ECA Mass September 2023 Newsletter

September 2023 Newsletter

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ECA Mass Meetings

MONTHLY CHAPTER MEETING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Noon - 2 pm on Zoom

(Join at 11:45 if you want to socialize!)

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/735454252?pwd=QkZMcnA4YVVkcGRDM29PcEN4VnhIUT09

Meeting ID: 735 454 252

Passcode: 223189 (You may have to try more than once)

Kathleen Theoharides (Katie) will be our guest from 12:30 - 1 pm. Katie is the CEO of The Trustees of Reservations. She'll talk with us about how the state is doing on clean energy, from the perspective of a private nonprofit. What a good opportunity to talk with her about her experience and her leadership now in the nonprofit environmental space - come join our conversation!

Kathleen Theoharides (Katie) is the former Head of US Offshore for RWE, a green energy company. Previously, she was the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In this role, she oversaw the Commonwealth's six environmental, natural resource, and energy regulatory agencies, which include the Departments of Environmental Protection, Public Utilities, Energy Resources, Conservation & Recreation, Agricultural Resources, and Fish & Game. Ms. Theoharides has also served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the Energy Facilities Siting Board, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

Ms. Theoharides earned her BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Dartmouth College and her MS in Ecology and Environmental Biology from UMASS-Boston. She has served in volunteer leadership roles for the Grafton Conservation Commission and the Westborough Conservation Commission. She worked for TTOR in 2010-2011 as the Executive Director of the Hilltown Land Trust and a Community Conservation Coordinator for TTOR. Prior to TTOR, she worked for Defenders of Wildlife, the Norwich Conservation Commission, and in research roles for UMass Boston, Dartmouth, and Harvard. Originally from Western Massachusetts, Ms. Theoharides lives with her husband, Stephen Caldwell three young children in Arlington, Massachusetts.

NOTE:

THERE IS NO DEEP DIALOGUE FOR SEPTEMBER, BUT PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR OTHER EVENTS THIS MONTH!

Confronting the Climate Crisis:

The Larry Rosenberg Memorial Webinar Series

The first Larry Rosenberg Memorial lecture on nuclear energy was wonderfully informative. Check out the final two in the series later this month.

Green Banks: Financing Climate Solutions

Wednesday, September 20

7:30 pm to 9pm

This forum will be a full, informative discussion about green banks on the national level, the workings of an actual green bank, and the plans for the new green bank in Massachusetts.

Paul Mark, a State Senator from Western Mass., will speak about plans for the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, the nation's first green bank dedicated to affordable housing.
Nenha Young, the Director of Policy and Network at the Coalition for Green Capital, will provide a national perspective, including the role of the Inflation Reduction Act in stimulating new and existing green banks.
Eric Shrago, the Vice President of Operations at the Connecticut Green Bank will talk about the experience of the nation's first Green Bank, est. in 2011.
Lee Harris, staff writer at The American Prospect with many bylines in her name about green banks and capital markets, will moderate.
Senator Edward Markey has also been invited to say a few words about his work to create a green bank at the national level. He will be joining us at the beginning of the session either on Zoom or via a pre-recorded video, depending upon his schedule.

Creating Sustainable Systems: Soil, Carbon, and Food

Thursday, September 28

7:30 pm to 9pm

The panel will highlight some of the technical/economic/political/practical challenges and opportunities that we need to honestly face in order to make nature-based climate-improving strategies actually work at scale. Our hope is to raise the level of discussion about these important strategies, acknowledging the unknowns and limits while suggesting ways forward.

David Montgomery, Professor of Geology at University of Washington and an expert on regenerative agriculture, will focus on farming for soil quality as a way to both feed our growing population and reduce or even sequester greenhouse gasses.
Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health, who is currently the co-chair of the EAT-Lancet Commission on sustainable nutrition will summarize their findings about what we need to eat to survive in a climate-endangered world.
Ilan Zugman, 350.org's Latin America Director, will provide an overview connecting the pressure on land use with fossil fuel extraction from a Global South perspective.
Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder of Food Tank, has a long history of making discussions exciting and insightful, will moderate.

Larry Rosenberg was a lifelong progressive activist. He was an early member of both 350 Massachusetts and the Elders Climate Action Mass chapter. From union organizing to central American solidarity work, from advocating for a just Middle East peace to pushing for climate action, his insightful analysis and enduring commitments made him a meaningful contributor to positive change. His sharp intellect also led to jobs programming wind farm software, leading an anti-military weapon proliferation research team, and supporting health-focused international development projects. After years of living with lymphoma, shortly after the COVID pandemic began, Larry's cancer turned virulent. He died in 2022 after arranging to donate his body to the U.Mass Medical School. These three webinars are a tribute to Larry.

Seth Evans

March to End Fossil Fuels - Be there if you can!

Join ECA Members – and tens of thousands of other climate activists – for the March to End Fossil Fuels, Sunday Sept. 17!

ECA Mass is joining others in the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. This action is planned to amplify the September 20 UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York and make demands on our executive branch to quickly phase out all dependence on fossil fuels. We must let our government, media, and the world know that we are serious about preserving a tomorrow. ECA Mass and other climate change groups in New England will be doing everything we can to help publicize the march and get as many people to New York as possible.

Our world is in crisis, and the biggest cause is fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. The fossil fuel industry is responsible for 86 percent of all CO2 emissions in the past decade. Despite the industry’s knowing for decades about the dangers of global warming, their whitewashing and financial and political power remains the major force impeding the transition to clean energy.

What: March to End Fossil Fuels

When: Sunday, September 17

Time: 1 pm (end time around 4:30 pm)

Where: New York City. We will march east from 52nd St. and Broadway to 1st Avenue, just north of the UN Plaza, for a rally and music.

Elders Meet-Up: RSVP to join the Elder Hub at 55th and Broadway! We’ll be joining other Elder organizations to ensure a strong elder presence at the march. By RSVPing, you will gain access to up-to-date information.

Transportation:

Bus: Dedicated buses will be leaving the Boston area around 6-7 am and arriving around noon. Buses will originate in Cambridge, Framingham, Worcester, Brookline, and Boston. Return buses will leave New York late afternoon and arrive in the Boston area around 11 pm-12 midnight. Cost $35 - $70. Reserve a bus seat here.
Amtrak: Lower emission and more comfortable way to travel. Fares less than $100. Leave Boston at 6:30 am and return at 7:30 pm.

Seth Evans

ECA Mass Legislative Update

Legislative Team to Take on

Mass Save Reform

As the legislature comes out of August hibernation, Legislative Team members are gearing up to meet with the co-chairs and key staff of the four committees: Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee (TUE), Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), Labor and Workforce Development, and Transportation. These meetings will involve advocating for key items in our priority bills; educating legislators on issues related to our policy priorities and learning from legislators about their views on our priorities; strategies for advancing our agenda; and overcoming resistance we might meet. Stay tuned to find out what we discover in these meetings.

Most of our priority bills have already received formal legislative hearings, but committees will continue to hold some hearings this fall. A main focus for us is advocating for several key items from our priority bills that we want to see included in a climate omnibus bill, which we are expecting to take shape in the next few months in TUE under leadership of Senator Barrett and Rep. Roy. Support for decarbonizing residential and large buildings via a renovation fund, a climate bank and performance standards; electrifying all manner of publicly owned and operated vehicles; and clean energy workforce development are some of the items we will be pushing hard for.

Mass Save reform is a complex and challenging need that the Buildings Working Group is exploring with our allies. Several members of the group are part of a team that is leading an initiative to identify priority reforms and promote climate movement consensus around them. The team includes the Building Electrification Accelerator, 350 and Gas Transition Allies. Some of the reforms on the table are streamlining and centralizing all Mass Save and federal residential building decarbonization programs and making them more accessible to low and middle income residents. As the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council develops the next 3-year plan for Mass Save, we have an opportunity to ensure the plan addresses our priorities. Legislation may be needed to support some reforms.

If you're interested in joining the legislative team, please contact Roger Luckmann, rogerluckmann@umassmed.edu or Tina Grosowsky, tgrosowsky@verizon.net.

Roger Luckmann

New Members Orientation

Are you new to ECA Mass over the past few months? Want to meet other members and the ECA Mass Leadership Team? This Zoom is for you!

Join us for our New Members Orientation on Monday, Oct. 2 1:00 - 2:00 pm. All interested members welcome.

We want to welcome YOU to the Massachusetts Chapter of Elders Climate Action, and hear from you about what you're interested in working on. Come meet other new members and our Leadership Team, and connect with the working teams focusing on Legislation, Research, Communications, Education, and more. We want to help you find the spot that fits your energies and passions, and we need you too!

We have resources for you to use and we'll show you how to access them easily in this hour. Hope to see you there!

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Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86878880230?pwd=TzBEL0ovTEl0QVpuNGtDeW5CQmwxUT09

Meeting ID: 868 7888 0230

Passcode: 699363

Maiyim Baron

What's Up with Offshore Wind?

Join the League of Women Voters for a three-part webinar series, What’s Up with Offshore Wind? Current Status – Future Plans – Getting It Done, as we take a deep dive into the Northeast’s offshore wind industry. Each session has a separate Zoom registration. Sign up for one, two, or all three! Each webinar will feature guest speakers who are experts in their respective topics. Read more.

Tina Grosowsky

Climate Preparedness Week Forum:

Clean Energy Incentives for All

The Pioneer Valley Library Collaborative (PVLC) and Voices for Climate (V4C) are pleased to announce the keynote event for Climate Preparedness Week, September 24-30, 2023. On Wednesday, September 27^t^h, the public is invited to the Clean Energy Incentives For All forum at Westfield State University. The Forum’s goal is to highlight state and federal incentives for homeowners, renters, businesses, municipalities, nonprofits and individuals to cut costs by shifting to clean energy sources, move away from fossil fuel use and thus assist Massachusetts in the transition to a greener, low-carbon economy.

Special opening remarks from Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni will welcome our audience, followed by a distinguished panel featuring Larry Chretien, CEO of Green Energy Consumer Alliance; Massachusetts Deputy Climate Chief, Jonathan Schrag; and Massachusetts Senator Paul Mark.

The PVLC’s focus for this year, along with its community partner, V4C, is to turn climate change awareness into action using the incentives that are broadly available. The Collaborative is a partnership of 10 Western Massachusetts libraries that aspires to be a hub of climate education and conversation for communities in the region. The partners annually share their resources and talents to plan events and programming during Climate Preparedness Week. This dedicated group currently includes the public libraries of: Agawam, Granville, Westfield, Northampton, Southwick, Tolland, West Springfield, Easthampton, Williamstown, and Westhampton.

This September 27th free forum will take place in Wilson Hall at Westfield State University. There will be a reception with light refreshments beginning at 5:45 pm, during which clean energy resources and information will be exhibited. The forum presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A segment.

Registration is required for this event. The registration link can be found on the websites of each of the member libraries. Interested members of the public who are unable to attend may watch the forum over livestream on Facebook, or through the recorded video available approximately two weeks after the event through member libraries’ websites. Any questions about the event may be directed to John Meiklejohn at jmiserve183@gmail.com or call 413-348-2848.

The Climate Crisis: What You Can Do

Are you experiencing eco-anxiety? Who isn't? The antidote to anxiety is action and this recent op-ed by western MA ECA Mass member Sylvia Staub is full of ideas about getting engaged with your local climate action group. Read it here.

Did you miss a past meeting?

Did you miss an ECA Mass chapter meeting or deep dialogue? Or do you want to share one with friends and family?

We have you covered! Videos of past chapter meetings are here and videos of past deep dialogues are here.

Find us on Social Media

Join over 1300 ECA Mass members who have been following us on Facebook. Our Facebook page features listings of upcoming events (in-person and Zoom), news about climate change solutions, carbon saving ideas, and links to other organizations’ events, and more.

Visit the ECA Mass Facebook page and click the like button!

Phillip Sego

This Newsletter is Published for Members and Friends of the

Elders Climate Action - Massachusetts Chapter

ECA Massachusetts is a chapter of the national Elders Climate Action. We are a movement of elders committed to making our voices heard... to change our nation's policies while there is still time to avoid catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate. Visit the ECA Massachusetts website, event calendar, and Facebook page to learn more about our chapter's activities and climate news. JOIN ECA MASSACHUSETTS AND STAY CONNECTED! Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and for more active participation, sign up to receive Action Alerts and meeting announcements. Fill out our subscription form.