Guest Column: Warming, declining biodiversity is a real threat to Nashoba Valley and beyond
Record heat, winds, flooding, and wild fires. No one can deny that the predictions of the climate scientists are half wrong. Everything is happening sooner than they said.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report says humans are on a crash course to devastating warming, leading to insect explosion, crop failure and heat-related suffering. Species are being taken off the Endangered List because they are extinct.
Look around Lancaster and see the same as everywhere: Whole hillsides being clear cut. We take a walk to find ancient trees thoughtlessly chopped down. A proposal to have an area of environmental concern host a huge parking lot and dozens of trucks an hour driving next to our Town Forest. Warehouses popping up a few miles apart.
Even my Escalade-driving friend commented this week “Why didn’t we all drive hybrids 10 years ago?”
We are accelerating the extinction of many species. I wonder what we will be musing about in 10 years?
We all have to push our local, state and national governments to take real action, not half serious agreements to targets far away. Let’s all work to support this historic bill in Congress to phase out fossil fuels for clean energy solutions. Much more has been spent in wars overseas with wasteful defense contracts. The most effective solution is to introduce a carbon pollution fee – designed by Republicans - while preserving open space that supports wildlife and guess what? Cleaner air and better health are the byproducts.
Nashoba Valley Climate Coalition (NVCC), an informal group with a tiny band of volunteers, has been promoting its mission of 45% carbon reduction through a regional working together of towns: To install solar power, clean electric heat pumps among homeowners, switching to drive less and with hybrid or electric cars. We need micro grids that can withstand the more violent storms. Solutions are popping up every day in the news and stores, like electric lawn mowers.
There is an urgency: Massachusetts needs 100,000 homeowners to get off of gas and oil each year. Some of our own members burn thousands of dollars of heating oil. Green teams at our schools have a dozen students who run to other activities. But their future is now to take strong action and demand a transition away from the old dirty past and a green future.
NVCC engages every week on solutions: A new electric aggregation plan that has a higher renewal energy component and recycling thin film plastic. We want our town to abandon Styrofoam trays in the schools (really, we cannot wash reusable trays?). We work to install car chargers at the schools, need a food waste reduction program and encourage solar on our town buildings.
These times require us to step up and form a Sustainability Committee and hire a sustainability officer. We need to declare a climate emergency and look for regional cooperation with other towns.
As NVCC tries to get the word out, our signs and flowers have been stolen. But we will not be deterred. We need more energy, more volunteers and help. What are you waiting for? Contact us at nvclimatec@gmail.com and come to our hybrid\kick off meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 20.