Blog
April 27, 2017 | Will Our New Secretary of Agriculture Champion All Farmers or Just Big Ag?Our food system must evolve into a resilient resource, and that means supporting our small family farms. Will Sonny Perdue, the new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, be able to leave his days in Big Ag behind to ensure his department supports farmers of all sizes? |  |
April 27, 2017 | Justice (Not) for All: Trump’s Proposed Budget Eliminates Environmental Justice OfficeTrump’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. |  |
April 20, 2017 | Is a City Playground Protected Land? Massachusetts Supreme Court to DecideThe Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is deliberating a case with significant implications for playgrounds, parks, and other open space across the state. The decision before them is whether Westfield’s John A. Sullivan Memorial Playground, also known as the Cross Street Playground, is constitutionally protected land that cannot be converted to other purposes without a two-thirds vote… Continue reading Is a City Playground Protected Land? Massachusetts Supreme Court to Decide | |
April 18, 2017 | Paving Vermont Farmland: Stopped!Strong Advocacy Leads to Conservation Stopping sprawl in its tracks and keeping valuable farmland available for farmers to use has taken a huge leap forward. In 2016, following a year-long legal case led by CLF, a developer withdrew plans to build a massive, sprawling complex, including shopping, a hotel, a conference center, offices, and housing in… Continue reading Paving Vermont Farmland: Stopped! | |
April 13, 2017 | The Great Neighborhoods Campaign Needs YouFor a neighborhood to truly thrive, it needs healthy people, a healthy environment, and a healthy economy with opportunities for all. That’s why CLF, along with our partners in the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, are working to strengthen local neighborhoods in ways that work better for everyone – especially seniors and young people. Together, we have… Continue reading The Great Neighborhoods Campaign Needs You | |
April 12, 2017 | Climate-Damaging Emissions are Down in Massachusetts, but Getting to 2050 Will Take Much MoreLast week Massachusetts finalized and released the state’s latest inventory of its statewide emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases (GHGs). The final numbers indicate that in 2014, the Commonwealth released the equivalent of 74.6 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a slight improvement over 2013. That’s good news and is far better than the increase in climate-damaging emissions we saw the year before. But a single year of slightly lower emissions isn’t good enough. |  |
April 12, 2017 | CLF and New England Battle Back as President Trump Attacks U.S. Climate ProgressOn March 28th, President Trump signed an executive order that launched a full-scale attack on our national progress in protecting public health and the environment from dangerous climate change. The so-called Energy Independence Order asks EPA to reconsider the Clean Power Plan, the first-ever federal rule designed to reduce climate-warming emissions from power plants, as… Continue reading CLF and New England Battle Back as President Trump Attacks U.S. Climate Progress |  |
April 12, 2017 | Helping Rhode Island’s Local Food Movement GrowCLF works throughout New England to help local food entrepreneurs and farmers not just survive, but thrive. Here in Rhode Island, the local food movement is burgeoning – our rate of new farmers is growing faster than in other New England states. But even as the number of new farmers grows, many experienced farmers are looking… Continue reading Helping Rhode Island’s Local Food Movement Grow |  |
April 11, 2017 | CLF Brings Public Utilities Commission to Maine Supreme Court for Underfunding Energy EfficiencyCLF took the Maine Public Utilities Commission to court today for underfunding the state’s three-year energy efficiency budget by $30 million – resulting in losses of $270 million dollars for Maine citizens and businesses. You read that right – shortchanging energy efficiency translates to lost benefits totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for hardworking Mainers. |  |
April 10, 2017 | We Need to Fully Fund Clean Water in Vermont NowMoney has been a big part of the clean water conversation at the Vermont State House this year. In January, State Treasurer Beth Pearce put a price tag of $62 million per year for the next 20 years on the efforts needed to reach our clean water goals. A week later, Governor Phil Scott announced that… Continue reading We Need to Fully Fund Clean Water in Vermont Now |  |