Climate activists from Harvard and ten surrounding towns met at Fruitlands last Saturday with Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN) officials to discuss how to work together to increase climate awareness and initiatives in their towns.
Organized by MCAN and hosted by Fruitlands, the gathering allowed participants to learn what other communities are doing to promote town and residential energy efficiency programs.
Many towns are conducting energy assessments that will help them identify which energy efficiencies will gain the most payback. Boston, Arlington, and Lexington are helping new or remodeled municipal buildings meet LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) certification criteria. Some towns have adopted energy and climate action commissions. On the residential side, many groups are encouraging free energy audits through utility-funded programs, signing up for green energy electricity options, and reducing home energy use through conservation, including increased insulation and energy efficient lighting and appliances.
MCAN has been instrumental in getting Massachusetts to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that Governor Deval Patrick recently signed. Electricity generation accounts for 30 percent of the greenhouse gases produced in New England. Reducing electrical use through conservation is one of the easiest ways to reduce emissions to avoid building new, expensive power plants. Along those lines, one participant suggested turning off the lights to test the tea room’s so-called “daylighting,” which was excellent, and lowering the thermostat.
Representative James Eldridge added information from the legislative level. He said that Patrick is working to shift responsibility for public transportation debt from the MBTA to the state, in hopes of extending public transportation without raising fares. Of particular interest to the region are initiatives to improve commuter rail services.
Eldridge recommended that MCAN identify a handful of climate change bills to prioritize and to work with their legislators and Patrick to pass them into legislation during this session. He added that when he held his citizens’ legislative forums in the 37th Middlesex District, including Harvard, climate change and supporting alternative energy were among the most important issues to constituents.
MCAN Director Marc Breslow encouraged towns to introduce green building design requirements in the initial planning stage of new construction. Early planning results in significant savings and design possibilities that diminish once architectural plans are under way. He said that cost differences between green building over traditional building practices range from zero to 15 percent, with considerable future savings in operation costs.
One thing missing from the meeting was explanations of the “whys” of climate action, although all participants were aware of the urgency to lower greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. A 2006 Union of Concerned Scientists’ report on climate change in New England estimated that our Eastern Massachusetts climate now resembles the traditional climate of Philadelphia. They predict that later in the century the climate here will be similar to that of 20th-century South Carolina.
More information is available at www.MassClimateAction.org or www.HarvardLocal.org.
