MASSACHUSETTS SAW an important milestone earlier this year with the passage of the Next Generation Roadmap bill, a much-needed update to the state’s evolving response to the climate crisis. The bill was passed by overwhelming margins in the House and Senate and signed into law by the governor (after vetoing it twice). That the bill […]
Craig S Altemose
Posted inOpinion
Debunking Baker’s 6 reasons for climate veto
ON THURSDAY,  Gov. Charlie Baker announced he would veto the Next Generation Road Map climate bill, a bill that would take a big step forward in advancing Massachusetts’ response to a public health emergency. Since his first failed run for governor as a climate denier, Baker has generally positioned himself as someone who is pro-climate […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote for climate and democracy
CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY are on the ballot this fall for hundreds of thousands of voters across the Commonwealth. Voters in all or part of 44 communities (a complete list is at the bottom of this column) will have a chance to signal an instruction to their state representative to vote for 100 percent renewable energy […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate policy update needed on Beacon Hill
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE has a chance to get the Commonwealth on to a better track with climate change. Massachusetts is regularly ranked first in the nation in energy efficiency programs and we have okay renewable energy programs, but when it comes to climate change policy we have been resting on our laurels. Our current programs were […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate action key theme of primary races
ON TUESDAY, Massachusetts voters sent a political shockwave to Washington, DC. as they for the first time in history rejected a Kennedy — with a double-digit margin — at the ballot box in favor of Green New Deal author and progressive champion Ed Markey. This victory should be seen as a sign of the climate […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons learned from the push for climate action
ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN the last day of the 2019-2020 legislative session, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a Roadmap Bill, helping to lay the foundation for a slightly more ambitious – and much better planned – decarbonization of the economy. Crucially, the final bill also included an amendment around environmental justice, which would codify […]
Posted inOpinion
COVID-19’s lessons for climate change
AS WE ENTER the beginning phases of re-opening Massachusetts, Covid-19 has already provided several important lessons for policymakers to consider when addressing the other major global crisis that experts have been warning us about: climate change. Two key lessons are immediately apparent. First, we ignore expert guidance at our peril. For decades, public health experts […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker’s net-zero goal is business-as-usual
ON TUESDAY, two notable public figures gave public addresses on the topic of climate change, illuminating the bridge that exists between what society needs to do to tackle climate change, and what society is so far willing to do to tackle climate change. In his State of the State address, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker laid […]
Posted inOpinion
Enviros tell Kennedy to stay where he is
RECENT NEWS REPORTS have suggested that US Rep. Joe Kennedy III is seriously considering challenging Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary. We are writing to say, in no uncertain terms, and in no disrespect to the congressman, that this is the wrong time for an intra-party challenge. First off, it has been clear that […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate, housing activists find common ground on tax
EARLIER THIS YEAR, Gov. Charlie Baker made waves when he announced a proposal to increase the real estate deeds excise tax by 50 percent to help fund critical municipal climate resilience projects. The environmental community was pleasantly surprised to hear the governor offer a clear, new funding stream to help prepare our communities for the […]