The Conservation Law Foundation has given the state of Vermont a D+ for poor progress toward a cleanup of Lake Champlain. Issuing its annual Lake Champlain Report Card on Monday, the environmental watchdog said, “The near-failing grade is the result of a consistent pattern of missed deadlines, weak treatment standards and a lack of investment in clean-up programs.”
Vermont’s rivers and lakes are not healthy. Toxic cyanobacteria plague our waters year after year threatening the health of people, wildlife, and our economy. Too often throughout the summer, signs are posted at public beaches warning families to stay out of the water. This is an annoyance for the parents who heed the warnings, scary… Continue reading Lake Champlain Report Card: State Gets a D+ for Its Clean-up Efforts
“Jen Duggan is a tireless defender of the right of all communities to have access to a clean and healthy environment,” said Bradley Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “Jen has a lengthy track record of holding polluters accountable, including successfully limiting toxic discharges from coal plants and oil refineries. Her experience developing and executing campaigns to clean up illegal pollution from industrial facilities, combined with her leadership in government to protect Vermont’s natural resources and safeguard communities, make her uniquely qualified to advance the work of CLF.”
“Climate change demands that we set aside harmful, unnecessary fossil fuel pipelines, and today’s decision is a step in the wrong direction,” said Sandra Levine, Senior Attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “Without a fresh look at what has become an entirely new project, the troubled Vermont Gas pipeline will saddle Vermonters with higher costs and more pollution for decades.”
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.
If there’s one thing that most Vermonters can agree on, it’s that Lake Champlain is in trouble. The iconic lake is central to Vermont’s identity and its tourism economy. It provides drinking water and feeds thirsty farms throughout its large watershed. It’s also dying a slow death due to unchecked pollution. How to stop that… Continue reading Saving Lake Champlain
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its plans to reverse the nation’s landmark clean car standards. The impacts of weakening the standards will be widespread and severe, and will include raising costs for American families and businesses on gas, while dirtying the air that we breathe and harming the health of our families and… Continue reading EPA’s Roll Back of Clean Car Standards Will Cost Americans
… “In New England, like California, we are past the point where more gas can help us,” said David Ismay, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, which is fighting new gas plants in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Massachusetts, the region’s most populous state, wants 40% of its power from clean- energy resources by… Continue reading Natural Gas Under Assault in Some States After Brief Reign at the Top
Vermonters are the losers in a recent agreement aimed to sweeten the deal for the sale of Entergy’s shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Slick talk and empty promises prevailed. In a rush to secure a possible – and by no means certain – quick clean-up of the site, the agreement short-changes Vermont communities. Entergy… Continue reading Vermont Yankee Sale: A Raw Deal for Vermonters
The regional grid operator ISO-New England‘s long-awaited Operational Fuel-Security Analysis shows that more renewables, not more gas, will keep New England’s electric power system reliable – especially during winter cold-snaps. That supports what CLF, and the markets, have been saying now for several years – New England doesn’t need more gas-fired power plants or expensive… Continue reading Study Proves Clean Energy Can Power New England’s Future
