Climate Change

Climate Change and the Future of History

By |

Not only does climate change threaten our (immediate) future, but it also puts our past at grave risk. Changing weather patterns and rising sea level present unprecedented challenges to safeguarding our historical resources, especially the Native American and historical archaeological sites and landscapes of the Boston Harbor Islands. Join us at Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain for a talk by Boston City Archaeologist Joseph Bagley about how climate change imperils what we can learn about the past. The possible demise of these irreplaceable historical resources, which include submerged Native sites and shipwrecks on the ancient harbor floor, is undeniable. Bagley will discuss efforts to document these sites before a climate-change catastrophe destroys them.

Activism

Art Workshop: Creative Climate Commitment with Susan Israel

By |

Susan Israel, AIA, LEED AP, President and Founder, Climate Creatives

Saturday, September 28, 9:30am–12:30pm
[Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building]

 

What will motivate you to do more about the climate crisis? Perhaps something fun and visible? What is preventing you from acting? Maybe fear, and lack of belief that your actions matter? Susan Israel founded Climate Creatives to use art and design that engages people in change because data alone doesn’t do it: behavioral change begins with an emotional commitment.

Arboretum

The Ethics of Species Conservation

By |

Rapid ecological change, and climate change in particular, poses challenges to traditional conservation paradigms and strategies. It has also led some conservationists to endorse novel conservation techniques, such as assisted colonization, gene drives and even de-extinction. This talk will explore the values and philosophies that underlie species conservation under conditions of rapid change. It will ask us to think about what is valuable about species and why we ought to try to conserve them. Ronald Sandler is the author of the following books: Environmental Ethics (2017, Oxford University Press), Food Ethics (2014, Routledge), The Ethics of Species (2012, Cambridge University Press), Ethics and Emerging Technologies (2013, Palgrave Macmillan), and Character and Environment (2007, Columbia University Press).

Opinion

Climate Change Legislation: Will Rep. Sánchez Go with Ambitious, or Tepid?

By |

Will the Massachusetts legislature act with boldness to address climate change? As the two-year legislative session comes to a close on July 31st, we will soon find out. As chair of the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means, Jamaica Plain Representative Jeffrey Sánchez is one of the most powerful politicians in the Commonwealth. In this role he will have a lot of influence over what happens. Massachusetts has long been considered a leader when it comes to climate change legislation.

2,544 Views
Climate Change

With Legislation Pending, Town Hall to Address Climate Change in JP on July 12

By |

Following a landmark 35-0 vote, the Massachusetts Senate passed a comprehensive climate bill on June 14 aimed to “promote a clean energy future.” Now the bill’s future lies in the hands of the Massachusetts House. The legislative session, and the bill’s chances for passage, end on July 31. Motivated by a sense of urgency for the Senate bill to pass the House before the current legislative session ends, local environmental activist groups Jamaica Plain Forum and 350 MA-Boston Node are organizing a Town Hall Forum with state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, D-15th Suffolk, who also chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means. Taking place at Unitarian Universalist Church on Eliot Street this Thursday, July 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm the town hall will aim to address Rep. Sánchez’s views on the MA Senate Climate Bill and his plans to get a MA House version passed before July 31. The bill includes two key provisions which will be a center of discussion at the Town Hall and are supported by organizers, and the JP-based group Boston Climate Action Network:

Raising the minimum amount of local renewable energy that Massachusetts utilities and competitive suppliers have to provide by three percent each year.

2,871 Views
Climate Change

Judith Schwartz: Solutions in Plain Sight ~ Climate & Beyond

By |

Judith D. Schwartz, author of Cows Save The Planet has published a new book called Water In Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World. Judith’s writing brings such insights to environmental challenges and climate change that challenge us to look at problems as solutions. Tony Eprille, a writer and photographer, uses Creative Seeing, to find environmental solutions that we might otherwise miss by assuming the future is craved in stone. Together they will share how to see the promise of restoring soil and enhancing our ecosystem’s health. Co-hosted with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate

 

Books

Todd Miller: “Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security”

By |

Join us to hear a bold and unified way, through the lens of climate change, to look at our immigration issues in America and internationally.Veteran Arizona border journalist Todd Miller has covered hot spots in the US and around the planet.  He has worked on immigration and border issues from both sides of the U.S. Mexico divide for organizations such as BorderLinks, Witness for Peace, and NACLA. His new book, Storming the Wall, investigates how the ecological crisis is creating millions climate refugees who are challenging the developed world’s borders and resources. Miller explores how a sense of threat in the United States is giving rise to high-tech surveillance fortresses and fueling calls for an ever-expanding border wall. This program is free and will serve light refreshments to all.

Activism

Pros and Cons of Assisted Plant Migration

By |

Climate change poses many challenges to plants that are adapted to particular environmental conditions. Conservation biologists ask: How best can we protect plant diversity in light of these challenges? Should we actively move plants or genes, protect land that enables plants to migrate on their own, or take other steps? Engage in a moderated, lively discussion based on provided readings and your own opinions.

From the Community
Photo of Bobby Wengronowitz (front), Shea Riester (middle), Martin Hamilton (back) in trench

Fracked Gas Protesters Lock Themselves in West Roxbury Pipeline Trench

By |

Six people locked themselves together at 9:50 a.m. Saturday to block two construction sites of Spectra Energy's West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline (WRL), which would bring fracked gas into Boston. Bound at the waist and ankles using chains and superglue, they aim to stop the project from endangering the community and disrupting the climate. While the pipeline goes through West Roxbury, not JP, the fight against has attracted many JP residents. They are demanding that Spectra Energy keep fracked gas in the ground and stop forcing the project through a community that overwhelmingly opposes the pipeline. Trevor Culhane said, “This pipeline would irresponsibly lock us into decades of climate pollution and community disruption.

1,912 Views
Environment

Mayor Hosts Earth Day Twitter Chat

By |

Follow and submit questions for my live #EarthDay twitter chat at 3PM today! Use #AskMJW pic.twitter.com/DZaoyN95E4— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) April 22, 2015

Do you have a question for Mayor Marty Walsh about the city's response to climate change? Want to quiz the city's chief of environment, energy and open space about sustainability? The two are hosting a chat on Twitter starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Use #AskMJW to ask questions and follow the chat.

1,627 Views