Just as CLF helped to lead the passing of landmark laws in almost every New England state, we must now watchdog their implementation. Because the consequences if these laws languish are too dire to be ignored.
The economic development bill passed by the House of Representatives presents the latest case-in-point. Quietly tucked into the bill was an amendment that would exempt an enormous parcel of land in Everett from state laws that govern waterfront development and protect the public trust.
Federal fishery managers denied CLF’s petition to end overfishing and rebuild Atlantic cod. Now, New England fishery managers begin a third attempt to save cod.
“Every time it rains, a toxic stew is running into three of the area’s most iconic rivers,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “We’ve repeatedly asked the EPA to clean up this pollution, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. It’s time for the agency to hold these large properties accountable for the constant damage they’re doing to our cherished rivers.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia is a setback, to be sure. But it is also a reminder of the importance of action at the regional, state, and local levels – action that we have been leading here in New England for more than a decade as we waited – and waited – for federal climate rules to come into play.
More than three generations of North Atlantic right whales have been lost to the threat of entanglement. The solutions to save these vulnerable species exist and it is up to us to ask our leader for better protections for these majestic animals.
“As we’ve been saying for years, the state’s MHP process is fundamentally flawed,” said Deanna Moran, Interim Vice President of Healthy and Resilient Communities at CLF. “The developer-driven Downtown MHP would have resulted in less public access to one of the city’s greatest treasures – Boston Harbor. Today’s ruling makes it clear that it’s time to center waterfront planning on public access and community input, not developer profits.”
Slashing polluting emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles is a critical part of our climate fight.
So-called “advanced recycling” is a ruse. The term is part of a larger disinformation – or greenwashing – campaign. That campaign’s goal: to distract lawmakers and the public from real solutions to the world’s plastic crisis.
Michelle DeSilva comes to CLF with experience in investments, nonprofits, philanthropy and the environment. She started her career in investments at Fidelity Investments and Thomson Reuters, and directed an angel investing firm in the Midwest. Michelle later worked extensively with community foundations in strategy and branding, and advising financial advisors, estate planning attorneys and their… Continue reading Michelle DeSilva
