MA Local Climate Newsletter - August 2018

August 29, 2018
Welcome to the first edition of the Climate Leadership newsletter from the Massachusetts Sierra Club, with updates on local environmental, clean energy, and climate action from communities across the Commonwealth.
 
August 2018

CLIMATE LEADERSHIP NEWSLETTER
NOTES FROM MASSACHUSETTS CITIES AND TOWNS

Dear Supporter,

Welcome to the first edition of the Climate Leadership newsletter from the Massachusetts Sierra Club, with updates on local environmental, clean energy, and climate action from communities across the Commonwealth.
 

$14.7 million awarded in Green Communities grants across the state

Eighty municipalities in Massachusetts received over $14.7 million in Green Community grants to implement clean energy projects in the current round of funding awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). These clean energy leaders include Acton, Bedford, Chelmsford, Dalton, Dartmouth, Marshfield, Millbury, Natick, Springfield, Southborough, and Weymouth.

Projects funded include LED streetlights, energy conservation and management systems at municipal buildings, ventilation system upgrades, electric vehicle procurement, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Over 72% of Massachusetts residents across 210 towns and cities live in a designated Green Community. Click here to learn more about criteria to be designated a Green Community and receive funding.
Newton to have an all-electric sedan fleet by 2029​

Congratulations to the City of Newton for committing to replace all municipal sedans in its fleet with electric vehicles (EVs).  The city plans to add over 30 electric vehicles to its municipal fleet over the next ten years. Newton has installed EV chargers at three locations across the city and applied for four additional charging stations under the Eversource ‘Make Ready Program’, which provides funding for cities and towns to install publicly available charging infrastructure in their communities. The city will also create preferential designated parking spaces in city lots for electric vehicles and for electric vehicle car share programs.

Want to transition the municipal fleet in your community to electric vehicles? Check out the MassEVIP program for more information. Learn more about electric vehicles at ride and drive events across Massachusetts during National Drive Electric Week from September 8-16, 2018.
 
Greenfield City Council approves 100% renewable energy resolution

The Greenfield city council recently approved a resolution to fully transition from fossil fuel to 100% clean, renewable energy. This means that city projects related to building construction and retrofits, lighting, transportation, water delivery and waste management will be assessed with reference to reaching the goal of being 100% reliant on renewable energy sources.
 One of the first cities to adopt community choice energy, Greenfield will  continue to improve  the energy mix in its bulk electricity contracts by increasing the percentage of locally-produced renewable energy and promote energy use reduction programs such as MassSave for residents and businesses.

This resolution will reduce energy costs, increase energy security and climate resilience while promoting employment and economic opportunities. To learn more about Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign click here.
 
Haverhill passes plastic bag ban

Haverhill became the 81st municipality in the Commonwealth to ban single use plastic shopping bags. The law goes into effect in 90 days and includes a 5¢ fee on recyclable paper or reusable bags.

Less than 5% of the of plastic grocery bags are recycled which means that once they are discarded they continue to persist for 100s of years in our environment. With the statewide ban on plastic bags dropped from the Environmental Bond Bill this legislative session, local action is more important than ever. More information on designing and implementing bag laws is available here.
 
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How has your town or city acted to protect our air, water, lands, and public health?  Email Veena Dharmaraj at veena.dharmaraj@sierraclub.org to feature climate action updates from your community.