Environmental & Climate Justice Committee

January 2023

Purpose

Environmental injustices, including climate change, have a disproportionate impact on communities of color and low income communities in the Berkshires, the United States, and around the world. We work with our community to:

  • reduce harmful [pollutants] emissions, including greenhouse gases, with advocacy to strengthen development, monitoring, and enforcement of regulations at federal, state, and local levels.
  • promote energy efficiency and clean energy solutions that equitably provide good, local jobs.
  • ensure that our community is equipped to engage in sustainability/climate action planning that integrates policies and practices that advance food justice, transportation equity, upholds civil and human rights in emergency management, and facilitates participatory democracy.

Operations

Please contact the chair listed below

Annual goals

Please join us to help determine our annual goals.

  • Partner in air quality & public health monitoring project in Pittsfield, MA. We need your help!
  • Partner with West Side legends in Pittsfield to reconnect youth with the river that runs through the neighborhood during their annual block party. We need more volunteers to help with this! 
  • Work with the Housing Committee to insulate, weatherize, and electrify homes in the Berkshires.
  • Provide relevant information to the Branch in newsletters and monthly meetings. 

Current Activities

We are currently working on multiple issues including:

  • ensuring environmental justice neighborhoods have a voice in projects proposed in or near their community. (We read the Massachusetts Environmental Monitor to watch for major projects in our area.)
  • stopping the operation of dirty, fossil-fueled, expensive peaking power plants for electric generation. Switch to solar plus storage instead. Two of the three peaking power plants have closed and the third is still talking with us about ways to further reduce their emissions.
  • The waste incinerator in Pittsfield has closed – a major clean-air victory! Now we need to reduce the amount of waste we generate.

Chair and contact information

Jane Winn jane@thebeatnews.org 413-230-7321 (Pittsfield)

Resources