While there is widespread approval for an evolving plan to link downtown New Haven to surrounding neighborhoods, turning the Route 34 corridor into “urban boulevards” and connecting streets, critics say the city’s plan is too committed to wide roads that carry vehicles, causing serious safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Connecticut Siting Council says its approval may not be the only thing Plainfield Renewable Energy needs before it installs water pipes beneath Packer Road in Canterbury.

A representative of the Connecticut Department of Transportation will provide details on the New Haven-Springfield line development at tonight’s town council meeting.

Eight speakers addressed a crowd of more than 60 people in the Pilot House at Ocean Beach Thursday night, laying out their arguments for why residents should vote “no” on the sale of the park and their strategies for saving and even transforming it.

The bucolic aesthetics of Binney Park were disturbed Friday morning by the stench of diesel fuel, and the spreading oily sheen throughout the park stream and pond, much to the chagrin of residents and park visitors. The environmental intruder apparently is the result of a multi tractor-trailer and car collision shortly before 2:30 a.m. Friday
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In honor of World Food Day Oct. 16, Mashable is participating in Blog Action Day, which is seeking to create a global online conversation about food issues.

A finding of high levels of mercury in the sediments of Wethersfield Cove is unlikely to affect plans to dredge the boat channel, a senior scientist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Friday. Traci Iott, DEEP supervising environmental analyst, said technology exists to allow the capture of contaminated sediments during the
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New Haven utility parent UIL Holdings Corp. will merge its newly acquired Connecticut natural gas companies, said UIL Chief Executive Officer James Torgerson. When complete, UIL expects to save $11.5 million annually by joining Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. For more on this story, visit: UIL to merge CT gas companies,
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Supports Education & Stewardship, Improves Water Quality, Restores & Protects Rivers and Beaches New Haven, CT -  Top federal and state environmental officials today announced that 39 grants totaling $1.6 million were awarded to state and local government and community groups under the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. When leveraged by $1.7 million contributed by
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, speaking at the North American Association for Environmental Education’s 40th Annual Conference yesterday, announced the 2011 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Program. The program, which will be implemented through a partnership between the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA, recognizes
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Are you concerned about the future of your town? If so, please join us at a new workshop series addressing community planning and design issues, the economics of land use and natural resource protection. Four Wednesday evening workshops are scheduled from 7:00-8:30 PM at the Burlington Town Hall Auditorium. Come to one or all four
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We should make sure people have opportunities to appreciate Long Island Sound with better-known access points, says David Park, because that’s the way to get the public to support measures to protect the sound.

BP and its partners on the doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig face fines of up to $45m after receiving formal notice of a series of safety violations leading up to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. In a first step of a long legal battle, the interior department said BP, rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing the American eel as an endangered species, a move with many long-term ramifications for Connecticut businesses. The eel is widespread in Connecticut’s waterways; but if the fish achieves an endangered status, the federal government and environmental groups would have a vast amount of authority to protect
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Australia has taken a huge step – a committed effort to work to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, to invest in clean energy and to find innovative ways to tackle climate change. It’s a massive success for all of us who have worked hard, spoken up at community meetings about the issue and organized events to call for action.

After a two-year wait, the town has received a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development for the restoration of the Powder Ridge Ski area. First Selectman Jon Brayshaw said he applied for the grant with the main purpose being to provide financial assistance with the infrastructure restoration of the property,
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Federal approval of $275 million for the New-Britain-to-Hartford busway appears to be imminent, but opponents aren’t giving up and have gone to Washington to press Republicans and anti-tax groups to intervene.

“The energy sector is undergoing a major transformation globally,” said Rajendra K. Pachauri, director general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi and chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of India. “There are new concerns arising out of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the serious Deepwater Horizon oil spill that expansion
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management has voiced its concerns for many years over the dwindling number of public access points to water for recreational activities. Click this environmental headline for more of this letter to the editor about increasing public access to Long Island Sound.

“Following yesterday’s unanimous approval of SB 1243, the House of Representatives today voted 139 to 8 to send the clean energy bill to Governor Malloy for his signature. This clean energy bill moves Connecticut closer to an efficient, affordable, and clean energy future,” said Christopher Phelps, Program Director, Environment Connecticut. Click on the environmental headline for more on this story.