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…

When headlines in your local media regularly highlight mishaps at the old and infirm nuke plant in your neighborhood, you’d probably start to wonder whether it makes sense to keep feeding it fissile fuel for another twenty years.  That’s what we’re pondering here in Vermont, where Entergy Nuclear’s “Vermont Yankee” seems to be in the news–and lampooned in editorial cartoons–every other week.  Exhibit A: Just two weeks ago, in a story headlined “Yankee Plant’s Reliability Questioned” Vermont Public Radio reported that Yankee’s owners failed to disclose the fact that the plant has storm drains that flow to the Connecticut River and have been contaminated with radioactive Cobalt-60.  Apparently, only “minute particles” of the raidoisotope have been found in the river sediments (thank goodness!) and the problem that led to the contamination was supposedly fixed read more…

In October 2008 CLF and three citizens petitioned NOAA to protect the Atlantic wolffish under the Endangered Species Act. You may recall the news headlines from that time such as “Protection sought for sea brute” or ”Group to seek protection for a toothy sea monster,” not to forget my personal favorite “Group seeks protection for ugly New England fish.”  The Atlantic wolffish is, apparently, considered unattractive by both humans and most headline editors. In any event, it’s largely true that wolffish are best known for their fang-like teeth. What can you say about the fact that their eating habits consist of crushing whole scallops and sea urchins — not to mention the occasional wayward crab? Check our video, courtesy of Jonathan Bird, of the wolffish in action. It’s an admitted charismatically gruesome fish, but there are those of us who love it. So, after sitting patiently by read more…

The Boston Common has a long history as a place  where social activism and change can flourish.  It is therefore not surprising that  Massachusetts college based climate activists chose this most historic of public spaces for a “Sleep Out”  since the Common is right in front of the Massachusetts State House and this particular campaign is focused on provoking legislative action in favor of clean energy. These activists, and prominent guests and supporters like Dr. James Hansen the most prominent climate science in the United States, made the decision to stick out on the Common through the night despite the Boston Police showing up to issue citations for being in the Common after the 11 PM “closure” of the park. The number of people who are willing to publicly call read more…