WE CAN’T have climate action without drought action. Massachusetts is appropriately regarded as a leader when it comes to climate change and environmental policy. Just this month the Legislature passed, and the governor signed, a historic bill that will keep the Commonwealth at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions, deploying renewable energy, and lowering our dependence […]
Emily Norton
Posted inOpinion
Consider the potential of water utility jobs
“WHEN I GROW UP, I want to be a wastewater operator.” That is probably not a commonly heard sentiment, but we think it should be, especially for our young people who have been historically marginalized. When it comes to “green jobs,” typically it’s the clean energy industry – solar or offshore wind – that comes […]
Posted inOpinion
We need to start using less natural gas
WITH THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic raging, it’s hard to think about anything else. Yet precisely because this is a time of major upheaval, we need to recognize, and prepare for, the changes it brings. We will get through this and, when we do, we want to make sure our Commonwealth emerges stronger and better. So, please, […]
Posted inOpinion
Charles R. advocates not on board with Soldier’s Field bypass
ON MONDAY, CommonWealth reported that although “[n]o one thought putting a structure out over the Charles would sit well with the river’s many enthusiasts, [ ] Mike O’Dowd, the project manager, says the idea has been well received by boating groups and others who regularly use the Charles.” O’Dowd further said that “[t]here is no reason […]
Posted inOpinion
Bringing nature back into our environment
EVEN IF WE STOPPED Using fossil fuels tomorrow, here in the Northeast we will continue to face more intense storms, more frequent drought, and more extreme heat. And virtually no one is doing enough to protect people, property, and the natural world from these weather extremes. Just as climate activists are rising up to demand […]
Posted inOpinion
Debunking the fracked gas fairy tale
IN APRIL, Tom Andrews wrote an opinion piece that appeared in CommonWealth calling for more fracked gas energy, claiming it “plays a critical role when it comes to cost and emissions reductions” and that energy demand is “skyrocketing.” He is wrong on all counts. We’ll start with energy demand. ISO – New England, the organization […]
Posted inOpinion
Developing Widett Circle is short-sighted
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH is urging the Boston City Council to declare surplus several parcels of city property along Frontage Road, including Widett Circle. This would allow the land to be sold off for development, perhaps for a soccer stadium. With the memory of the Winthrop Square garage process still fresh, we say slow down. […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should embrace clean energy
STARK NEW ESTIMATES of the potential cost of climate change to Massachusetts’ homeowners should make the Legislature act more urgently than it already has to halt the state’s consumption of fossil fuels and resulting release of greenhouse gases. According to a June analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, 89,000 buildings in the Commonwealth worth […]
Posted inEnvironment
Silver lining in Northern Pass collapse
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER HAS another chance to deliver the affordable, reliable and clean energy that Massachusetts families and businesses want. His first decision, a proposal to export our energy dollars to purchase destructive hydropower from Canada, has been appropriately rejected by New Hampshire officials. Now, the Baker administration has given itself until this Friday, February […]
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Quebec power is not what we want
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, the Baker Administration will be making billion-dollar decisions about the kind of energy that will be powering our homes, businesses, and municipalities for decades to come. It is critical we get it right. Across the globe we are watching the devastating impacts of climate disruption. The specter of extreme storms, […]