sent over 500 postcards in support of Solar and Clean Heat for All to Gov. Lamont and legislators. Send a message in support here. Want to get more involved? Contact Steve Lewis.

 

Stop Brookfield Compressor Station: The giant fossil fuel corporation Berkshire Hathaway Energy and TC Inc. (BHETC) is proposing to drastically increase the amount of gas it pushes through its 414 -mile long "Iroquois" fracked gas pipeline by expanding compressor stations in Connecticut and New York. The expansion applications are now before Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. On October 16 - 17, Sierra Club held call-in days to Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes to oppose the project. On October 30, Sierra Club joined with Stop the Brookfield Compressor Station to host a community meeting. Sierra Club is working with residents of Brookfield to raise awareness of the proposed doubling of the Brookfield Compressor station. Local residents now have a website 1900feet.org and a Facebook page, please like it!

 

Stop Enbridge Project Maple: The energy corporation Enbridge is proposing to expand its pipeline through Connecticut. Please join our organizing effort to stop this proposal. Contact Martha Klein for more information.

 

Air quality monitoring/citizen science: In September, Sierra Club’s air monitoring/citizen science team published this paper in Heliyon, a peer reviewed journal. A few of the conclusions: Energy infrastructure is associated with particulate matter in proportion to its use, precipitation has the largest influence on air quality readings (lowering air pollution), and that more monitoring by CT DEEP, using low-cost PM2.5 sensors such as PurpleAir would supplement the current state Air Quality plan considerably. 

 

DEEP is in the process of updating the Comprehensive Energy Strategy (CES), a guide for future energy decisions. Sierra Club is urging DEEP to draft a CES that stops expanding the use of fracked gas and starts decreasing all polluting fossil fuels, electrifies everything, prioritizes equity, and does not recommend false solutions. On September 20,  Connecticut's Hidden Air Pollution Problem: Fossil Fuel in Buildings was released by Sierra Club, CLF, Save the Sound and RMI shows that nearly a quarter of the nitrogen oxide pollution in the state stems from fossil fuel-burning furnaces and water heaters — eight times more than the state’s power plants. It recommends the establishment of air quality standards for HVAC and water heating. The report was covered in the Hartford Courant and CT NewsJunkie  

 

Zero Waste

Sierra Club Connecticut is working with allies led by CT Coalition for Environmental Justice to oppose trash incineration and to implement Zero Waste policies. A new proposal for a recycling center and waste incinerator in North Haven has brought community members and municipal officials out to question the plan. Sierra Club CT and the Zero Waste Coalition are following developments and attending public meetings. We are meeting with DEEP and legislative champions to discuss potential zero waste policy on food waste.

 

Clean Transportation

Sierra Club is working with allies to advocate for policies that promote car-free transportation, electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging, fleet transition, and more.  Sierra Club Connecticut is urging passage of two sets of clean transportation regulations drafted by the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection now before the legislature’s Regulation Review Committee for its Nov. 28 meeting. Please send a message or call your legislators and ask for support, especially if they are on the Regulation Review Committee. 

 

Land & Water

Remington Woods: Sierra Club Connecticut’s Save Remington Woods campaign aims to protect Remington Woods from development and to be preserved in its entirety. Remington Woods is a 422 acre forest in Bridgeport and Stratford. October was a busy month for the campaign. Sierra Club helped turn out attendees to the Oct 3 tour of Remington Woods held by Corteva. We also co-hosted 2 community events: Oct 17 Community & Twilight Tweets about bird surveying, and Oct 21 Owl Prowl tagging owls! Help protect Remington Woods by signing the petition here.  Are you following Save Remington Woods on Facebook? 

 

Toxics

PFAS: Stories about PFAs chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are appearing regularly in the news. PFAs are being found in our water, food and more. PFAs have the grave potential to detrimentally impact human health. On September 20, Sierra Club’s Shawn Gregory and Clean Water Action’s Anne Hulick presented this webinar (password to view: 0z0V@yH^)  about the prevalence of PFAS, the dangers, and advocacy needed. If you’d like to host a PFAs meeting for your community or group, please let us know! 

 

Wildlife

Wildlife: The Wildlife Committee is working to protect wildlife in our state through education and policy change, including bear education, and raising awareness of the dangers of mowing hayfields on the local grassland bird population, including the Bobolink. 

 

Insure Our Future

Insure Our Future: Banks, Asset Managers, and Insurance companies are all implicated in financing the fossil fuel industry. Here in Connecticut, Sierra Club is partnering with CCAG and the Insure Our Future campaign to urge the Connecticut insurance industry to stop investing in and underwriting fossil fuels.  On November 15, Sierra Club’s Samantha Dynowski will join a panel on the energy transition at the CT Department of Insurance Conference on Climate Change and Insurance.

 

Legislative Session

The Legislative Committee has begun preparing for the 2024 legislative session that will begin on February 7, 2024. Priority issues for the Chapter include climate, clean energy, wildlife, waste reduction, and toxics. Contact Art Helmus, Legislative Chair, for more information.