BOSTON, Mass.—Mayor Martin J. Walsh recently announced that Boston will join the City Energy Project (CEP), a new venture with the Institute for Market Transformation, National Resources Defense Council, and ten cities (including Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, Houston, Kansas City, and others), to reduce energy usage and curb greenhouse gas emissions used by their cities’…
Turning Up the Heat on Coal Power in Massachusetts
SOMERSET, Mass.—Henry David Thoreau, that famous son of Massachusetts, famously wrote, “If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.” Climate activists across the commonwealth have been taking those words to heart. On 7 January 2013,…
The Costs of Coal
Camilo Viviero grew up in Somerset, Mass., in the shadow of two coal-fired power plants. “For years growing up, you would hear around midnight this air horn. That’s when they would send out the plumes of toxins. In the middle of the night, while we were sleeping,” he says. One of those plants was decommissioned…
Climate Refugees: Beyond Absolute Poverty
Sitting in Harvard Square on a cold day was “Grasshopper.” He has been homeless for 52 years straight! His wisdom hits home: “Our mother earth is drained and breaking. We do not have time to figure out who is right and wrong. We have to do something now. The conscious mind is almost ready….” Grasshopper…
Trash Tossing
Ah, this place called Earth. Stop for a minute. Look around you. Try to see your earthly surroundings as if through the eyes of a fascinated child. Bask in the majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains or stimulate and overwhelm your senses with the geologic colors and magnitude of the Grand Canyon; the lush splendor…
Extreme Weather: Expect More of It
Laura Kiesel Spare Change News On July 17th, the town of Arlington was besieged by a series of intense thunderstorms. That day, I was alone in my apartment in East Arlington when suddenly the wind picked up outside and began blowing hard through my cracked living room windows. A wall of water blasted against the…
It's Hotter for the Homeless
Laura Kiesel Spare Change News As the thermostat in Boston has been hovering close to or above 90 degrees most days lately, it is important to keep in mind the dangers of overexposure to heat. The impact is often underreported, but heat waves generally kill more than 400 annually in the United States, according to…
Down and out in Harvard Square: Warm weather brings return of homeless ‘travelers’
Tom Benner Spare Change News Maxine Brandeis came to Harvard Square for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks — because that’s where the money is. “The police are more tolerant of panhandling here than in other places we’ve been,” said Brandeis, 21, who is spending a few weeks in the Square with her 25-year-old…
Helping The Planet, Saving Money: Non-profit Helps Others Go Green
Jonah Comstock Spare Change News Tucked into the back corner of the modest kitchen, the Energy Star refrigerator still manages to dominate the room. It’s huge, it’s shiny, and it’s new the Cambridge Community Center near Central Square just purchased the unit in July. The new fridge, which will save $3,862 in energy costs and…
The Straight Story
Marc D. Goldfinger Spare Change News There are so many things going wrong right now in our country that I find it hard to begin because I am overwhelmed. Some of these flaws are worldwide and our country isn’t doing anything about it. Where do I start? Okay, for one, our species worldwide pushed 564…