Mass. petition signers ask for curb on use of bee-killing pesticides

— ecoRI News photo

From ecoRI News (ecori.org)

Environment Massachusetts recently delivered a petition signed by 20,000 residents asking state officials to restrict the use of bee-killing pesticides known as neonicotinoids.

“A world without bees would mean a world without many of our favorite summer foods,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts. “People are speaking out to save our pollinators.”

Across the country, millions of bees are dying and bee colonies are in distress because of a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, according to Hellerstein. While many factors are implicated in colony collapse disorder, one cause is the increased use of neonicotinoid insecticides, also known as neonics.

The petition asked state officials to restrict the use of neonics. Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, and Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, have filed bills (H.763 and S.463) to reduce the use of these pesticides.

“Virtually every one of my colleagues in the Legislature has heard from residents who understand the gravity and urgency of the threats to pollinator health,” Dykema said. “This is thanks to grassroots advocacy from students, beekeepers, scientists, farmers, and thousands of concerned citizens across Massachusetts who care about our environment, our food supply, and our bees.”

"Having fewer bees to pollinate our crops will have a catastrophic impact on our food supply and damage local economies,” Eldridge said.

Bees pollinate 71 of the 100 most common food crops in the world, including apples, pumpkins, cranberries and blueberries. Officials in Maryland, Connecticut, and Vermont have passed laws to reduce neonicotinoid use.

“Every few weeks we see another peer-reviewed study supporting restrictions on neonics,” said Marty Dagoberto, policy director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s Massachusetts chapter. ““There’s no justification to keep these toxic chemicals on store shelves for untrained consumers. It’s time for the legislature to restrict use to licensed and trained pesticide applicators.”

Mass. companies continue to produce major water pollution

Via ecoRI News (ecori.org)

Industrial facilities dumped excessive pollution into Massachusetts waterways 124 times over 21 months, according to a new report by Environment Massachusetts.

“All of Massachusetts’s rivers and streams should be clean for swimming, drinking water, and wildlife,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts. “But industrial polluters are still dumping chemicals that threaten our health and environment, and no one is holding them accountable."

The report, "Troubled Waters: Industrial Pollution Still Threatens American Waterways,'' comes as the Trump administration tries to weaken clean water protections and slash enforcement funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In reviewing Clean Water Act compliance data from January 2016 through September 2017, the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group found that major industrial facilities are regularly dumping pollution beyond legal limits set to protect human health and the environment, in Massachusetts and across the country.

“In thousands of instances, industrial facilities have released more pollution than they were permitted to, but that is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Elizabeth Berg, a policy associate with Frontier Group and one of the authors of the report. “Many facilities have further violated the Clean Water Act by failing inspections, or filing incomplete reports. Our waterways simply need better protection.”

For example, the report found that the Texas Instruments facility in Attleboro, Mass., poured pollutants in excess of its permit limits 13 times into Coopers Pond, including one violation more than 500 percent beyond its permit limits.  Wyman-Gordon Co. in North Grafton also exceeded its permit 13 times.

The 10 states with the most exceedances reported by major industrial facilities. (Environment Massachusetts)

"Our rivers and streams are where we go fishing, swimming and boating ... as well as the source of drinking water for many communities,” said Gabby Queenan, policy director for the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance. “At the local, state and federal level, we must do a better job of protecting these essential public resources.”

Over that 21-month period from January 2016 to September 2017, major U.S. industrial facilities released pollution that exceeded the levels allowed under their Clean Water Act permits 8,148 times, according to the 70-page report.

The report also found that during about one-third of exceedances — more than 2,600 times in total — pollutants were being added to waters that were already too polluted for uses such as recreation, fishing or drinking water, hindering efforts to restore them.

Three-quarters of facilities that exceeded their discharge permit limits did so more than once. These polluters seldom faced fines or penalties. Each year from 2011 to 2017, an average of 27,849 facilities were non-compliant across the country, while an average of 13,076, less than half, faced any EPA or state enforcement action.

In Mass., striving for 100 percent renewable energy

Via ecoRI News

ecor.org

BOSTON

The nation can move quickly to generate 100 percent of its energy from renewable resources such as solar and wind, according to a panel of researchers and experts who spoke Nov. 14 at Old South Church to an audience of about 200 people.

“America needs to shift to 100 percent renewable energy to address our largest environmental challenges,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center. “At a time of great uncertainty over our national climate and energy policy, it’s more important than ever before for Massachusetts to lead the way towards 100 percent renewable energy. Now is the time for bold action, not half steps.”

Experts in the fields of public health, urban sustainability, renewable-energy technology and the electric utility sector spoke at “The Road to 100 Percent: Opportunities and Challenges in the Transition to a Fully Renewable Energy Society” — a town hall event organized by the Environment Massachusetts and co-sponsored by several other environmental and health organizations.

The discussion is one of more than 50 events held across the country during the week of Nov. 14 for the “100% Committed, 100% Renewable Week of Action.” The week of action is sponsored by Environment America, the national partner of Environment Massachusetts.

“The road to 100 percent renewable is finally achievable because of a confluence of lower prices for solar and wind and increasingly greater access to all electric transportation,” said Sanjeev Mukerjee, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern University and faculty director of the Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology. “Massachusetts has to make proper policy decisions which incentivize decentralized power, higher subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles and higher spending on public transportation. In all of these, energy storage is the key. Massachusetts can set the national clean-energy agenda by providing the proper basis for success in this arena.”

Jonathan Buonocore, Ph.D., program lead for Climate, Energy and Health at Harvard’s  T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said, “While we often think about averting climate change when we think about renewable energy, getting energy from fossil fuels has many other social costs. Air pollution from fossil-fueled electricity is responsible for around 21,000 deaths each year, and there are other impacts, including water pollution, land disruption, and accidents, to name a few.”

Earlier this year, Environment Massachusetts released We Have the Power, a report that reviewed seven studies from academics, government agencies and nonprofits showing that there are no insurmountable technological or economic barriers to achieving 100 percent renewable energy.

“We need to fuel the nation with renewable energy. The technology exists, and the benefits go far beyond just reducing carbon,” said Robert Dostis, vice president of Green Mountain Power. “Energy transformation is an economic driver, creating jobs and fueling a new green economy. Utilities are especially positioned to achieve an energy transformation that reduces costs and carbon while increasing reliability and resilience — a critical focus in light of a changing climate.”

Advocates argued that one of the ways Massachusetts can accelerate the transition to 100 percent renewable energy is by strengthening the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program that limits carbon pollution from power plants in Massachusetts and eight other northeastern states, including Rhode Island. Environment Massachusetts is urging Gov. Charlie Baker to double the pace of renewable-energy progress under the regional initiative.

San Diego, Aspen, Colo., and Greensburg, Kan., are among the cities that have pledged to achieve 100 percent renewable energy. Hampshire College in Amherst will soon become the first residential college in the United States to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from on-campus solar installations.

This past summer Environment Massachusetts profiled 17 cities and towns in Massachusetts, including New Bedford and Worcester, that are leading the way toward 100 percent renewable energy.

Tim Faulkner: Mass. solar-power effort may face slowdown

for ecoRI News

Massachusetts ranks among the best in the country for solar energy, but there is increasing concern that Gov. Charlie Baker is hampering progress.

“Massachusetts is a national leader for solar power, but inaction by our state’s leaders is threatening to change that,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for the environmental advocacy group Environment Massachusetts.

A recent report released by the organization, “Lighting the Way III: The Top States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2014,” ranked Massachusetts fourth in the nation last year for new solar capacity per capita. Solar capacity is the maximum amount of electricity a solar panel can generate.

For more than a year, however, the industry has seen its key program, net metering, threatened, as demand for solar-energy installations has far exceeded the electric limits set by the state and the electric utility.

These caps were raised several times during former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration as stopgap compromises. But Baker is less open to resume the current cap after the limit was reached in March. In all, 171 communities served by National Grid have hit the limit.

However, Baker introduced a bill last month to increase the caps, but the legislation would slow the industry by making it harder for renters and residents of low-income communities to access the benefits of solar power, according Environment Massachusetts.

“The Governor’s bill would significantly reduce the compensation that many types of solar projects receive under net metering,” the organization wrote in a prepared statement.

Dan Berwick of solar installer Berrego Solar, based in Lowell, wrote in a blog post that the bill has short-term benefits. However, he also wrote that its net-excess proposal wouldn’t allow net-metering systems to bank electricity production from one month to another, a provision that “would undermine the fundamental structure of net metering that has led to its adoption in 44 states, and move Massachusetts from the front of the pack to the back in terms of net-metering policy.”

A report released in June by GTM Research predicts that the solar sector in Massachusetts will drop 1.3 percent this year because of regulatory uncertainty.

The state has experienced dramatic growth, reaching its best year in 2014 by installing 308 megawatts of new solar capacity. The Bay State’s entire mix of policies has increased solar-sector jobs to more than 12,000, with an average 127 percent growth per year between 2010 and 2013, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

“But without prompt action to lift the net-metering caps, we'll see a major slowdown in solar power,” said John Livermore, marketing and outreach director for the Woburn-based solar installer Boston Solar.

“The net-metering limits are killing hundreds of solar projects across Massachusetts,” said Lisa Podgurski, manager of business development for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103.

Fees are also a concern. While Massachusetts hasn’t added monthly costs to homes and businesses with solar panels, Arizona has done so. The fees have been blamed for cutting solar demand in Arizona, prompting it to fall from first to eighth place last year in new solar capacity.

The Environment Massachusetts report concluded that New York and Texas have strong solar sectors, although for different reasons. New York’s growth is credited to strong state policies, while Texas has poor state policies but strong municipal incentives in cities such as San Antonio and Austin.

Here are some interesting facts and figures from that report:

California, Hawaii and Arizona get more than 5 percent of their electricity from solar power.

Nine of the top 10 solar states have the Property Accessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program.

Connecticut ranked 10th in new solar electricity installed per capita in 2014.

Vermont and Hawaii have the strongest renewable electricity standards, which is the amount of “green” energy that comes from an electric socket. Hawaii has a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045; Vermont has a goal of 75 percent after 2032.

The American Legislative Exchange Council has helped state lawmakers across the country introduce 20 bills to repeal local renewable electricity standards.

U.S. solar capacity has grown 700 percent since 2010. During that time, the cost of generating solar power has dropped from 21.4 cents per kilowatt-hour to 11.2 cents.

Celebrating water protection in N.E.

A stretch of the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts.

From ecoRI News.

BOSTON

At a spot overlooking Boston Harbor, once choked with toxic pollution but now home to some of the cleanest urban beaches in the United States, advocates gathered July 1 to thank the Obama administration for closing loopholes in the Clean Water Act that previously left more than half of Massachusetts’s streams at risk of pollution.

“We’ve made so much progress in cleaning up our waterways, and we can’t afford to turn back the clock,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts. “The EPA’s Clean Water Rule will make a big difference in protecting Boston Harbor, the Charles River and all of the waterways we love.”

The Clean Water Rule, finalized in late May, clarifies federal protections for waterways following confusion over jurisdiction created by Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006. It restores Clean Water Act protections to thousands of miles of streams that feed into waterways that provide drinking water for millions.

“In New England, protecting our water is more important than ever, especially as we work to adapt to climate-change impacts such as sea-level rise and stronger storms,” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Curt Spalding said. “Protecting the most vulnerable streams and wetlands — a drinking-water resource for one in three Americans — helps our communities, and this rule provides clarity for businesses and industry without creating new permitting requirements.”

Before the Clean Water Rule became law, small streams, headwaters and certain wetlands were in a perilous legal limbo, allowing polluters and developers to dump into them or destroy them in many cases without a permit. In a four-year period following the rule’s creation, the EPA had to drop more than 1,500 cases against polluters, according to one analysis by The New York Times.

Prior to the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, Massachusetts waterways suffered from decades of pollution and neglect. As late as the 1980s, untreated sewage was regularly dumped into Boston Harbor, and high concentrations of industrial pollutants posed a public-health risk.

The Clean Water Act prompted a major cleanup of the harbor. Today, Boston boasts some of the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, and wildlife habitat has significantly improved, according to Environment Massachusetts.

Advocates pointed out that the Clean Water Act has enabled similar improvements in water quality in many of the state’s most iconic waterways, from the Charles River to the Connecticut River.

Despite broad public support for clean-water protections, polluting industries and some members of Congress are fighting to block implementation of the Clean Water Rule. In recent weeks, congressional committees have approved multiple bills aimed at rolling back the Clean Water Rule.

Boston becoming a solar Hub

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From ecoRI News

BOSTON

The city has more solar energy per capita than most other major cities in the Northeast, besting New York and Philadelphia by a wide margin, according to a recently released report from Environment Massachusetts.

“For years, state and city officials have championed the growth of solar energy,” said Ben Hellerstein, campaign organizer with Environment Massachusetts. “Now, Massachusetts has a booming solar industry that is slashing the state’s carbon emissions, reducing energy costs and creating thousands of local jobs.”

The report, entitled “Shining Cities: Harnessing the Benefits of Solar Energy in America,” ranks Boston fourth in per-capita installed solar capacity in the Northeast, with more than three times as much solar per person as New York or Philadelphia. Among the 64 major U.S. cities included in the report, Boston ranks 20th for the total amount of solar installed within city limits, far ahead of cities such as Houston, Miami and Tampa.

Solar energy has grown by an average of 127 percent annually in Massachusetts over the past three years, according to the 62-page report, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and curbing other forms of air pollution. In 2014, Massachusetts installed enough solar capacity to power 50,000 homes with clean energy, according to the report.

Through its Renew Boston program, the city has made it easier and cheaper for residents, businesses and organizations to go solar, with a goal of installing an additional 10 megawatts of solar energy by 2020. Last year, Boston and Cambridge launched the Race to Solar, a partnership aimed at bringing solar power to more nonprofits and small businesses.

The City  of Boston also has an online solar map, in partnership with Mapdwell, a Boston-based  MIT spin-off. This map provides residents and businesses accurate and accessible information about going solar. The tool has mapped all 127,000 buildings in Boston for their solar potential and found that Boston has the potential for 2.2 gigawatts of solar power.

“With some of the best incentives in the country, solar makes sense in Boston,” said Austin Blackmon, the city’s chief of environment, energy and open space.

Strong state-level solar policies have played an important role in fostering the growth of solar energy in Boston and across the state, according to Environment Massachusetts.

The state’s net-metering policy allows solar panel owners to receive fair compensation for the electricity they provide to the grid, Hellerstein said. Community shared solar projects are helping many families to access the benefits of solar energy, even if they rent their home or their roof can’t accommodate a solar installation.

The Levedo Building, in Dorchester, and the Old Colony Housing Project, in South Boston,  are among the affordable housing developments that have installed rooftop solar panels.

“Solar power makes sense for a low-income community like Codman Square: It helps to lower resident energy costs, helps residents stay in place in their homes, and protects resident health by reducing air pollution, all while helping the city reach its climate-change goals,” said Gail Latimore, executive director of the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. “The Levedo Building, generates about 25 percent of its total electric consumption from a rooftop solar installation.”

Current legislation places a cap on the amount of solar power eligible for net metering, and the limit for solar projects in the National Grid service territory was recently hit, Hellerstein said.

Last month, some 120 supporters of solar energy, including advocattes for low-income  people,  business leaders, public-health advocates environmental activists, gathered at the Statehouse to ask state officials to take immediate action to raise the net-metering caps. Supporters also delivered letters signed by more than 350 municipal officials and more than 560 small-business leaders asking Gov. Charlie Baker to set a goal of generating 20 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity from solar by 2025.

The state’s solar industry now supports more than 12,000 jobs, according to Environment Massachusetts. More people work in the solar industry in Massachusetts than in any other state except California.

BOSTON

The city has more solar energy per capita than most other major cities in the Northeast, besting New York and Philadelphia by a wide margin, according to a recently released report from Environment Massachusetts.

“For years, state and city officials have championed the growth of solar energy,” said Ben Hellerstein, campaign organizer with Environment Massachusetts. “Now, Massachusetts has a booming solar industry that is slashing the state’s carbon emissions, reducing energy costs and creating thousands of local jobs.”

The report, entitled “Shining Cities: Harnessing the Benefits of Solar Energy in America,” ranks Boston fourth in per-capita installed solar capacity in the Northeast, with more than three times as much solar per person as New York or Philadelphia. Among the 64 major U.S. cities included in the report, Boston ranks 20th for the total amount of solar installed within city limits, far ahead of cities such as Houston, Miami and Tampa.

Solar energy has grown by an average of 127 percent annually in Massachusetts over the past three years, according to the 62-page report, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and curbing other forms of air pollution. In 2014, Massachusetts installed enough solar capacity to power 50,000 homes with clean energy, according to the report.

Through its Renew Boston program, the city has made it easier and cheaper for residents, businesses and organizations to go solar, with a goal of installing an additional 10 megawatts of solar energy by 2020. Last year, Boston and Cambridge launched the Race to Solar, a partnership aimed at bringing solar power to more nonprofits and small businesses.

The City  of Boston also has an online solar map, in partnership with Mapdwell, a Boston-based  MIT spin-off. This map provides residents and businesses accurate and accessible information about going solar. The tool has mapped all 127,000 buildings in Boston for their solar potential and found that Boston has the potential for 2.2 gigawatts of solar power.

“With some of the best incentives in the country, solar makes sense in Boston,” said Austin Blackmon, the city’s chief of environment, energy and open space.

Strong state-level solar policies have played an important role in fostering the growth of solar energy in Boston and across the state, according to Environment Massachusetts.

The state’s net-metering policy allows solar panel owners to receive fair compensation for the electricity they provide to the grid, Hellerstein said. Community shared solar projects are helping many families to access the benefits of solar energy, even if they rent their home or their roof can’t accommodate a solar installation.

The Levedo Building, in Dorchester, and the Old Colony Housing Project, in South Boston,  are among the affordable housing developments that have installed rooftop solar panels.

“Solar power makes sense for a low-income community like Codman Square: It helps to lower resident energy costs, helps residents stay in place in their homes, and protects resident health by reducing air pollution, all while helping the city reach its climate-change goals,” said Gail Latimore, executive director of the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. “The Levedo Building, generates about 25 percent of its total electric consumption from a rooftop solar installation.”

Current legislation places a cap on the amount of solar power eligible for net metering, and the limit for solar projects in the National Grid service territory was recently hit, Hellerstein said.

Last month, some 120 supporters of solar energy, including advocattes for low-income  people,  business leaders, public-health advocates environmental activists, gathered at the Statehouse to ask state officials to take immediate action to raise the net-metering caps. Supporters also delivered letters signed by more than 350 municipal officials and more than 560 small-business leaders asking Gov. Charlie Baker to set a goal of generating 20 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity from solar by 2025.

The state’s solar industry now supports more than 12,000 jobs, according to Environment Massachusetts. More people work in the solar industry in Massachusetts than in any other state except California.