Along the banks of the Mystic River lies a huge petroleum storage terminal. Belonging to corporate giant ExxonMobil, the Everett Terminal borders the Island End and Mystic rivers on one side – and family homes on the other. ExxonMobil is putting both at risk.
The Massachusetts Legislative Session is over, and CLF has our recap of the good, the bad, and the “meh” from the last two years of work by our elected officials.
Incinerator companies have done a great job green-washing their true impacts on communities by implying that so-called “waste-to-incineration” facilities are good neighbors offering a safe process that eliminates waste, allows for robust recycling programs, and generates renewable energy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is burning waste harms the health, environment, and economy of many communities. The perceived benefits simply aren’t worth the risk.
On a Thursday night in late November of last year, residents from Chelsea and East Boston came out in force for a meeting of Massachusetts’s Energy Facility Siting Board. At issue: a proposal by Eversource, the state’s largest utility company, to build and operate two new 115-kilovolt underground electric transmission lines and an above-ground substation… Continue reading Massachusetts Environmental Justice Act Moves Forward
A new law in New Hampshire adopts much-needed protections to stem the tide of childhood lead poisoning cases in the state.
If there was one issue where candidate Donald Trump seemed to offer a promise that both sides of the aisle could get behind, it was his vow to spend $1 trillion on public works over the next decade. It would be an investment, he said, in repairing and upgrading the nation’s transportation systems. Unlike the… Continue reading We’re Not Waiting for Trump’s Promised Infrastructure Investment
When discussing the tragedy of childhood lead poisoning, I’m often met with the incredulous response “Haven’t we already solved that problem?” It’s a fair question. After all, we’ve known that lead is a dangerous toxin, especially for kids, for decades – even long before the federal government banned lead from paint in 1978 and from… Continue reading Lead Poisoning is 100 Percent Preventable – So Why Is It Still a Problem Today?
Trump’s proposed cuts to EPA’s budget would eliminate the Office of Environmental Justice, which is charged with helping to protect vulnerable communities from the harmful impacts of pollution.
Saugus Town Meeting members have sent a clear message to companies with facilities that pose a danger to public health and the environment: there must be reasonable limits. Last week, Town Meeting voted to approve amendments to Saugus’s zoning by-laws that limit the height of all landfills within the town to 50 feet. In addition… Continue reading Massachusetts Town Moves to Stop Unrestricted Landfill Expansions
Roseann Bongiovanni is a lifelong Chelsea resident who has led significant environmental justice campaigns for more than 21 years. She is the Executive Director of GreenRoots, Inc., an organization dedicated to achieving environmental and climate justice for Chelsea. Growing up in Chelsea and neighboring Everett, many in our community, myself included, never realized we were… Continue reading Community Voices: A Message to ExxonMobil
