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Progressive Action Roundtable: A forum for progressive groups in the Greater New Haven Area where actions and ideas may be publicized so that others are aware of peace, health, justice, energy, environmental and other issues for the common good.

Archive for category Environment

Vermont Barred from Shuttering Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant | Democracy Now!

Jan 29

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment | No Comments

Jan. 20, 2012

A federal judge has blocked Vermont from forcing the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant when its license expires in March. The Vermont Senate voted to deny the company a new operating license in 2010, but the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the plant’s license in the days following last year’s Fukushima nuclear crisis. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha overruled Vermont’s effort, saying only federal authorities can regulate nuclear safety. The Vermont Yankee plant is one of the oldest in the country and has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks. Vermont officials are expected to appeal the ruling.

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‘Breach of Peace’ march in New Haven goes off without a hitch

Dec 29

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, General, Human Rights | No Comments

– Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor, New Haven Register

NEW HAVEN ? Communities came together Saturday afternoon under the banner of a “Breach of Peace” march against police brutality. Members of Occupy New Haven met with representatives from People Against Police Brutality, Blacks and Latinos United, Unidad Latina en Accion and Frontline Soldiers at Chapel and Day streets and then moved the protest to the detention center on Whalley Avenue. About 50 people participated, according to Jewu Richardson of New Haven, a speaker against brutality.

While the relationship between New Haven police and occupiers on the Green has been positive, Occupy movements across the country have experienced mistreatment from police, “so we’re standing in solidarity with them,” and other local issues, Richardson said.

“We’re standing strong with the     community. We’re standing up for people’s rights,” said Jennifer, a part-time occupier from Hamden.

Read the complete article online at:

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/12/17/news/new_haven/doc4eed5bd8a7b47596766917.txt

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CT Coalition for Environmental Justice News

Oct 29

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Events | No Comments

CCEJ’s 7th Annual Conference on October 29 will take place at the UConn School of Business – Hartford. The cost is $25 in advance, $30 at the door; $15 college students and seniors. CCEJ’s conference will educate activists and CCEJ supporters on the impacts toxics have on our health, environment, and communities and how encouraging non-toxic products can strengthen the economy. Environmental justice activists from throughout the region will meet and learn together and share their challenges and successes in fighting for environmental justice. For more information go to http://environmental-justice.org/ConfInfo11/ConfInfo2011.html

New England Environmental Justice Forum will have a Regional Training Workshop on November 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Baptist Church, 457 Main St., Hartford. It is free, including lunch & childcare. The Regional Training aims to bring together environmental justice attorneys, law students, advocates, organizers, and other professionals from New England to share ideas, learn from one another, and plan future work. The Forum is especially interested in learning about community residents’ legal and technical assistance needs.

Participants will meet other environmental justice advocates who work in communities relatively close by. Lawyers interested in providing assistance in environ-mental justice matters will receive training on how to work with grassroots groups. There will be opportunities for interaction between advocates and lawyers, with the hope of starting long lasting relationships. Additionally, four open mic issue rooms will be set up where participants will be asked to speak about their campaigns and how those campaigns reduce health disparities and address climate change. Come prepared to talk!

For more information go to: neejfhartfordregional.eventbrite.com.

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PACE Presents: Crash Course: SOLUTIONS!

Oct 29

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Events | No Comments

– Judi Friedman, PACE

PACE (People’s Action for Clean Energy, Inc.) presents new ideas for the new paradigm–ideas to save yourself…and the planet! Saturday, November 19 at the Unitarian Society of Hartford, 50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford (1/10 mile north of intersection of Routes 44 & 189). Free admission, donations are welcome.

Starting at 4 p.m. the film The Economics of Happiness will be shown. At 5 p.m. there will be exhibits by Solar Energy Installers, Lighting Companies and other Environmental Exhibits. Little City Pizza will serve dinner and homemade desserts and coffee are available for purchase.

At 7 p.m. there will be a short Annual Meeting followed by Awards: Lifetime Achievement (Bill Duesing – Executive Director, CT Chapter Northeast Organic Farming Association); State Government Award (Dannel Malloy – Governor) and Clean Energy Leader Awards (Bryan Garcia – President, CT Clean Energy Fund, Bob Wall – Director, Energy Marketing Initiative, CT Clean Energy Fund, and Roger Smith – Director, Clean Water Fund)

Finally at 8 p.m. a panel of Duesing, Garcia, Smith as well as Nick Kacher of the New Economics Institute and Nichole Strack of 1000 Friends of Connecticut, will discuss Crash Course: SOLUTIONS!–Saving Ourselves And Saving The Planet.

For more information call: (860) 693-4813 or go to www.pace-cleanenergy.org. PACE is a non-profit public health organization.

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Senator Blumenthal Co-Sponsors Safe Chemicals Act

Oct 4

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– Interreligious Eco-Justice Network

IREJN is pleased to announce that Senator Blumenthal agreed to co-sponsor the Safe Chemicals Act, ground-breaking legislation that would require companies to provide information on the environmental and health safety of their chemicals.

The Safe Chemicals Act is a strong move to protect the health of America’s most vulnerable people.  In addition to requiring safety reports on chemicals, the bill states that failure to maintain accurate reporting would result in the chemical’s removal from the market.  In addition, chemicals must be proven safe before entering the marketplace.  The bill would also require immediate action on the worst chemicals, such as lead, mercury and flame retardant. These toxic chemicals build up in our systems and are especially harmful to pregnant women, developing fetuses, babies, children, the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions. Thank you to all who called, e-mailed and wrote Senator Blumenthal!

Join us for A Crude Awakening at A Sacred Trust Forum! IREJN’s 10th Annual A Sacred Trust: A Forum on Religion and the Environment will feature a screening of A Crude Awakening, a film about our nation’s addiction to oil.  After the movie, we will hear commentary from Brent Blackwelder, President Emeritus of the Friends of the Earth and a pioneer in the environmental movement. A Sacred Trust will be held on Wednesday, October 5th from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Hartford Seminary at 77 Sherman Street in Hartford. Registration costs $25.

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Free Solar Home Tour Oct. 1

Oct 4

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment | No Comments

– Judi Friedman, PACE

On Saturday, October 1, 12 noon to 4 p.m., a Canton home with a large solar electric installation will be open for free tours of its energy-saving technologies as part of the 16th annual National Solar Tour. The homeowners and PACE (People’s Action for Clean Energy) volunteers will explain and answer questions about the home’s grid-tied and off-grid photovoltaics (PV), daylighting and solar domestic hot water system. Highly useful solar and other clean energy information will also be available.

The PV installation at this site consists of 40 Astropower 110-watt photovoltaic modules with a maximum output of 4400 watts. Zomeworks trackers on three pole mounts follow the path of the sun, moving from east to west. The PV system is connected to the electric power grid by the Connecticut Light and Power intertie system; when the PV panels produce more electricity than the house and associated buildings need, the excess electricity goes through the utility grid to neighboring homes. The homeowners are then paid for this electricity by the utility.

This unique home uses solar irrigation, a patio pool solar pump and solar hot water systems; energy-efficient appliances; a wood stove; wind turbines and window quilts. To reach the home, turn north onto Lawton Road at the intersection of routes 44 and 177. Travel for .8 mile, bearing left at the fork. Turn right at the top of the hill onto the dirt driveway and follow the parking signs. For more information, please call (860) 693-4813.

To learn about other buildings that are part of the National Solar Tour, see www.solarconnecticut.org, www.pace-cleanenergy.org, www.ases.org or www.nesea.org.

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Edgewood Park Will Get 45 Fruit Trees Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 2

Aug 31

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– Semi Semi-Dikoko, Friends of Edgewood Park

Friends of Edgewood Park rallied the community to vote for its orchard project in a national contest and ultimately won a fruit tree orchard Aug. 1.

On Friday, Sept. 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will plant 45 fruit trees and a dozen berry bushes in the 123-acre park that borders Westville, Edgewood, Beaver Hills and the West River neighborhoods. Semi Semi-Dikoko, president of Friends of Edgewood Park, said the idea is to give people even more reasons to visit and enjoy the urban oasis. Info: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177723882296458.

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‘Moving Connecticut’ beyond fossil fuels — Sept. 24

Aug 31

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Events | No Comments

– Chris Schweitzer, New Haven Environmental Justice Network

On Saturday, Sept. 24, communities across CT will have activities that will send the message: “Move beyond fossil fuels.” “CT communities are working for a healthy planet and a brighter future.” “Our movement is here.” “Politicians are stuck in the mud, but citizens like us are not.”

Come out and be a part of the critical mass–this big beautiful movement–and tell our politicians that caring about our planet is our priority.

It’s time to gear up for Moving Planet — A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels, 350.org’s day of international action! This time around, 350.org is aiming BIG, asking for massive turnouts in major cities, and New Haven is one of them!

Are you interested in joining in this effort? Let’s plan Connecticut’s largest grassroots climate action to date! Our work is already underway. Get in touch to get involved!

MOVING CONNECTICUT (actnh.org/move and http://on.fb.me/jLWXpT on Facebook) is going to be bigger and more beautiful than ever before. The last two years we’ve seen our community rally together for these global days of action and do what our politicians will not: find a way forward together. Moving Planet in Connecticut will be a chance for people across the state–young and old, student and professional, of all races and genders and political leanings–to come together and celebrate the motion that will save our planet: bicycles filling the streets, hands tending our gardens, nature walks inspiring us with a sense of place, ride shares and buses and trains that make travel affordable and available for all.

But we can’t do it without you. We know now more than ever before that no one is going to step up for us and fight for the change our planet and its people desperately need. The hope for the future is in us, ordinary citizens with jobs and families, who want a safe and healthy future for our children and people around the world. The only way we’ll get there is together, raising our voices together for the future we need. On September 24th we’ll be moving.

Join in: actnh.org/join.

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“Paying For Oil With Our Health” Ccej Conference Theme

Oct 3

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Events | No Comments

By Christopher Zurcher

The Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice will host its Sixth Annual Environmental Justice Conference from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16, at the University of Connecticut School of Business, 100 Constitution Plaza, Hartford.

The event will feature Wilma Subra, President of Subra Company. A chemist and well-known activist from Louisiana, Wilma Subra will address current environmental justice issues, especially those regarding the BP oil spill.

Lisa Garcia, who works in the EPA Office of the Administrator of Environmental Justice (Lisa Jackson) and is the Administrator’s Senior Advisor on Environmental Justice, will address EPA policy issues.

The theme of the conference is “Price of Oil: Paying with Our Health.” The workshops include: Taking a Peek at Peak Oil; Oil & Our Health from Cradle to Grave; Climate Change and Global Injustice; Ending Dependency: Exploring Options; and more!

Registration is $25 in advance by Oct. 8, $30 at the door, $25 for CCEJ members and $15 for students & seniors. Send payment to: CCEJ, P.O. Box 2022, Hartford, CT 06145-2022.

For more information or if you need transportation from New Haven or Bridgeport, email Sheri Neely at sheri.neely@environmental-justice.org or call (203) 362-1138. For childcare, please call Dawn Simonsen at (860) 548-1133 or email dawn.simonsen@environmental-justice.org.

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PEPeace Debuts Peacenews.org National Peace Blog

Jun 1

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Peace | No Comments

by James van Pelt

Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP) has launched peacenews.org – the beginning of what is hoped will become the national news source for the North American peace movement.

Conceived by PEP president Paul Hodel and designed by Christopher Zurcher, PEP’s website leader and the founder of CT Environmental Headlines, peacenews.org is one of PEP’s first steps in its revitalization to fit the needs of the 21st Century.

“PEP has been a nationally known peace education activist organization for more than 50 years,” said PEP board member James van Pelt. “We want PEP to be a force that brings all of the various arms of the peace movement together and increases its visibility, viability, and participation.

“One part of that involves the fusion of the peace and environmental movements where their interests coincide,” van Pelt sad. “I think our saying ‘Peace on Earth; Peace with Earth’ expresses that.”

Plans call for the website to expand over the coming months and become a vital aid to peace groups in Connecticut, then regionally, and then nationally. Those plans include adding peaceradio.org as a center to access peace-related audio and video content from all over the continent.

Niger Borehole Dedicated To Dennis Hamilton Nears Completion

Mar 4

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment | No Comments

By Julie Snorek,Operations Manager, Amman Imman

[Dennis Hamilton was active in many New Haven peace organizations and ardently promoted the work of Amman Imman. He passed away on Sept. 16, 2008.]

This week in Kijigari, Niger, village children sang joyous songs of gratitude, knowing that soon, they would no longer have to walk an incredibly tiresome distance for water. Life-saving water is being brought to the children by Amman Imman, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing sustainable sources of water to West Africa’s Azawak Valley. Amman Imman’s most recent accomplishment was its borehole in Kijigari, which was not only the vision of Ariane Kirtley, the program’s founder and director, but also of the late Dennis Hamilton, Amman Imman’s former assistant director and passionate advocate.

However, before the locals can have access to the water that will flow from the borehole, Amman Imman must equip it with a pump and engine, water tower, troughs and faucets— essential infrastructure that Amman Imman aims to complete by the end of March.

The Kijigari borehole, which will serve 2,000 families in the village and thousands of nomads that pass through each year, is the first step toward accomplishing Hamilton’s dream: a world where no one dies simply because they do not have enough water to drink.

Amman Imman has a partnership with Montessori students, who are organizing “Walks for Water,” leading an array of creative fundraising events to help finish the borehole. To raise the $50,000 for the infrastructure, however, Amman Imman needs more support.

In Kijigari, children are forced to leave school for weeks at a time to search for water for their families. The current water source is dry and the women’s garden cooperative has closed. The price of stainless steel—necessary for the borehole’s added infrastructure —is on the rise.

Please make a donation to the new borehole in Kijigari by visiting www.ammanimman.org. You can also organize a fundraising event, like Amman Imman’s student advocates, which should take place by March 22, World Water Day. If you would like to host an event, or to match the dollars raised by a single Montessori school classroom, please email: debbie@ammanimman.org.

Amman Imman is dedicated to improving and saving lives among the poorest and most abandoned populations of the world, by supplying permanent sources of water in the Azawak of West Africa.

Saying Goodbye

Mar 4

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Environment, Human Rights, Peace | No Comments

By the PAR Planning Committee

In the two months of 2010, many PAR readers and the New Haven community have been greatly saddened by the deaths of Ed Grant, Howard Zinn and Bruce Martin.

On. Jan. 1, Ed Grant passed on. He was 87. Since the 60s, Ed helped bring environmental awareness into the mainstream consciousness. He was the founder of the annual Freddy Fixer Parade and was an advocate for citizens’ involvement in environmental justice and recycling. Ed organized people to clean up their neighborhoods and helped shut down the dirty power plant English Station in Fair Haven. In 2005, Mayor DeStefano presented him with the Green Award. The following websites detail his impact on people and on our city.

www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=Ed_Grant_HSC_07

www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2005/11/agod_gave_us_on.php

www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/freddie_fixer_passes

On Jan. 27, at age 87, historian Howard Zinn died. Activists throughout the world have read his book A People’s History of the United States.  On May 1, 2007, he spoke at the May Day Celebration on the Green, and in the evening, at Center Church.  “It’s important for young people to know the record of government telling lies to the people, especially when it comes to war,” he told New Haven Register reporter Randall Beach. More information about Howard Zinn, his books, and the causes he led and influenced is at his website http://www.howardzinn.org/default/index.php.

PAR subscriber Bruce Martin passed away in Hartford at age 84 on Feb. 6. Many PAR readers have worked with him over the years and have lost a friend as well as a colleague. He was involved in protesting the Vietnam War, the Iraq wars, and the Afghanistan war, organized against nuclear weapons, was the CT coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee, was on the Board of Directors of Promoting Enduring Peace, and was active in the Greater Hartford Coalition on Cuba as well as many other organizations in Hartford and New Haven.  Memorials will be planned in both cities shortly.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=bruce-martin&pid=139704729.

Our condolences to all the families of these men, and to all who have worked alongside them, been influenced by them, and continue to carry on in the struggle for justice, peace, the environment and community.