June 2nd, 2014
Dear
Fellow Sierran
Here's what's in this week's edition of CoolCATs Weekly:
1) New EPA Carbon Rule
2) Environmentalists Mobilize
3) Legislation Ready to Move, this week
4) Business Climate Press Conference
5) Does New England Need New Pipelines?
1) New EPA Carbon Rule
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In a world where Washington, DC is frozen into inaction by partisanship and corporate influence, we've come to expect little environmental policy progress at the Federal level. Today, the Obama Administration is doing what it can to change that by using the Environmental Protection Agency's right to regulate carbon as a pollutant to make it harder for energy producers to emit so much of it. You can read more about the new EPA rules here, and read Senator Whitehouse's defense of them here.
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2) Environmentalists Mobilize
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It's probably not news to any of us, but it is gratifying to see acknowledgement of the growing political power of the environmental movement. Take for instance this big story from the NY Times on Saturday.
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3) Legislation Ready to Move, this week
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It's going to be a big week at the Statehouse in the House and Senate Environment Committees. In the Senate on Wednesday, the Climate Resiliency Bill (s2952) and the Distributed Generation Growth Program (DG bill- s2690) are both scheduled for consideration. Then on Thursday in the House, the DG bill (h7727) will be voted on. You can help them all along by asking your lawmakers to support these critical bills. CLICK HERE FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCY and CLICK HERE FOR DG.
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4) Business Climate Press Conference
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Tomorrow, in the effort to build even more momentum behind the climate resiliency bills, I've been helping to organize a press conference highlighting the business support behind comprehensively addressing climate change. YOU'RE INVITED. Please join and invite your friends to come to the Statehouse at 4pm. I hope to see you there.
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5) Does New England Need New Pipelines?
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By now you may have heard that there are plans to massively expand the amount of natural gas (mostly fracked methane) that is being imported into New England for electricity generation. The idea involves expanding and building new pipelines. Is it really necessary though? A new study from Environment Northeast says no. You can view an informative and important summary of it here.
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Thank you for signing up for Cool CATs Weekly. You can make your community "Cool" by advocating for renewable power, green buildings and transportation choices. Visit the Cool Cities website for resources and toolkits.
Sincerely,
Abel Collins
The Sierra Club Rhode Island Chapter
42 Rice St.
Providence, RI 02907
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