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Happy Thanksgiving! If your family is anything like mine, you’ll likely get into a few “discussions” with relatives who don’t share your perspective on politics. Well, if they turn to climate change, then Jonah from Climate XChange has you covered! Check out his latest article, “Your 2019 Guide to Climate Conversations at the Thanksgiving Table,” and be prepared this Thanksgiving!
BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS
– On the Docket: Beacon Hill is in informal session until January 2020, meaning there is little chance for major votes before the end of the year. Although lawmakers generally spend most of their time in their districts during the holidays, there is still some activity in the building. This includes a hearing next week on ‘transportation finance and tolls’ that will include some bills looking at things like congestion pricing and the climate impacts of transportation.
– “Students call out state legislators for lack of climate action,” (Hannah Schoenbaum, Telegram & Gazette) [read the article]
– “Massachusetts bill would block logging, let state forests keep their carbon” (Kate Petersen, ARS Technica) [read the article]
ALL POLICY IS LOCAL
– “Gas is in the past after second night of Brookline special Town Meeting” (Abby Patkin, Wicked Local Brookline) [read the article]
LOCAL IDEAS
– “Our view: Vote could be harbinger of energy shift” via the Salem News Editorial Board.
– “Climate change and dark money” by US Senators Charles E. Schumer and Sheldon Whitehouse, via the Boston Globe.
– “As I See It: Massachusetts should focus on progressive energy solutions, not lawsuits” by Joseph Fitzpatrick, via the Worcester Telegram.
– “A regional plan to improve transportation and reduce pollution” by Chris Dempsey, via the Sun Chronicle.
– “The realism of Bernie Sanders’ climate policy” by Naomi Klein and Sivan Kartha, via the Boston Globe.
– “Letter: Net-zero carbon emissions an urgent priority” by Frederick Hewett,via the Worcester Telegram
– “Our Opinion: Mayors ambitious on renewable energy” via the Berkshire Eagle Editorial Board.
PRICE THAT CARBON
– “New Mexico executive branch considering cap-and-trade” (Jonah Kurman Faber, Climate XChange) [read the article]
OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
– “East Boston mothers sound alarm about air pollution from Logan Airport” (Lisa Kashinsky, the Boston Herald) [read the article]
– “The State Wants To Turn Cranberry Bogs Into Wetlands. It’s Gritty Work” (Barbara Moran, WBUR’s Earthwhile) [read the article]
– “Mass. Schools Not Required To Test Water For Lead” (Craig LeMoult, WGBH) [read the article]
OFFSHORE WIND
– “Anbaric Files Application for Offshore Transmission Network” (Colin A. Young, State House News Service): “The company that is turning the site of a former coal-burning power plant in Somerset into a green energy center has filed a federal application to develop a single transmission network that could deliver power from offshore wind farms to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.”
THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
– Healey Joins AGs in Challenging Trump Methane Rules: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general and the City of Chicago in calling on the federal EPA to withdraw its attempt to gut regulations that limit emissions of methane and other harmful pollutants from new, reconstructed and modified sources in the oil and natural gas industry. In a press statement, Healey said, “The climate change deniers running the Trump Administration are ignoring federal law and choosing the interests of the oil and gas industry over protecting our residents and the environment.”
THE GREEN ECONOMY, STUPID
– “Utility-scale storage critical to achieving Massachusetts carbon goals: UMass study” ( Kavya Balaraman, Utility Drive) [read the article]
CLIMATE ON CAMPUS
– “Activists Disrupt Harvard-Yale Rivalry Game To Protest Climate Change” (Sam Gringlas, NPR) [read the article]
BUSINESS, CLIMATE
– “BUSINESS LEADERS COMMIT TO PARIS GOALS” (Kristin Kelleher, CABAus.org) [read the article]
2020 CLIMATE
– “Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Demand Changes at New England’s Grid Operator” (Jeff St. John, Greentech Media) [read the article]
BEYOND THE BAY STATE
– “eXchange ‘19 Midwest: Third carbon solutions summit concludes in Minnesota” (Maria Virginia Olano, Climate XChange) “Our final Carbon Solutions Summit for this year concluded this week in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a phenomenal turn out, important discussions, new partnerships, and importantly, a renewed momentum for the work that lies ahead.”
– “Maine Unlikely To Alter Goals To Address Climate Change In Light Of New U.N. Report” (Steve Mistler, Maine Public Radio) [read the article]
– “Can America’s First Floating Wind Farm Help Open Deeper Water to Clean Energy?” (Kristoffer Tigue, InsideClimate News) [read the article]
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
– “‘Bleak’ U.N. Report on a Planet in Peril Looms Over New Climate Talks” (Somini Sengupta, NY Times): “With world leaders gathering in Madrid next week for their annual bargaining session over how to avert a climate catastrophe, the latest assessment issued by the United Nations said Tuesday that greenhouse gas emissions are still rising dangerously.”
ROUNDUP REDUX
Missed the last CXC Roundup? Here are the top local climate headlines from last week:
- Senate, House Process Disagreement Endangers Bag Ban Bill in 2019
- “Pacheco: Spilka Agrees to Climate Bill Vote in January”
- Mayors Call for Massachusetts to Go 100% Renewable:
Read the full Roundup here from November 20th, 2019 here.
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