If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that essential communities like Chelsea and East Boston are continually put at environmental risk. We deserve better. We must invest in transit systems that serve Chelsea and East Boston riders affordably, reliably, and safely. Doing so will not only improve our ability to get around but will improve our public health and our climate.
“Public health must always be the primary concern,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste Project at CLF. “However, the scientific community has made it clear that the risk of transmitting the virus by touching a bag or bottle is almost nonexistent. Allowing reusable bags and resuming bottle deposits will keep tons of plastic out of landfills or incinerators and stop it from further polluting our land and air.”
A key step to saving Atlantic cod is protecting the mother fish that lay exponentially more eggs than their smaller, younger counterparts. Protecting area where these BOFFFFs, or Big Old Fat Fertile Female Fish, live and spawn is crucial to a healthy cod population.
“Nitrogen pollution is wreaking havoc on the Cape’s bays, beaches, and economy,” said Christopher Kilian, Vice President of Strategic Litigation at CLF. “These waters belong to all of us, and large sources must do their part to protect these precious resources. This proposed settlement will lead to a cleaner Wychmere Harbor and we’re happy to be working together with the resort to reach that goal.”
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities are not doing enough to protect public transit workers or their passengers. Stronger safety measures, including providing personal protective equipment and more frequent service on busy routes, must be implemented immediately – especially with stay-at-home directives beginning to ease.
Right now, our regional fishery managers have the opportunity to collect more accurate data by improving the at-sea monitoring program in New England’s groundfish fishery. This management action, called Amendment 23, can help put Atlantic cod on a path to recovery.
“The 2021+ Board will need the flexibility to issue its own debt, independent of the secretary or the governor at the time,” the groups wrote. “There may be times when the priorities of the public transportation authority and the administration differ. At these times, an independent governing body must be allowed to do what is right for the MBTA and its riders, despite the political ramifications for an administration.”
ExxonMobil’s climate neglect puts local communities in danger.
“It’s an historic moment in which we’ve seen the decline and impending demise of coal, as renewables nationally and within this region have surpassed it, both in the numbers of generating plants, but also, more importantly, how much power they’re generating on a daily basis,” said Greg Cunningham, vice president and director of the Clean Energy and Climate Change Program at the Conservation Law Foundation.
Even as we mourn the lives lost to COVID-19 and absorb the heavy toll it has taken on our economy, we must recognize that the old “normal” left too many communities unhealthy and especially vulnerable to the pandemic. Replicating that old “normal” will squander an opportunity to reduce climate danger while building healthier and more just communities for all.
