Connecticut Environmentalists Urge Grass-Roots Campaign To Block Trump’s Pick for EPA

Activist groups represented at Monday’s event included Environment Connecticut, the Sierra Club, the Connecticut Audubon Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and the energy watchdog group Acadia Center.

William Dornbos, Connecticut director for the Acadia Center, said Pruitt as EPA head would “have a real impact on Connecticut” by restricting access to key air and water pollution records. “Connecticut could lose fundamental resources even without a law being passed,” Dornbos said.

Read the full article from the Hartford Courant here.

Paul Burns: Clean Energy Works for Vermont

Under Gov. Douglas, Vermont joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) along with seven other Northeast states – and that initiative is paying off. A recent study by the Acadia Center found that, “member states have reduced emissions 16% more than other states and seen 3.6% more economic growth.”

Read the full op-ed in the VT Digger here.

Massachusetts looks to make winter sunsets later

While potential energy savings are disputed, panelist Peter Shattuck said after Congress in 2005 extended daylight saving time by several weeks, energy consumption during that additional period decreased by 0.5 percent.

“If people don’t have to turn on the lights as early, they use less electricity,” said Shattuck, Massachusetts director for the Acadia Center, an energy and environmental advocacy group.

Read the full article from the Portland Press Herald here.

Massachusetts weighs doing away with winter time shift

While potential energy savings are disputed, panelist Peter Shattuck said after Congress in 2005 extended daylight saving time by several weeks, energy consumption during that additional period decreased by 0.5 percent.

“If people don’t have to turn on the lights as early, they use less electricity,” said Shattuck, Massachusetts director for the Acadia Center, an energy and environmental advocacy group.

Read the full article from the Associated Press (reprinted in several local papers) here.

Now Beacon Hill may mess with time

Peter Shattuck, Massachusetts director of the Acadia Center, an environmental advocacy group, said the federal government experimented with shifting time patterns in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The law extended daylight savings time by four weeks – three extra weeks in the spring and one week in the fall. He said a report on the experiment indicated the nation as a whole shaved electricity consumption by .5 percent and by .7 percent in New England.

“That’s a pretty big impact,” said Shattuck, noting that energy savings resulted primarily because people use more energy at night than they do in the morning. By extending daylight hours, people use less electricity, he said.

Shattuck said he wasn’t troubled by Massachusetts acting unilaterally, suggesting other New England states might follow the Bay State’s lead. “We have to start the discussion somewhere,” he said.

Read the full article from Commonwealth Magazine here.

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Bill to Advance Electric Vehicles

BOSTON – Last night, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill to support electric vehicles (EVs), helping to advance the Commonwealth’s goals of reducing climate pollution and promoting clean energy.

Daniel Sosland, President of Acadia Center, said, “Vehicle electrification and moving away from transportation that runs on dirty oil is crucial to attaining an energy future that offers consumers cleaner choices. Acadia Center is very pleased that the Massachusetts legislature has moved this bill forward and would like to thank leadership in the House and Senate as well as the original bill sponsors who have worked so hard to get this done.”

The bill contains a number of measures to help accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, including:

  • Permission for cities and towns to enforce EV-only parking
  • Requirements for public access to public charging stations
  • Amendments to building codes to facilitate EV charging
  • Codification of an existing Department of Public Utilities order regarding utility proposals to invest in EV charging infrastructure
  • Studies of key long-term issues: (1) electrification of the state fleet and (2) measures to achieve sustainable transportation funding

 

Peter Shattuck, Acadia Center’s Massachusetts Director, said “This bill will complement other steps that the Commonwealth has taken over the last few years to promote vehicle electrification, including the recent commitment by the Baker Administration of $14 million to the successful “MOR-EV” consumer rebate program. These steps are crucial for reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector and build on steps to clean up the electric power sector and broader Massachusetts economy.”

Mark LeBel, Staff Attorney at Acadia Center, said: “The provision in this bill to allow utility investment in charging station infrastructure primarily codifies language from an existing Department of Public Utilities order. The specifics of utility proposals will be important to determine whether the three statutory criteria for approval are met. The proposals must be in the public interest, meet a need regarding the advancement of EVs, and must not hinder the development of a competitive EV charging market. To implement these criteria, allocation of costs to ratepayers must be justified by significant benefits, customer choice must be preserved, and the proper role of the utility must be carefully considered. These important issues are currently being debated across the country, and Acadia Center looks forward to participating in proceedings examining utility proposals in the near future.”

 

Contacts:
Mark LeBel, Staff Attorney, 617-742-0054 x104, mlebel@acadiacenter.org
Krysia Wazny, Communications Associate, 617-742-0054 x107, kwazny@acadiacenter.org