Bipartisan advocates for smart, sustainable environmental policies in Connecticut



Showing posts with label sustainable development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sustainable development. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

CT Commissioners’ Joint Message to Educators About Upcoming National Sustainability Week

 

Dear Connecticut Educator:

In acknowledgement of the economic, social, and environmental challenges and opportunities facing our society, Governor Rell has issued an Official Statement designating November 8 – 12, 2010 as “National Sustainability Education Week.”

The week is devoted to “the recognition of students, teachers, colleges of education, and the larger community working to create sustainable communities.”

We encourage you and your schools to take this opportunity to integrate sustainability into lessons, initiate a project to model sustainability in your facilities and operations, hold an event, or engage your learning communities in some other way.

Sustainability concepts are interdisciplinary and span a broad range of subject areas, including environmental education, clean technologies, the green economy, climate science, public health, human rights, and global equity. The exploration of these topics through the lens of sustainability requires critical and creative thinking and innovative problem solving.

Many excellent resources for teaching sustainability concepts at all grade levels, including lesson plans aligned with the Connecticut education frameworks and student competitions, are available at www.ctenergyeducation.com. You will also find resources to “green” your operations at this website and links to organizations actively promoting sustainability education in Connecticut. In addition, you may find or post an event at www.ctclimatechange.com.

We hope that you will find creative ways to integrate sustainability into your learning communities during National Sustainability Education Week and throughout the year. Thank you.

Sincerely,

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Really Big Energy Bill: Supporters & Opponents

Senate Bill 463, the 169 page energy bill released a few days ago, seems to be pitting traditional energy businesses against new clean energy businesses.  As part of a press conference yesterday, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group displayed a poster identifying the bill’s biggest supporters and opponents (below).

Background on the Bill
For background on what the bill proposes, see:
-  The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research summary here
-  CT News Junkie and CT Mirror articles here and here
-  This morning’s Hartford  Courant endorsed a go-slow approach.  You can read the Courant editorial here.

CCAG's "Whose Side Are You On?"

Monday, June 15, 2009

Dodd to Obama: We Need Office for Sustainable Development

Tuesday June 16: DODD CONVENES HEARING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With reports this morning that the average price of gasoline in America has risen to $2.66, and in Connecticut alone prices are up 30 cents since last month, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, will convene a hearing entitled “Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth” tomorrow.

Each year Americans spend billions of hours stuck in traffic, wasting billions of gallons of gasoline. Earlier this year, Dodd sent a letter to President Obama urging him to establish a White House Office of Sustainable Development to coordinate housing, transportation, energy, and environmental policies.

The Committee will discuss how such a comprehensive approach to development could best address a number of serious problems facing the nation – the costs of traffic congestion, a lack of affordable housing, and the threat of climate change.

Tuesday’s hearing will be webcast live at http://banking.senate.gov

WHO: Chairman Chris Dodd and Members of the Senate Banking Committee
Ray LaHood,
Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Transportation
Shaun Donovan,
Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

WHEN: Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 9:30 A.M.

WHERE: Live webcast at http://banking.senate.gov, from 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building