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My First Task: Enforce Our Climate Laws?
At Clean Water Action, interns hit the ground running. That was my conclusion after traveling to the Massachusetts State House to witness a special hearing on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling on Kain v Department of Environmental Protection--on my first day, before I even had a chance to use the bathroom at CWA. This court case refers to the state’s lack of adherence to the Global Warming Solutions Act, a state law passed in 2008 that mandated a 25% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2020 and deeper reductions by 2050. When the state failed to issue the necessary
Massachusetts House Releases "Ominous" Energy Bill, and It's Not Scary At All!
The Massachusetts Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy released a much-anticipated energy "omnibus" bill on May 23rd. The current language focuses on offshore wind and hydropower, with state senators vocally pushing for more comprehensive legislation that includes energy efficiency and storage. Notably––after months of advocacy––the bill omits language on gas pipelines contained in earlier drafts. Read the summary or full bill text here. As written, the bill requires the state to procure 1200 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2027. To our knowledge, this is the largest
Fighting Back Toxic Flame Retardants
Marley Kimmelman is an Environmental Health and Justice Intern with our Massachusetts office The last time you heard from me I was just beginning my internship with Clean Water Action. That was 5 months ago. Even before stepping foot in to the Clean Water Action office in downtown Boston I had already gotten involved in the fight to phase out flame retardants when I testified at a city council hearing as a concerned college student. The public pressure paid off, and the city council voted in March to update our fire code to match the rest of the state. This allows schools, universities
Our disconnect with water: Scott Pond and linking individual actions to the health of our waters
Earlier this month, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and Department of Health released an advisory to avoid contact with Scott Pond in Lincoln, Rhode Island due to the presence of blue-green algae in the water. Not only should adults avoid contact with the water, it said, but so should pets. And children. It also advised against eating any fish taken from the pond. It then proceeded to list off a litany of potential side effects from contact with the algal-tainted waters: irritation of the skin, nose, and eyes, stomachache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Fun stuff
Diving into the Legislature
You never know what you might run into when activists descend on the statehouse for the Environment Council of Rhode Island’s (ECRI) annual Lobby Day. Last Wednesday, I was greeted in the rotunda by a group of our allies in the Energize Rhode Island coalition wearing snorkels to demonstrate the kind of gear we’ll all need if we don’t fight the sea level rise that is resulting from Climate Change. Each year around Earth Day, people from ECRI’s 60 member organizations set up tables with information about their issues, hold a brief speaking program and enter the House and Senate chambers to talk
