Time’s A Wastin’. Help Get Connecticut Out to Vote!

There are many close races this election season, which makes voter turnout all the more critical.

There are opportunities all across the state to help "get out the vote," so please volunteer a few hours between now and when the polls close at 8PM November 2. 

Contact CTLCV Executive Director Lori Brown at 860-236-5442  or lori.brown@ctlcv.org for details.

“Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little.” 
 - Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher

 

Getting Our Next Governor to “Green”

Did you miss our forumwith gubernatorial candidates Foley, Malloy and Marsh?  Wondering where they stand on protecting our precious natural resources? On energy? On green jobs?   

Thanks to CT-N, you can still watch the event here.

This event was co-sponsored by the following organizations:

• Audubon Connecticut
• Connecticut Citizens Transportation Lobby
• Connecticut Fund for the Environment
• Connecticut League of Conservation Voters
• Environment Northeast
• Regional Plan Association
• Rivers Alliance
• Save the Sound
• Sierra Club, Connecticut Chapter
• Solar Connecticut
• Transit for Connecticut
• With Special Thanks to Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Renewable Energy for Dog Parks

In many parts of the world, people use animal waste in methane digesters to cook. On large farms and ranches, feedstock provides enough waste to make a biogas digester a cost effective way to generate power. And at the Pacific Street Dog Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Matthew Mazzotta successfully created the Park Spark poop converter system that can generate enough energy from animal waste to a power a gas lantern in one corner of the Pacific Street Dog Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Pictured: A local resident admires Mazzotta's handiwork.

(Media credit/Luke Ryan via Flickr)

After Mazzotta spent time in India, he saw potential in using a system similar to India’s “methane congesters” to lessen how parks contribute to landfills. With a $4,000 grant from the Massachusetts Institute of Techology (MIT), where he earned a master’s degree in visual studies, he set up two steel 500-gallon oil tanks. The tanks, which are anaerobic digesters for biodegradable waste, are connected and attached to the lantern. By using biodegradable bags, dog-owners can turn a wheel and agitate the microbes of the waste enough to give off methane gas, thereby powering the lamp. Because the process is carbon neutral, no new greenhouse gases are let off into the atmosphere.

Though the installment is has been dismantled since its one-month run, the concept shows there are energy sources all around us. Hopefully, in the future, similar technology can become cost-effective for individuals to utilize. With innovation and a willingness to consider alternatives, Mazzotta has illuminated how we may reduce landfill waste and reduce our carbon footprint.

CONTACTS: The Park Spark Project, www.parksparkproject.com; The Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com

Information sourced from E- The Environmental Magazine

CT to Get Major Fed Investment for High Speed Rail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 25, 2010

Contact: Caren Auchman

202-747-4973

or

Rebecca Kaplan

860-383-6362

DODD, GOVERNOR RELL, CONNECTICUT CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO ANNOUNCE MAJOR FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN HIGH-SPEED RAIL

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will be joined by Governor Rell, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Congressman John Larson (CT-1) and Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) to announce a major federal investment in the high-speed rail connecting New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, MA at the Amtrak Station in Meriden.

This funding from the Department of Transportation (DOT) will be added to the $260 million that the State Bond Commission has approved to help finance the project and will be used to establish faster, more frequent intercity and commuter rail service and encourage transit-oriented development throughout central Connecticut.

As the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over public transportation, Dodd has been a longtime advocate for high speed rail service in Connecticut. Dodd, DOT Secretary LaHood, Connecticut’s Congressional Delegation, Governor Rell, and state officials have been working together to deliver federal funds to Connecticut to complete the Tri-City Corridor that will provide residents of central Connecticut with better access to New York City, western Massachusetts, Vermont, and eventually Boston.

WHO: Senator Chris Dodd

Governor Rell

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Congressman John Larson

Congressman Chris Murphy

Speaker Chris Donovan

ConnDOT Commissioner Jeff Parker

WHERE: Meriden Amtrak Station

60 State Street

Meriden, CT

WHEN: MONDAY, October 25, 2010

3:00 p.m.

###

TODAY, 10/18: WNPR’s Nancy Cohen Moderates Gubernatorial Forum

Candidates to Discuss Energy, Economy, Environment

 

MEDIA ADVISORY October 18, 2010

Contact: Laura McMillan CT Fund for the Environment Cell: 540-292-8429

WHAT:
At this forum sponsored by ten leading environmental organizations, three candidates  for governor will present their visions for the state’s environmental and economic  future. Each will be interviewed on issues including energy, Long Island Sound, and    protecting natural resources while bolstering the state economy.

WHEN:
Monday, October 18, 2010 
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm (doors open for camera/audio set-up at 2:30)

WHO:
Tom Foley, Republican candidate for governor
Dan Malloy, Democratic candidate for governor
Tom Marsh, Independent candidate for governor
Moderator: Nancy Cohen, WNPR Connecticut Public Radio
Introduction: Don Strait, Connecticut Fund for the Environment

WHERE:
Kroon Hall (3rd floor), Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies 
195 Prospect St, New Haven

DIRECTIONS:

· From I-91: I-91 S towards New Haven. Take Exit 3 for Trumbull St. Stay straight onto Trumbull St two blocks. Take a right on Church St/Whitney Ave two blocks. Take a left on Sachem St, then first right on Prospect. Kroon Hall will be second building on the right.

· From I-95 North or South: Exit 48 for I-91 N towards Hartford. Take Exit 3 for Trumbull St. Follow directions from I-91 S above.

· From Amtrak or Metro North to Union Station: Take J Bus (any #) to Whitney Ave and Sachem St. Walk west on Sachem, turn right on Prospect.

· **UPDATED** Parking: Free parking is available at 3:00pm in the hockey rink visitors lot. Access from Prospect, bear left once in lot.   Parking is also available in the Gibbs Laboratory/22 lot. Continue north on Whitney past Sachem and turn left into the large lot (entrance pass code 276#). Walk SW to Kroon.

· Press vans may unload on Prospect directly in front of Kroon.

Sponsored by Audubon Connecticut, Connecticut Citizens Transportation Lobby, Connecticut Fund for the Environment and its program Save the Sound, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Environment Northeast, Regional Plan Association, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Sierra Club-Connecticut Chapter, Solar Connecticut, and Transit for Connecticut.

National LCV Action Fund Endorses Richard Blumenthal for US Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2010
Contact: Kate Geller, (202) 454-4573 or kate_geller@lcv.org

WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental policies, today announced its endorsement of Richard Blumenthal for U.S. Senate.

“LCV Action Fund is proud to endorse Richard Blumenthal for U.S. Senate because he understands that the policies needed to grow Connecticut’s economy and keep America’s competitive edge are the same policies that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and curb harmful carbon pollution,” said LCV Action Fund President Gene Karpinski. “We are confident that as Senator, Richard Blumenthal will work to enact common-sense energy policies that create jobs in Connecticut while ensuring that America leads the 21st century’s clean energy economy.”

Blumenthal supports comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create new energy jobs.[1] Throughout his tenure as Connecticut Attorney General, Blumenthal has worked to support state legislation that invests in renewable energy to help create jobs and reduce carbon pollution.[2] Blumenthal's efforts as Connecticut's Attorney General on behalf of environmental causes, including joining bipartisan fights to block controversial energy projects on the Long Island Sound, reflect his commitment to environmental protections and investments in job-creating clean energy. In January 2010, Blumenthal joined 15 other attorneys general in support of defending the EPA in their efforts to begin regulation of dangerous carbon pollution.[3]   

“It is an honor to receive the endorsement from the League of Conservation Voters. We share a commitment to protecting Connecticut’s environment and to clean-energy technologies that will help us meet that goal, create green jobs and strengthen our economy,” said Blumenthal. “As Attorney General, I’ve stood up to the big energy companies and fought to protect Long Island Sound and keep our air clean and our water safe. As a U.S. Senator, I will continue to fight for the people of Connecticut, stand up to the big energy companies, and work to protect our state’s natural beauty for our children and future generations to come.”

By way of contrast, Blumenthal is running against Linda McMahon, WWE CEO, who has said she would consider voting to eliminate the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.[4] She has also called the sound and settled science of global warming “potentially questionable”.[5] As Attorney General, Blumenthal participated in successful bipartisan efforts by state and federal lawmakers to defeat plans to locate the Broadwater Energy liquefied natural gas terminal in the Long Island Sound and build the Islander East natural gas pipeline between Connecticut and New York. McMahon said it was difficult to say whether she would oppose such plans.[6]

"We have counted on Dick Blumenthal for many years to uphold Connecticut's laws and he has been an effective and passionate voice for environmental protection and clean energy investments,” said Lori Brown, Executive Director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. “Dick Blumenthal is a win for business, jobs and the environment."

Richard Blumenthal is featured on LCVAF’s GiveGreen website,http://lcv.org/givegreen, the only bundling website devoted exclusively to raising money for environmental champions and candidates. For a complete list of LCV Action Fund’s 2010 congressional endorsements visit http://www.lcv.org/2010.

# # #

Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, http://lcv.org/, and authorized by Blumenthal for Senate.

[1]Richard Blumenthal’s 2010 Candidate Questionnaire

[2]http://www.richardblumenthal.com/Issues/EnergyEnvironment

[3]http://www.richardblumenthal.com/Issues/LongIslandSound

[4] http://www.ctmirror.org/story/7758/mcmahon-campaign-shrugs-possible-tea-party-endorsement

[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJPdI80Klio

[6] http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Stark-differences-between-McMahon-Blumenthal-on-674496.php