pennsylvania senate & house vote for preemption of municipal zoning to favor gas drilling and operations

Organizations decry lack of concern for communities, health, and property

As Legislature Ponders Ban Bill, Activists Protest Oil and Gas Industry Pow Wow Across from Statehouse

Trenton, NJ--Today activists protested one of several planned regional workshops by the American Petroleum Institute in Trenton, NJ, countering the oil and gas industry association's event discussing the development of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) with a recommendation of their own: ban fracking entirely. Protestors handed media and passersby "swag bags" filled with information on the risks associated with fracking and staged an award ceremony for the Frackies.

Alliance for the Great Lakes - Clean Water Action Minnesota - Freshwater Future -
Great Lakes United - Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition –
National Wildlife Federation - Natural Resources Defense Council -
Sierra Club-Ontario - Ohio Environmental Council

A much-anticipated study says separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species is not only possible, but a natural step toward much-needed action to improve Chicago’s water infrastructure.

Lack Of Federal Reform Makes State Laws More Urgent

(Boston, MA) - In 2012, Massachusetts and 27 other state legislatures will consider bills that address concerns over toxic chemicals in consumer products, according to a new analysis by Safer States, a national coalition of state-based environmental organizations which Clean Water Action participates in. Bills to be introduced this year will cover a broad list of topics, including safer alternatives to toxic chemicals to bans on toxic chlorinated Tris flame retardants and cadmium, and requirements that makers of consumer products publicly disclose chemicals in products. 

Taxpayers in Massachusetts currently fund statewide energy efficiency programs, but policymakers lack the tools to track who is being served by the programs and how they have impacted local communities. A new piece of Green Justice legislation, approved by the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy (TUE) on January 24, would change that.

“We applaud the Committee for its role in advancing transparency and increasing access for previously underserved communities,” said Staci Rubin of Alternatives for Community & Environment, a member of the Green Justice Coalition (GJC). The GJC has, since 2008, worked with utility companies and state agencies to address inequities in state efficiency programs and address job quality standards. “We are encouraged that the bill aims to provide equitable access to efficiency programs for hard to reach communities, including low-to-moderate- income homeowners and renters, residents whose primary language is not English, and small businesses.”

The bill, “An Act Further Promoting Energy Efficiency and Green Jobs,” mandates public accountability in Massachusetts’ energy efficiency programs and would establish a new Oil Heat Energy Efficiency Fund.