerns about the many pollutants that would run off of the retail center’s massive parking lots – pollutants such as metals, bacteria and nutrients – and the harm they would cause to Pickering Brook and Great Bay. In response, the project’s developer agreed to work with CLF and read more…

This week on TalkingFish.org: An interview with seafood consultant Mark Usewicz, an update on potential changes to the industrial Atlantic herring fishery, and a roundup of the week's interesting fish news stories. read more..

The ocean holds a special place in our imagination. Its vastness and its great depths have inspired explorers and storytellers, scientists and entrepreneurs to set sail in search of new lands, mythical creatures, new discoveries and new business opportunities. Yet as the planet has grown crowded, so too has our ocean. The blue planet we once saw as limitless is straining under the pressure as we demand more and more from it. Seafood to feed ever more people, oil to fuel our cars and our businesses and shipping lanes crowded with freight as trade expands around the world. One of the great challenges of the 21st century is to find new ways to sustain and restore the ecosystems that are the basis of our economy and our environment. It will read more…

In response to the MBTA’s proposed fare hike and service cuts, CLF today issued an action alert calling upon people to contact Massachusetts legislators and the Governor to share their concern about the MBTA’s future, and for Massachusetts’s environment. Some of us use the MBTA, but all of us need it and so here’s what you can do: Read a copy of the alert below; If you live in Massachusetts, use the simple form to contact Massachusetts legislators and the Governor; or If you live outside of Massachusetts, share this page with your friends and family in the Commonwealth. You can use this form to share it, or you can send this link in an email. Thank you for taking a moment to help the MBTA and Massachusetts’s environment! — read more…

With Northern Pass and other new transmission projects on the horizon, CLF and other leading New Hampshire environmental organizations are presenting a special free webinar on what it really means for New England to import more hydroelectric power from Canada. The webinar will be next Friday, March 9, 2012, 2:30 to 4pm EST. Click here to register. All you’ll need is a computer and an Internet connection. Please join us, and spread the word to friends, family, and colleagues. The webinar is sponsored by CLF and our friends at the Appalachian Mountain Club, Conservation New Hampshire, The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF).  The idea is to provide an accessible summary of the environmental and energy implications of imports, including the often-overlooked impacts of the new hydropower developments in Canada that will supply the power. One read more…

At a time when both carbon emissions and fuel prices continue to rise, Vermont is poised to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable power – a good thing at the right time. read more..

Boston University (BU) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are preparing a mandatory revised risk assessment for BU’s National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories (NEIDL), which has received substantial federal funding through NIH. I described the specifics of this risk assessment in an earlier post. The draft of that risk assessment is currently ready for public review. Though we reported in our last post that the public hearing for NIH’s draft risk assessment would be held February 16, that hearing was delayed by NIH. NIH recently announced that the hearing has been rescheduled for April 19 and that they are accepting public comments on the draft risk assessment. Your input in this public process is crucial – here is how you can get involved: Review the Draft Risk Assessment: The first read more…

Haphazard development, lack of coordination and poorly informed decisions can not only cause our beaches to be polluted and wildlife habitat to decline, but it can cost a loss of jobs and economic benefits to New England’s coastal communities. Continuing to have clean water and a healthy coast requires a bit of planning, as my colleague Peter Wellenberger pointed out in his post from last Thursday. An open, transparent planning process that uses the best scientific and local knowledge, fully involves all users and the public and protects the ecological capital that we all need to live, love, thrive and survive is the best way to go whether it is on the local, state, regional or national level. This is why CLF supports the National Ocean Policy. We want your help to advance this much read more…

This week's posts on TalkingFish.org: CLF requests federal fisheries disaster relief for Gulf of Maine cod fishermen; an interview with Portsmouth chef Evan Mallett, and a weekly roundup of fish stories in the news. read more..