Greg Cunningham, director of the clean energy program at the Conservation Law Foundation, said he wants proof. He noted that Hydro-Québec also exports power to New Brunswick, Ontario, and New York, and has refused requests to disclose how much power its reservoirs and dams can produce, making it difficult to assess the company’s claims.
Last year, 17 North Atlantic right whales died, leaving the remaining population of less than 450 precariously close to extinction. Twelve of the deaths last year occurred in Canadian waters. Certain folks in the U.S. pointed their fingers at our northern neighbors saying that efforts here are pointless unless Canada makes necessary changes, but Canada is taking action – and they’re doing it much faster than we are.
Erica Fuller, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, observed the proceedings with growing frustration. “We’re facing extinction,” she said afterward. “We don’t have time to say nothing works, or everything is too expensive.”
In this special issue of Conservation Matters, we want to take you behind the scenes of our work, to give you a glimpse into how we break down challenges and take advantage of opportunities to create a healthy, thriving New England – not just for today, but for generations to come.
North Atlantic right whales are in crisis. Last year, we lost 17 whales out of a population of barely 460. If we don’t act now, this already-endangered species could go extinct in our lifetimes. CLF recently hosted a conversation with experts on right whales to discuss this crisis – and what can be done to… Continue reading WATCH: Right Whales on the Brink of Extinction
No one would consider swimming, sailing, or fishing in a sewer, but that, in effect, is the choice facing people seeking to use polluted bays around Cape Cod. The Cape’s septic systems cause 85 percent of the nitrogen pollution plaguing our waterways. Every time a toilet flushes into a septic tank, our clean bays, our… Continue reading Help for Cape Cod’s Pollution Problem
Erica Fuller is a Senior Counsel in our Ocean program. Erica’s work focuses on advancing litigation and other solutions to protect vulnerable wildlife and habitat in the Northeast. Before joining CLF, Erica worked at Earthjustice, where she focused on protecting ocean ecosystems and rebuilding depleted forage and groundfish populations. Erica holds a J.D. from the… Continue reading Erica Fuller
Northern Pass received two major blows in March, knocking it fully out of contention as the energy winner in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth, which initially selected the proposed transmission line for a lucrative clean energy contract in January, severed ties and announced on March 28 that it is moving on to a different project. Just two… Continue reading New England Closes the Door on Northern Pass
“By issuing this permit, the Baker administration has clogged our community’s air, water, and land with another 500,000 tons of toxic ash in Rumney Marsh,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste Project at Conservation Law Foundation. “We will all be able to breathe easier when the Commonwealth stops pandering to dangerous landfills and starts protecting public health by enforcing its zero waste regulations.”
On a Thursday night in late November of last year, residents from Chelsea and East Boston came out in force for a meeting of Massachusetts’s Energy Facility Siting Board. At issue: a proposal by Eversource, the state’s largest utility company, to build and operate two new 115-kilovolt underground electric transmission lines and an above-ground substation… Continue reading Massachusetts Environmental Justice Act Moves Forward
