The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia is a setback, to be sure. But it is also a reminder of the importance of action at the regional, state, and local levels – action that we have been leading here in New England for more than a decade as we waited – and waited – for federal climate rules to come into play.
So-called “advanced recycling” is a ruse. The term is part of a larger disinformation – or greenwashing – campaign. That campaign’s goal: to distract lawmakers and the public from real solutions to the world’s plastic crisis.
“The Supreme Court’s new majority has hobbled EPA’s ability to reduce pollution from power plants, expanding an obscure doctrine into an all-purpose tool for the Court to stop agencies from acting on the most significant threats to human health and the environment,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “By arbitrarily limiting EPA’s explicit and broad authority under the Clean Air Act to require the use of less polluting systems, the Court has consigned millions of Americans to more illness, shorter lives, and greater poverty in an overheated climate, while giving itself nearly unlimited authority to invalidate protections and safeguards intended by Congress.”
“The vessel speed restrictions and adaptive management measures agreed to by South Fork Wind will go a long way toward protecting these whales from being injured or killed by project vessels,” said Priscilla Brooks, vice president and director of ocean conservation at the Conservation Law Foundation.
As the federal government begins identifying offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Maine, we must prioritize the health and prosperity of our communities and the environment. A comprehensive environmental analysis can help us achieve that.
New federal and state laws and policies require government agencies to invest in environmental justice populations. The details behind these requirements must recognize the primary predictor to experience environmental burdens: race. CLF is working to ensure that government investments reach the populations who have endured the brunt of pollution and other consequences of climate change.
“Strong vehicle emissions standards are critical to tackling the climate crisis given that transportation is the nation’s largest source of polluting emissions,” said CLF attorney James Crowley. “Toxic tailpipe pollution wreaks havoc on our health, air quality, and climate. It’s time we act. The Biden Administration made the right call in restoring California’s ability to set stricter standards, and we’re defending the rights for other states to follow suit”
As New Englander’s, we are lucky to have our very own marine National Monument in our backyards. But it shouldn’t be the last. Here are 5 reasons why we must continue to protect special places in our ocean.
For too long, the world has treated plastic as a waste disposal problem. But plastic pollutes from the moment we extract fossil fuels from the ground. To truly tackle this crisis, we need to stop plastic production at its source. And the UN plastic treaty can do just that – on a global scale.
We need clean energy without having to risk our health and climate. Responsible offshore wind offers a viable solution, but it has to be done right – including to protect marine species. That’s why CLF and our partners worked to develop best practices for developers to utilize and get offshore wind right for North Atlantic right whales.
