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Executive Director of Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which is celebrated worldwide to remind us of how important it is to take care of our planet.
In those days, it seemed like there was some awakening. A few months after the first Earth Day, Neil Young released the song, After the Gold Rush, with its great line – “Look at Mother Nature on the run / In the 1970s”. Activism, set to music, would surely result in long-lasting change, right?
All of our minds are on the virus itself and its impacts on the health of ourselves, our loves ones, and the economy. We are grieving for those who have passed on and worrying for those who are losing work. So it’s understandable if you’re not interested in thinking about energy at this time. But, if you are, please join this discussion of how the pandemic could change the ways we produce and consume energy.
Larry Chretien is the Executive Director at Green Energy Consumers Alliance.
We are pleased to release the second edition of our “Green Municipal Aggregation in Massachusetts” status report. A lot has happened in the field since our first edition in the spring of 2018 necessitating this update. If there is one key takeaway, it’s that GMA has proven to be a way to bring more renewable energy to communities affordably and equitably.
Recent developments cause us to say again that Massachusetts is not doing enough to protect consumers from electricity suppliers making deceptive claims about pricing and the greenness of their electricity.
Last week, Governor Raimondo signed Executive Order 20-01, Advancing 100% Renewable Energy Future for Rhode Island by 2030. The order came on the heels of particularly disconcerting assertions made in the same week by Speaker Mattiello about the limited impact that action taken in Rhode Island can have on the climate crisis overall.
If you’re motivated to learn more about what you can do about the climate crisis as a consumer and a citizen, and what lots of smart, committed activists are doing – then join us at our Fall Meeting, November 19th. This year, we're thrilled to welcome Kelsey Wirth, co-founder of Mothers Out Front, as our featured speaker.
We take great pride in the fact that we, along with a company called Good Energy, took the model of municipal aggregation (a.k.a. community choice energy) and made it truly green. We did so with our pioneer partners, the City of Melrose and the town of Dedham. In 2016, those communities used the buying power of their residents to secure an affordable electricity rate that includes more local renewable energy than required by state law. Since then, over a dozen communities have joined the movement and added more renewable energy to residents' electricity supply - most recently Medford, Bedford, and Rockland. Green Energy Consumers is proud to be providing that additional incremental amount of renewable energy.
This week, I’m headed to a conference in the Big Apple to talk about how we need to electrify transportation and heating. I looked at my options for getting there. Flying was the quickest, but emitted the most. And inspired in large part by 16-year old climate activist, Greta Thunberg, I couldn’t choose a plane. I thought about taking my wind powered Chevy Bolt, but I didn’t want to drive through the city and Brooklyn doesn’t need another car. So I will be on Amtrak. Maybe I’ll get some work done while riding. There’s a good chance I will nap.
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