This spring, the Trump administration reversed stronger protections for our nation’s waters, putting people, animals, and local businesses at risk. CLF and our partners are fighting this latest attack: We’re taking the administration to court.
“Once again, President Trump is sacrificing the public good at the altar of the fossil fuel industry, pretending to sit on a throne rather than executing the laws as written by Congress,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Instead of expediting worthy projects, Trump’s overreach and disregard of the law will mean more lawsuits and greater distrust of agency actions, while eliminating what is often the only avenue for the public to understand, help shape, or oppose ill-advised projects that put their health and their communities at risk.”
“Electric cars, trucks, and buses are the future,” said CLF Senior Attorney Emily Green. “Cutting transportation emissions to zero is a critical piece of confronting the climate crisis and protecting public health from toxic exhaust. This is yet another example of states leading the way while the federal government turns back the clock on environmental progress.
“This is a barometer and the forecast for right whales could still go either way,” said CLF Senior Attorney Erica Fuller. “With a calf recently found dead of blunt trauma caused by a vessel strike, we’re one step closer to extinction. While this new status doesn’t change legal obligations here at home, it’s a reminder that to save this species, we can’t wait any longer for necessary long term protections.”
Amy Laura Cahn, Senior Attorney, Interim Director – Healthy Communities & Environmental Justice, Conservation Law Foundation, said, ““The data is clear: COVID-19 is attacking Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities at astronomical rates. For generations, our legal system has withheld resources and legal protections from these communities while shielding whiter, wealthier areas from environmental harm. Now is the time to create new systems that prioritize the rights, health, and self-determination of those who have been denied these freedoms since before this country’s inception.”
After a victory in the first phase of our lawsuit to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, now we’re asking the court for protective measures in the second phase.
“This death is a tragedy,” said Erica Fuller, CLF Senior Attorney. “Like most of the right whales before it, this one didn’t die of natural causes. NOAA must take the threat of ship strikes seriously. We urgently need more surveillance of whale habitats and mandatory vessel speed restrictions in these areas as soon as possible.”
UPDATE: Vermont is once again caught in the midst of a blinding heatwave. Our state has never been this hot for this long in June – and it’s not letting up. From Maine to the Arctic Circle and around the globe, regions that typically don’t experience this type of heat are breaking temperature records. Like… Continue reading UPDATE: Dangerous Heat Waves Demand Immediate Climate Action
“Trump has once again eliminated critical natural resource protections on a whim, and with no legal authority,” said Brad Campbell, president of the foundation. “This lawless act upends over a century of practice by presidents of both parties, and puts all national monuments on the block for the highest political bidder.”
“Trump has once again eliminated critical natural resource protections on a whim and with no legal authority,” said CLF President Brad Campbell. “This lawless act upends over a century of practice by presidents of both parties and puts all national monuments on the block for the highest political bidder. CLF is going to court to protect this natural treasure, one that provides resilience, refuge, and hope in one of the fastest-warming bodies of water in the world.”
