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CT League of Conservation Voters Environmental Summit 2023
Several members of GCA’s board and steering committee attended the CT LCV summit on Tuesday, January 24th. The LCV is a “non-partisan, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to giving our environment a voice at the Capitol.” Twenty-one briefing papers were the topics of panel discussions ranging from the 30 x 30 goal (30% of CT’s forest and farm acreage protected by 2030), environmental justice, decarbonization, offshore wind, polystyrene and composting, to black bears, rodenticides and neonicotinoids. We urge you to read as many of the excellent and informative papers as you can.
A Decision to Add Solar Energy
By Bridget Shirvell, The Day
“Drive through a residential neighborhood these days, and chances are you'll see at least one, if not several, homes with solar panels adorning the roofs. As the cost of solar energy has declined, more and more homeowners, like Arline and Jeff Culp, have added panels to their properties.
"We added them to do something good for the environment, take advantage of the tax benefits and lower our monthly electricity bill," Arline said.” Click HERE to read more…
Possible Shore Line East expansion, current service subject of public meeting
GCA Director Zell Steever received accolades for his years-long advocacy to expand SLE’s rail service. Article in The Day by Sten Spinella, September 21, 2022
“The Connecticut Commuter Rail Council held a public meeting Wednesday night to give commuters and the state Department of Transportation an opportunity to discuss issues surrounding Shore Line East service.” Click HERE to read the full article.
Methane Pipeline Being Built in Wilton with Ratepayer Subsidies
Eversource is building a new fracked gas pipeline in Wilton, with little evidence that customers in that area are eager to power their homes with methane….new gas pipelines are bad for our economy, ecology, health and the climate. Click HERE to read more. Map below shows gas pipelines already in service in blue.
Shoreline East Goes Electric
“These electric trains coming into service are an important milestone for Shore Line East,” Lamont said in a statement. “It is an improvement that has been long awaited, and has been delivered. We are speeding up transportation in the state and saving people time in their day. At the same time, we are fighting climate change by investing in cleaner, greener transportation. We are making investments in statewide rail travel and delivering on the promise to make our trains faster, quieter, and more efficient.” The Day, May 24, 2022 by Greg Smith
April 28, 2022 PURA ends Malloy-era natural gas conversion incentive program
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is ending a program that provided incentives to consumers to connect their homes and businesses to natural gas after the initiative fell short of its goals. Click HERE to read more.
Natural gas pipeline in CT
Failure to pass ‘peak shaving’ bill will allow dirtier diesel power generation, by Jessie Stratton, April 20, 2022
Jessie Stratton, a member of GCA’s Board of Directors, wrote an important op ed article on Senate Bill 236 that was published in the CT Mirror on April 20, 2022. Click here to read the article. The image below is a diesel generator, the size of a railroad car.
Groton Council to vote on whether to cease negotiations with data center developer
This Day article by Kimberly Drelich is a good recap of the data center issue leading up to the Council vote on Tuesday, March 29th, 6:30 pm at the Thrive 55+ Active Living Center, or virtually.
This is a photo of two local diesel-fueled generators at Groton Utilities. Between 20 - 50 generators will be needed for data center emergency back up and “peak shaving.”
Data Center in Groton?
See our ALERT about the proposed data center and the public meeting. Come to the meeting! Write a letter to the Town Council! For more information on the data center issue, please read GCA’s letter to the Town Council for a summary of our concerns. For EVEN MORE INFO, check out this 2/23/2022 New London Day article and this 2/24/2022 op-ed piece by David Collins, and this 2/22/2022 CT EXAMINER article. A July 2021 article on Facebook’s data center in Utah explores the huge tax breaks being offered to data centers country-wide.
