What Are Climate Laws and Why Do We Need Them?
We can still avoid the worst impacts of climate change if we reach net-zero carbon pollution before 2050. We need strong climate laws in every New England state to hit that mark.

We can still avoid the worst impacts of climate change if we reach net-zero carbon pollution before 2050. We need strong climate laws in every New England state to hit that mark.
“At least 32 right whales have been killed by human activities in the last three years alone, yet the federal government is still sitting on its hands,” said Erica Fuller a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. “The window to save this species is closing, and we’re left with no other option but to file this petition. The federal government must declare this situation what it is – an emergency – and take action to protect these animals now.”
In true 2020 fashion, many families are having small-scale get-togethers or opting for virtual celebrations this Thanksgiving. With less people, that means being even more careful not to overbuy and waste food – because food waste can be terribly damaging to the environment. So let’s think about this for a second – what can you do to waste less food this Thanksgiving?
We all know about clean, local energy like solar and wind. But there’s another form of clean energy: energy efficiency. Because the cleanest, cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use at all.
“Secretary John Kerry’s appointment ends four years of climate denial at the highest levels of government, offering hope that the Biden Administration will confront the climate crisis with the urgency it demands,” said Bradley Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “This global threat will affect every aspect of our lives: our homes, our economy, our security, and our health. Mr. Kerry will need to hit the ground sprinting for the U.S. to re-establish itself as a climate leader.”
To help rebuild the cod population, scientists and managers must know how many fish are being caught by fishing boats. Thankfully, a recent vote by regional fishery managers brings us one step closer to collecting that valuable information.
The presidential election result is a welcome relief – especially amid the ongoing stresses of an unrelenting pandemic, hobbling economic hardship, and an overdue racial reckoning. We all deserve to take a moment and celebrate that. But even as we see the core values of our democracy vindicated after relentless voter suppression efforts, now is not the time to grow complacent.
Until new, long-term protections for right whales are in place, federal regulators must take emergency action.
Nothing the Trump administration does to undermine our climate or the environment surprises me these days. But while the U.S. is dropping out of the Paris Agreement, the rest of the world is clearly committed. So are we here in New England.
These days, the scariest monster I can conjure wears a tailored suit and sits behind the desk of a dirty oil or gas company deliberately blocking climate action. Runner up is another man in a suit – a legislator too scared to stand up to that fossil fuel executive and protect the people who voted him into office.