Hey, there! Log in / Register

Mayoral roundup: Connolly says we need to pull a Bloomberg on climate change

With an environment-focused forum today (WBUR reports), several candidates announced proposals dealing with environmental, energy and climate-change issues.

John Connolly released an environmental blueprint, which includes installing enough solar panels to generate 100 MW of power by 2020, dramatically boost recycling and decrease landfill use, promote energy-saving programs in Boston homes. Also:

While we should never see climate adaptation as an excuse not to be aggressive on mitigation, we do have to fully prepare for climate change's impacts. That's why I also propose convening a panel of climate scientists, civil engineers, and other leading experts to do for the Boston area what Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled for New York City: a sweeping, detailed plan to examine our critical infrastructure and offer concrete recommendations for changes we must make to become more resilient.

Connolly also announced that Ian Bowles, a former state secretary of energy and environmental affairs - and current JP resident - has joined his campaign as a senior advisor.

Rob Consalvo "will only appoint a director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority who has experience with the impact of climate change and the expansion of alternative energy on development." He'd also pledge to make the city carbon neutral by 2050, ensure Hubway stations in every neighborhood and expand the T. More.

Dan Conley called for a 50% reduction in local air pollution, a city program to help Bostonians pay to switch to renewable energy.

The air pollution coming out of Boston Harbor isn't just an environmental issue. It's a health issue that affects us all, but falls especially hard on the residents of East Boston, South Boston, and Dorchester that are closest to the Bay. Asthma disproportionately affects African-Americans, Latinos, and our city's poorest communities.

Felix Arroyo wants the city to sell off any investments in fossil-fuel companies.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

They could start with buses and detail cops. It is shocking how much pollution is attributable to this. There is also a clear financial benefit to the pubic in terms of gas savings.

up
Voting closed 0

When I spent a lot of time in JP, I saw people routinely throw out all their recyclables and toss trash out their windows. But I never heard of or saw anyone get a ticket for these offenses. New York does a pretty good job of ticketing, or at least they did when I still lived there. To the north, Halifax has integrated food composting into their waste plan and the city is apparently very strict about enforcement.

up
Voting closed 0

The Globe surveyed the candidates and the vast majority just could not shut up about helmets and "enforcement" against cyclists. Oh, and some of them want to collect more statistics and "study" the problem more.

The city compiles a report about safety, finds that SURPRISE red light running doesn't cause many injuries at all, especially not compared to people "not seeing" cyclists (aka not paying attention) and dooring them....and it's like the report never happened.

Why should we study cyclist injuries and deaths when politicians are ignoring the existing data and reports? They're just pandering to the driving majority for votes.

up
Voting closed 0

...so now you know whom you should vote for!

up
Voting closed 0

''The air pollution coming out of Boston Harbor isn't just an environmental issue. It's a health issue that affects us all, but falls especially hard on the residents of East Boston, South Boston, and Dorchester that are closest to the Bay. Asthma disproportionately affects African-Americans, Latinos, and our city's poorest communities.''

Its all about getting votes. What about the poor other groups of people that lived in the same area years back , when they burned coal for power and heating the house, ( and had to shovel that same coal into the furnace, and take out the barrels of ashes too ) ?

Just like the Cape Wind project with the electricity, the politicians stick their hand into the pot and interfere with the nuts and bolts, to skew the costs and deflect the real intent of the project. Let the MIT'ers invent the things , let the private sector apply the inventions to market , and let the politicians stop betraying the trust of the taxpayers and / or the voters. And with respect to trash recycling ,pay as you throw , and if you dont , chain gangs picking up trash on the side of the road , and not wearing the iPods or twixting on the iGadgets !

up
Voting closed 0

'Asthma' disproportionately allows able bodied people with poor job prospects to avoid the indignity of having to work for minimum wage with a disability check.

up
Voting closed 0

How is the Harbor a source of air pollution?

I'm sure someone her could explain it to me, but how does water generate anything that would cause pollution?

This is not to say that East Boston, South Boston, and/or Dorchester are not affected by air pollution, but I would imagine that vehicles would be much worse than water.

up
Voting closed 0

And I assumed after some thought that he is referring to the exhaust from the boats/ships - probably mostly large diesel engines.

up
Voting closed 0

Seaborne and rail freight has a fraction of the pollution of air and truck freight.

up
Voting closed 0

Yes - Ocean and rail are very efficient means of transit - but I wouldn't want to live next to a large rail yard with 100 diesel locomotives spitting fumes all day long. Again - I'm not sure -but I think he's talking about the exhaust from the boats and as East Boston below points out - the planes as well at Logan may be included in what appears to be high particulate readings of some kind around the harbor. It was an odd phrasing - but that's the only thing I can think of as I don't think any kind of pollution is emanating from the water itself.

up
Voting closed 0

Ships are going up Chelsea Creek all the time. Big ones. However, those boats are nothing compared to Logan.

South Boston, maybe. Dorchester? We're talking pleasure craft and a ways from the population. I cannot imagine that a Boston Whaler is causing more asthma than a GMC truck, and there are a lot more of those in Dorchester than there are boats.

up
Voting closed 0

I used to live on lower Broadway in Chelsea and my windowsills developed this nasty grey dust every summer when the windows were open. I'm not sure what the pollution came from but I'm sure none of this helps, and it all affects East Boston just the same.

up
Voting closed 0

Maybe Deer island sprung a leak? They spent billions cleaning up the harbor. Does this guy want more dough for that too? It looked pretty good to me yesterday, cant even tell there were boat yards and nike missle sites there at one time , in some of the places that there were once some. Looking good , harbor , looking good !

up
Voting closed 0

Perhaps a tiny issue, but in addition to the idling vehicle problem, I can't tell you how many idling and empty cars I have seen while running in Roslindale and Hyde Park in the early morning hours. I understand, when it is 10 degrees outside, it's nice to get the car started and let it warm up so you don't have to sit on cold seats, but we all did pretty well for decades before these remote starters were introduced and now people are just plain lazy, sitting in their apartments while their cars idle on the street belching pollution and burning gas.

up
Voting closed 0

Although many of the environmental proposals now being made by politicians at the level of city government are really pie in the sky, promoting energy efficiency and retrofitting is not, and is something that would make a huge difference. Considering that many energy efficiency programs are already financed through the utility companies by state law, one thing that City government could do would be to simply advertise their existence and help facilitate people actually taking advantage of them. Having gone through the process of insullating a home and retrofitting a heating system through these programs, I can say that one of the chief obstacles is simply the application process. Having a small staff within the City government dedicated to helping homeowners and businesses navigate the process would be a low cost measure that could have real effects.

up
Voting closed 0

up
Voting closed 0

How about improving mass transit?

I'd like to see a candidate with a proposal to make the Green Line and local buses not suck as much, so you could get from the western or southern parts of the city to downtown in less than an hour.

up
Voting closed 0

Someone hates Marty Walsh in Cucktown. Things are going to get nasty. Who are these people supporting?

https://twitter.com/WorkingManRadio

up
Voting closed 0

it sucks - if you're going by the books it's a several month review process to change a light fixture. the absolute last thing we need is anything resembling the kafka-esque NYC building permit review process. stretch code is better.

energy audits - we'll all learn that the big glass buildings are the biggest consumers of energy.

Connolly is claiming he led the city's adoption of the STATE's stretch code that pretty much everyone is doing anyway? big whoop.

and urban agriculture doesn't really have anything to do with climate change - in fact, it's more energy intensive to produce crops in the city - it's really mostly good for education tied to health issues.

Conley is right that diesel-burning cargo ships cause a lot of pollution - but aside from forcing massport to make plug-ins for ships at the port instead of them running their engines - is this really something Boston can do? seems like a federal issue. it's far easier to grapple with exhaust from diesel-burning motor vehicles using city roads- Dublin Ireland has banned semi-trailers from the city center (goods are distributed by smaller trucks) - partly out of pedestrian and cyclist safety, but it also had the effect of reducing pollution and produces much less wear and tear on city streets... so - he could kill two birds with one stone. I worry about Conley's commitment to bike infrastructure - someone who wants to push mandatory helmet laws clearly doesn't give a crap about creating more off-street paths.

up
Voting closed 0

I would love banning tractor trailers from the inner-city streets in favor of smaller vans & maybe even metro pedal power type services. It would make riding, walking and driving in the city a lot more friendly.

up
Voting closed 0

+1000

up
Voting closed 0