Dear Legislators, Why we need H2810, An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions
As a mother, educator and an environmental health advocate, I support putting a price on carbon pollution because I am alarmed at the increasing frequency and intensity of weather disasters and ecological breakdown and what it means for my children.
H2810 will create a system of true accountability to reduce the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis.
In 1962, Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, taught us that our health and the economic security of our families depend on the quality of our environment. And she warned that chemical manufacturers were indifferent to the death and destruction caused by their assault on nature, by their unbridled use of toxic chemicals.
Today, the fossil fuel industry is like the corporate interests that conducted an orchestrated campaign to discredit Carson’s evidence and dismiss her call for responsible stewardship.
Like the long list of corrupt manufacturers and marketers of tobacco, of chemicals such as pesticides, plastics and flame retardants, and even vehicle emission controls, the fossil fuel industry has deliberately cheated, lied, bamboozled, defrauded and polluted our communities.
They are dedicated to circumventing regulations that protect air and water. They continuously lobby to weaken health and safety standards. They fight to usurp our right to know and our right to be safe. We can no longer afford the subsidies and giveaways to the carbon-based energy interests that are leading to climate disaster.
By establishing a fee on carbon, H2810 would create an enlightened partnership among legislators, businesses, municipalities and citizens throughout the Commonwealth. H2810 will advance a clean green local energy industry based on energy efficiency and local renewables. It is a fair, innovative and comprehensive plan for a just and livable future.
Dear legislators, I urge you to give H2810 your full support.
Ellie Goldberg, Newton MA. Clean Water Action, Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Mothers Out Front and Green Newton.
