Monica Huertas is among those leading the fight for environmental justice in her community. The mother of four’s passion lies in her work as a doula, but she recognizes that for her own kids – and the babies she delivers – to grow up healthy, she and her neighbors must take a stand against the industrial pollution fouling her community.
This landmark law aims to clean up how we heat our homes and buildings. Now we need to implement it effectively so that it achieves its goal.
One source of pollution that probably won’t come up is homes and buildings. But in 2020, burning oil, propane, and gas for space and water heating generated close to a quarter of Connecticut’s smog-forming pollution. That’s eight times more than power plants.
“Just seven months ago, another right whale was killed off Virginia Beach, yet nothing has changed on the water,” said Erica Fuller, senior attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “NOAA Fisheries has proposed a strong rule and their Office of Law Enforcement has made clear they’ll do everything they can to enforce it. Unfortunately, special interest groups in Congress have created a campaign of misinformation that now threatens to derail and delay protections. These are unnecessary deaths — we urge the agency to take action now.”
A proposal to build an anaerobic digester on Vermont’s largest dairy farm is not the climate solution its proponents claim it to be.
Thankfully, there’s a solution that slashes climate-damaging emissions, saves lives and protects the businesses that rely on these vehicles. The Advanced Clean Trucks rule will never rush a clean vehicle into a job that it’s not ready for. And it will never force a Maine business to purchase a particular vehicle. Instead, it sets a standard for manufacturers.
“The ocean belongs to all of us and we allow fishermen access to these public resources for the cost of a permit,” said CLF Senior Attorney Erica Fuller. “But there are times, like this one, when the industry must shoulder a portion of the costs to gather data that ensures equity across fisheries. Without good monitoring on the largest boats in this fishery, we can’t prevent overfishing of Atlantic herring, a keystone forage species, or the further depletion of other valuable species such as haddock, shads, and river herring, caught as bycatch. The Supreme Court should reject the arguments being made in this case.”
To save right whales from extinction, we must protect them from boats and fishing gear.
“Single-use plastics are a scourge on our environment and our communities,” said CLF zero waste attorney Mara Shulman. “These products hasten the climate crisis and endanger the health of people and wildlife. Governor Healey’s ban is a great step towards making Massachusetts a leader in fighting the plastics crisis.”
For those on the ground, the project will address disparities they’ve long observed. Arnold Mikolo is an environmental justice advocate with the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy group partnering with the city on the tree planting project. He’s been speaking with residents to gather their feedback and concerns about environmental issues in the center city communities. “One of the main things they said was, ‘This neighborhood is really hot,’” Mikolo said.
