Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween. Do you know why ghosts are so bad at lying?  Because you can see right through them!

Bad dad jokes aside, we have been hearing a lot of blatant and obvious lies from our federal government over the past couple of years about fossil fuels, climate change, pollution, clean energy and many many other things. Those lies, and the actions taken by our government based on them (or the inactions, as the case may be) have led to massive profits for the oil and gas industry and their shareholders at the expense of the rest of us and our planet. For further reading about climate lies and how to address them, see Susan Eastwood’s article on fighting back against climate change misinformation. 

But is that about to change? Is this the end of the Trump era, or at least the beginning of the end? Many of us were hoping for a blue wave from the midterms. Instead we got a blue tsunami, a blue earthquake, a blue asteroid (I’ve heard all of those descriptions and more) both nationally and in Connecticut. I think I speak for many when I say how gratified and relieved I feel from those results and how hopeful I am that the worst may be over and that we may be moving toward an era of more functional, rational and humane government. Fingers crossed, we shall see.

Regardless of the results of the midterms, our work must and will continue. While we’ve been living through some very bad times recently, they would have been much worse without our efforts and the efforts of others throughout the country to fight back and press on. And if times get better, they won’t be half as good if we don’t keep working to take advantage of every opportunity.

One such opportunity is presented by the Capitol Area System (CAS) facility in Hartford (see the smoke stack in the background of the costumed crew pictured above). As many of you are probably aware, CAS is a now state-owned gas-fueled plant that since 1988 has been providing heat to a number of buildings in Hartford and polluting the air breathed in the nearby residential neighborhoods and schools. The plant needs to be rebuilt, and we have an active campaign led by Chapter Organizer Alycia Jenkins to convince the State to replace it with a zero-emission geothermal network. The photo is from an October 24 Ann Plato/Halloween-themed walk along the CAS loop to raise awareness of the pollution coming from CAS and the chance we have to fix that by going geothermal. This story from Connecticut Public features an interview with Alycia and provides additional background on our campaign.

CAS is one of the reasons why Hartford was found in a recent study by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America to be the eighth worst city in the country (Allentown, PA was ranked first), and the very worst in New England for asthma (Bridgeport and New Haven also fared poorly in the study, ranking thirty-third and sixtieth respectively). Silva Sedrakian from the Foundation spoke about the results of that study and other findings at an October 26 press conference at the State Capitol. The conference was organized by Alycia Jenkins and was led by Dr. Mark Mitchell, an environmental justice leader and health expert (for more on his background and work, you can read an interview with Dr. Mitchell in this newsletter. Joining Silva and Dr. Mitchell at the podium were Kate McAuliffe from Acadia Center and State Senator Saud Anwar, who is also a physician. One of the things that struck me from their speeches was that, while poor air quality in Hartford and other Connecticut cities and towns and resultant health problems such as asthma and other respiratory diseases are impacted by pollution drifting in from states to the west like Pennsylvania and Ohio, local factors within our control are major causes. These include polluting facilities like CAS and other fossil fueled power plants, gas and diesel vehicles, as well as indoor emissions and poverty. Connecticut Public published this story about the Foundation’s Asthma Study, and you can also view WFSB’s coverage of the press conference.

Another front in our fight against the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure is the ever-growing threat posed by AI Data Centers. In this article, Sena Wazer delves into the scope of that threat in Connecticut, what actions we are taking to address it and how you can get involved. Other opportunities to get involved in the fight against fossil fuel projects include our Walk to Stop the SERPent Pipeline on November 7 at 1 p.m. and our Workshop on Ending Pipeline Expansion in Connecticut and the Northeast on November 14 at 10 a.m. (more details in the links provided). 

The Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter is also co-leading the Beyond Wilderness project with the Aspetuck Land Trust as part of the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership. This project is exploring Northeastern urban conservation and stewardship solutions that address issues faced by frontline climate communities.  On November 13 you can join us for a tour of some of the project’s work in Bridgeport, including the largest Miyawaki forest in the region, riparian buffers, and a pollinator garden space (details in the link).

Lastly, on the topic of elections, our own Connecticut Chapter and Group Executive Committee elections are coming soon. For more information about the candidates and how you can participate in those elections, please see this article by Susan Eastwood.

Post-midterms, we have good reasons to feel more optimistic. But let's stay engaged. We need to keep the pressure on in good times and bad. As Charles de Gaulle once said, “I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.”

With solidarity and care, 

Mike Ungaro

Chapter Chair of Sierra Club Connecticut