NEWSLETTER: June 2007
Summer is approaching with expectations rising for those well-deserved vacations. Hopefully, we can relax about those predictions of increasing intense storms and hurricanes. One news account said they really do not have a good handle on predicting hurricanes, as shown on last year's reporting. Let's hope it holds again for this year. But, be reassured, the climate is changing and we need to be flexible with plans and prepared for the unpredictable, like the one-inch hailstones that fell this week in Connecticut.
This month there are two important events, our meeting of course, and the Conservation Commission is having a meeting June 20, the night before ours on June 21, both to be held at 7:30 in Conference Room C in the Parsons Complex.
The ECC Meeting
The ECC Meeting is on the effects global warming has on health and disease with speakers Dr. McBride and Diana Yassanye, both from our Health Department.
A. Dennis McBride MD, MPH,
Health Director, Milford Health Department
As Chair of the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) Environmental Health Committee, Dr. A. Dennis McBride MD, MPH was invited to attend the "White House Conference on Climate Change: The Challenge of Global Warming" in 1997. Dr. McBride is a NACCHO Board member and chairs the NACCHO Global Climate Change Workgroup. As a local (Stamford and Milford) and state (North Carolina) health director, he has served in and organized climate change conferences, activities, and policy forums on a local, state and national level.
Diana Yassanye, M.S.
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Milford Health Department
Diana Yassanye has been working in public health for over a decade. She has a B.A. in Child Development and a M.S. in Health Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Diana has been both the lead planner for the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) exercise in Region 2 and manages the region's public health preparedness coordination. Being the coordinator for both has created a connection for the local health departments and the region's traditional first responders. She has used these principles to develop preparedness linkages for climate change and public health. Extreme weather events, reverse migration and an increase in vector-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus and Lyme disease are all public health preparedness issues directly related to our changing climate. Diana also chairs the Milford Health Department's Environmental Impact Study, determining the "carbon footprint" of the Health Department and the staff.
Milford Conversation Commission Meeting:
Reserve the Date!
The commission has arranged to have two guest speakers at our next meeting. Melissa Spear, Connecticut State Director, The Trust for
Public Land and David Queely, the director of Parks for People.
Join us on June 20, to learn about how the Trust for Public Land has worked with diverse groups of motivated, nature-loving citizens in cities throughout New England. Discover how their Parks for People program works to build a positive atmosphere of cooperation and trust, which harnesses local talent and local resources to coordinate the funding, restoration, and ongoing care of parks and other open spaces. We all want clean, green spaces. Milford has a lot of talent. With a little coaching, our team can accomplish great things. What are we waiting for?
We are thinking that the ECC will take a little break this summer, except for a planning meeting for our stint at the Oyster Festival on August 18. The planning meeting will be held on our regular 3rd Thursday, July 19, but at my house, 77 Pelham Street. We will host a swimming and pot- luck picnic style meeting and hope that we can have at least 16-20 or more volunteer members join us to help at the Festival. This means each person would be responsible for giving only two hours for the festival. That would give us 4-5 people for each two-hour shift to manage our table and get the attention of the passing people. It is a good way for us to meet the public and find out what they are thinking and how concerned they are about their environment.
We need to discuss how to be effective in getting our message out to the public and to develop some attention-getting sound bites. Those of you who have volunteered before know it is not easy. You need eye contact and then you have but a few seconds to get their attention in order to engage them in a very short conversation. When it comes to saving money with saving energy, and/or some health risk issue, we may be able to pique their interest and get them to stop for a few minutes.
We would like to get the word out on energy, diesel pollution, pesticides, volunteerism, recycling, looking after our parks and open spaces, climate change, conservation, green buildings, solar. all of it.
Story on the Legislative Bills:
Unfortunately, the Bottle Bill died in committee.
We are ecstatic about our Pesticide Bill getting passed and much of the credit has to go to all of your calls and emails and then to all of the hard work along the way along with the last minute heroic efforts of our own Representative Dick Roy and House Speaker Jim Amann. It was a tight race to get it finally back to the House for another vote. Your calls were of great help and much appreciated. It is the first such ban on pesticides in the US. Let's hope it resonates throughout the nation.
. Our representatives and all of us should be very proud of this accomplishment. However, we cannot rest. The opposition is already gathering their forces for next year to do it in.
Latest on the Diesel Bill from Sarah Uhl and the Climate Change Bill report from Roger Smith, and thanks to you all for your contributions on these issues that are so important.
Diesel Activists: Diesel Bill SB 1032 to retrofit school buses did not reach a vote and will need to wait for a Special Legislative Session with the budget later this summer or during the early fall.
What is the process from here?
The bill language from SB 1032 needs to be included in the "budget implementer" bill that will be created in the special session, and the $11 million it will take to retrofit the school bus fleet needs to be included in the state budget.
Who controls the budget?
Representative Denise Merrill is the House Chair of the Appropriations Committee and has become a strong advocate for cleaning up diesel school buses. She is committed to making sure that the $11 million is in the state budget.
Senate President Donald Williams, House Speaker James Amann, House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan and Governor Rell are committed to fully funding this bill.
What can you do to help?
- Write a thank-you e-mail to your supportive legislator!
If your legislator has promised to support SB 1032, thank them one more time and ask them to extend your thanks to their leaders in charge of the budget.
- Call the Governor's Office and ask if she will support $11 million for protecting children and cleaning up pollution from school buses in the budget. (800) 406-1527. Thanks, Sarah
Roger Smith writes: Thank you to everyone who contacted his or her legislators about energy and global warming over the past few weeks! We all worked hard at the state capitol to get good global warming language into both the Senate and House energy bills so that it wouldn't fall through when the final compromise emerged.
On Friday shortly before midnight, the CT Energy Bill passed the House by a large margin. It then passed the Senate Saturday afternoon. The bill now moves on to the Governor's desk where it is expected to be signed into law shortly. Our consumer advocate allies expressed disappointment that the bill does little to reform the deregulated electricity market in Connecticut and spends ratepayer money on questionable projects. However, environmentally the energy bill is overall quite strong and Clean Water Action, Environment Connecticut and Environment Northeast applaud key aspects of it.
Environmental highlights of the energy bill, HB 7432(you can read a bill summary here: http://cga.ct.gov/2007/BA/2007HB-07432-R01-BA.htm and the full bill here: http://cga.ct.gov/2007/AMD/H/2007HB-07432-R00HA-AMD.htm.
Rell Administration Required to Charge Generators for global warming pollution permits
With leadership from Senator Williams and others, the energy bill included language on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (see section 93). While the Rell administration had issued a weak draft RGGI regulation in April, this bill will require that the Rell administration sell permits to emit global warming pollution to power generating companies and that the proceeds will be reinvested in energy efficiency and new clean energy generation!
Thanks to everyone who called and emailed to ensure CT set a good national precedent on RGGI! This will send a message to power generators and their investors that plants with high global warming emissions should not expect a free ride under state or national climate regulations.
Energy Planning with Efficiency First Standard
For years CT has been hurt by a lack of real energy planning. The energy bill creates a new "Connecticut Energy Advisory Board" (CEAB) bringing together consumer representatives and state agencies charged with planning. The CEAB will also not have generators represented on it. The new CEAB will submit comprehensive electricity plans to DPUC assessing the potential of efficiency to meet our energy needs. The bill mandates that investments in efficiency to reduce demand come before expensive new supply, which should dramatically increase the amount of money available for conservation programs. Investments in efficiency could stop the rise in load growth and thus need to build additional power plants for years to come, while slashing pollution and lowering bills.
20% Clean Electricity by 2020
Connecticut's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) currently requires utilities to procure a portion of their electricity from clean energy sources such as wind and solar power increasing to 7% by 2010. The energy bill extends this requirement to 20% by 2020, which is what was called for by the CT Climate Change Action Plan. Congress is debating a similar standard for the nation as a whole, making CT s precedent important.
Other climate policies in the energy bill
Climate Plan Policy #31: End raid on Energy Efficiency Fund; Climate Plan Policy #51: End raid on the CT Clean Energy Fund Climate Plan Policy #19: High performance green building schools.
Other good policies:
- $500 rebate on efficient natural gas or oil boilers
- Sales tax exemption on any car (hybrid or regular) getting 40MPG city or highway between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2010.
- Requirement that towns exempt solar, wind, and fuel cell systems from local property tax
- Starting June-July 1, permanent sales tax exemption for efficiency products such as insulation, programmable thermostats, compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar electric and space and water heating systems and installation, geothermal systems and installation as well as gas furnaces that meet Energy Star standards and oil furnaces and boilers that are 84% or more efficient
- Improvement to net metering law to allow customers with clean energy systems up to 2MW to roll over excess energy for up to a year (good for solar customers who overproduce in the summer, etc.)
Notices
Staples will recycle electronics at all stores and will offer e-waste recycling in all stores daily. There will be a $10 fee to cover handling, transport, etc. They will take smaller electronic items free of charge.
Recycle those cans and bottles in the 50 donated containers from local merchants, which are to be put in our parks and at our beaches.
Please don't forget the ECC, the Freedom Lawn Contest, or your $10 donation. We can really use the funds.
Have a great summer!
Ann Berman
Milford ECC
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