…you can learn Commonwealth Magazine’s “Energy and the environment” issue, out this month. The magazine gives a detailed account of how Massachusetts is doing environmentally–and where we fall short–across a broad range of environmental issues. Best of all, the issue includes interviews with CLF Vice President for Climate Advocacy and Policy Seth Kaplan (“Grass is greener”) and CLF Board of Trustees member (and former CLF president) Doug Foy (“Who’s the real environmentalist?”).

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If you were listening to Maine Public Radio yesterday (whether because you are on vacation or because you live there) you might have caught this piece about plans to develop a sub-sea cable from Maine to Boston.

Bottom line: In order to meet the climate and energy goals that science and sound policy dictate we will need to build thousands of megawatts of clean renewable generation (as well as becoming much more efficient and many other key steps) and the infrastructure to support it.  And a sub-sea cable could be part of that solution, if it is done right.

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Ms. Merrifield's fourth graders, Plummer Motz School, Falmouth, ME

As many of you already know, the New England region often emerges as a leader on environmental issues–and environmental solutions. So we weren’t surprised to find that three of the top 10 finalists in the nationwide  ”America’s Greenest School” contest hail from the New England states.

Participants were asked to submit a video or other media project explaining what they would do to make their school more environmentally friendly. But to win, they need your help. Until April 2, any member of the public can vote up to once a day for the entry of their choice.

The winning team’s school will receive the clean, green IC Bus™ Hybrid Bus (valued at $150,000); a School Audit by LEED Accredited Professionals and Green Makeover (valued at $20,000); a free concert by The Maine, the official band of America’s Greenest School; a $3,000 scholarship for the winning student and/or classroom; and $500 in class supplies for the winning sponsor/teacher. If that’s not enough motivation, the contest is also giving away a $100 Visa gift card every day to one participating voter.

New England’s finalists are:

• Ms. Merrifield’s fourth grade class, Plummer Motz School, Falmouth, ME
• Ms. Roberts’ third and fourth grade classes, South Shore Charter Public School, Norwell, MA
• Billy and Maddy S., 8 and 10 years old, Kathleen E. Goodwin Elementary School and Old Saybrook Middle School, Old Saybrook, CT

Support these students and their efforts to make the world a greener place by VOTING TODAY for America’s Greenest School! Voting ends April 2.

For more information, go to http://www.americasgreenestschool.com/ or check out this article by Judith Van Hamm, president of Sustainable South Shore.

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The Massachusetts’ Water Resource Authority’s decision to release 15 million gallons of untreated sewage into Boston Harbor’s Quincy Bay during last weekend’s storm felt to many like a giant step backward in the decades-long fight to clean up Boston Harbor. The good news is that there are actions that can be taken today that could have kept MWRA officials from having to make that decision in the future—implementing green stormwater infrastructure to reduce the burden on our sewer pipes, reduce flooding and make communities more resilient to climate change.

Many of our state’s aging sewer systems become overwhelmed with a mix of rainwater and sewage during large storms. That’s why MWRA officials were stuck between a rock and a hard place, forced to choose between quietly releasing 15 million gallons of untreated sewage into Quincy Bay or letting the water flood the station and release that sewage into basements, but sparing the Harbor. The problem runs deeper than this one incident—during last week’s storm, there were equally damaging releases of raw sewage into neighborhoods and into the Mystic and Charles Rivers as well. (See video footage here).

Massachusetts can stop these incidents by investing in green stormwater management techniques to enable communities to better prevent sewer overflows and save money over the long term. Some of these techniques include the use of permeable pavement, green roofs, rain barrels, even gravel—anything that will absorb stormwater and diminish runoff from hard surfaces. These actions can be taken by homeowners in and around their homes, at the city scale by greening streets, parking lots, and alleys, and at the state level, by greening state highways and universities.  Massachusetts residents can urge their towns to adopt bylaws requiring green stormwater and green building techniques to be used in all new construction or infrastructure projects. Cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York are already rolling out these techniques and finding that they are both cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

Fortunately, we have a chance RIGHT NOW to tell the state of Massachusetts how important it is to us to keep stormwater in check. The U.S. EPA is currently working on a stormwater permit that will govern the stormwater management of communities across Massachusetts for the next five years.

Help Massachusetts prepare for the next storm before it happens. Tell our government that we need a stronger stormwater permit to govern Massachusetts waterways and keep our communities pollution-free.

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Yesterday’s Boston Globe editorial in response to Monday’s New York Times article on the Clean Water Act makes the point that Massachusetts is in a unique position because the state’s waterways are regulated under a more flexible state water act enforced by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). However, that’s not a panacea. Massachusetts must still support and enforce the terms of the federal Clean Water Act to keep pollution at bay.

While the DEP may enforce discharge permits in Massachusetts, it’s the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has primary responsibility for issuing them. Two US Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 have undermined the authority of the EPA by calling into question what defines a waterway eligible for protection under the Clean Water Act.  The confusion over which of these waterways are legally protected has left 52% of Massachusetts’ waterways at risk for increased pollution, because EPA is no longer asserting its jurisdiction to regulate pollution flowing into them.

Congress needs to act quickly convey that the Clean Water Act applies to all waterways and must be enforced broadly and effectively.

The Clean Water Restoration Act, first introduced in Congress in April 2009, would amend the Clean Water Act to clarify that the Act applies to all US waterways as it did prior to the Supreme Court decisions. Passing the CWRA will send a message to polluters that all waterways merit equal protection under the law, and that the EPA will continue to enforce the terms of the CWA to prevent further environmental damage.

If we want clean waterways, not just for Massachusetts but throughout New England, here’s our chance to make sure that the EPA has full authority to do its job right, by passing the Clean Water Restoration Act.

Support the Clean Water Restoration Act

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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.

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A pending bill in the Massachusetts legislature would set up a reasonably good system for facilitating the siting of wind energy facilities in Massachusetts.   Conservation Law Foundation and a group of allies have placed on the public record a letter supporting this bill and responding to issues raised by opponents.   We urge Massachusetts residents to educate themselves on this issue and to make their voices heard.

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