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
Proposal for Providence “Garbage Depot” Withdrawn
“The decision to scrap plans for this garbage depot is an unqualified win for the neighborhood,” said Kevin Budris, staff attorney at CLF Rhode Island. “The community was loud and clear in opposing the toxic exhaust and dust this dirty facility would produce. We need to put our efforts into reducing waste, rather than forcing our communities to deal with pollution from trash that they did not create.”
Proposed Port garbage transfer station is dead
“The decision to scrap plans for this garbage depot is an unqualified win for the neighborhood,” said Kevin Budris, staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) Rhode Island.
The Cost Of Recycling Hits Budgets In Massachusetts Cities And Towns
One of the day’s presenters was John Hite of the Conservation Law Foundation. “I will say that we do have one program in place currently that is the single most effective recycling program we know,” he said. “Does anybody know what that is?” The answer — the bottle redemption program
State lawmakers considering ban on ‘forever chemicals’
In the absence of strong federal action, the Conservation Law Foundation and other environmental groups have been pushing the Rhode Island Department of Health for more than a year to come up with an enforceable drinking water standard for the compounds.
How plastic bag bans really work to limit plastic pollution
In general, plastic bag bans aren’t perfect, wrote policy analyst John Hite for the Conservation Law Foundation, but they’re a good start. Hite pointed out that, even in studies showing that plastic bag bans increased purchases of thicker trash bags and paper bags, the bans consistently decreased the overall use of single-use plastic bags.
As Casella Waste eyes Dalton, sides square off over bill to halt new private landfills in NH
Tom Irwin with the Conservation Law Foundation endorsed the idea. He noted the Legislature two decades ago set a goal of reducing solid waste by 40 percent and put landfills at the bottom of the waste “hierarchy.” “Twenty years later we have not achieved the solid waste reduction goal and we are still operating on a disposal model and relying heavily on landfills,” Irwin said.
Columbia Gas Pleads Guilty in Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster
“While today’s guilty plea hopefully brings some element of closure in this disaster, the risks that fracked gas poses to our communities and our climate can only be addressed by breaking our addiction to fossil fuels,” said Greg Cunningham, Vice President & Director of CLF’s Clean Energy Climate Change program. “As the Commonwealth considers transferring the utility privileges held by Columbia Gas to a new owner, it must ensure that gas utilities are truly committed to safety and combatting the climate crisis. The funds from this settlement must be directed towards the historically marginalized communities that have been hit hardest by this disaster.”
Maine Legislators Hold Hearing on Groundbreaking Recycling Bill
“Plastic producers have been given a free pass to pollute our communities for far too long at taxpayer expense,” said John Hite, Zero Waste Policy Analyst at CLF. “Single-use packaging has upended recycling and filled our oceans, communities, and landfills with plastic pollution. LD2104 will require packaging companies to deal with the mess they’ve made and create products that don’t wreak havoc on our recycling systems and environment.”
Dattco sued over bus-idling pollution
“Exhaust pollution is extremely dangerous for children,” CLF staff attorney Kenta Tsuda said in a statement. “DATTCO collects millions of taxpayer dollars to serve Connecticut communities and their schoolchildren. It’s time for this company to prove it cares about these communities, their children, and their futures by stopping this unlawful and unsafe pollution.”
Vt. House approves Global Warming Solutions Act
“The climate emergency is already impacting our communities,” Conservation Law Foundation’s Jen Duggan said in a statement. “If we’re serious about tackling this crisis, strong climate laws like the Solutions Act are the answer. We are running out of time, but the strong vote today and the leadership in the House shows we can still get back on track to cut emissions and build healthy and resilient communities if we take action now.”