Conservation Law Foundation

🤩 Highlights from October’s e-news:

💪 New Bedford community rejects a polluting facility

🛶 Senior Lake Champlain Lakekeeper Julie Silverman fights marine debris

🍃 We’re pushing back on a fossil-fuel PR firm’s involvement inCOP30

👉 Sign up for November’s issue: ow.ly/hAkb50Wrem4

Protecting “Blue Spaces” to Protect Mental Health Spending time in "blue spaces," in and around water, can create "blue minds," measurably improving your mental health.

Did you know that blue spaces are good for your mental health?

In honor of #WorldMentalHealthDay, learn more about how exposure to water can lower stress and anxiety, boost our well-being and happiness, and lower heart and breathing rates: www.clf.org/blog/protect...

Vermont’s drought is straining communities and leading residents to suffer  - VTDigger As the drought intensifies, depleting water levels are forcing towns to conserve water, harming aquatic ecosystems and impacting recreational activities.

🛶  Lake Champlain is experiencing a drought that is impacting its entire ecosystem and causing stress to animals. Warm temperatures accompanied by a high-pressure system are expected to exacerbate the drought. vtdigger.org/2025/09/28/v...

Groups sue EPA over canceled $7 billion solar program intended to help poorer Americans Several groups and nonprofit organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the canceling of a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power access...

⚡️ The Trump administration’s rollback of the Solar for All program is an undisguised attempt to prop up fossil fuel companies at the expense of American families relying on clean energy programs that make solar power accessible. apnews.com/article/clim...

CLF News this week: 📫🧵

Your Questions Answered: Offshore Wind Farms and Protecting the Ocean’s Special Places Will offshore wind turbines impact Cashes Ledge, a cradle of marine life in the Gulf of Maine? We answer all your questions.

We can balance building renewable energy infrastructure, like offshore wind, with protecting beautiful natural spaces, like Cashes Ledge. CLF's Priscilla Brooks explains how: www.clf.org/blog/offshor...

Energy efficiency is reducing Northeast peak demand, electricity bills: Acadia “It is more important than ever for policymakers, advocates, program administrators, and consumers to understand the value ... of energy efficiency resource acquisition,” said Acadia’s Jamie Dickerson...

@acadiacenter.bsky.social found that energy efficiency solutions, like heat pumps, are saving New Englanders billions on their utility bills. As the federal government cuts clean energy funding, state efficiency programs are critical in helping lower energy bills. www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-...

Climate-Friendly Housing, Built for the Commute CLF’s Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund (HNEF), is just one example of a growing movement to link housing to public transit.

Transit-oriented housing benefits our communities and the climate. Why addressing access to transportation is key to fighting climate change and improving our health: www.clf.org/blog/climate...

New Lawsuit Seeks to Protect $7 Billion in Solar Funding Solar for All represents a generational opportunity to cut skyrocketing power bills, create new good jobs, and equip our communities to address the causes and consequences of a changing climate.

The Solar for All program would provide families with low incomes access to clean, affordable solar power – energy that lowers bills, improves air quality, and keeps people safer during extreme heat. We're fighting to defend it in court: www.clf.org/newsroom/new...

Opinion: Don’t let utilities bully Connecticut’s energy regulators Nominate regulators who stand up to utilities and try to control costs. Adopt rate structures that reward utilities for innovating and reducing costs.

Marissa Gillett's resignation as Connecticut’s top utility regulator is a stark reminder that we can't let go of pushing for affordable, clean and reliable energy. We need courageous commissioners who aren't afraid to stand up to utilities and work to control costs.
www.courant.com/2025/09/28/o...

Cleaning Up Lake Champlain Toxic litter is fouling our waters. Lakekeeper Julie Silverman is fighting to clean up marine debris and protect Lake Champlain.

CLF Lakekeeper Julie Silverman is part of a coalition of nonprofits taking on toxic trash in our waters. From community cleanups to passing new laws, she's spearheading our work to keep garbage out of Lake Champlain.

How she's advocating for clean, safe waterways: www.clf.org/blog/feature...

EV sales surge in the U.S. ahead of Sept. 30 tax credit deadline A $7,500 tax credit is available for the lease or purchase of many electric vehicles — but only if contracts are inked by midnight on Sept. 30. The result: The market for EVs is a little distorted.

Electric vehicle sales have spiked ahead of today's tax credit deadline. The credits, which expire today, are worth up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for used ones.

www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...

The Berkshire Future Is Getting Hazier: Wildfires Driven by Climate Change are Clouding Idyllic Skies Climate change is fueling wildfires, causing dangerous air pollution that worsens public health across New England.

"Whether you live in the shady woods of the Berkshires or the bustling streets of Boston, we all want safe, clean air that won’t make us sick."

CLF's Cynthia Pansing on how climate change is changing summers in her home in the Berkshires: www.clf.org/blog/wildfir...

In latest anti-wind action, Trump administration moves to revoke SouthCoast Wind permit The Trump administration asked a federal judge to allow it to revoke a key permit for SouthCoast Wind, a project that could power about 1.4 million homes in the region.

❗️The Trump administration is relying on a new interpretation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to halt offshore wind projects in the U.S. This means significant delays towards clean energy for the region. www.wbur.org/news/2025/09...

To Weather the Growing Costs of Climate Disasters, Some States Are Getting Creative From tourist taxes to polluter fees, states seek funding solutions to deal with the massive price tag of a warming world.

💪 An increase in climate disasters and extreme weather means it’s essential to hold polluters accountable. If you make a mess, you should also help clean it up. Climate superfund laws, like the one CLF is defending in Vermont, aim to hold polluters accountable. www.audubon.org/magazine/wea...

Judge allows work to resume on CT Revolution Wind project The court granted a preliminary injunction allowing Connecticut's Revolution Wind project to resume construction, which was 80% complete.

🎉 The offshore wind project, Revolution Wind, expected to supply 704 megawatts of power to the New England grid, was allowed to resume construction after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration failed to justify its decision to halt the project. ctmirror.org/2025/09/22/r...

This week in CLF news 📬🧵

In latest anti-wind action, Trump administration moves to revoke SouthCoast Wind permit The Trump administration asked a federal judge to allow it to revoke a key permit for SouthCoast Wind, a project that could power about 1.4 million homes in the region.

❗️The Trump administration is relying on a new interpretation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to halt offshore wind projects in the U.S. This means significant delays towards clean energy for the region. www.wbur.org/news/2025/09...

To Weather the Growing Costs of Climate Disasters, Some States Are Getting Creative From tourist taxes to polluter fees, states seek funding solutions to deal with the massive price tag of a warming world.

💪 An increase in climate disasters and extreme weather means it’s essential to hold polluters accountable. If you make a mess, you should also help clean it up. Climate superfund laws, like the one CLF is defending in Vermont, aim to hold polluters accountable. www.audubon.org/magazine/wea...

Judge allows work to resume on CT Revolution Wind project The court granted a preliminary injunction allowing Connecticut's Revolution Wind project to resume construction, which was 80% complete.

🎉 The offshore wind project, Revolution Wind, expected to supply 704 megawatts of power to the New England grid, was allowed to resume construction after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration failed to justify its decision to halt the project. ctmirror.org/2025/09/22/r...

If we all lower our electricity demand, we cancel out the need to build more dirty power plants, while also cutting energy bills and climate-damaging emissions for everyone.

Every New England state has a program for homeowners, renters, and business owners to help absorb upgrade costs while improving people’s comfort. Check out your state’s efficiency program (e.g., MassSave, Efficiency Maine, Energize CT, RI Home Energy Savings Program) to tap into incentives.

Making moves to fill gaps in door jams and install things like airtight windows, electric heat pump HVAC systems, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and even LED lightbulbs helps.

Winter is just around the corner, making fall an ideal time to consider energy-efficient upgrades for your home or building.

Revolution Wind Work Can Continue This ruling confirms what we’ve known all along - that the Trump administration’s attempt to stop Revolution Wind is not only a violation of the law but a dramatic overreach.

A federal judge's ruling that Revolution Wind can continue construction off the coast of Rhode Island is a win for New England – bringing clean, local power and supporting thousands of jobs across the region.

Our full statement: ow.ly/iltR50X0sXW

Challenge to Maryland Offshore Wind Project Stokes Concerns Among Legal Scholars - Inside Climate News The Trump Administration wants to vacate approval of US Wind’s Maryland project. Experts believe the move could be illegal and could jeopardize the clean energy transition nationwide.

🔎 The Trump administration has continued to revoke the permits of federally permitted offshore wind projects. To urge the courts to vacate a permit is troubling; offshore wind projects follow multi-year and, in some cases, decade-long processes. insideclimatenews.org/news/1609202...

Massachusetts Lawmakers Sit On the Sidelines As Trump Shreds the State's Climate Plans - Streetsblog Massachusetts The state was already falling behind its electric vehicle goals before Trump took office – but the outlook is even dimmer now.

💪 Lawmakers and community advocates have been working to pass the Freedom to Move Act, which would require MassDOT to align its spending priorities with the pollution reduction mandates in the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act. mass.streetsblog.org/2025/09/15/m...

🤩 The New Bedford Board of Health rejected a proposal that would’ve allowed for the construction of a solid waste transfer facility, a significant win for public health and the communities that organized, educated, and supported each other every step of the way. www.wpri.com/news/local-n...

CLF’s Weekly News Roundup: 🧵🗞

Happy ninth birthday to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the Atlantic's only monument! These photos from a recent @noaa.gov and @delmns.bsky.social trip highlight the area's incredible diversity.