ECA Mass October 2022 Newsletter

October 2022 Newsletter

In this Issue

Save the Date!
ECA Mass Legislative Team Report
Elders for Sound Democracy: What YOU Can Do Before Nov. 8
Local Membership Gatherings
Videos of Recent Meetings: Catch Up or Watch Again

Join us in welcoming STATE SENATOR CINDY CREEM to our monthly chapter meeting! Senator Creem - representing 1st Middlesex and Norfolk (Brookline, Newton and part of Wellesley) - is Majority Leader of the Senate, as well as the chair of the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change and vice chair of the Committee on Ethics. She was a core member of the conference committees negotiating the Clean Energy and Offshore Wind and Next Generation Roadmap laws this past session.

At our meeting we'll hear Senator Creem's:

Take-aways from the past legislative session
Updates on Beacon Hill re: leadership and priorities, and
Advice to us for the upcoming session (2023-24) about
Implementation of the climate/wind law's specific provisions
Issues needing legislation passed.

Come with your questions for Senator Creem and/or email them before October 11th to ECA member Dave Damm-Luhr ([email protected]). More information on Senator Creem: Twitter, Facebook, her website.

In the second half of the meeting, we'll hear from ECA's Paul Dryfoos about his work with ELDERS FOR SOUND DEMOCRACY (ESD) to empower voters for the 2022 Election, and what you still can do in these last weeks before November 8th. ECA's Michael Sales will tell us about the ESD Social Media team and the Go Vote selfie videos project. View one of Michael’s several selfie videos here. And, check out ESD's Social Media “How To” videos here. (Scroll down for related article below.)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 4-5:30 pm ET, Zoom

Deep Dialogue, ECA Mass Conversation Series

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83538742353?pwd=YUU5QU16VVlDMExOMmlPSWVwTG9xUT09

At this month's Deep Dialogue, members of the ECA Mass Research team will review the advantages of and concerns about nuclear power, in a presentation entitled "IS IT TIME TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT NUCLEAR POWER?"

As several well-known climate activists, including Bill McKibben, are speaking up in support of a role for nuclear power in decarbonizing the electric grid, and many states are considering nuclear, it may be time for us to take another close look.

Join us for an informative talk and discussion encompassing many points of view. Will it be lively? As always. Will it be stimulating? No doubt. Will it be provocative? Come join in, and you'll find out.

ECA Mass Legislative Team Report

While our state legislators are on the campaign trail, we are still looking for some action on an economic development bill that would provide funding for many of the programs and investments in the recently passed Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. We are hoping that House and Senate leaders will agree to call a formal session to take up a bill when and if it comes out of the conference committee where it currently sits. Without funding, many of the important measures in the wind/climate bill cannot move forward.

In the meantime the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has published its final version of the revised stretch energy building code and the specialized opt-in code. The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (TUE) has an opportunity to comment on the code and call a public hearing, but has no authority to require revisions. The specialized opt-in code requires that buildings 4000 square feet or larger must either be all electric or meet very stringent energy efficiency criteria, which some experts suggest will lead most builders to go all electric.

Our Legislative Team is calling on TUE to recommend that DOER allow all municipalities that would like to require all new construction and major rehabs to be all electric to be allowed to do that. If that is not possible, we are asking that the 4000-square-foot limit be reduced to 2000 square feet, so that more builders would likely choose to go all electric. We will be sending out an Action Alert to ask our members to ask their legislators to pressure TUE to address our concerns.

On the federal level, we joined hundreds of other environmental organizations in calling for an end to the deal that Senator Manchin made with Senator Schumer to trade federal permission for a pipeline he wanted and some other fossil fuel industry benefits for regulatory reform that would also benefit renewable energy projects. The legislation incorporating the deal was to be attached to the resolution required to continue funding for the government, so it would be hard to oppose even by those who did not support it.

Manchin did withdraw his bill. While this may be something of a victory for the climate movement, it could also mean that the regulatory reform needed to speed up approval of renewable energy and transmission line projects may not happen anytime soon. Ideally our federal legislators would find their way to a compromise less favorable to fossil fuel interests, but it is not clear that is a realistic possibility.

Your Legislative Team is planning two meetings devoted to review of our advocacy efforts during the last legislative session and setting priorities and strategies for the coming session. ECA Mass members possibly interested in becoming more engaged in advocacy are encouraged to attend one or both meetings. The first meeting is Friday, October 7 at 10:30 AM on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85116204087?pwd=RVErRTZaRmU4Y1JEdHorUkphdUxBQT09).

Elders for Sound Democracy

What YOU Still Can Do Before November 8th

Elders for Sound Democracy (ESD), a campaign of our parent organization, Elders Action Network, is moving into high gear in these last weeks before the November 8th midterm election. The goal right now is to reach as many potential voters as possible with information about how to vote. Your help will be key to the success of these high-impact outreach initiatives that are entirely volunteer-driven. Mark your calendar and join these two ESD “Take Action” meetings in the final run-up to the election:

“12 Things You Can Still Do to Empower Voters for the 2022 Election”

Wednesday, October 12 at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET

“Voter Empowerment Work-a-Thon”

Wednesday, October 19 at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET

Local Membership Gatherings

This fall ECA members have gathered locally in Acton, Belmont and soon in Brookline. We met for lunch and socializing at the Acton Arboretum and Irene Fairley’s home. And we will meet on October 10 at Seth Evans' home in Brookline for a burger barbecue with our Leadership Team.

It's been great to see each other, and the conversation has been lively about what we are doing at the local level. In the Acton gathering, Tom Amiro reviewed his experience at the Andover Sustainability Fair and showed off our new ECA Mass banner. Thank you, Tom. He is researching new clean energy sources for his house, and we discussed the problem of grid modernization. These topics could be good focus for upcoming chapter meetings or Deep Dialogues.

We don’t know what our upcoming schedule of in-person gatherings will be, but they will continue. We are experimenting with face-to-face gatherings in different locations, and it takes a local member in the area to kick off an event. Would you like to host one for members in your area? Let [email protected] know, and she'll work with you to bring your local group together in a convenient area venue.

We do expect our monthly chapter meetings and Deep Dialogues to continue on Zoom so all can gather from across the state.

Videos of Recent Meetings

Catch Up If You Missed Them

Or Watch Again

ECA Mass Chapter Meeting - 9/13/22 - Megan Herzog, Assistant Attorney General for Climate Change

The September chapter meeting guests were Megan Hertzog and Liz Anderson, both lawyers in the Environment and Energy Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General. After reassuring us that they will remain in their positions after the November elections, they answered many questions about the role of the Attorney General regarding the Next Generation Roadmap law and the new Clean Energy and Offshore Wind law, as well as oversight of environmental regulations and consumer protections. View the meeting video here.

Deep Dialogue: 9/19/22 - Dr. Ousmane Pame “Climate Action is a Global Imperative”

Dr. Ousmane Pame, founder of REDES Ecovillages (Senegal, West Africa), shared his personal stories and observations about its global and regional contexts as well as how its grassroots, community-based approach makes a difference on the ground. REDES Ecovillages’ projects address both ecological and socio-economic root issues of the global climate crisis. Dr. Pame gave compelling examples of such projects, including (1) pushing back the encroaching desert by developing a food forest and promoting regenerative agriculture; and (2) digging wells and channels to bring water to rural villages, thereby freeing women and girls for education and income generation.

Donations to REDES Ecovillages may be made here.

The video for this Deep Dialogue is here.

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.