Green Block Pioneers Celebrate the Year – and say “Join Us!”

In February, the Sheridan-Cranston-Termine Green Block celebrated its one year anniversary. “Green Block Captain” Judy Kolligian was inspired by the idea of neighbor-to-neighbor outreach and has become a Green Block pioneer by hosting numerous house parties and three Low Carbon Living groups. So far over a fifth of Judy’s neighbors have engaged in Green Block activities, from a worm and composting party to a Cuban food and movie night, and many have signed up for free home energy assessments with the Renew Boston program and taken other actions to live more sustainably. The group is now meeting monthly and planning an upcoming Spring Clean Out on April 30th with neighboring Paul Gore street.

In Fall 2010, the Gay Head Green Block was launched with a huge neighborhood party and Green Home Makeover at Irma Mejia’s house. Seventy-five volunteers partnered with experienced contractors to insulate her home and tell other folkd on the block about the importance of saving energy. Since then, the block has also hosted a Low Carbon Living group, as well as monthly block meetings that include do-it-yourself green demos, event planning, and discussions of neighborhood problems and dreams. They are organizing a Gay Head Garden Day on April 10th where they’ll help each other install gardens and do yard work, and are applying for funding for asphalt removal from yards and garden and orchard planting this fall. For more, go to the CoLab Gay Head blog here

Gay Head and Sheridan green block members are hoping that you’ll join them this spring and get involved in the Cool JP campaign as a block or individually. For more information, attend an upcoming Green Block event or contact BostonCAN at 857-544-6846.

Think Global, Act Local

A Community Climate Action Roundtable
Thursday, March 24, 6-8pm
Suffolk University, 73 Tremont Street, 1st floor, Boston

All politics are local, according to the sages, but many problems are global and hard to understand on the basis of lived evidence. How can we build a strong, grassroots climate movement when climate change is still so far off most people’s list of immediate concerns? And how can we end our nation’s fossil fuel addication without building a strong, grassroots movement that pulls our politicians out of the clutches of the carbon-ocracy?

Join BostonCAN and other area sustainability organizations as we discuss stories of successful collaboration between community-based organizations and national groups. Cindy Luppi from Clean Water Action will present on stopping coal power in eastern Mass. And Mela Bush from Greater Four Corners Action Coalition will present on improving mass transit in Dorchester.

We will have plenty of time for participants and representatives of other national and neighborhood-based sustainability organizations (such as Bikes not Bombs and Greenpeace) to discuss best practices for building effective partnerships between neighborhood-based groups and larger organizations to bring the global issues home and amplify grassroots voices.

Snacks provided. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Boston Climate Action Network and Suffolk University’s Sustainability Committee and The Moakley Institute.

Neighborhood Weatherization Skill-share

The federal government hasn’t cut carbon yet, so let’s do it ourselves!
The state’s energy efficiency programs don’t go far enough, so let’s show what savings are possible when air sealing is made a priority. Join a Codman Square neighborhood weatherization skill-share to take a practical step toward reducing Boston’s carbon footprint.

This house illustrates the common experience of residents who are told by Mass Save that there’s nothing the program can do to help because they’ve already got some insulation. There’s air sealing in the attic that’s needs to be done, more insulation could easily be added and there’s a ton of air passage into the basement and up through the balloon framing and the plumbing and wiring chases. And like all older Boston homes, a few rattling windows and gaping doors.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and see if we can’t reduce the draftiness of this home and send a message to MassSave that we must do better at reaching urban homes and those who are beyond the step of simply needing insulation.

Sunday, March 13 · 10:00am – 2:00pm
41 Brent St., Codman Sq, Dorchester

• Help to weatherize the home of two long-time community activists
• Learn skills you can take back to your own home
• Make new friends
• Share food and celebrate with neighbors

The work list includes:
• Sealing air leaks in basement
• Sealing air leaks in attic
• Make old windows less rattling and drafty with a few inexpensive fixes
• Weatherstipping doors

Sign up on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/march13skillshare or by calling: 857-544-6846

NStar Agrees To Community Process! — Shareholder Protest Cancelled

NStar agrees to community process to come up with solutions to Green Justice Coalition identified barriers.

BostonCAN has participated in the Green Justice Coalition campaign to improve MassSave for the past two years. Now that NStar needs DPU’s approval of their proposed merger with Northeast Utilities, we’re seeing fast progress in the company’s willingness to prove that they are listening to ratepayers’ concerns.

We had been planning a rally with hundreds of people calling for MassSave improvements but NStar has been so cooperative that our protest has been canceled! This is a huge win and I’m sure the fact that so many people were committed to coming out during the NStar shareholder meeting played a role in bringing NStar to take the progressive steps they have recently taken.

So raise a glass of your favorite beverage tonight and pledge to stay informed and active as BostonCAN continues to participate in the effort to reshape MassSave. You can learn more about this campaign on Sunday, March 13, during a neighborhood weatherization skillshare are 41 Brent St, Dorchester, the home of Mike Prokosch and Becky Pierce.

The Green Justice Coalition has made great progress in the past 2.5 years and, thanks to the hard work of all the member groups, we are at a place where NStar has made significant commitments to making sure the MassSave program reaches all our communities. Our coalition and others will be entering into what is being called a “charrette” process with the utility companies to come up with more effective ways to engage “hard to reach” populations. We will help them define these groups, identify the barriers they face, and find solutions.

In this process, and as we have for the past year, the Green Justice Coalition will be demanding:
• Equitable access to home weatherization for all ratepayers. Traditional outreach and marketing methods do not effectively reach low-income communities and people of color.
• Fair financing that will allow low- to moderate-income families to weatherize their homes.
• Access to weatherization program data so the programs can be evaluated independently.
• Good weatherization jobs that hire local residents, pay living wages with benefits, provide safe workplaces and career ladders.

Through testifying at the DPU, signing thousands of postcards, calling the CEO’s office, and mobilizing hundreds of community members to attend state meetings, community forums, and rallies, BostonCAN and our Green Justice Coalition allies have shown that our communities have the power to change the way enormous corporations do business.

Thanks for all of your good work and keep up the fight for good green jobs and better energy efficiency programs in our communities.