CLF praised the Patrick Administration today for announcing its new regulations on biomass energy for Massachusetts. CLF has been instrumentally involved in the state’s  debate over biomass, helping to bridge the gap between environmental interests, forest advocates and policymakers in the state. CLF and others have fought for science-based rulemaking that would allow certain biomass projects to receive state subsidies only if they contribute to the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals while ensuring protection of its valuable forestry resources. Read the proposed regulations in their entirety here.

“We are encouraged that the state has looked to the latest science and public input to craft these nation-leading regulations and to identify more responsible policies for biomass energy in Massachusetts,” said CLF Massachusetts Director Sue Reid. More >

The folks who deny that the globe is warming are fond of saying the computer models that show how our climate is changing are wrong.  It looks like they may be right – but not in they way they intend. The situation may be much worse as in-depth review of paleoclimate data (information about the changes in the earth’s climate stretching back millions of years) suggests that CO2 “may have at least twice the effect on global temperatures than currently projected by computer models” – which would mean that we could see changes in global average temperatures by 2100 that would render large sections of the earth uninhabitable.

Scary stuff that is described quite clearly by Joe Romm on his authoritative Climate Progress blog.

This science reinforces, yet again, the need to take aggressive action on a wide range of fronts to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

The news from the Nation’s Capitol is bleak.

The United States Senate will not consider anything remotely like comprehensive energy and climate legislation before its August recess.

While it is good that they will be looking at legislation to address oil spills and laudable energy efficiency efforts like HomeStar the decision to not address the underlying climate and energy crisis is tragic. However, even after the BP oil disaster, Congress still continues to leave New England’s ocean and our coastal communities at risk of the next big spill.

Effectively, Congress is turning its back on the science that describes the fundamental peril facing our climate, the families who need the jobs that a surge of green development will bring and embracing a course of continued dependence on imported oil and dirty coal.

The handful of Senators who have blocked progress on this critical legislation should be ashamed of the damage they are doing to our environment, our economy and our communities.