This past year CLF and our partners declared victory in two of our most long-fought, complex cases: Vermont Yankee, one of the nation’s oldest nuclear power plants, and Brayton Point, New England’s largest coal-fired power plant, both announced their retirement. These victories took time to achieve – and it could be years before we fully…
Jan 16
2014
2014
Dec 13
2013
2013
A Quest for Clean Air
I’d like to introduce you to two CLF members who are making a difference for people and communities in New England. Tiffany Mellers is a working mom and Army reservist who lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the shadow of Bridgeport Harbor Station, a coal- and oil-burning power plant that has been polluting that city for…
Jun 18
2013
2013
Getting It Right in the Regional Process for Canadian Hydropower Imports
For a question as big, complicated and important as what role new imports of Canadian hydropower should play in New England’s energy future, it takes more than two lines in a press release to answer it. Indeed, we at CLF have been working on this issue for years. So, it’s worth explaining in a little…
Apr 22
2013
2013
Earth Day: An Opportunity to Pause and Heal
In the Boston area we are grieving, and we are rattled. The shocking events of last week have taken their toll on all of us. They have been devastating for the families and friends of those killed and injured. We are relieved and grateful, but underneath we are in some pain. We all need to…
Apr 12
2013
2013
CLF and Anthony Iarrapino awarded premier honor by the Charles River Watershed Association
It’s a pleasure to report that on Wednesday, at the Charles River Watershed Association’s annual meeting, CLF was awarded The Anne M. Blackburn Award – CRWA’s premier honor. As Executive Director Bob Zimmerman put it, they were intending to recognize a person and an organization. That deserving person is CLF Senior Attorney Anthony Iarrapino. Anthony was…
Apr 3
2013
2013
Please Stand With Us, For the Sake of Cod
A few weeks ago my colleague Peter Shelley stood in front of fishermen and policymakers and spoke about the startling decline of New England’s cod fishery. Did you know that, since 1982, it’s estimated we have lost more than 80% of the cod in New England’s ocean? That surely should be a wake up call…
Mar 9
2013
2013
Healthy Cities are for Walkers; Walkers for Healthy Cities
This is a scene in Cambridge, MA, last Friday morning during the nor’easter that passed through late last week. From this photo I ask you: Who ranks in Cambridge, drivers or pedestrians? In fairness to the hardworking snowplow drivers, municipal employees and property owners – this was in the middle of a storm, we’re all…
Feb 19
2013
2013
“Forward on Climate” Movement, Fully Ready, Leaves Station
“People get ready, there’s a train a-comin’.” Curtis Mayfield. Before 50,000 committed supporters, from many states and nations and braving frigid wind-chill temps, Bill McKibben announced on Sunday that all of the work he has done for the last 25 years has been in hopeful anticipation of that moment. The moment when the Climate Movement…
Jan 3
2013
2013
Natural Gas Leaks: A Risky Business In Need of a Fix
A few weeks ago, Springfield, MA, was rocked by a natural gas explosion that destroyed a building, ruined a city block, and was hailed as a miracle because no lives were lost. The pipelines that lie below our communities, always out of sight, came suddenly came into focus. The explosion reminded us of the sobering…
Dec 21
2012
2012
Environmentalists for Gun Control
This is a family time of year, when many families come together and enjoy love, comfort and tradition. But we cannot embrace the joy of family this year without feeling a small portion of the immeasurable pain of the families in Newtown, CT – or the enormous agony that is felt on a regular, tragically recurring basis by many families in our own neighborhoods in Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Providence whose loved ones are killed in gun-related violence.