Environmental and Clean Energy Advocates Urge Movement on Cape Wind at Final Hearing

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Colin Durrant, CLF Director of Communications
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Boston, MA (March 13, 2008) – At the final public hearing on Cape Wind tonight at UMASS Boston, environmentalists, unions and clean energy advocates will once again point to climate change as the key reason for moving the 130 wind turbine clean energy project forward.

“Since the Cape Wind project was first proposed in 2001, the scientific evidence on global warming and public support for moving forward with responsible clean energy projects has increased dramatically,” said Sue Reid, Director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Change Initiative. “We need to be doing everything we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Cape Wind will be a big step in the right direction.”

“Renewable energy is the critical ingredient to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists across the Commonwealth ought to be deeply committed to Cape Wind and renewable energy wherever it can built responsibly,” said George A. Bachrach, President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts.

“It’s time to start moving toward a cleaner energy future, and moving ahead with Cape Wind and other wind projects will jumpstart that move,” said Frank Gorke, Director of Environment Massachusetts. “We can’t tolerate anymore delays in the Cape Wind review process.”

“For global warming, the choices we make today will define our path forward. How we treat important projects like Cape Wind will shape the environment we leave to future generations,” said John Rogers, senior energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

>>About tonight’s Cape Wind hearing in Boston (note location change): Thurs. March 13 at 6PM, Clark Athletic Center, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, South Boston.

Tonight’s hearing wraps up a series of four statewide hearings on the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). After the public comment period is completed on April 21, the US Minerals Management Service will prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project which will serve as the basis for their final decision on licensing the project.

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The Conservation Law Foundation works to solve the environmental problems that threaten the people, natural resources and communities of New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to design and implement strategies that conserve natural resources, protect public health, and promote vital communities in our region. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. It has offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Concord, New Hampshire; Providence, Rhode Island; Montpelier, Vermont; and Brunswick, Maine.