A wave of luxury development threatens to wall off the experience of Boston Harbor from the people who paid to clean it up, just as the waterfront was once literally walled off behind the city’s Central Artery expressway. CLF Senior Counsel Peter Shelley remembers the original campaign to clean up the Boston Harbor, and continues to work on current issues of equity and fairness.
2018
2017
Another Day, Another Unneeded Fracked-Gas Power Plant
New England has been stepping away from fossil fuels, and our regional grid operator hasn’t been choosing new polluting power plants. So why are energy companies still trying to build them?
2016
Maine Rejects Big Gas’s Gamble – For Now
Last week, the Maine Public Utilities Commission closed the latest chapter (for now) in the ongoing saga that is the demise of Spectra’s Access Northeast Project when it decided to indefinitely postpone its proceedings on the ill-conceived natural gas pipeline proposal. Previously, the Commission decided to move forward with a contract for natural gas capacity…
2016
Why We Give a Crap: CLF Offers Improvements to Vermont’s Proposed Rule to Regulate Untreated Sewage Overflows
Out of sight, out of mind. That’s often the case for pollution issues. So it’s no surprise that most people do not realize that raw, untreated sewage is routinely – and illegally – dumped into the same waters we drink from and recreate in. Here in Vermont, according to state data, there have been 147 untreated sewage…
2016
Exeter Forges Ahead on the Fertilizer Front
The Healthy Lawns-Clean Water committee in Exeter, NH, is forging ahead with new fertilizer restrictions in the town. Established by the Town and funded by a grant from the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), interested folks – myself included – have convened numerous times to give serious thought to how to reduce nitrogen discharge in…
2015
Protecting New England Together
One of the most rewarding parts of my job as a CLF advocate is getting out into communities to meet with the people directly impacted by our work. Sometimes, we meet at the office of a local grassroots organization. Other times, I find myself huddled around a kitchen table with a concerned group of neighbors.…
2015
Solving New England’s Natural Gas Problem (Hint: It’s Not through Big New Pipelines)
For a few hours a day, on 50 days of the year, New England has a gas problem – not enough natural gas is available to meet demand for both heat and electricity. Two years ago, this problem led to dramatic spikes in the price of natural gas and the cost of electricity. Since then,…
2015
Hundreds show to comment on Marine National Monument proposal
Last night, more than 400 people attended a meeting at the Marriott in downtown Providence to discuss the possibility of a Marine National Monument in New England. Facilitated by NOAA, the meeting drew people from every corner of New England who are invested in gaining permanent protection for the Cashes Ledge Area and the New…
2015
Waterkeeper Vessel Launched for 2015!
The Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper vessel is back on the water for its second season. Interest is keen from folks who want to climb aboard and explore Great Bay and the Piscataqua River and other waters up close, and to discuss the challenges facing the estuary and the solutions for securing its health.
2015
CLF Announces Bradley Campbell as New President
As a member of the CLF community, I want you to be among the first to know that Conservation Law Foundation has named a new president, Bradley M. Campbell. Brad is a nationally recognized environmental leader and energy entrepreneur who has held senior roles at the White House, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the…