Hi, everyone!

May has  come and gone and we’re all looking ahead to summer (or for Bald Eagles,  as the young individuals pictured above were doing at a Remington Woods  event led by Jhoni Ada). And there are plenty of Chapter events and  outings to look forward to this summer. But before highlighting some of  those, I’d first like to look back at our eventful month just past.

The Connecticut legislative session came to an end on May 6. One of the more positive outcomes was the passage of a solar bill, albeit with some frustrating compromises. Still, the bill provides for  the vitally important renewal of the solar tariff programs, which — in  recognition of the numerous benefits solar power brings to the stability  of our electric grid, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and  the affordability of electricity in our very expensive state — will now  continue to provide incentives to residential and non-residential  customers to adopt this earth and cost saving technology. The solar bill  also provides the legal framework for the sale and use of plug-in solar  in Connecticut and for the streamlining of the permitting process for  solar projects across the state. Those measures should both broaden  accessibility to and increase the adoption rate of solar in the coming  years.

Another  positive achievement was progress towards passage of a leaf blower bill  that would provide incentives for municipalities to transition from gas  to battery-powered leaf blowers. The bill was approved by the state  Senate but was not taken up by the House. This bill was championed by  Sierra Club volunteer Vincent Giordano, who is continuing his work by  advocating for towns to pass ordinances restricting the use of  gas-powered leaf blowers. See his article in this newsletter regarding New Canaan, the 5th Connecticut town to pass such an ordinance.

Speaking  of Connecticut towns, a spectacular Sierra Club bike ride through many  of them took place on May 30 and 31. Led by Sena Wazer and Sydney  Collins, eighteen riders covered 100 miles. They started in Brookfield,  camped overnight in Middletown, and continued on the next day to finish  in Mansfield. The goal of the ride was to bring people together from  across Connecticut to speak out against fossil fuel expansion and  support a cleaner, healthier future. The kickoff in Brookfield involved  community members to highlight the proposed expansion of a local methane  gas compressor station. The ride closed with a rally in Mansfield,  where speakers focused on the Enbridge gas pipeline running across  Connecticut which is currently being expanded regionally. In addition,  in Middletown participants painted a mural to demonstrate our love of  the Connecticut River and to raise awareness of a proposed Eversource  gas pipeline that would go under the river and impact state parks in  Middletown, East Hampton and Higganum. What an amazing way to raise  awareness of the impacts these gas pipelines and infrastructure have on  our health, environment and utility bills. You can see pictures of the  ride and other details on Instagram or Facebook.

Upset  you missed taking part in that outing (I bought a bike and intend to be  ready for the next one like it)? Well, Connecticut Trails Day Weekend  takes place June 6-7, and Sierra Club will be exploring Machimoodus  State Park along the Salmon River (home to the fabled “Moodus Noises”),  Sunrise State Park in East Haddam and more. For more information about  those hikes, see Kenneth Selling’s article.

Also in  June, Alycia Jenkins will be leading two events highlighting our  campaigns to convert the Capitol Area System from methane gas boilers to  a geothermal network and to bring other thermal energy networks to  Hartford and reduce pollution from gas and oil. On June 10, a “Raise A  Glass” happy hour will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Fire By  Forge that will focus on Capitol Area System, and, on June 18 from 11  a.m. to 12 p.m. at the State Capitol, we will hold a Juneteenth Press  Conference entitled “Black Lungs Matter.” Information about these and  other happenings can be found on our Events & Outings webpage.

Hope you all have a great June!

With solidarity and care,

Mike Ungaro

Chapter Chair of Sierra Club Connecticut