Kirstie Pecci is director of the zero waste project with Conservation Law Foundation. She says the MassDEP decision to expand the capacity of the landfill is especially egregious because the landfill doesn’t have a plastic liner.
“The Superior Court made it clear: the Baker Administration’s process for handling municipal harbor plans violates state law,” he went on. “Governor Baker’s decision to ignore Mayor Janey’s request further politicizes what is already a deeply flawed process that puts developer interests ahead of public access rights and the environment.”
Residents tell us of a stark contrast between lower-income neighborhoods and those of their wealthier neighbors: Trees. WIthout greenery, heat absorption by concrete is abundant.
“Maine can achieve a healthy Kennebec River that supports expanding fish populations and meets the needs of riverfront communities,” the environmental groups said in a joint statement. But such a future would be possible only if Brookfield agreed to work constructively with the state on how to fix fish passage issues, they said.
Henri must be a wake-up call for our community and for companies like Shell. We must confront the impacts of the climate crisis. Flooding and sea level rise are only going to get worse. Now is the time to prepare for these impacts and mitigate the potential damage, not after a neighborhood and iconic waterway are inundated with toxic chemicals.
In the decade since Irene, Vermonters have shown a tremendous capacity to rise to the challenge of becoming more resilient, just as we have in responding to the challenges of COVID. We cannot afford to lose pace. Adopting clear metrics for resilience and adaptation to accompany the Global Warming Solution Act’s emissions reductions targets would help ensure we are doing everything possible to slash our greenhouse gas pollution and create a climate-resilient Vermont.
“The waterfront really is — legally — supposed to be a resource for everyone’s enjoyment,” Moran told GBH News. “The last time around, [developers] really drove the conversation because they came to the table with, you know, pretty much a fully baked idea of what they wanted to do. That’s why we have a plan that’s focused on two individual parcels over a 42 acre-wide district,” she said. “I don’t want to see this redo be focused on responding to, or tweaking, the existing proposals. I think we really need to take a step back and take this opportunity to think outside the box — and think about what else is possible.”
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.
“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.
