In late July, Governor Baker signed a law that establishes a new, permanent board to oversee the MBTA. This is a huge win for communities and riders who depend on the T to get where they need to go, and it has the potential to lead to much-needed changes within the transit system.
Massachusetts has taken a huge step forward in ensuring that communities have a say in what happens in their neighborhoods. It’s long past time we stop forcing low-income communities and communities of color to bear the burdens of polluting infrastructure. But that doesn’t mean we simply move the pollution elsewhere. Wood-burning power plants do not belong in anyone’s community.
When first built in 1976, New Hampshire’s Bethlehem Landfill was just a local dump – 400 x 400 feet in total. But thanks to large corporate waste companies with aggressive growth plans, the landfill has swelled in size. Today, it covers 50 acres and buries 175,000 tons of trash each year. The State of New… Continue reading Turning a Spotlight on New Hampshire’s Waste Crisis
Those forced to live with environmental injustice are often ignored when it comes to issues that affect their daily lives. A new project in Lawrence, Massachusetts, seeks to puts put residents in the lead.
Climate change is already bringing more severe and frequent storms. Despite knowing the risks, state regulators have failed to require new homes and businesses be built with climate impacts in mind. We’re pushing to change that.
PFAS – or forever chemicals – are being detected in drinking water sources throughout New England. We need to find ways to better regulate these toxic chemicals.
Governor Charlie Baker has implemented a new permanent oversight board for the MBTA. The board will focus on the transit issues plaguing communities in eastern Massachusetts, and will be required to consider environmental justice issues.
“Building landfills just does not incentivize the actions you want to see. When you build this capacity, you’re not going to be recycling or composting or diverting as much as you should be,” Blair says.
“The era of kicking the can down the road at the MBTA is over,” said Staci Rubin, Vice President of Environmental Justice at CLF. “People in nearly 200 communities depend on the T to get where they need to go, and it’s time we get a reliable, affordable system that works for everyone. This bill will make sure that the oversight board understands the issues plaguing the MBTA and has the vision to create a better system for everyone.”
The past year has shown us what we can accomplish when faced with unprecedented upheaval. Now we are focused on driving forward a future that is equitable and healthy for all – while also confronting the most urgent environmental threats in the here and now. The work we do together in the next five years… Continue reading Conservation Matters Summer 2021: Year in Review
