Media Contact
Jake O’Neill, Press Secretary
Office: 617.850.1709
joneill@clf.org
CLF has experts available throughout New England on a variety of local, regional and national issues, including climate change, clean water, environmental justice, ocean conservation and renewable energy. For more information, see our list of experts and contact Jake O’Neill.
CLF Press Releases and News Clips
Community-Based, Environmental and Civil Rights Activists Across Country Issue Statement and Unified Demands
Amy Laura Cahn, Senior Attorney, Interim Director – Healthy Communities & Environmental Justice, Conservation Law Foundation, said, ““The data is clear: COVID-19 is attacking Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities at astronomical rates. For generations, our legal system has withheld resources and legal protections from these communities while shielding whiter, wealthier areas from environmental harm. Now is the time to create new systems that prioritize the rights, health, and self-determination of those who have been denied these freedoms since before this country’s inception.”
Columbia Gas MA Assets Sold to Eversource
“Almost two years later, Merrimack Valley residents and businesses are still recovering from the gas explosions. It is only appropriate that Columbia Gas cease operations in the state,” said Amy Laura Cahn, Director of CLF’s Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice program. “With over a billion dollars changing hands in the sale of Columbia Gas to Eversource, a significant portion of those resources should go to providing energy savings to residents and making the communities who suffered most safer and more resilient.”
Transportation Advocates Call for Governor Baker to Appoint Riders to the MBTA’s FMCB
“The FMCB took on a monumental challenge and helped stabilize the T during a time of crisis,” said Staci Rubin, Senior Attorney at CLF. “Now was simply not the time to let the T board dissolve, and the legislature clearly recognized that fact. A one-year extension is a good interim step, and we look forward to working with the legislature to implement a permanent T successor board that includes riders and is empowered to create a world-class transportation system for the region.”
Vermont Senate Votes to Approve Critical Climate Bill
“Cutting climate pollution and investing in sustainable and climate-resilient communities has significant public health and economic benefits for Vermonters,” said Jen Duggan, Vice President and Director of CLF Vermont. “The Solutions Act requires climate solutions that reduce energy burdens for rural and marginalized communities, build healthy communities, and protect our natural and working lands. Today’s vote is an important step forward towards ensuring an equitable transition to a carbon-free and resilient Vermont.”
Right Whale Found Dead in U.S. Waters
“This death is a tragedy,” said Erica Fuller, CLF Senior Attorney. “Like most of the right whales before it, this one didn’t die of natural causes. NOAA must take the threat of ship strikes seriously. We urgently need more surveillance of whale habitats and mandatory vessel speed restrictions in these areas as soon as possible.”
On the Waterfront: An Oral History of the Seaport
The string of nor’easters we had in 2018 was a wake-up call: There was a viral video of a dumpster floating down Seaport Boulevard. But the unfortunate reality is a lot of the Seaport is already built out. The city of Boston has done a great job of planning for climate change, but we’ve moved pretty slowly on implementation, so the opportunity we had to leverage private development to get dollars for some of these district-wide resilience projects has come and gone
Trump Continues His Assault On Our Environment
And this is New England’s only marine monument, one of very few unspoiled areas that can provide resilience and refuge for ocean resources (and a future for fishermen) in a fast-changing climate. Now, only the courts can stop it from being sacrificed for a photo op.
Let the MIRA incinerator shut down; enact waste stream reforms
With the shutdown of the Hartford incinerator, Connecticut now has an opportunity to implement waste reforms that protect rather than oppress its communities of color. But only if the state finally listens to what these communities have been saying for decades and stops burning trash in their neighborhoods.
MBTA Increases Fairmount Line Service
“For too long, Boston’s black and brown neighborhoods have not had quality access to much-needed transit options,” said Staci Rubin, Senior Attorney at CLF. “This pilot is a great start, but these communities deserve the same level of transit as affluent areas like Back Bay or Beacon Hill. We’ll continue to advocate for the Fairmount Line to run as frequently as the T’s subway lines and to be electrified to improve air quality and fight the climate crisis.”
Environmental groups sue Trump administration for allowing commercial fishing in protected waters
“Trump has once again eliminated critical natural resource protections on a whim, and with no legal authority,” said Brad Campbell, president of the foundation. “This lawless act upends over a century of practice by presidents of both parties, and puts all national monuments on the block for the highest political bidder.”