Jan Ellen Spiegel

Connecticut

Environment Reporter at The CT Mirror

Reporter freelancing @CTMirror, @CC_Yale & more on climate, energy, environment, food & things sustainable despite life being by nature unsustainable.

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Articles

Why New England’s electric grid faces an uncertain future

1 month ago | ctmirror.org | Jan Ellen Spiegel

Late last month — with considerable fanfare — nine northeastern states, including Connecticut, announced they were embarking on a groundbreaking interregional electric grid transmission effort. It came just a few weeks after an announcement by the New England grid operator that it was soliciting proposals for new transmission to bring power — most likely land-based wind — from northern Maine into southern New England.
Connecticut faces persistent poor air quality. A look at how Trump coal policy will impact the state.

2 months ago | courant.com | Jan Ellen Spiegel

Researchers at UConn studied walnuts. There’s something they want you to know about the nut.
How Trump's coal policies will impact CT, a state with no coal plants

2 months ago | ctmirror.org | Jan Ellen Spiegel

There is one operating coal-fired power plant left in New England, a far cry from the widespread use of coal that began nearly a century-and-a-half ago. That plant — the Merrimack Power Station in Bow, N.H., just south of Concord — is slated to close in June 2028. So it stands to reason that President Donald J.
CT undeterred as Trump signs state climate laws executive order

2 months ago | ctmirror.org | Jan Ellen Spiegel

During the first Trump administration’s assault on climate initiatives, it was individual states that stepped up with policies to keep the momentum going on combating climate change. The second Trump administration is now attempting to go after state actions too. On a day the world’s attention was diverted by a massive meltdown of financial markets reeling from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the president signed an executive order titled Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.
Wildfires, flooding, storms, heat waves. CT to lose millions in funding

2 months ago | courant.com | Jan Ellen Spiegel

For Sarah Strong, lots of rebounds, lots of points … but few words. Were they necessary?
CT says it will stand tough if Trump comes for its climate change policies

2 months ago | hartfordbusiness.com | Jan Ellen Spiegel

During the first Trump administration’s assault on climate initiatives, it was individual states that stepped up with policies to keep the momentum going on combating climate change. The second Trump administration is now attempting to go after state actions too. On a day the world’s attention was diverted by a massive meltdown of financial markets reeling from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the president signed an executive order titled Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.
Why Trump's cuts to NOAA, FEMA could force CT to fend for itself

2 months ago | ctmirror.org | Jan Ellen Spiegel

Editor’s note: We are now offering an audio version of our Sunday features. To access, click on the player above. If the value of having a meteorologist on staff at Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Services hadn’t been clear before, it certainly became clear last October. Well, sort of clear, given the conditions that meteorologist, Josh Cingranelli, was dealing with.
As Trump targets environmental regulations, what should CT do?

Mar 28, 2025 | courant.com | Jan Ellen Spiegel

On the afternoon of March 12, a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency announcing a reconsideration of President Joe Biden’s plan to cut power plant emissions popped into journalists’ emails. President Donald Trump has made no secret about his distaste for President Barack Obama’s original Clean Power Plan or Biden’s subsequent version. Both stalled out in court, as did Trump’s own plan in his first term.
CT farmers face federal funding uncertainty

Mar 6, 2025 | ctmirror.org | Jan Ellen Spiegel

David Buck got the good news late last month. Federal funding he had been awarded for his Southbury goat and cow dairy —Guardians Farm — was being “unpaused.”Buck had signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, on January 17 to access just under $10,000 to set up a rotational grazing system, do seeding and run waterlines for three pastures.
CT farmers face federal funding uncertainty just in time for spring start-up

Feb 24, 2025 | hartfordbusiness.com | Jan Ellen Spiegel

David Buck got the good news late last month. Federal funding he had been awarded for his Southbury goat and cow dairy —Guardians Farm — was being “unpaused.”Buck had signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, on January 17 to access just under $10,000 to set up a rotational grazing system, do seeding and run waterlines for three pastures.