Sustainable Braintree Community Meeting and March on Washington in April.

If you’ve been following the news from Washington over the last four months you know that there are some starkly different visions for the future of energy production and consumption in the United States that are playing out. Each of these visions have a direct impact on the health of our people, our planet and our economy.

One vision for the future is one in which all of our energy needs are met by clean, renewable sources such as solar and wind. In this future a whole new energy economy will be required to increase efficiency in our buildings, vehicles and our power grid, to implement large scale battery technology and of course to deploy massive amounts of solar panels, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies. Such a transformation will improve the health of our citizens through decreased air and water pollution and will combat the global warming that is the result of unchecked greenhouse gas emissions. Such a transformation will require a lot of work and that means a vast amount of highly skilled jobs.

Another vision for the future is one where we cling to the fossil fuel energy sources of the past such as coal, oil and ‘natural’ gas. In this vision we will see more pipelines and compressor stations forced upon communities that don’t want (or need) them; we will continue to see our air and water polluted by hydraulic gas fracturing, we will continue to see the strip-mining and mountaintop-removal that devastates our forests, other natural environments and the waterways that meander through them. This vision entails business as usual and the continued loss of jobs to automation and ‘efficiency’ to the benefit of corporate CEO’s.

Clearly, there is a group of individuals in power in Washington DC who prefer the latter vision to the former. Those individual are using short-sighted and often selfish logic to make a gamble on a long game and they are betting on a loser.

Those who have been following events in the rest of the world understand where the future of energy is really headed. China, once poised to drag down the planet in a cloud of carbon emissions, has also seen the vision for the future and have recently cancelled hundreds of planned coal fire power plants in favor of renewable energy. Another major developing economic power, India, is making similar commitments. Every other day it seems that a new European nation is either committing to or actually achieving major renewable energy milestones. It is clearer than ever where the world is headed. Fossil fuels are bad for people, the planet and, now, profits. If the United States turns its back on the future we run the risk of being stuck in the past with no hopes of catching up.

Studies from the last few years indicate that a majority of Americans support renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean water, clean air and protecting our natural resources. We do not wish to move backwards on our progress to date. We do not wish to be left behind, saddled with an outdated infrastructure and committed to a losing industry. We have the tools and technology to take care of our planet and create a new energy economy and we, the people, know it.

We at Sustainable Braintree are, therefore, seeking to reinvigorate our local efforts to do what is right by our planet, our community and our economy by hosting two events this month.

On Thursday, April 13 at 6:30 pm at the Thayer Public Library, we will host a discussion on the many ways that we can take action on climate change at the local, state and national levels. The evening’s events will feature speakers from Sustainable Braintree, Fore River Residents Against Compressor Stations (FRAACS) and the Mass Power Forward Coalition. The goals of this event is to empower Braintree residents with information and tactics, large and small, to help push our clean energy economy forward and move away from the fossil fuel economy of the past. Please join us and RSVP though our Facebook event.

On the evening of Friday, April 28 there will be a bus departing Braintree for Washington D.C. for the People’s Climate March which will occur on Saturday, April 29. This march will be a massive, peaceful demonstration and is aimed at showing our government, our fellow citizens and the rest of the world that we will resist any actions that do not move us forward in mitigating climate change and developing the clean energy economy. For tickets and other info please visit our Facebook event. You can also email michaelc@sustainablebraintree.org with any questions you might have.

To change everything, we need everyone. No effort is too small and we all have something to contribute.

By using our people power to send clear messages at all three of these levels (local, state and national) we can ensure if the United States as a whole does not look forward and invest in the future, Massachusetts and Braintree will!

www.sustainablebraintree.org