ACTION ALERTS!

Action Alert sent on 9/22/17 - Current
Submit public comments on or before 11/20/17.

Connecticut's water belongs to YOU!

Connecticut's Water Planning Council released its first draft of a statewide COMPREHENSIVE WATER PLAN and is asking for YOUR public comments. This plan provides guiding principles for managing the future of Connecticut's water. It addresses the quality and quantity of water for drinking, ecology, business, agriculture, recreation, industry, energy and wastewater assimilation. The draft plan also has the critical goal of encouraging water conservation but needs improvement if we are to put in place a robust and effective water-conservation policy.

View Connecticut's State Water Plan

NOW the Water Planning Council is asking for YOUR comments on this plan.
Your views can help our state and your neighborhood have a healthy water future. Our friends at Rivers Alliance of Connecticut and Connecticut Fund for the Environment have created a wonderful website with an overview of the draft plan. Visit OurWaterCT.org and then submit comments or attend a public hearing. Comments are open to the public until November 20, 2017.
For more information:
Action Alert sent on 9/6/17 - Current
Submit public comments on or before 9/25/17.

We need your help to improve Connecticut's energy future!
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released an updated draft of our state's Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which is a long-term energy plan for CT. The strategy focuses on the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but the proposed plan is not enough to meet our critical reduction targets. As written, the plan will actually delay our state's goal of increasing renewable energy.

Tell DEEP officials our Comprehensive Energy Strategy must put us on track to reach our clean energy goals, not slow the process! Submit public comments on or before 9/25/17.

Email comments or attend a public hearing:

Talking points:

  • Support more ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standard increases. We must do more to drive renewable growth in Connecticut or risk falling behind our neighbors. Even with the beneficial goal of phasing down biomass and landfill gas, the proposal to increase the Class I RPS to 30% by 2030 will not ramp up true renewables like solar and wind fast enough.

  • Foster our state’s solar market growth and establish a statewide, shared solar program. More rooftop solar and a vibrant shared solar program are vital to help reduce our GHG emissions, create a resilient electric grid, and strengthen our local economy.

  • Speed up adoption of Electric Vehicles and clean up our transportation pollution. Connecticut must meet its promise of 154,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025. As you know, cars and trucks cause nearly 40% of our greenhouse gas emissions so we must establish stronger incentives for EVs and add more charging stations.  The CES should include concrete policy proposals so we can take immediate steps to meet these urgent goals.
  • View letter to DEEP from CT environmental groups

For additional information:
Action Alert sent on 8/7/17 - Deadline passed

URGENT: The Trump administration is trying to expand offshore drilling to the Atlantic Ocean. Fight back today >>
Offshore drilling is a recipe for disaster. From the Florida coast to Long Island Sound, all the way up to Maine, our beaches are top destinations for visitors from around the world. These healthy coasts and waterways provide the foundation for our vibrant communities, ecosystems, and economies up and down the Atlantic.

One oil spill from offshore drilling could wipe out livelihoods and critical natural resources for generations.

For years, we have fought (and won!) against attempts to drill in the Atlantic Ocean, but now the Trump administration is trying to give Big Oil a greenlight to drill along our coast. Our economy, tourism, and environment cannot afford to be under constant threat of a giant oil spill that could threaten generations to come. We must reignite the fight to keep offshore drilling out of the Atlantic – the health and integrity of our coastal communities depends on it!

Big Oil is putting the entire Atlantic seaboard at risk. Submit a public comment by 8/17: Tell Big Oil to STAY OUT of the Atlantic >>

If drilling in the Atlantic Ocean is authorized, it would be the first time Big Oil’s drills will operate off the East Coast in decades. And we know from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and the horrific Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf that Big Oil cannot be trusted to protect our communities or our environment.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans earn their livelihoods in the fishing, tourism, and recreation industries along the Atlantic coast. Despite whatever claims the oil industry may make about safety improvements, drilling is never 100 percent safe. And oil spills, whether caused by nature or human error, would devastate coastal communities and marine ecosystems.

These risks aren’t stopping the Trump administration from supporting Big Oil and promoting a “Drill, Baby, Drill” energy policy. Don’t let Big Polluters have free rein over the environment -- they’ll do whatever it takes to make a profit. We’ve won this fight before and we can do it again, but only with your help.  

Our coast and waters are under threat! Leave a public comment TODAY and help protect the Atlantic from offshore drilling>>

Connecticut citizens care deeply about our beaches, ocean ecosystems, and families. Thank you for speaking up to protect our coasts.
Action Alert sent on 7/28/17- Deadline passed

Contact Governor Malloy for a Stronger Regional Climate Agreement!
For the past eighteen months, the nine Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) partner states in the Northeast have been debating the future of the nation’s first regional program to limit, price, and reduce carbon pollution from power plants.

Now, a decision on the future of the program -- and how much it cuts carbon pollution and invests in clean energy and energy efficiency -- is expected in the coming weeks. 
We urge you to contact Governor Malloy and ask him to strengthen RGGI, which would mean a 5% annual reduction in our cap on greenhouse gas emissions.    Here is a sample script you can use (feel free to make it your own): 
"Dear Governor Malloy:
I urge you to take a strong position on strengthening our Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) during the current program review process.
​Given Connecticut’s participation in the new ​US Climate Alliance, we should uphold our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When you meet with ​other state leaders​​ over the coming weeks ​about renewing the program, please advocate for a significant strengthening of ​RGGI  (not weakening targets as some states suggest).
​We must do better than the status quo to stabilize our climate.
Thank you."

Click here for more information on RGGI
Click here to view a recent letter to Governor Malloy

Please reply to this email and let us know how the conversation went!
Thanks to Sierra Club for providing information for this alert.


Action Alert sent on 6/27/17 - Deadline passed

Help Preserve CT's Clean Energy Future
Lawmakers in Hartford are currently considering a budget plan that includes deep cuts to clean energy and energy efficiency programs, and would eliminate funding for the CT Council on Environmental Quality. If passed, this budget would sweep millions in ratepayer and taxpayer dollars away from clean energy, while leaving us with fewer tools to protect our air and water.
It's time to contact House and Senate leadership and tell them to preserve our environment and clean energy economy in the 2018-2019 budget.
Click here to email House and Senate Leadership today! 
  • Don't Raid RGGI: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) funds are used to reduce energy costs and speed the deployment of local clean energy solutions like rooftop solar. Deep cuts to RGGI hurt low-income families and impede job growth in Connecticut!

  • Don't Cut CT Green Bank: The CT Green Bank has helped finance tens of millions of dollars in private investment for in-state clean energy projects. Manufacturers and businesses have successfully reduced energy costs and cut climate pollution because of Green Bank investments, helping make Connecticut a clean energy model for the nation!

  • Don't Bail Out Millstone Nuclear: Tell legislators to say "NO" to special deals for nuclear power at the expense of real renewable energy in our state!

  • Do Preserve CEQ: Tell legislators to preserve funding for the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). CEQ is a small investment that makes a big difference to help protect public health and the environment in CT!

  • Do Maintain CT's Leadership on Climate Change: Tell our lawmakers that we must continue to be national leaders on climate and use our membership in the U.S. Climate Alliance as a platform for leadership and innovation. As our federal government abdicates its environmental obligations, we need Connecticut to step up to fight climate change and ensure a robust clean energy economy.
Click here to email House and Senate Leadership today! Ask them to pass a budget that preserves our environment and maintains Connecticut's leadership role on climate change!
For more information click here or contact CTLCV at ctlcv@ctlcv.org

Thanks to Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Citizens Campaign for the Environment for helping to prepare this message.


Action Alert sent on 6/21/17 - Deadline passed

SAVE THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT ACT FROM BEING ELIMINATED IN THE STATE BUDGET!
The Connecticut General Assembly will soon be back in a special session with a goal of completing a state budget plan by June 30. It is urgent that you contact leadership to say NO to the elimination of the CEQ and the CIA.

The Governor's original budget proposed ZERO funding for the Council on Environmental Quality. Proposals from both sides of the aisle have also included cuts to the CIA during the next biennium. Most recently, the Senate Republican’s plan proposed a diversion of 100% of the CIA funds for the next two fiscal years.
​Even if you submitted testimony earlier this year, WE NEED YOUR HELP AGAIN! The fate of CEQ and the CIA ​now rests with Governor Malloy, and House and Senate legislative leaders.
ACTION: Contact the following leaders and remind them that these programs are vital assets to protecting our states' land, air, water and wildlife. Ask them to restore funding for CEQ and CIA. Also, please cc your own legislators. THEY WILL PAY ATTENTION TO MESSAGES FROM A CONSTITUENT.
Find your legislators and their contact info here.

Background on CEQ
CEQ website
Background on CIA
CIA website

Contact CTLCV if you need more information at ctlcv@ctlcv.org or call us at 860-236-5442.
Thanks to the CT Land Conservation Council for the information needed to take this urgent action.

Action Alert sent on 6/19/17 - Deadline passed

Our public lands are under attack! So what do we do?
STAND UP, FIGHT BACK!

SIGN: Tell President Trump and the Department of Interior to SUPPORT — not sell off — our public lands and national monuments
Dear Friend,
-- With his recent executive order, Donald Trump is trying to remove protections for millions of acres of our public lands, including monuments ranging from the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument in the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Giant Sequoia in California.
An attack on one monument is an attack on all. If Donald Trump succeeds in this unprecedented order to shrink or eliminate protections for millions of acres of important historical and cultural sites, we don’t know where it will end.
The Department of Interior is accepting public comments on this order, but we have a limited amount of time to make an impact. We’re trying to gather 200,000 comments standing up for our lands and water. As we celebrate the recent 111th anniversary of the legislation that has protected so many lands, will you add your name? 

Our public lands are for all people — don’t let Sec. Zinke and Trump take them away. Sign today » 

Presidents of both parties going all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt have used the Antiquities Act to protect cultural and national landmarks. The public overwhelmingly supports these national parks, public lands and waters which are economic engines that bring tourism and federal dollars to all corners of the nation. 

Efforts to eliminate or shrink national monuments will hurt local economies all over the country and puts at risk monuments like the Cesar Chavez National monument which have important cultural significance and tell the complex story of this nation.

We’re uniting with the League of Conservation Voters and other state affiliates to gather 200,000 public comments standing up for our lands. Together, we can show Trump and Zinke that the people do NOT stand with them in this decision. Will you help us? 

Our National monuments are a part of history and symbolize America's many diverse communities. Leave a public comment to tell him and Sec. Zinke NO » 

Our national monuments should remain protected for future generations to enjoy - they are a gift that belongs to all. Thank you for all you do!