CLF welcomes its brand new group of 2010 summer interns. CLF’s summer internship program gives undergraduate and graduate students a unique real-world experience in the world of environmental law, as well as communications, development and other aspects of daily operations here at CLF. Some may even be posting to this very blog! They are: Massachusetts Stephanie Bair, Cavers Legal Intern, Harvard Law School Tiffany Egbuono, Posse Scholar (Advocacy/Development), Undergrad Bryn Mawr College Anthony Mathieu, Posse Scholar (Oceans), Undergrad Hamilton College Megan Hodson, Cavers Legal Intern, U Baltimore School of Law Zachary Moor, Cavers Legal Intern, Boston University Caitlin Peale, Cavers Legal Intern, Columbia U Law School Emily Migliaccio, Ocean Intern, Boston College Maine Caitlin Casey, Intern, Undergrad Colby College Becky Lipson, Cavers Legal Intern, U Michigan Law School Michael Knapp, read more…

Over the weekend a fish found in the Connecticut river near Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant was confirmed to be contaminated with strontium-90.  Only a few days before, it was revealed that strontium-90 is contaminating the soil at the Vermont Yankee site.  Strontium-90 is a dangerous radioactive substance.  Don’t you think these events are connected?  I do.  Yet Yankee officials claim there is no connection.  The fish was four miles upstream.  Last I checked, fish swim upstream and can swim four miles.  Then they said the radiation levels are consistent with what would be present from long ago nuclear testing or Chernobyl. Unbelievable.  There’s a saying that when you hear hoof beats, don’t think of a zebra.  It is probably a horse.  I think Vermont Yankee is seeing zebras everywhere — avoiding the obvious in read more…

I loved the newspaper headline that greeted me this morning.   Did we win in our request to shut the plant down until the leaks are repaired and the site is cleaned up?  Not yet.  It seems Vermont Yankee simply hasn’t figured out how to put the plug back in after refueling.  Yankee’s unexpected emergency shut down yesterday is just one of many failings that demonstrates Yankee’s incapacity to operate responsibly. The  public hearing scheduled for tonight has been CANCELLED  – ironically due to a power outage.   Recent news includes finding strontium-90 at the Vermont Yankee site and the NRC saying  don’t worry about the mess, it will be cleaned up when the plant closes.  As I told one reporter: “This is a good example of lax oversight by the NRC. I expect to hear read more…

As the oil disaster continues in the gulf, watch the live feed below (windows media player required). Angry? Frustrated? Had enough? Click here to tell President Obama to take action today – and help us prevent an oil disaster in New England.

Today’s story in the New York Times regarding collusion and corruption between the Mineral Management Service and the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico is stunning. But, “stunning” is less than surprising when it comes to the many ways in which MMS and the Department of Interior has allowed the oil industry to dictate the terms of oil operations. The BP oil disaster is well into its fifth week and the grumbling is growing that the government should move BP aside in order to shut down the oil geyser and get on with the clean-up. The tragic irony is that the federal government cannot stop the oil geyser but has had the chance to stop the collusion and corruption which results in oil spills, fraud, environmental damage and the erosion of professional conduct. Because MMS broke down years ago we are now at the mercy of BP’s read more…

The BP oil disaster has now reached its one month anniversary. No viable solutions are at hand for shutting down the underwater geyser, cleaning up the soiled marshes or restoring the damaged economies of coastal communities. The “outhouse” failed and the “top hat,” “top kill” and “junk shot” are still theories. What’s the performance assessment from the BP CEO? “Extraordinarily successful.” In fact, if BP continues on their chosen strategy, says Man at the Helm Tony Hayward, it just might be an improvement for their reputation!  Bravo Tony. Shirley Temple‘s sunny outlook pales in comparison. The arrogance seen on display is not new. It’s the same gall we have seen in the Congress with Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s incredible response that the solution to the BP oil disaster is to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife read more…

From the first time I heard a BP official (May 3, 2010 on NPR)  promise to pay “all legitimate claims” arising from the massive “Deepwater Horizon” discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, my mind turned immediately to the epic legal drama that unfolded in the poisonous wake of the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster. In the press and during Congressional hearings, BP officials have been extremely disciplined in their undeviating use of this phrase to describe BP’s alleged readiness to pay its fair share (let’s remember that Halliburton and other oil industry contractors are also responsible for this mess) of the financial damages caused by the oil plume emanating from its drilling operation.  Putting aside the issue of whether the full extent of the damage this disaster is causing can ever read more…

I had my first whole-body x-ray at the Denver International Airport last night. The amiable attendant jerked his head up and over his right shoulder as he explained that the scan was read by someone far above in the cavernous hall. He then listened for a moment to his earpiece and asked if I was sure I had nothing in my right front pocket. I reached in and pulled out my boarding pass, to which my checked-bag ticket had been affixed with a very small staple. The guy upstairs had seen it, and in an instant we had our hands on the tiny, inoffensive item, and I was on my way. At about the same time, 5,000 feet of water above their target, BP engineers had finally managed to insert a read more…

As recently as this morning the Coast Guard was asserting that oil from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had not entered the “loop current” that travels around the tip of Florida over to the East Coast. And now it appears the oil is hitting Florida as tar balls appear in Key West . . . they are being tested to determine to determine their origin. Some commentators have, appropriately, noted that in addition to banning drilling in sensitive areas off our own coasts we need to appropriately regulate drilling that is underway and, to truly solve the problem, we must gain control and dramatically reduce our use of oil – a process that will involve building livable, walkable communities centered around transit. Sadly, efforts are afoot in read more…

Now is our chance. On Thursday, May 27, the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) will hold a public hearing on whether to shut down Vermont Yankee right now, instead of waiting until 2012. You will have the opportunity to tell the PSB what you think—whether the PSB should shut down the plant now, or take other action to address the ongoing leaks, false information and company misconduct that violates state laws. It is important for our regulators, the Vermont Public Service Board, to hear from you. What can you do to help? Join a growing community of concerned people like you by attending the public hearing on May 27. Tell the PSB what YOU think should happen to Vermont Yankee. Public Hearing on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Thursday, May read more…