“Ash is blowing around, it’s definitely getting wet and going into the marsh and it’s definitely getting into people’s lungs,” said Kirstie Pecci, Zero Waste Project director at the Conservation Law Foundation, which has been working with residents to stop the landfill expanding.
This report provides an overview of our experience with the Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund (HNEF). We hope to inform other efforts investing in housing and retail in ways that can lead to equitable changes in neighborhood health and environmental conditions.
Massachusetts legislators overwhelmingly passed critical climate and justice legislation. But Governor Baker vetoed the bill – choosing not only to ignore sound science, but also to let decades of racist policy targeting low-income, Black, and Brown communities go unchallenged.
“On Earth Day, we cheered as Governor Baker declared net-zero emissions by 2050 an enforceable order under the state’s landmark climate law,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “With the stroke of his veto pen, the Governor has mocked this commitment he trumpeted just nine months ago. This irresponsible veto – admittedly at the behest of special interest lobbyists – deprives the Commonwealth’s families and businesses of the tools they need to cut emissions in a just and economically beneficial way. The Governor has drastically set us back in reaching our climate goals.”
“For years, state energy officials have unlawfully shut out Spanish-speaking East Boston and Chelsea residents from decisions that will impact their communities for generations,” said Amy Laura Cahn, Interim Director of the Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice program at CLF. “We rely on the EPA to enforce civil rights laws, which guarantee residents a say in what happens in their communities. Without action by the agency, the community has no chance to right this egregious wrong.”
You can’t protect the environment without helping the community. This idea is the backbone for Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), one of the community-based recipients of funds from CLF’s successful lawsuit against Boston’s school bus operator, which was violating clean air laws.
HEET is using funds received from CLF’s settlement with Boston’s school bus operator to support its work to cut carbon emissions.
Speak for the Trees focuses on education, empowerment, and advocacy. Yes, they host tree giveaways and tree planting events, but, as its founder explains, “it’s more than just a tree. It’s a way of adapting to this new climate that we’re facing. It’s a way of making sure that Boston is resilient for the future.”
In our latest case to stop toxic tailpipe pollution, we sued Transdev Services, Inc., under the federal Clean Air Act. Transdev is a leading provider of transportation throughout the country, including Boston’s public school buses. CLF is holding Transdev accountable by requiring them to fund projects at three local nonprofit organizations: Speak for the Trees, HEET (the Home Energy Efficiency Team), and Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE).
John Solomon comes to CLF after 28 years handling litigation as an in-house attorney for General Electric Company. Before that John worked at Bingham, Dana & Gould in Boston. His first job out of college was in the San Francisco office of the EPA. John and Wendy live in Cotuit on Cape Cod and enjoy… Continue reading John Solomon, Esq.
