updated April, 2006
Who We Are
Clean Water Action (CWA) is a national non-profit organization with 11,000 Connecticut members and 1,000,000 nationally. Our Hartford, Connecticut staff works with citizen leaders and decision-makers around the state on issues affecting our health, environment and community quality of life. In the last few years, CWA played a leading role in the successful Sooty-Six campaign to clean up the state's most polluting power plants, passed laws to reduce the neurotoxin mercury in products and to limit mercury emissions from coal power plants, and is currently active in combating global warming and promoting clean energy sources and replacing toxic chemicals with safer alternatives.
Global Warming
Global Warming is a serious threat that is having negative impacts now, and is expected to expand dramatically in scope and severity. Global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which creates a blanket of heat-trapping pollution in the atmosphere.
In contrast to Federal inaction on global warming, in 2001 the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers acknowledged the threat, and committed to work together to reduce global warming pollution. To ensure that the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers' Climate Change Action Plan is implemented, environmental, health and other groups around the region formed the New England Climate Coalition in 2002 to press for progress.
Clean Water Action formed the CT Climate Coalition, and has been joined by over 90 health, faith, business, and environmental organizations. Clean Water Action has succeeded in passing global warming legislation which mandated that the state release a comprehensive global warming action plan. Now we need to work to implement the plan, and we are focusing on cleaning up power plants, reducing diesel pollution and improving energy efficiency.
For more information, please visit www.newenglandclimate.org/connecticut.htm
If your organization would like to endorse the Connecticut Climate Coalition, please download the CCC Endorsement Packet.
Download our campaign fact sheet here.
Global Warming Report Card: Connecticut Drops to C+ for Policies
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: An opportunity to clean up northeastern power plants:
Electricity generation from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) accounts for about 25% of the northeast's carbon dioxide pollution, making them major contributors to global warming.
In 2002, Governor Pataki of NY challenged eight other northeastern states to join him in cutting greenhouse gas pollution from power plants. At the direction of their Governors, representatives of eight Northeast states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont) are working to develop a regional cap-and-trade system designed to reduce carbon dioxide pollution from power plants in the region.
This program, known as the "Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative" (RGGI), holds the promise of significantly reducing the Northeast's contribution to global warming and become a model for similar programs in other states. The program will also lay the groundwork for a national cap on power plant pollution. RGGI is quite possibly the single most important initiative underway to address global warming in the United States, and because of this, it is quite vulnerable to industry's attempts to weaken and delay it. Help us ensure this program results in actual pollution reductions at power plants and protects consumers.
Click here for more information
Reduce Diesel Pollution
Diesel pollution has serious effects on the health of Connecticut residents. Diesel pollution contributes to smog, is implicated in childhood asthma, and is associated with asthma attacks, heart attacks, and cancer. See how diesel pollution affects your community- enter your zip code here: http://catf.us/projects/diesel/dieselhealth
Diesel pollution is also a major global warming pollutant as diesel "black carbon" soot traps heat and warms the atmosphere. While the Federal government set strict standards for new diesel engines starting in 2007, these standards do not apply to existing diesel vehicles, which can remain on the road for decades.
As the CT Alliance Against Diesel Pollution, Environment Northeast, Clean Water Action and allies are working to close this loophole by taking action at the state level. There are commercially available pollution controls which can reduce harmful diesel emissions from current vehicles by up to 90 percent. In 2006 we need to pass legislation prioritizing the clean-up of school buses, transit buses and state construction equipment because these vehicles place children at risk of serious health disorders and are concentrated in highly polluted urban areas.
Contact your legislators about this issue here.
Ask your organization to join the CT Alliance Against Diesel Pollution (CAADP coalition packet download)
20% by 2010 - Renewable Energy
The goal of this campaign is to make 20% of Connecticut's energy supply come from clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar by the year 2010. We are working to encourage municipalities to commit to this goal, and so far 20 towns have committed to purchase clean energy! http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/communities/
Individuals also have the opportunity to support power generated from clean energy sources like wind and water. Sign up for one of the new CT Clean Energy Options and ask your friends, neighbors, and town to purchase clean energy.
Please visit our Clean Energy page for more information.
Zero Mercury Campaign
The Zero Mercury Campaign is active in all of CWA's New England offices. The Connecticut Zero Mercury Campaign includes public health, environmental, and religious organizations (PDF) working to forward the two goals of the campaign:
- Eliminate the use and emission of mercury in the region by 2010;
- Protect children and adults from existing harmful levels of mercury contamination in fish through effective health warnings and education.
In May 2002, the Connecticut legislature passed HB 5539: An Act Concerning Mercury Education And Reduction and on June 13 2002, Governor Rowland signed the bill into law. This bill will phase out certain products containing mercury, and in the meantime these products must be labeled as containing mercury.
Please visit the CT Zero Mercury Campaign page or the New England Zero Mercury Campaign website for more information.
Sooty Six Victory!
In May 2002, Connecticut residents won a five-year campaign to clean up Connecticut's six dirtiest oil and coal-fired power plants. Through a successful grassroots coalition and citizen mobilization campaign, the Sooty Six coalition led the state to adopt stricter emission standards on power plant pollution.
In April 2002, the Connecticut legislature passed HB 5209: An Act Concerning Reducing Sulfur Dioxide Emissions at Power Plants, and on May 2 2002, Governor Rowland signed the bill into law. This bill required the Sooty Six power plants and other in the state to adhere to the same pollution restrictions for sulfur dioxide emissions as newer power plants, and a bill the following year dramatically reduced mercury pollution from these plants.
Clean Water Action will continue to lead the Sooty Six coalition by remaining vigilant about any state or national activities that could hinder the implementation of the power plant clean up. Please visit our Sooty Six Campaign page for the history of the campaign.
Clean Water Action Campaign Victories
Since 1998, Clean Water Action has won a number of legislative and regulatory victories. Please click here to read about highlights of our successes.
Connecticut CWA
645 Farmington Ave 3rd Floor
Hartford, CT 06105
860-232-6232
860-232-6334 Fax
hartcwa@cleanwater.org |
