New Haven Independent

The Connecticut Climate Coalition rallied students from Yale and others interested in seeing Connecticut take more steps toward a carbon-neutral future. Coalition leader Roger Smith (pictured) has praised some of the state’s actions, such as participation in RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, efforts at efficiency and promotion of green energy. But he said on Friday, “We need to keep up with states like California and New Jersey on global warming. Will Gov. Rell come out today and support a mandatory global warming limit for Connecticut? We’re falling behind. Every year our emissions keep rising, despite the fact that we have a global warming plan. [California] Gov. Schwarzenegger issued an executive order in 2005 directing his agencies to undertake ambitious global warming initiatives. He then challenged the state legislature to put that commitment into law, and they did.”

The activists urged Gov. Rell to support mandatory state-wide pollution reductions (not just in the power plant sector through RGGI) and challenge state lawmakers to pass HB 5600, which calls for mandatory carbon caps.

Smith concluded, “Hats off to all the states who aren’t waiting for Washington, and let’s cap carbon dioxide pollution!” (See photo at top of story.)

But when Rell took the podium at Yale’s Woolsey Hall and then signed the declaration (pictured) during Friday afternoon’s speechifying, she touted her “Do One Thing” campaign that encourages each resident of the state to do one thing every day to reduce energy use. She didn’t issue an executive order or make any sweeping statements. (More on the Friday afternoon program later.)