In her post here Lesley Bunnell, CLF’s Rhode Island office manager, persuasively deflates and rebuts an attack in the Washington Post by Sarah Palin on the cap-and-trade mechanism.   One important evolution in the idea of cap-and-trade that Lesley did not have a chance to get into is the key reform of auctioning the allowances and using the money generated by the auction for good purposes that reduce emissions and save money for all our citizens. CLF, as part of a broad coalition, successfully fought for this model in the design and creation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.   The states of New England have repeatedly pushed in Congress for this model to be recreated on the federal level. The reason for embracing allowance read more…

Most people are aware that burning fossil fuels is changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere and causing climate change.  People might be surprised to learn that greenhouse gases (and in particular, carbon dioxide) are also altering the ocean and pose an independent and equally serious threat to marine life.  In fact this change, making the oceans more acidic, is a direct threat to the survival of lobsters, oysters and other marine animals that are an essential element in the life and culture of New England. The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has skyrocketed from 280 parts per million (ppm) in the mid 18th century to 385 ppm at the beginning of the 21st century.  As a result of a simple chemical reaction, the ocean has absorbed approximately one third read more…

While there are many longer-term lifestyle changes that we all ought to adopt (like composting, driving fewer miles, using less water, etc), here are 6 things that you can do in 3.5 minutes to save our planet without leaving your chair: Save a tree, stop junk mail. We all know about the Federal “Do Not Call” list – but unfortunately, there’s no such list for junk mail. However, you can sign up with DMAchoice.org to eliminate up to 80% of junk mail sent to your home. The trees will thank you, and it takes only 90 seconds. Petition for expanded public transit. There are many benefits to expanded public transit – including a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and decreased dependence on foreign oil. Signing this petition takes just read more…

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