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BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS

– House supp. budget includes money for water treatment, EV’s: Among the line-items approved in the House’s most recent supplemental budget (H.4127) include $24 million for testing, treatment, and remediation of public drinking water systems, and another $35 million to boost the Clean Water Trust Fund. The House’s version also included a $32 million investment (using reallocated RGGI dollars) to sure up the state’s electric vehicle rebate program. The supplemental budget is primarily meant to cover expenses and fund programs that are running out of money in the short run. The budget still needs approval from the Senate and the Governor.

– “How close is Massachusetts to electric public buses? Mass. lawmakers pushing for zero-emission vehicles by 2038” (Tanner Stening, MassLive): “Amid mounting calls for a more reliable statewide public transit system, state lawmakers and transportation experts are making a push for electricity-powered transportation solutions this legislative session.”

– “Massachusetts AG Ready to File Climate Case Against Exxon” (Ellen M. Gilmer, Bloomberg): “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is poised to sue Exxon Mobil Corp. for allegedly deceiving consumers about the climate-warming impacts of fossil fuels. According to documents obtained by Bloomberg Environment Oct. 17, the Democratic state lawyer on Oct. 10 notified Exxon that her office was ready to move forward with litigation it has threatened for more than three years.”

– “Bye-bye balloons? Proposed law would ban the celebration staples in Mass.” (Christopher Gavin, Boston.com) [read the article]

ALL POLICY IS LOCAL

– “New EPA chief in New England barred from many decisions because of conflicts” (David Abel, Boston Globe) [read the article]

– “Boston Aims For ‘Net-Zero’ Buildings” (Arun Rath & Craig LeMoult, WGBH) [read the article]

– “Climate change proves to be hot topic in Franklin” (Lauren Young, Milford Daily News) [read the article]

– “Sen. Lewis to host forum on green technology” (Reading Wicked Local) [read the article]

– “Environmental Advocates Support Kenzie Bok for Boston City Council” (Beacon Hill Times) [read the article]

– “Cape Cod Commission to Host Community Climate Meetings” (Brian Merchant, CapeCod.com) [read the article]

LOCAL OPINIONS

– “Businesses act on climate change, rising seas” by Kristin Kelleher, via the Daily News of Newburyport.

– “Want to protect jobs? Protect the ocean” by John F. Kerry, via the Boston Globe.

– “The case for ‘Environmental Justice Corridor’ train service” by Sen. Brendan Crighton, Rep. Daniel Cahill, Rep. Peter Capano, Rep. Lori Ehrlich and Rep. Donald Wong, via Commonwealth Magazine.

– “Healthy families and sustainable farms for every season” by Sen. Jo Comerford, Rep. Daniel Donahue, Sen. Anne Gobi, Rep. Hannah Kane, Sen. Eric Lesser and Rep. Paul Schmid, via the Boston Globe.

– “Decarbonizing economy requires lot more electricity” by Jürgen Weiss, via Commonwealth Magazine.

– “Our View: Scenes of future past” by the Eagle-Tribune editorial board.

OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

– “Encore Boston Harbor and the Environment” (Robert G. Pushkar, Northshore Magazine) [read the article]

– “Climate change, drought might have made trees more vulnerable to storm, expert says” (Alyssa Lukpat, the Boston Globe) [read the article]

– “Artist Uses ‘Historic’ Markers to Raise Climate Awareness” (Michael Casey, Associated Press) [read the article]

– “Massachusetts Lakes And Ponds Are Under Siege By Invasive Aquatic Plants” (Marilyn Schairer, WGBH) [read the article]

– “Is climate change to blame for New England’s EEE outbreak?” (Alex Kuffner The Providence Journal) [read the article]

PRICE THAT CARBON

– “Carbon pricing is ‘single most powerful’ way to combat climate change, and the IMF agrees” (Maria Virginia Olano, Climate XChange): “Last week, carbon pollution pricing got a heavy – and hopefully monumental – endorsement when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deemed the policy the “single most powerful” tool to deal with the climate crisis… It’s all made me think that we might just be at the brink of something great, of finally stepping up to the challenge and urging our policy makers to step up too.”

– “The (other) problem with offsets in California” (Jonah Kurman Faber, Climate XChange) [read the article]

CLIMATE ON CAMPUS

– “Smith College will divest from fossil fuels within 15 years” (Jacquelyn Voghel, Daily Hampshire Gazette) [read the article]

TRANSIT EMISSIONS MATTER

– What the Transportation and Climate Initiative Means for State Climate Policy? There’s still time to sign up for this forthcoming webinar from Climate XChange. Join Chris Dempsey of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), Jordan Stutt of Acadia Center, and Jonah Kurman-Faber of Climate XChange, in answering and discussing these questions with you. Register for the webinar (October 28th, @ 3pm) here.

– “A caution on hiking ‘regressive’ gas tax” (Michael Jonas, Commonwealth Magazine): “Gas taxes are a “regressive” approach to generating revenue that “tend to hit those with low and moderate incomes the hardest,” according to the report issued by the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.”

– “Mass. Lawmakers Urged To Try Congestion Pricing To Ease Traffic” (Chris Lisinski, SHNS via 90.9 WBUR) [read the article]

INSIDE THE BELTWAY

– “Trump Taps Dan Brouillette to Succeed Rick Perry as Energy Secretary” (Lisa K. Friedman and Mariel Padilla, NY Times): “Before that he [Brouillette] was a vice president of Ford Motor Company and the head of public policy for the United Services Automobile Association, a military-focused financial institution.”

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

– “Leaving trees alone might be better than planting new ones” (Fen Montaigne, Grist) [read the article]

ROUNDUP REDUX

Missed the last CXC Roundup? Here are the top local climate headlines from last week:

• Baker To Name New Climate Change Head
• “Environmental group says the I-93 South HOV lane north of Boston should not be open to all traffic”
• Summary: “Carbon Pricing in a Just Transition”

Read the full Roundup here from October 10th, 2019 here.

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