National monuments without protections from commercial activities won’t do what they’re meant to do – comprehensively protect our natural, scientific, and cultural treasures In late August, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted to President Trump a report on his summer-long, unnecessary “review” of 27 of America’s treasured national monuments, including two of the newest: the Northeast… Continue reading Monuments on Paper Only?
Over six days, Hurricane Harvey dumped 27 trillion gallons of water on Houston and parts of the Gulf Coast, leaving a wide swath of destruction and toxic pollution for communities to deal with as they try to rebuild from the storm. 100,000 homes incurred damage or were lost altogether, and restoration efforts are estimated to… Continue reading Lessons from Houston: Protecting New England Communities from Toxic Spills
As the Houston area begins its long recovery from the devastating floods triggered by Hurricane Harvey – and with Hurricane Irma now barreling toward Florida’s coast – we wanted to know how Boston would fare in the face of such high waters and heavy rains. So we turned to CLF’s Director of Environmental Planning, Deanna Moran,… Continue reading Is Boston Ready for a Hurricane Harvey?
“This weekend, we saw thousands of homes destroyed, streets flooded and families displaced by Hurricane Harvey,” said CLF president Bradley Campbell. “We can’t wait around for the next natural disaster to inundate our communities. Shell’s facility sits on the banks of the Providence River, poised to spew toxic chemicals into our waters and our neighborhoods with no adequate safeguards in place. If the loss of life and damage from storms like Hurricane Harvey aren’t enough of a wake-up call, then legal action is needed to protect the public.”
Dear Mayor Elorza: On August 11, 2017, Michael Sabatoni, President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, emailed you a letter pertaining to the pending Superior Court litigation regarding the water contract between the Town of Johnston and Invenergy. That pending lawsuit was brought by Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and the Town of… Continue reading An Open Letter to Providence Mayor Elorza Regarding Invenergy
The story of North Atlantic right whales is a sadly familiar one. Historically, they were targeted by whalers because they were commercially lucrative and easy to kill. Today, with barely 500 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet, they face threats from warming waters, which push their food sources north, as well as fishing net entanglements and ship collisions.
Jason and Erin Olkowski never saw themselves as activists and community organizers. But that all changed when Invenergy came to their small Rhode Island town, with its plans to build a massive new natural gas plant next door to family homes and within a pristine conservation area.
Fighting Big Gas How One Community’s Fight Could Shape the Future of New England Restoring Lake Champlain Reasons for Hope after Decades of Degradation Local Food 2.0 Training a New Generation of Farmers in Western Massachusetts Whale Watch Saving North Atlantic Right Whales from Extinction Measuring Community Health A New Research Model Puts the Community… Continue reading Conservation Matters Summer 2017: Year in Review
Today marks the start of the National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Held over four days, the meeting will bring together more than 30 governors from across the country to discuss the most critical issues facing our nation. However, one of the glaring omissions from the conference’s agenda: climate change, specifically state… Continue reading New England Governors, Stand Up for Paris
Since an article appeared in the Providence Journal on July 11 saying that the proposed start-up date of the Invenergy plant has been postponed, I have heard from many CLF supporters asking questions about the delay and what it means. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. What exactly was reported in the… Continue reading Invenergy Natural Gas Power Plant Postponement Is Good News
