CT Green Scene

Hats Off to Connecticut's Grassroots

People in the towns of Milford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Middletown, Montville and Norwalk are breathing easier thanks to a grassroots group, the Toxics Action Center, who stood up and demanded cleaner air when they found out that 97 percent of Connecticut residents were breathing "seriously unhealthy air".

According to an article in the Stratford Star, loop holes in the Clean Air Act allowed thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide to spew into the air. Today, the five plants have decreased their emissions between 72 and 99 percent.

 

Landfills aren't the Crisis

NPR had a "Trash Talk" series this week, and my favorite was the interview with Eric Lombardi from Eco-Cycle.  He said:

"We never had a landfill crisis. What we have is a resource-efficiency crisis. There are resource wars going around the planet right now to get the raw materials that are being destroyed in our landfills and our incinerators."

To listen to the interview, click here, or read and print the transcript here. Lombardi is among the experts whose goal isn't REDUCING waste-- it's ZERO waste. Waste is expensive and inefficient.

For Other Trash Talk from NPR this week see "Getting Rid of Junk, Staying Green."

Shame on the EPA!

I don't know about you, but I've always counted on the EPA to safeguard our planet. Not that I'm naive enough to think they're perfect, but their recent move to loosen the reigns on corporations who pollute has me miffed.

This week, Connecticut joined 11 other states including,  Arizona, California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, in a suit against the EPA for streamlining the application process for companies who produce toxic chemicals.

Under the old laws, companies discharging 500 lbs. or more had to file detailed reports, and under the new regulations, companies can forgo filing lengthy forms for 5,000 lbs. or less.

Call me crazy, but given the current state of environmental duress in the US, shouldn't we be getting more stringent about what toxic substances we allow to pollute our planet? Shame on you, EPA!

Read the full article in the New York Times.

Friends United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE USA)

The aging Indian Point Nuclear Power point and its radioactive isotopes are far from a clean, green energy option. Previous arguements against closing the plant included not having enough power to replace the plant's output. This is no longer the case.

FUSEUSA (Friends United for Sustainable Energy) is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization, that advocates for the development and use of  sustainable energy, in an effort to protect public health and safety and to preserve the integrity of the environment. Their current campaign is to STOP the issuance of relicensing of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants, (located just outside New York City) that have a peak injury radius which includes Fairfield and Litchfield counties. They have already filed Contentions and Rulemaking Petitions with the NRC, and are currently preparing Intervener Petitions and other legal actions.

FUSEUSA is a member of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC) which is a coalition of over 70 community groups dedicated to the closure of Indian Point.  Visit their website or read more about their recent legal action in the NY Times.

How CT Legislators Vote on the Environment

 

By Patricia Gilbanks 

The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters recently released its annual score card, an effort designed to track legislators' voting record on bills that have an environmental impact. In addition to tracking votes cast by our legislators, the nonpartisan organization reports on the negative or positive impact on the environment of laws passed in the preceding year.

The League has three goals for its work in the state: to elect pro-environment lawmakers, to hold legislators accountable, and to engage the public in Connecticut's environmental policies.

They set off a bit of a fracas in the media as legislators complained that the scoring did not always do justice to their efforts on environmental issues.

Connecticut Innovations and the CT Clean Energy Fund

by Patricia Gilbanks

The mission of Connecticut Innovations is to “guide good ideas from the mind to the marketplace.” They provide strategic capital and insight to push the frontiers of such high tech industries in Connecticut as energy, photonics, information technology and biotechnology.

Since its creation in 1989 by the CT state legislature, they’ve helped over 100 emerging Connecticut companies bring new products and services to the marketplace.

One good idea they’ve spearheaded in their effort to provide state residents with clean energy alternatives for home and business is the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund.

You can view their map giving examples of the use of clean energy in Connecticut at http://www.cleanenergytrail.com/ and read more about the biomass, fuel cell, landfill gas, solar, wave and wind energies in use in our state. Their quick glossary of these renewable forms of energy will help you learn more about all of these options.

At the upcoming Fairfield County Green Drinks event at Splash in Westport on October 10th, Bob Wall will give a brief talk on the Energy Fund. See you there!

An Act Concerning Clean Cars?

Starting in 2009, every new car sold in Connecticut will feature a sticker on the window that lets consumers know how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a particular car releases into the atmosphere.

According to the article in The Town Times, "Under the new law, a label must be affixed to vehicles detailing the vehicle's greenhouse gas score, its score as compared to others of the same make and year, and the average score for vehicles within the same class. This will begin October 1, 2007.

The Environmental Protection Agency rates cars on a scale of zero to 10, where a score of 10 represents the lowest amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted. The score is determined by the vehicle's estimated fuel economy and its fuel type." By 2009, no cars will be able to be sold without the sticker.

To fund the program, Connecticut is adding $5 to the price of every new car registration. While it's a step in the right direction to educate the masses that may not make a connection between the car they drive and the air we breathe (admittedly, I was among them not long ago), I would rather see the five bucks put into bringing the electric car back.

Lead and Mercury in Electronics--Recycling Program on Deck

Governor M. Jodi Rell has introduced a new state law, Public Act 07-189, that creates a mandatory recycling program for certain major electronic appliances such as computers and televisions, slated to begin in 2009, Government Technology reports.

Under the law, manufacturers of those devices will have to register with the state Department of Environmental Protection, starting in 2009, and pay an annual fee that DEP will use to administer the recycling program. Also in 2009, cities and towns will be required to begin providing for the recycling of the affected devices, including making arrangements for collection and transportation of the devices to a DEP-approved recycler.

The new law specifically exempts certain smaller electronic devices from the recycling requirement, including cell phones, PDAs, calculators and pagers, computers or TVs that are parts of a motor vehicle or household appliance, home telephones (unless they have a video display larger than 4 inches diagonally) and devices that are part of equipment used in an industrial, commercial or medical setting.

Source: EnvironmentalLeader.com

Special thanks to Colin Beavan for helping me compute 2 plus 2. You can find this video clip and other great stuff on his No Impact Man blog.

Bike Racks on CT Buses

Today, Governor Rell announced the installation of bicycle racks on 100 buses serving the Greater Hartford area.  The project was undertaken by the Federal Transit Administration, Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), CTTRANSIT, Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance (CCBA) and Capital Region Council of Governments.

"Last year, the bike racks on buses in New Haven and Stamford were used more than 27,000 times, and use is up again in 2007," Governor Rell said.  "Clearly, people are enjoying the convenience that the racks offer.  Adding racks to buses in the greater Hartford area will continue our progress in getting single occupant vehicles off the roads.

A Case Study in Open Communication

What happens when 50 people who rarely or never speak come together for an entire day? Miracles.

This fall, the Ridgefield Clergy Association and RACE will co-sponsor a day-long retreat for members of the Ridgefield Board of Selectmen, Planning and Zoning Commission, the superintendent of schools, principals, teachers and students, the League of Women Voters, members of the Chamber of Commerce, Clergymen, builders and developers, business leaders, Rotary, civics groups, environmental groups, banks, and affordable housing to meet with one goal in mind: to identify the things in their community that they love and want to preserve for generations to come.

By facilitating cross communication and giving people an opportunity to discuss the challenges they face in preserving the town that they love, there's no telling what wondrous results may emerge.