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Climate Action Task Force Meeting
October 21, 2023 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Your Climate Action Task Force is meeting next Saturday, October 21st from 3-4pm in the Children’s Chapel at FUUSN to discuss priority campaign(s) for this congregational year. You are more than welcome to join us. But if the timing is not convenient, feel free to let me know what your interests would be. Here are some of the campaigns we are considering for prioritization (we wouldn’t prioritize all – just one or two):
1. UUMass Action Climate Team is prioritizing the passage of an Environmental Justice Siting Bill that would prevent new polluting infrastructure from being sited in communities that already have a heavy load of pollution. This campaign would align us with fellow UUs across the state, and is consistent with our commitment to the 8th Principle to actively work to eliminate institutional racism.
2. 350Mass has a priority campaign to pass legislation to make Polluters Pay, to get the top fossil fuel companies to pay into a fund to help remediate the effects of climate change that are already happening.
3. There is an existing campaign to Stop the Expansion of the Hanscom Air Base which would lead to increased private jet traffic, which is the largest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions from air flights 
4. Another 350Mass priority that is also being prioritized by the Newton node of 350 is to Reform the Mass Save Program, which currently doesn’t effectively help homeowners to electrify and switch off of fossil fuels
4. Many Newton residents are involved in a campaign to Stop Gas Infrastructure Expansion, by asking Gov. Healy to stop further expansion of “natural” gas infrastructure in Massachusetts, and by reducing gas (methane) leaks in our local and statewide communities through the relining of gas pipes instead of wholesale replacement of the infrastructure.
5. In the near term, working to pass zoning reform in Newton would allow denser housing in our village centers and closer to public transportation.
6. There are other campaigns, including Stop the Money Pipeline, which targets the big banks that underwrite fossil fuel expansion, and reforming the electric grid operator called ISO-New England. If you have a campaign you’d like us to consider, please feel free to pass it along.
Also, if you would like our task force to provide educational zoom or in person meetings on a particular topic, let us know. Sometimes we can direct you to Green Newton, 350Mass or Mothers Out Front or another climate group for good info. But we can also try to bring good info here to FUUSN.