350MA Berkshire Node September News!

September Node Meeting

The next 350Mass Berkshires monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, September 20 at 6pm (5:30 for potluck snacks) at the UU Church at 175 Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield. We'll share information about climate and community related events going on throughout the county.

There's been lots of energy in the climate movement lately. This month we will focus on plans to organize or support several events in our county. There's a couple of forums with elected officials in the works as well as some advocacy training. We'll also be discussing policy choices about how and when we choose to support or collaborate with others and about our own internal organization. So please join us if you'd like to have a voice in our plans.

As always we'll share legislative updates and progress on our current campaigns including the 100% Renewable Towns and Cities Campaign which our members are pursuing in their towns along with dozens of towns and cities across the country. This movement is growling with support from more and more organizations. We can do this!!!

Every month our meetings offer an opportunity for Berkshire residents to network and work together in the growing climate change movement. JOIN US! Respond to this email if you'd like to RSVP or if you have questions about our group or the upcoming meeting.

You can tell the world you're coming and share with your friends on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/302229616920921

News and Actions!

Renewable Portfolio Standard Rally and Hearing

Please mark your calendars for a critical MA State House hearing (and rally!) on renewable energy (the Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS) on Tues., Sept. 19. This hearing will play a key role in determining how much renewable energy Massachusetts utility companies are required to purchase. The speed of our state's transition to a clean energy economy is truly at stake!

WHAT: Renewable Portfolio Standard Rally and Hearing
WHERE: Steps in front of Massachusetts State House
WHEN: 11:45 AM, Tues., Sept. 19
Please RSVP for the hearing here!

Why is the RPS so important?
The RPS is our "floor" for clean energy―the bare minimum of renewable energy our utility companies are required to buy. We can power towards 100% Renewable Energy by accelerating the Renewable Portfolio Standard. (If we speed up the RPS to grow by 3% each year, that puts us at 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.) In other words, the RPS ensures that our electricity supply continues to become more renewable and, in doing so, it creates more green jobs and combats climate change.

Other upcoming hearings:
Tue Oct 3: Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy
                   (time & location TBD)
S.1846/H.2706 Solar Power & the Green Economy, Sen. Eldridge /Rep. Mark
S.1831/H.3396   Solar Power in Environmental Justice and Urban Comm, Sen. Chang Diaz/Rep. Holmes

Tue Oct 17: Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy
                   (time & location TBD)
S.1847/H.3400 Clarifying Authority & Responsibilities of DPU, Sen. Eldridge/ Rep. Kulik
S.1855/H.2698 Protect Ratepayers from Pipeline Expansion Costs, Sen. Jehlen/Rep. Gordon
S.1845/H.2683 Protect Consumers from Paying for Gas Leaks, Sen. Eldridge/Rep. Barber

Gas Leaks Allies Summit:

A team of activists, researchers, utility executives, municipal leaders, natural gas experts, inventors, and mothers is finding solutions for the gas-leaking pipelines buried in our neighborhoods. Join us at the Common Goals, Uncommon Partners Summit to hear results and recommendations, see new technologies, and learn about this unique collaboration. Learn more & register here.

Tue, Oct 3, 9 am-12:30 pm, MIT Sloan School, Wong Auditorium, 2 Amherst St, Cambridge.

Pressure Governor Baker on Climate!

Governor Baker said the right thing when President Trump announced he would pull out of Paris, but his words have so far not been backed up with actions. Indeed, both President Trump and Governor Baker seem to be supporting pipeline expansion, despite their different public positions on the Paris Climate Agreement.

So 350 Mass and our allies in Mass Power Forward are going to keep coming back to the Governor’s office in larger numbers with increasing frequency as we approach the next UN global climate conference in Bonn, Germany in November. When the eyes of the world, and the media, will be watching how leaders across the world are responding to Trump’s decision to pull the US out of Paris, we will be there to make sure everyone knows where Governor Baker stands on new gas pipelines. But our people-powered movement needs your help to make all this happen!

Can you donate $50 or $100 to help cover the cost of planning and executing this campaign?

Discharge water from Tennessee Gas Co. pipeline testing worries environmentalists

As soon as the new pipeline is entirely in the ground, over 500,000 gallons of water from Lower Spectacle Pond will course through it to make sure the pipes don’t leak.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. says it will do this hydrostatic pressure testing, required by the federal Department of Transportation, in a way that will minimize the impact to the surrounding environment and wildlife. But environmental groups say the discharge from this testing, likely to begin next month, might result in erosion. They are also worried that chemicals from an anti-corrosive coating inside the 36-inch pipes will leach into the testing water before its release back into the environment.

»Read more (Berkshire Eagle)

Congress wants to expand FERC’s authority!

FERC is set to reconvene on September 20th with Trump’s Senate-approved commissioners Robert Powelson and Neil Chatterjee eager to use their newly minted rubber stamps.
All of this is happening as the Senate and House are moving bills that would expand FERC’s authority. One of the House bills actually strips the president of the border crossing authority used to stop Keystone XL and gives it to FERC. But the worst of the bills is the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017, S. 1460. It expands FERC’s authority by requiring other permitting agencies to “give deference” to FERC and it limits FERC’s review of LNG facilities to 45 days.

Haven’t they been reading the headlines? Rushed approvals, refusal to consider climate impacts, approvals with insufficient information. And Congress wants to expand FERC’s authority?

No way! Unacceptable!

Will you help us send that message to FERC and Congress on September 20th?

Sign up to attend the rally and the other actions on the 20th

Share the Facebook event here

Rally: 8:30 AM at FERC, 888 First St NE, Washington, DC 20426
FERC Meeting: 10 AM
Lobbying on the Hill: meetings being scheduled - Be sure to indicate that you’re interested in lobbying on the sign-up form.

What We're Reading This Week:

From Our Marketing Department: If you want to see many, many more curated climate-related links, then check out our Flipboard magazine on the web (or in your Flipboard app). If you are a social media maven, then follow us on Twitter, where you can get some news updates and some node updates.

Monthly Must-reads: One of the biggest criticisms against wind and solar energy has been quashed. A new analysis in Nature Energy gives renewable-energy subsidies the thumbs-up. The researchers found that the US saved between $35 billion and $220 billion in that period because of avoided deaths, fewer sick days, and climate-change mitigation. How do these benefits compare to the US government’s outlays? “The monetary value of air quality and climate benefits are about equal or more than state and federal financial support to wind and solar industries,” says the report.

Good News: New Massachusetts rules provide boost toward state climate goals. A lawsuit pressing Massachusetts to step up its greenhouse gas work was backed by advocacy group Our Children’s Trust, along with Conservation Law Foundation and the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance. A Sept. 16, 2016, executive order issued in the wake of the court decision and calling for new regulations, also directed the state to begin planning for climate change adaptation "and working with cities and towns across the state to assess vulnerability and build resiliency to address climate change impacts."

Tipping Points (Good and Bad): Good news: Carmakers face electric reality as combustion engine outlook dims. European car bosses gathering for the Frankfurt auto show are beginning to address the realities of mass vehicle electrification, and its consequences for jobs and profit, their minds focused by government pledges to outlaw the combustion engine. Bad news: North Sea warming twice as fast as world's oceans. Climate change has caused the North Sea's temperature to increase twice as fast as that of the world's oceans, according to Germany's Environment Ministry.
The average temperature of the North Sea rose by 1.67 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past 45 years, during which time the temperature of oceans such as the Pacific or Atlantic increased by 0.74 degrees Celsius on average.

Innovative Solutions: MIT turns to millennia-old tech for renewable energy storage. Firebrick technology invented by Hittites in 17th century BC is being repurposed for a modern use. An MIT team’s Firebrick Resistance-heated Energy Storage (FIRES) system stores thermal energy (heat) in firebricks and later converts the energy back into electricity. Oh, and storing this energy costs 1/40th the price of putting it into batteries. This solution could be a game-changer for the renewable energy industry, which has always suffered from the problem of over-producing on some days when the wind or sun are strong and under-producing on others.

Acts of Resistance: As Hurricanes Intensify, So Does Resistance to Big Oil in the Gulf. As severe storms and floods intensify and become more common across the Gulf region, so does grassroots resistance to the fossil fuel industry that dominates its landscapes and drives climate disruption. Activists are not just demanding environmental justice in the face of pollution, but a "just transition" away from a fossil fuels altogether. .