It’s time to take New England’s work reducing plastic pollution to the next level. CLF’s Zero Waste Project is launching our campaign to ban single-use plastic bags in all six New England states to create less pollution, cleaner coastlines, and healthier communities for all.
“There’s no reason why single-use plastic bags need to be a part of our daily lives,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste program at CLF. “Most bags end up filling our landfills, littering our communities and waters, and polluting our air when burned up in incinerators. The citywide ban in Boston is a good start, and we must also ensure that any ban does not burden our elderly or low-income neighbors. We have a real opportunity to end this waste and pollution throughout New England and we must act now.”
“Plastic bags are pervasive in the environment. They litter our communities, they blow around,” she said. “They fall apart eventually and those little bits of plastic, those microplastics, are then in our soil, in our freshwater, in our oceans.”
Heat waves and flooding are putting New England’s people, environment, and economy at risk. Aging infrastructure is increasingly stressed from sea level rise and bigger storms. Our farmers face challenges from shifting growing seasons. Atlantic cod – already dwindling – will disappear and lobster will move out of reach of New England fishermen as waters warm.… Continue reading The News about Our Climate Isn’t Good – But the Fight is Far from Over
“The waterfront areas across the Commonwealth belong to all of us, not just wealthy corporations and luxury condo owners,” said Bradley Campbell, President of CLF. “It’s important that residents are informed of their rights and are empowered to be advocates to protect access to land that belongs to them. The People’s Guide continues a tradition of working with the community to protect public access and promote open space.”
CLF’s “People’s Guide to the Public Waterfront Act” gives you the tools to access and enjoy the public Boston Harbor and other waterfront areas in the state. It demystifies the complex regulations that some developers have exploited made it look like their public land is only for private use.
The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act gives you the right to speak up, be heard, and shape the future of our waterfront interests. Specifically, the law creates a process that ensures members of the public can testify at a hearing on certain proposed waterfront projects or submit comments and concerns in writing. This guide will help… Continue reading People’s Guide to the Public Waterfront Act
With the election of Attorney General Janet Mills, Maine has the chance to reverse the harmful LePage administration anti-environment policies and commit to a broad framework for tackling climate change.
“I think we all have more common interests than not, in wanting a metro area that works, and a broader region that works,” said Amy Laura Cahn, a senior attorney at CLF.
The vision Mayor Walsh outlined for a resilient Boston Harbor is a promising one. Does the city, including its political leadership and business community, have the will to truly make it a reality? That remains to be seen.
