Last night, residents of the central Massachusetts town of Southbridge delivered a major and unexpected blow to Casella Waste when they voted overwhelmingly to reject plans to expand the town’s landfill, which the company has operated for about fourteen years.
The corporation responsible for the upkeep of the Lawrence canals neglected its responsibility to its community neighbors by allowing the canals to fall into decay and disrepair. The company’s obligation to keep the canals in good working order is also a legal one – it’s a requirement of the federal license it received to run its hydroelectric plant in 1978. It’s time they stop violating that license.
CLF is working with partners in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to save the city’s historic canals from decades of neglect and decay. The goal: to transform North and South Canals and the surrounding areas from an environmental burden into community assets so that they can help rather than hinder economic development in the struggling city.
This post is the first in a series on issues surrounding the dilapidated canal infrastructure in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Look for more from Rafael Mares in the coming days. To stay up to date, visit www.clf.org/blog/tag/lawrence-canals-series or follow the hashtag #RestoreLawrenceCanals on Twitter. In many cities around the world, canals serve as a draw for tourists… Continue reading Corporate Neglect in MA: Crumbling Canal Burdens Lawrence
“The Lawrence canals are a core element of the city’s urban landscape, and the people of Lawrence deserve better than to see them neglected and allowed to decay,” said Rafael Mares, Director of CLF’s Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice Program. “When you walk around the streets of Lawrence, you see a thriving community held back by this major blight in the heart of their city. Essex Company, LLC needs to take immediate action to restore the vibrancy and integrity of these canals, and if they refuse, we’ll be standing with the community, ready for the fight.”
After decades of funding climate deceit and denial, ExxonMobil shareholders overwhelmingly voted to include climate change risks in Exxon’s corporate disclosures – a huge turning point for a company that has turned a blind eye to climate change for decades.
Why is it so difficult to finance the development of healthy neighborhoods when the benefits to people, communities, and the economy are so profound? The answer, at least in part, lies in the fact that these benefits are not generally measured or accounted for in any systematic way.
Today, New England’s largest coal plant shut its doors. Brayton Point Station in Somerset, Massachusetts, shuttered production today after roughly 50 years of spewing air, water, and carbon pollution into the South Shore air and the Mt. Hope Bay. For years, Conservation Law Foundation and our allies worked tirelessly to close the outdated power plant.… Continue reading A Win for New England: Brayton Point Power Plant Shuts Down for Good
“President Trump’s reported decision to withdraw from the historic Paris Climate Agreement puts the U.S. on the wrong side of history and at odds with nearly 200 other countries that understand the threat climate change poses to the global economy and our survival as a species,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “CLF will be fighting to ensure this stroke of the president’s pen does not alter New England’s effort to protect our communities from climate risk and does not deter the innovators leading the expanding world market for the clean energy technologies that will shape our future.”
Tomorrow in Dallas, ExxonMobil’s climate hypocrisy will be on full display at its annual shareholders meeting. As a public company, Exxon allows shareholders to submit proposals for vote at each annual meeting. This year, four of the nine proposals call out the company for its failure to adequately address climate impacts – from its unmitigated… Continue reading Exxon: Less Climate Talk, More Climate Action
