Editor’s Preface: Paola Massoli has been working as a research analyst on our advocacy team. Paola has a PhD In Atmospheric Science and is finishing up a master’s degree in Sustainability & Environment. Recently she has been thinking about lessons we might be able to learn from COVID-19 that could prepare us better to tackle the climate crisis.
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?
Have you been hearing from "green" electricity suppliers like CleanChoice Energy? You might want to support renewable energy, but are skeptical if your money will actually go toward shifting our electricity away from fossil fuels.
This is a valid concern, and (because of our awesome Green Powered electricity program) one we hear often. That's why we address it pretty regularly on our blog.
The lockdown imposed across Northern Italy in late February to block the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in a dramatic decrease of emissions in the Po Valley, historically one of the most polluted regions in Europe. The satellite images produced by the European Space Agency (ESA) show the tropospheric column levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a chemical tracer of fossil fuel burning - decreasing five-fold in the span of just 9 days.
Emissions from the New England power grid have fallen significantly in the last several years and that’s obviously a good thing. But it’s even better when we can see that the wholesale price of electric energy has been holding fairly steady during this period of environmental progress. The transition to clean energy is producing benefits at a lower cost than might have been projected several years ago.
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.
In his State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Baker committed Massachusetts to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Then three bills touted by Senate leadership as a “next generation climate package” were released from Senate Ways and Means to be debated and voted on before month’s end. From carbon reduction goals to transit electrification and robust energy efficiency, efforts to address climate change in Massachusetts took a couple of steps forward this week. Now comes the work of turning these commitments into climate action!
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.
Green Energy Consumers Alliance has made it a priority to encourage the adoption of electric buses. This illustration summarizes our motivation:
Here at Green Energy Consumers Alliance, we believe in practical ways for people to make green energy choices. You’re probably already aware that there are dozens of decisions you can make in your life to reduce your carbon footprint. But the carbon footprint of other people? As described in the news recently, it turns out that we can get others to act on climate by simply talking with them about it.
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