In August 2015, conservationist and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle launched a dive expedition to Cashes Ledge, the underwater mountain range 80 miles off the coast of Portland. We asked Dr. Earle about the need to protect Cashes Ledge and why she has designated it one of her “Hope Spots.”
Once New England’s current “gas problem” is properly understood as one of deliverability, rather than insufficient pipeline “capacity,” the solution that most efficiently and cost-effectively enhances deliverability in New England would be increased use of the region’s existing LNG infrastructure.
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Lead was removed from our gasoline and paint decades ago. But the problem of lead poisoning in children has not gone away. Many New England houses and apartment buildings were built before the 1978 lead-paint ban – as that paint deteriorates or is disturbed, children’s health is put at risk.
Today, record numbers of Americans suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma, which are strongly influenced by their neighborhood and environmental conditions. At the same time, traditional sources of public funding for development are drying up, making the vision of a healthy community harder to realize.
Cars, trucks, and buses are the largest and fastest-growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, states are struggling to maintain public transit infrastructure, highways, and bridges in the face of scant funding and skyrocketing costs. These problems, though far-reaching, have solutions, though finding them will take investment, political will, and tenacity.
In New England, the ocean is an integral part of our lives, economy, and communities. But today, our need for the ocean’s resources is growing. So New England is leading the way in creating the country’s first regional ocean plan to balance ocean protection with responsible development.
Our most iconic waterscapes – Cape Cod, Great Bay, Lake Champlain, and Narragansett Bay – are slowly being choked by nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution is traced to fertilizer runoff from agriculture and lawns, animal waste from factory farms, and overflowing sewage. CLF is fighting against nutrient pollution and for clean water in New England.
With healthcare costs and rates of obesity and other chronic disease soaring – especially among low-income populations – community groups and public health organizations are increasingly aware that improving neighborhood environments can boost health outcomes. But, traditional financing sources simply aren’t capable of addressing those needs at the project level.
“New Englanders living in low-income and communities of color are more deeply impacted by our current environmental challenges than society at large,” says Veronica Eady. That’s why CLF, in collaboration with community groups and residents in environmental justice communities, is working to reduce the environmental hazards that threaten public health across New England.
