Gov. Dannel P. Malloy created the Governor’s Working Group on Modernizing Recycling last year to investigate ways to reduce waste and increase recycling in Connecticut. At the same time, ConnPIRG was launched our Campaign for Zero Waste, to mobilize the public behind commonsense solutions to improve recycling in Connecticut. Click on this Environmental Headline for more on this story from ConnPIRG.

On Tuesday, May 7, Branford Shoreline Greenway Team members Chet Blomquist, Leo Cristofar, and Judy Miller led Mary T. Murphy 3rd graders on the Tabor and Pine Orchard Birch Road sections of Branford’s Shoreline Greenway Trail.

Not all fuel cells can be used to capture carbon dioxide. The process only works with molten carbonate fuel cells, a type made by Danbury-based FuelCell Energy, which sells them now to businesses and utilities for certain niche applications. Click on this Environmental Headline for more of this story.

A federal lawmaker said Friday that the biggest obstacle in the way of a high-speed rail tunnel or bridge off of Long Island Sound is finding political funding and support to get it done. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) spoke about several transportation issues facing Nassau and Suffolk at a Melville event hosted by Action Long
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Rhode Island environmental officials say there’s no indication of toxic or hazardous waste at a former recycling facility in East Providence that closed after years of complaints from neighbors. For more on this story, visit: No toxic waste found closed RI recycling facility – Connecticut Post.

The GMO labeling legislation that was passed this week is a Trojan horse marched out of the House of Representatives. The amendments added to this bill by Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey almost guarantee that GMOs in our food will never be labeled in Connecticut. Click on this Environmental Headline to read more from Food and Water Watch.

Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy has announced the rollout of the Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker—a new online database of energy-related state legislation pending in all 50 states, from solar to natural gas and everything in between.

A note from the New Haven Environmental Justice Network is asking two things. Burning our waste doesn’t make it disappear: it releases tons of air pollution and toxic chemicals. Ask the city to deal with its wastewater in a responsible way. Sign a petition to city leaders and DEEP officials.

Faced with difficult market conditions in southwestern Connecticut NRG Energy will remove its Norwalk Harbor Station on Manresa Island from the ISO New England wholesale market and deactivate the station, effective June 1.

A coal-fired Massachusetts power plant frequently listed as one of the most polluting in the state has dramatically reduced its mercury emissions. Federal data from the Brayton Point plant in Somerset show mercury emissions fell by almost two-thirds between 2010 and 2012, by an average of 19 pounds per year. For more on this story,
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Aspetuck Land Trust has announced details of a project aimed at restoring native plants, animal species and wildlife habitat to 12 acres of salt marsh in the Saugatuck River estuary in downtown Westport off the King’s Hwy bridge.

On Wednesday, members of Capitalism vs. the Climate unfurled a banner from the bridge connecting the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building. The banner said: “We Will Not Let You Dam Our Rivers, Frack our Land, Sell Our Air.”

The banner referred to Gov. Malloy’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which demonstrators say expands Connecticut’s reliance on “false solutions.” Click on this Headline for more from CapitalismvsClimate.

Connecticut business owners, legislators, farmers, and residents rallied outside the capitol Tuesday morning to press state legislators to move on a bill that would require labels on genetically modified foods. Their calls were answered Tuesday night when the state Senate took up a bipartisan compromise that will require all genetically engineered foods to be labeled as such by July 1, 2016, or by July 1, 2015, if three more states pass similar legislation.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Tuesday he will delay final decisions on about 20 applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies by the Energy Department and others on what impact the exports would have on domestic natural gas supplies and prices. For more on this story, visit: Moniz: LNG exports on hold
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The atmospheric CO2 concentration has just exceeded 400 ppm, and is continuing to grow. More importantly, contemporary CO2 levels since the industrial revolution have always exceeded the highest levels found in the geological record for 800,000 years. Furthermore, the rate of growth of atmospheric CO2 levels is itself accelerating. The excess CO2 originates from burning
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The DEEP has announced that Charles Island in Milford and Duck Island in Westbrook will be closed to the public beginning today, May 24 through Sept. 9, 2013, to prevent disturbances to nesting birds. Click on this Environmental Headline for more on this story from the DEEP.

A Connecticut bill banning young people from using indoor tanning services is moving to the governor’s desk.

Kudos to Green Mountain College for its announcement this week that it is committing to divest its $3.1 million endowment from companies profiting from fossil fuels. GMC is the fifth college nationwide and the second in Vermont to commit to divestment as part of a nationwide campaign that has spread to over 300 colleges and
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Last November, Connecticut was lucky. Sandy pummeled New York and New Jersey, while largely sparing this state.

Connecticut may not be so lucky next time. In the first of a three-part series examining vulnerable areas on Connecticut’s coast, CT Mirror visits New Haven’s Morris Cove. Click on this Environmental Headline for more from Nina Satija.

Environment and Human Health, Inc. — along with just about every health organization in CT – as well as a lot of very dedicated individuals — worked to pass a ban on tanning bed use for minors. CT legislators did not want to ban tanning beds for all minors – and so a compromise Bill
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