Our work to protect clean water across the country often makes the news. Clean Water Waves highlights recent articles featuring our staff speaking on their areas of activism and expertise.
National, Michigan
Michigan Public Service Commission approves controversial Line 5 proposal
George Weykamp | Michigan Radio | December 1st, 2023
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved Enbridge Energy's controversial plan to relocate its Line 5 petroleum pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.
The commission voted 2-0 Friday to approve the deal, with commissioner Alessandra Carreon abstaining. The vote clears a hurdle for Enbridge's plan to replace a segment of pipelines directly on the lakebed with a tunnel carrying the lines beneath it.
Line 5 runs 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, through Michigan, to Sarnia, Canada. The pipeline can transport up to 540,000 barrels of crude oil per day...
Environmental groups, however, have criticized the decision. Sean McBrearty, the Michigan director for Clean Water Action, said the new proposal does not fix any of the dangers with Line 5.
"Line 5 presents an unacceptable risk to the waters of the The Great Lakes, that we all rely on. This replacement scheme is ill-founded, never been attempted before, and entirely unnecessary," he said.
Rhode Island
Jed Thorp: A leader of the campaign against plastic pollution in Rhode Island
Alex Kuffner | The Providence Journal | December 21st, 2023
"Over the last couple of years, Jed Thorp has become a leader of the campaign against plastic pollution in Rhode Island.
"As director of the nonprofit Clean Water Action in the state, he’s championed recent bills passed by the General Assembly to crack down on single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic coffee stirrers and disposable plastic food containers. But he’s probably best known for his work on legislation that has yet to win approval: a bottle bill that he and other supporters say is a necessary piece of any effort to reform Rhode Island’s stuttering recycling system."
"“I feel like we have this window of opportunity now,” Thorp said. “If we really prioritize this, maybe we can get it done.”"
Maryland
National climate advocacy group updates research on State House fossil fuel lobbyists
Josh Kurtz | Maryland Matters | December 27th, 2023
"“Trash incineration emits more climate-warming pollution than any other energy source per kWh, even coal,” said Jennifer Kunze, Maryland organizing director with the advocacy group Clean Water Action. “Maryland’s trash incinerators emit mercury, lead, and dioxins into our air, directly harming people in our campus and city communities. Every reason that would motivate universities or local governments to cut ties with fossil fuel companies also demands cutting ties with trash incinerator companies.”"
Massachusetts
New Programs to Help New Bedford, MA Businesses Do Their Part and Reduce Waste
Waste Advantage Magazine | December 6th, 2023
"The City of New Bedford is offering new programs to help businesses reduce their waste. In one program, businesses will be recognized for recycling properly. In another program, restaurants can take further steps to reduce waste by moving from disposable food service ware to reusable options. “These new programs will encourage businesses to do their part to reduce waste and help the City move toward the waste reduction goals in NB Resilient, the City’s climate action and resiliency plan,” said Jennifer Vieira, Director of Facilities and Fleet Management.
"The City is partnering with Clean Water Fund’s ReThink Disposable program to encourage restaurants to reduce their use of single use food service ware for onsite dining such as utensils, plates, cups, and sauce cups. ReThink Disposable is offering a stipend to restaurants that switch to reusable items. Their staff will visit restaurants in New Bedford in the coming months.
"The one-time stipend that is offered to restaurants is $300. For any restaurant with a minority, LGBTQ+, or woman owner, the stipend increases to $600. According to ReThink Disposable, restaurants that make the switch see annual savings usually between $3,000-$20,000."
In Our Own Words
Michigan
Indigenous activist Nichole Keway Biber on the urgency of halting Line 5 pipeline of Enbridge
Nichole Keway Biber | Free City Podcast | December 5th, 2023
"There's a constant urgency connected to the extraction and exploitation that is necessitated by a fossil fuel economy, and how the threat of that and the damages of that never go away. Probably the reason attention goes away is that it's very difficult and painful to have the awareness of that in the scope of how impactful those damages are - at every moment. And how essentially, every moment decisions are being made that perpetuate those damages and double down on the threats. As in the Anishinaabe way and as someone who is really motivated to help uplift the work of the many in our communities who are always looking for ways to address the threat, at the same time as realizing this is our time for healing.
"It's a real motivation that the care for those other people but also the care for the water, the more than human relatives who are impacted by this. I think even when attention isn't being paid, it doesn't mean that the commitment to finding that healing and ending those wounds, addressing those wounds, isn't still occurring. So for one another: to know that we're not going to give up on it. And even that when it's not in the public eye it's really important that we're still doing those things. Whether it's engaging politically, having a protest, but also with our ceremonies, with our songs, and with those good intentions towards that healing really do make a difference. And there's kind of that element of reassuring and being grateful for one another who are engaged in that."
Massachusetts
Teaching, preaching climate action
Maureo Fernandez y Mora | The Boston Globe | December 9th, 2023
Move ahead on the Massachusetts Zero Carbon Renovation Fund
"The challenges laid out in Sabrina Shankman’s coverage of our state’s first climate report card make a clear case for swift passage of the measure establishing a Massachusetts Zero Carbon Renovation Fund.
"Clean Water Action is one of almost 200 housing, community, and climate organizations asking the Legislature to allocate $300 million for this new fund, which would provide the essential upfront capital needed to install heat pumps, improve building envelopes (the component that separates its exterior from the interior), and upgrade electrical systems in affordable housing, schools, and municipal buildings.
"This massive investment would not only decrease the amount of clean energy Massachusetts needs to bring online in the coming years to meet our climate goals, but it would also bring the money-saving and comfort benefits of deep energy retrofits directly to underserved communities throughout the state.
"Whether Massachusetts lawmakers pass the funding as a standalone bill or as part of a larger housing bond bill, we hope they will agree that the state’s mixed climate report card is an urgent call to action."
