Norwich Bulletin Profiles Co-Chair David Bingham and CTLCV

Our thanks goes out to Norwich Bulletin reporter Adam Benson for this profile of CTLCV and Co-Chair David Bingham.  Read the full article here.

Bingham and Bernhard Team Up to Lead CTLCV

Hartford, CT (January 10, 2011)—The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV), the state’s bipartisan environmental advocacy group, welcomes David Bingham, a Democrat, and G. Kenneth Bernhard, a Republican, as co-chairs of the CTLCV board of directors for 2011.

As the political arm of Connecticut’s environmental organizations, CTLCV reaches out to both sides of the political aisle to educate Connecticut legislators and other public officials on matters of environmental significance.  “Clean air and clean water are essential to people of all political persuasions; nothing about the environment should be a partisan issue,” notes Bingham.

Ken Bernhard agrees and adds further, “As a Republican, I also believe that the environment can’t get short shrift at the expense of the economy.  A healthy, sustainable environment is part and parcel of the quality of life that keeps people, businesses and jobs here.  Connecticut’s environment is an asset.  We need to be shrewd about preserving it.”

Bernhard, an attorney, is a principal in the Westport Office of Cohen and Wolf where he practices municipal, business, real estate and family law.  From 1997-2005, he was Westport's State Representative and served as an Assistant Minority Leader. Bernhard previously served as Westport 's Third Selectman from 1987 to 1989 and was elected to the Westport Zoning Board of Appeals in 1989.

Bernhard is also active with animal protection organizations.  In 2010 he traveled to Africa where he teamed up with the Kenyan Wildlife Service in a sting operation against illegal ivory dealers.  Bernhard has traveled to Senegal and Ethiopia to participate in anti-poaching patrols and to protect national parks.

David Bingham, a retired physician from Salem and self-styled “amateur naturalist,” continues as co-chair, a role that he has shared with Goshen resident Martha Phillips since 2009.  An elected member of the Salem Planning and Zoning Commission, Bingham has been active with the Audubon Society, the national League of Conservation Voters and The Nature Conservancy.  He serves on the Boards of Rivers Alliance, the CT Land Conservation Coalition, the Salem Land Trust and the Sierra Club’s CT Chapter.

Bingham ran for Congress in 1994 to emphasize fiscal and social responsibility for a sound environment.  His grandfather, Hiram Bingham, was Governor and US Senator.  Bingham is an enthusiastic proponent of legislation that would let cities and towns set up their own funds for environmental projects within their own borders.

DEP: Doing More with Less To Protect the Environment

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) came under attack this year for, allegedly, not getting permits out the door fast enough. Legislators and the governor promoted measures to speed up DEP permitting. Some legislative proposals essentially would have undone DEP. One proposal would have merged it into the Department of Commu­nity and Economic Development, for example.

Read more about Connecticut’s conservation politics in our 2010 Environmental Scorecard

However, DEP is a bit of an unsung hero. The agency’s  responsibilities keep expanding even as its staff and resources keep shrinking. Its traditional core programs—reducing pollution of water and air, managing waste, supporting outdoor recreation, and protecting natural resources—now include new initiatives, such as fighting invasive species, manag­ing electronic waste, responding to climate change, and handling federal stimulus projects. Yet, in the past two years alone, DEP lost some ten percent of its workforce along with some of its most knowledgeable and experienced leaders. Figuring out how to handle more responsibility with fewer resources is a necessity at DEP. And guess what? DEP is succeeding. The agency is doing its work faster and more efficiently.

“Many of the legislative battles fought this year directly involved the DEP’s role in enforcement of environmental laws. It is imperative that state lawmakers understand the long-term importance of an effective DEP that is appropriately staffed and funded. Our legislative champions must continue to speak up in support of the environmental work this agency does every single day to protect our air, land, water and health of citizens across the state.”

-Lori Brown, CTLCV Executive Director

Since 2008, the DEP has been systematically imple­menting a process to identify and minimize wasted time and effort across the agency’s permitting and enforcement processes and other programs. They call it LEAN—which doesn’t stand for anything other than, well … “lean.” It is an extension of the lean manu­facturing systems introduced in US and Japanese industries more than 20 years ago.

So far, DEP has completed 23 LEAN projects. The results are remarkable. Wherever LEAN is happen­ing, programs are accelerating, and with no erosion of environmental protections. Inspections are up. Backlogs are down. Permitting time has been cut drastically, too. The Office of Long Island Sound cut its average permitting time from 18 months to about 71 days. Wastewater-discharge permitting time is down from 30 months to about 140 days.

In the face of daunting responsibilities and less staff, DEP has opted to do more, not less. These are the folks who protect our air, water, and quality of life, and they deserve our thanks.

CTLCV Releases 2010 Environmental Scorecard

Legislators’ Grades Slip in Tough Budget Year

The scores are in.  And state legislators let their environmental grades slip in the 2010 legislative session, according to the 2010 Annual Environmental Scorecard released on August 5 by the bipartisan Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV).  Citizens who want a sense of how their state legislators performed on environmental issues this year should take a look at their rankings.   

In the face of record-setting budget deficits, many legislators and business leaders seemed inclined to blame the economic downturn on the Department of Environmental Protection, in particular, and environmental regulations, in general.  In the first months of the session, the state's most important protections for air, water, and land appeared at risk of dissolution.

“This year was especially trying.  Lobbyists that have fought every year to weaken environmental laws and regulations for the benefit of a few industries found an opportunity for their false claims that protecting the environment was somehow an obstacle to Connecticut’s future,” said CTLCV’s Executive Director, Lori Brown.  “History has always shown the opposite.  A clean environment makes for a good economy.”

"Clean water, clean air, and protected open spaces are among the qualities that make Connecticut such a desirable place to live and work.  These precious environmental resources need to be protected, even during hard economic times, not needlessly squandered in short-sighted and harmful policy changes, said  Martha Phillips, CTLCV Co-Chair.

Scorecard Grades Lawmakers on their Environmental Voting Records

CTLCV grades all state senators and representatives on a 0% to 100% scale based on their votes on important environmental legislation.  The 2010 Environmental Scorecard grades legislators on their votes on nine major environmental bills, including bills on energy, recycling, green jobs, toxics, and environmental rollback.

Number of Legislators with Good Grades Drops by 15%

In 2009, 82% of the legislature earned A’s or B’s on their environmental voting records.  This year, however, the percentage of legislators scoring A’s or B’s dropped to 67%.  Fifty-one legislators scored a perfect 100% by casting pro-environment votes on each of the bills that CTLCV scored.  Another 33 legislators earned A’s on their environmental voting records.  CTLCV applauds those individuals for standing firm in their support for a clean, healthy environment.

In contrast, the number of legislators who scored C’s, D’s, or F’s increased this year, from a total of 33 (18%) in 2009 to a total of 61 (33%) in 2010.

Although the outlook for the environment was grim at the start of the 2010 legislative session, CTLCV worked with other environmental advocacy groups to stop or at least minimize anti-environment efforts.  In the end, the General Assembly adjourned without doing serious damage to environmental protection laws, and even extended them in some cases.

“We managed to thwart the worst of the rollbacks this year.  But I have no doubt the anti-environmental forces will be back in 2011.  That is why we should be very selective about who we elect this November.  The people we elect will be making those key policy decisions and we want them on our side,” said Brown.

Download the Full Scorecard at www.ctlcv.org/scorecard

For Senate scores, House scores, explanations of the environmental bills analyzed for the scorecard, a rundown on the 2010 legislative session and other analyses, please visit www.ctlcv.org/scorecard. 

- Posted by Kelly Kennedy, CTLCV Communications Director

CTLCV on “Meet the Leaders” for Earth Day 40

CTLCV Executive Director  Lori Brown appears on Cablevision's Meet the Leaders program for Earth Day 40. 

Watch it here:

(the audio in this clip is now working… apologies for the technical difficulties.)

Earth Day TV, Live from the Capitol

- Kelly Kennedy

These “Earth Day TV” videos are a joint project of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Middlesex Community College, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day - April 22, 2010.

Watch what Connecticut’s top advocates for the planet had to say in the full playlist below, or scroll down to click on individual videos.  Thanks to everyone who participated!

Click on any picture below to watch that individual video separately.

As Nation Renews Focus on Climate Action, A Look Back at Connecticut's Visit from Carol Browner, Assistant to President for Energy & Climate Change

With the US Senate’s climate action bill taking shape, the EPA’s move last week to regulate greenhouse gases, and major companies rejecting the US Chamber of Commerce’s stance on climate action, the shift continues toward America’s clean energy future.

Late this summer, CTLCV attended a clean energy panel discussion that Congressman Chris Murphy hosted with Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, at the Hill-stead Museum in Farmington.

The panel focused on the promise that green energy advancements hold for our environment and for Connecticut’s economy.

Joining Browner and Murphy were representatives from Connecticut-based renewable energy businesses, including Apollo Solar of Bethel, FuelCell Energy (Danbury and Torrington), Duracell (Bethel) and Optiwind (Torrington).

The nearly two-hour meeting covered stimulus investments in energy, the US House bill on climate change (ACES), transmission issues for renewable energy, smart meters, energy efficiency rules for appliances, initiatives of some of Connecticut’s renewable energy businesses, and more.

Here’s some of what they had to say.

New Year, New Leadership at CTLCV

After more than eight years at the helm, CTLCV Board Chairs Julie Belaga and Russ Brenneman, two of CTLCV’s original founders, are passing their chairmanships on to Martha Phillips and David Bingham.

Martha Phillips, of Goshen, worked in various staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1965. Phillips was deputy minority counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee (1977-1986) and Minority Staff Director to the House Budget Committee (1986-1992). From 1992 to 1999, Phillips was executive director of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded by former Senators Warren Rudman (R-NH) and Paul Tsongas (D-MA) to end federal deficit spending and promote entitlement reform and a balanced federal budget. Phillips is now a member of the Concord Coalition board. She is also Vice President of Redefining Progress, a public policy think tank dedicated to promoting sustainability through sound economics. Additionally, as Action Chair of the Litchfield County League of Women Voters, Phillips focuses on various environmental and energy issues. She is a Vice-Chair of the Garden Club of America National Affairs and Legislation Committee, Vice-President of the Litchfield Garden Club, and has served on the Endangered Lands Coalition.

"During this era of budget deficits and budget cuts, CTLCV's work is more important than ever. We will work with the legislature and the Rell administration to make sure that critical environmental protections are not neglected. Our state's coffers may be temporarily empty, but our natural resources are abundant—and we need to protect them so they stay that way," said Phillips.

Joining Phillips as CTLCV Co-Chair is David Bingham, a retired physician from Salem and self-styled “amateur naturalist.” Bingham has been active with the Sierra Club, NARAL, Audubon Society, and the national League of Conservation Voters. He currently serves on the Boards of Rivers Alliance, the CT Land Conservation Coalition, the Salem Land Trust and the Sierra Club (CT Chapter). An elected member of the Salem Planning and Zoning Commission, Bingham has worked with The Nature Conservancy and the Salem Land Trust to save land. Bingham ran for Congress in 1994 to emphasize fiscal and social responsibility for a sound environment. His grandfather, Hiram Bingham, was Governor and US Senator.

In sync with Phillips, Bingham believes that

"Conserving the beauty of our landscape and our wildlife, and protecting the health of our environment, requires vision, oversight, education and investment. Cutting corners cannot be acceptable, even in these difficult times. Natural resources that are lost are often lost forever. We are responsible for what future generations inherit, and these values are priceless. Martha and I have big shoes to fill, and we are honored to pick up where Russ and Julie left off."

The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (www.ctlcv.org) is a bipartisan environmental advocacy group that focuses on getting smart, sustainable environmental policies enacted in Connecticut. Its affiliates include the CTLCV Education Fund (www.conservationeducation.org) and the CTLCV PAC.

YOUR Connecticut Energy Guide - New Edition Released!

The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is pleased to announce the release of the December 2008 edition of YOUR Connecticut Energy Guide!

It's what you WANT to know, what you NEED to know, and WHERE to find it ...

• Grants
• Loans
• Tax Credits
• Rebates
• Educational Resources

... for your home, school, business and community!

Click here for your free download!

Many thanks to our funders!
YOUR Connecticut Energy Guide was underwritten by grants from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Fund of the Fairfield County Community Foundation, Harris and Frances Block Foundation, Byedale Foundation, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Jane Marcher Foundation, Newman's Own Foundation, Northeast Utilities, Norwich Public Utilities, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and United Illuminating Company.