CLF succeeds because we have people like you by our side. In this special annual report issue of Conservation Matters, we are honoring just a few of our many local heroes, people who have devoted their time, energy, and passion to defending our homes, protecting our children’s health, and supporting the vibrancy of our communities.
Humans pose the biggest threat to right whales’ survival, and it’s our responsibility to stop killing them. Last month, however, Maine’s state leadership rallied against a proposal that would help save our iconic whale. Fishing and right whales can co-exist, but it’s going to take close collaboration and forward-looking leadership, not obstruction. Maine must be part of the solution if we are to save the right whale from extinction.
Extreme weather caused by climate change may damage coastal infrastructure by degrading equipment containing hazardous chemicals or by flooding storage facilities. But fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Shell would rather take their chances and do nothing to ready their facilities. CLF knows, however, that these companies have a legal duty (not to mention an ethical one) to adapt their facilities to the foreseeable effects of climate change.
As the Trump administration continues to shirk its responsibilities on climate, New England states have recognized the need for local leadership to fill the federal void.
This is outrageous. On Wednesday, the Maine Congressional Delegation put the fate of endangered North Atlantic right whales in the hands of President Trump – a president intent on exploiting our oceans and rolling back critical environmental protections. Earlier this week, three right whales were found entangled in fishing ropes. Another six were found dead last… Continue reading Urgent: Maine Representatives & Senators Fail Right Whales
As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. President Trump revoked the National Ocean Policy last summer, but here in New England, ocean planning – the idea that we can be smarter and more coordinated about how we collectively use and manage our ocean – lives on.
“The Maine delegation’s letter indicates a disregard for the Endangered Species Act and the Take Reduction Team process, not to mention all of the Mainers who are extremely alarmed about the dire situation that is facing these whales,” says CLF attorney Emily Green.
Maine’s newly elected governor and legislature delivered on critical new laws that will cut climate-damaging emissions, protect Maine’s families and children from toxic chemicals, clean up our rivers, and save energy – all while creating jobs, growing new industries, and strengthening the economy.
The only way to fight back against these economic, health and environmental impacts is to drop our fossil fuel habit and drastically lower our polluting emissions now, and this law will help get us there.
Update: On June 27, Governor Mills signed two new lead bills signed into law that may help change this disturbing trend Hundreds of children with lead poisoning go undiagnosed every year in Maine. That’s on top of the hundreds of Maine children who are diagnosed with lead poisoning annually. In addition, more than half of… Continue reading Updated: Maine is Failing to Protect Its Children from Lead Poisoning
