Connecticut
Opinion: This Earth Day make polluters pay
The costs of climate change are being borne by those who did the least to cause it. This Earth Day, we should expect more than symbolic gestures. We need our elected officials to stand up to harmful industry influence and deliver policies that hold major polluters accountable.
The effects of climate change have been inescapable across the world, especially in Connecticut. Just last month in March there was persistent unseasonable heat that was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more.
Connecticut residents are now more than ever facing the harmful and costly effects of climate change disasters. These costly disasters and effects have no limits on who is impacted.
A newly published DEEP report showed that climate change had already adversely affected Connecticut residents, businesses, and infrastructure over decades. Extreme weather has cost the state and private sector billions of dollars since 2010. This will continue, according to recent data on climate change.
Between 1880 and 2020, Connecticut experienced climate change impacts, including eight to nine inches of sea level rise; increased coastal erosion, warming of Long Island Sound; warmer hottest and coldest days of the year; increasing annual rainfall; decreasing annual snowfall; and increased rainstorms and flash flooding. In just 2023 and 2024 Connecticut faced multiple extreme weather events from deadly flooding in Southbury, deadly brush fires in Berlin, and millions of dollars of damage to farms from drought.
Let’s be clear, Connecticut taxpayers and residents are paying for 100% of these climate costs, costs that are falling on those least responsible.
Since the 2016 Paris Agreement, just 57 companies are directly linked to 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Carbon Majors Database. These companies include fossil fuel giants like Chevron, Shell, and BP, who raked in record profits in the last quarter of 2023.
Why shouldn’t those most responsible pay their fair share?
Fossil fuel companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year to influence lawmakers and block climate action, because they know real accountability would cost them far more. Instead of paying for the damage their pollution has caused, they’re investing heavily in lobbying and political influence to avoid “polluter pays” policies and shift those costs onto taxpayers.
In light of Climate Superfund laws being introduced in over a dozen states including here in Connecticut, fossil fuel companies are actively shaping climate legislation to shield themselves from accountability. With more than 30 lawsuits filed by states and cities across the U.S., the industry is pushing for legal immunity to avoid paying for climate-related damages. These efforts are aimed at blocking “polluter pays” policies, like climate superfund laws, that would require them to cover the billions of dollars in costs tied to environmental harm, infrastructure impacts, and years of misleading the public.
This Earth Day, we need to flip the script. For too long, fossil fuel companies have pushed the idea that climate change is the result of individual choices, telling us to turn off the lights, take shorter showers, and shrink our personal footprint. Those actions matter, but they’re not the whole story.
The truth is, a small number of corporations are responsible for a massive share of global emissions. While they promote small lifestyle changes, they continue expanding fossil fuel production and investing millions to block meaningful climate policy.
We won’t see real progress until we name what’s actually happening. Accountability must be at the core of climate action, shifting the burden off everyday people and onto the biggest polluters. That means strong policies, real enforcement, and a firm commitment to a “polluter pays” approach. The Connecticut Legislature must act and pass a Climate Superfund bill to move costs off taxpayers and require fossil fuel companies to finally pay their fair share.
Julianna LaRue is an organizer for the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Connecticut
Joe Deko Appointed to State Legislature’s Group Studying Prepaid Funeral Contracts to Protect Consumers
- Reviewing contract structures: Examining issues related to pre-need funeral contracts and cremation service agreements.
- Strengthening oversight: Recommending stronger consumer protections and improvements to state regulation of the funeral services industry.
- Developing compensation mechanisms: Creating rules for distributing funds to affected consumers and exploring the framework for a future industry-backed guarantee fund.
Deko took to Facebook to share the news.
“I am honored to announce my appointment to the Connecticut State working group focused on reviewing and strengthening Connecticut’s prepaid funeral laws.
This important effort brings together professionals and stakeholders committed to ensuring that prepaid funeral arrangements continue to serve and protect Connecticut families while maintaining the highest standards within our profession.
I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute my experience and perspective to this process and look forward to working collaboratively with fellow members of the group.
A special thank you to Senator Paul Cicarella for his confidence in me and for entrusting me with this appointment. Your support and leadership are greatly appreciated. I look forward to helping shape thoughtful policies that will benefit Connecticut families and the funeral profession for years to come.”
Connecticut
Sierra Club Connecticut, State Representatives Host Black Lungs Matter: Juneteenth Press Event – CleanTechnica
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Hartford Advocates and Community Members Gathered to Remember, Honor Path to Freedom
HARTFORD, Ct. — Today, Sierra Club Connecticut and State Representatives Minnie Gonzalez, Maryam Khan, and Jilian Gilchrist hosted Black Lungs Matter, a Juneteenth Press Conference, at the Connecticut Legislative Office Building.
The event highlighted the disproportionate impact of air pollution on Black residents in Connecticut and the broken promises that have contributed to this impact. Speakers included state representatives, public health and civil rights experts, plus local voices from Sierra Club Connecticut and the Connecticut Coalition for Economic and Environmental Justice.
The groups are concerned that Governor Lamont is no longer moving ahead with eliminating all carbon emissions from state building heating and cooling systems, as he pledged in Executive Order 21-3. The Trump Administration has also cancelled at least $50 million in federal grants for environmental justice projects across New England, a substantial portion of which was slated to come to Connecticut environmental justice organizations.
Environmental injustice refers to the fact that environmental hazards, such as air and water pollution, and the health harms that they cause, are disproportionately experienced by people of color and low income people. Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, income, ethnicity, tribal affiliation or disability, in the environmental decision making which affects them.
“Just like the enslaved people in Texas were some of the last to gain their freedom, the asthmatic children of Hartford are likely to be the last to breathe clean air,” said Dr. Mark Mitchell, founder of the Connecticut Environmental Justice Leadership Collaborative. “The Governor should keep his clean air promise to Hartford, and help fight back against the environmental injustice of the Trump Administration.”
“As a Puerto Rican woman, I stand in solidarity with Black communities fighting for the right to breathe clean air and live healthy lives,” said Rep. Minnie Gonzalez, who represents the residents that are most exposed to the pollution from Capitol Area Systems.
“As a representative of Hartford, I am deeply committed to ensuring that every child in our city breathes clean air,” said Rep. Maryam Khan. “On this Juneteenth, we recognize the painful legacy of environmental injustice that has disproportionately harmed Black communities. Today, I stand with the Sierra Club in demanding action to tackle air pollution in Hartford. No child’s future should be stolen by the air they breathe.”
“Connecticut has made commitments to Environmental Justice,” said Sharon Lewis, an Environmental Justice Advocate. “Juneteenth reminds us that commitments matter only when they reach the people they were intended to serve.”
“We cannot allow the environmental justice goals and objectives in this city to be ignored,” said Attorney Cynthia Jennings. “Any investment of our tax dollars must be used to improve the health and safety of residents in every Hartford community.”
“Let’s remind the Governor that Black Americans deserve to breathe clean air in Hartford,” said Sierra Club Connecticut Organizer Alycia Jenkins. “Once justice is won for Black Americans, justice will be won for all.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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NEW CANAAN, Conn. — An elderly driver was rescued from his vehicle after he accidentally crashed into a swimming pool in on Tuesday.
It happened just after 10:30 a.m. at the Steve Benko Pool at Waveny Park in New Canaan, Connecticut.
The Tesla plowed through a fence and set of trees before plunging into the water. Police say he was trying to park at the time.
The community pool was closed when it happened, so no one was swimming or in the path of the vehicle.
Lifeguards and first responders entered the pool to help the driver out of the vehicle.
Lifeguard Mike D’Urso, 18, described what happened.
“Me and my coworker were setting up the umbrellas when we heard a loud crash and we turned around and there was a car right in the middle of the pool,” D’Urso said.
D’Urso said the man was conscious and alert, but the vehicle began to take on water.
“The car began to sink a couple minutes in, and my concern was that the water would rise above his head and wouldn’t be able to breathe,” D’Urso said.
D’Urso and EMS workers pulled the victim out through the passenger side window. The driver said he wasn’t injured, but he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
The pool will have to be drained, cleaned and refilled. Officials hope to have it reopened by the weekend.
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