To Our Members - Environment Massachusetts
Program ReportRecapping our work in fiscal year 2015 for our members
To our members“I’m grateful for the energy you bring to these fights, and the stayingpower you give our efforts. And working together, I am optimisticabout our prospects for the future.”From record-breaking wildfires to severe storms, it has become abundantly clear that globalwarming is happening now and requires bold action.Margie AltEnvironment AmericaExecutive DirectorAnna AurillioGlobal WarmingProgram DirectorJohn RumplerSenior AttorneyUnfortunately, opposition from the fossil fuel industry and their allies in Washington, D.C.,stands in the way of meaningful action, from tackling global warming to realizing the fullpotential of solar power.The challenges we face in protecting our environment are formidable and daunting. But thispast year also gave me a lot of hope for the future. At Environment Massachusetts, 2015 wasall about people power. And together, we have a lot to be proud of.We took the biggest step for clean water in a decade: Since 2006, a pair of polluter-drivenSupreme Court decisions left 2 million miles of streams without guaranteed protection under theClean Water Act. After nine years of advocacy, and 800,000 comments from people like you,we saw these protections restored.And, finally, we acted on climate: After Americans submitted 8 million comments of supportfor limiting carbon pollution from power plants, President Obama finalized the Clean PowerPlan, which will do just that for the first time ever. Bay Staters’ voices helped advance the policyand build the political will to win this victory, which will make a major dent in our country’scontribution to global warming pollution and sets a precedent for other nations to follow.As you’ll read in the following pages, behind each accomplishment were engaged and commitedpeople like you who joined us in fighting for a cleaner, greener and healthier future. I’m gratefulfor the energy you bring to these fights, and the staying power you give our efforts. And workingtogether, I am optimistic about our prospects for the future.Thanks,Ben HellersteinEnvironment Massachusetts DirectorEnvironment Massachusetts, Inc. is a project of Environment America, Inc.Margie AltEnvironment America Executive Director
Stop Offshore DrillingOur coasts and wildlife are too precious to risk with an oil spill—but that’s exactlywhat’s at stake if we open our oceans to oil and gas drilling. In 2015, you supportedEnvironment Massachusetts’ work to call attention to these threats and build the publicsupport necessary to stop reckless proposals to open huge swaths of the AtlanticOcean and the Arctic Ocean to offshore drilling.Calling attention to offshore drilling risksIn 2015, you helped us send a clear message: Our coasts andwildlife are too precious to put at such high risk. In March,as federal officials vetted the Obama administration’sAtlantic Coast drilling plan, Environment Massachusettsreleased an analysis and published a letter in the New YorkTimes that demonstrated that offshore drilling puts birds atrisk, disrupts the food chain, endangers whales and dolphinsand makes oceans and coasts vulnerable to pollution.Together with our affiliates in other states, we helped turnout hundreds to a Bureau of Ocean Energy Managementmeeting on offshore drilling. More than 250 businesses fromcoastal states also signed on to our campaign to oppose thedrilling plan.Stopping the reckless Arctic drilling proposalWe also called on President Obama to halt plans to allowShell Oil to drill in the Arctic Ocean, where bad weatherand floating ice increase the risk of accidents. In September,in the face of mounting opposition from EnvironmentMassachusetts and our allies, Shell announced it would haltits plans. But the fight isn’t over. In the coming year, we’llcontinue shining a national spotlight on the risks associatedwith offshore drilling to show the strong opposition to it.Photo credits: (cover) Karen Grigoryan/Shutterstock; (this page, top to bottom) Richard A. McGuirk /Shutterstock; Louisiana GOHSEP via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0; staffTop: Oil spills, one of the risks ofoffshore drilling, threaten marinelife like brown pelicans.Bottom: Members and supporterssubmitted “photo petitions”to show they oppose offshoredrilling.Environment Massachusetts 2
Global Warming SolutionsYou helped Environment Massachusetts and Environment Massachusetts Research &Policy Center win the greatest step the United States has ever taken to address theclimate crisis. We helped present the facts, educate the public, engage elected leaders,and deliver an overwhelming 8 million comments of support for limiting power plantpollution—paving the way for President Obama and the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) to finalize the historic Clean Power Plan. Global Warming Program Director Anna Aurilio (left) and EnvironmentAmerica Executive Director Margie Alt raised their voices for clean powerat the People’s Climate March in New York in September 2014. resident Obama announced the final Clean PowerPPlan in August 2015.
You helped push the historic CleanPower Plan over the finish lineFrom record-breaking snowfall this last year, to extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy, BayStaters are feeling the impacts of global warming now. Scientists predict that without drastic cuts inglobal warming emissions, these effects will become catastrophic. Building on successful efforts to curbcarbon emissions in Massachusetts and other states, in 2015, President Obama took decisive action toaddress this threat by moving forward with the first-ever plan to limit carbon emissions from powerplants—America’s largest source of global warming pollution.Millions of supporters like you took actionEnvironment Massachusetts and our members came together tohelp build the momentum necessary to finalize the Clean PowerPlan and push past strong opposition from the fossil fuel industryand climate-deniers in Congress. Environment Massachusetts’ national citizen outreach teamhad face-to-face conversations with more than 47,000 peopleabout the threat of global warming and the solutions theClean Power Plan offers. During the public comment period for the Clean Power Plan,our national team, including Environment Massachusetts’members and supporters, submitted more than 713,000comments in support of a strong plan. Nationwide, hundreds of elected officials and solar businesses,and nearly 1,000 health professionals joined the chorus ofsupport for limits on power plant pollution.Environment Massachusetts Research & PolicyCenter shows state is a climate leaderIn 2015, thanks to your help, Environment Massachusetts Research& Policy Center continued to work to make Massachusetts evenmore of a leader in the fight against global warming. Massachusetts has long been a leader in the fight againstglobal warming. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,an agreement between Massachusetts and eight othernortheastern states, has made major reductions in carbonemissions and provided a model for national action. A new report released by Environment MassachusettsResearch & Policy Center found that Massachusetts is playinga leading role in reducing U.S. global warming emissions.Thanks to strong programs, over the next 10 years, the statewill reduce global warming pollution by 26 percent.Photo credits: (left page, clockwise from top) SkyLynx/Shutterstock; Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; staffEnvironment Massachusetts 4
Little RiverClean Water For AmericaProtect Massachusetts RiversIn 2015, Environment Massachusetts and Environment Massachusetts Research &Policy Center we celebrated the biggest victory for clean water in a decade! In May,the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule to restore Clean Water Actprotections to thousands of waters across the country. Our public education andoutreach efforts, bolstered by action taken by our members, allies, and a diversecoalition of businesses, elected officials and farmers, built the momentum necessaryto get the Clean Water Rule past polluter opposition and signed into law. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy (sitting, right) and U.S. AssistantSecretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo Ellen Darcy (sitting, left) signedthe Clean Water for America rule on May 27, 2015, with Margie Alt,Environment America executive director (second from left). Canvassers celebrated the EPA’s announcement ofthe Clean Water Rule.
Winning the biggest step forward forclean water in a decadeFor nearly a decade, Environment Massachusetts has gone toe-to-toe with powerful polluters and theirallies in Congress to restore the Clean Water Act and permanently protect our waters. And in 2015, ourefforts finally paid off when President Obama restored federal protections to more than half the nation’sstreams, which feed drinking water sources for one in three Americans.4,000 miles of streams in Massachusetts regained protectionsThe Clean Water Rule closed loopholes in the Clean Water Act, returning protection to 4,000 miles ofstreams in Massachusetts. You gave Environment Massachusetts the resources to advocate in Congress,recruit and mobilize a diverse and powerful coalition, and rally the grassroots to demand action. We helped gather more than 800,000 comments and held more than half a million face-to-faceconversations about the need to close loopholes in the Clean Water Act. With the rule under threat, our national team held meetings with more than 50 congressionaloffices, urging them to champion the voice of the public and stand up for clean water. Disappointingly, at press time, a federal appeals court blocked the new protections we just wonfor our waters. We’ve put together a legal strategy to defend the Clean Water Rule, and given itsstrong legal and scientific basis, the courts should ultimately reject all efforts to weaken it.Research highlighted legacy of Clean Water ActOur waterways provide drinking water, essential habitat for wildlife, and treasured destinations forfishing, swimming and boating. Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center’s research lastyear on the threats facing Massachusetts rivers and the impact of the Clean Water Act earned nearly1,000 media hits. The report “Wasting Our Waterways” documented toxic pollution entering our waterways andthreatening our health and drinking water supplies. It found that 206 million pounds of toxicchemicals were dumped in America’s waterways in 2012 alone. The report “Waterways Restored” presented 15 case studies that show how the Clean Water Actrestores and protects waterways—like Boston Harbor, which was once choked with raw sewage andindustrial pollution, but today is home to some of the cleanest urban beaches in the nation.Polluting industriescarved loopholes in theClean Water Act, leavingWith a resounding call from supporterslike you and our allies nationwide, weworked to protect America’s waterways.2 million milesof streams800,000across the countryopen to pollution.commentsto the EPA1,000letters tothe editorAn algae bloom caused by runoff pollution1 milliontook actiononline1,000business owners,farmers andelected officialsPhoto credits: (left page, clockwise from top) Christina McCarty via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; JoyAngelica Chan; Sean Kennedy; (right page graphic, left to right) Karen Hermann/Shutterstock, Wildnerdpix/ShutterstockVICTORY!On May 27, 2015, the CleanWater Act was restored.Environment Massachusetts 6
Go Solar, MassachusettsSolar power is growing so fast across the country that goals once considered ambitiousare now seen as readily achievable. Spurred by pro-solar policies, we’re getting moreof our energy from the sun, putting us on the road to 100 percent clean energy. In2015, Environment Massachusetts and Environment Massachusetts Research & PolicyCenter made the case for setting bold solar goals and rallied support in communitiesacross the state. Student activists helped us get more than 560 small businesses across thestate to support a goal of 20 percent solar by 2025. A residential rooftop solar installation
Solar power tripled in three years,with no signs of slowingIt’s time for Massachusetts to go big on solar power. The amount of solar capacity in the UnitedStates is growing rapidly, tripling in just the past three years. In 2015, you helped us call on stateofficials to eliminate arbitrary caps on solar power and enact policies that will put Massachusetts ona path towards getting 20 percent of our electricity from solar by 2025.Strong policies fuel solar’s successWith another panel or project installed every fourminutes in 2013 and the rate only getting faster, solarpower is on the rise across the country.“Shining Cities,” a report Environment MassachusettsResearch & Policy Center released in March, foundthat cities are also playing a crucial role in growingnational solar capacity: Just 20 cities accounted for 6.5percent of total installed solar. Boston ranked 4th forsolar power in the northeast.Let’s raise limits on solar powerUnfortunately, as solar has expanded rapidly, utilitycompanies have sought to limit its growth. InMassachusetts, caps on the state’s most important solarprogram threatened to bring solar to a halt.Environment Massachusetts worked with more than350 city and town officials and 560 small businessowners to call on state officials to set a goal of 20percent solar by 2025.We also organized a 10-city “Soak Up the Sun” tourto showcase the benefits that solar has brought tocommunities across Massachusetts and highlight theeffects of the caps on solar. Together with thousands ofBay Staters, you helped us call on Gov. Charlie Bakerand other state leaders to eliminate caps on solar powerand continue Massachusetts’ legacy of leadership onclean energy.Top: Environment Massachusetts StateDirector Ben Hellerstein spoke at the “StandUp For Solar” lobby day in April.Bottom: A coalition of low-income advocates,business leaders, health advocates,environmental organizations and othersgathered at the State House in support ofincreasing solar energy in Massachusetts.Photo credits: (left page, clockwise from top) Aldon Hynes via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0; Olivier-Le-Queinec/Shutterstock; staff; (right page) Joseph MacDonald; Joseph MacDonaldEnvironment Massachusetts 8
Stop Fracking Our FutureAcross the country, fracking is booming, leaving a trail of contaminated drinkingwater, sickened families and torn up parks and forests in its wake. In 2015, you helpedEnvironment Massachusetts organize to stop this dirty drilling process, and put thepressure on federal officials to safeguard our public lands and public health from thedangers of fracking.Federal rules leave forests and parksopen to frackingThis fiscal year, we called on President Obama andCongress to keep fracking away from all our nationalforests and parks, and to close loopholes that exemptfracking from key provisions of our nation’s criticalenvironmental laws.In March 2015, the Obama administration released along-awaited rule governing fracking on federal publiclands. Unfortunately, the rule failed to protect parks andforests from the oil and gas industry’s plans. Already, oiland gas companies have secured leases on 36 million acresof public lands.Fracking produces billions of gallons of toxic waste everyyear, putting the drinking water for nearby communitiesat risk and leaving nearby waterways open to pollution.Environment Massachusetts worked to pass protections forthese special places and build support for legislation thatwould ban fracking in areas that provide critical drinkingwater sources for millions of Americans.Top: Fracking operations acrossthe country are threatening ourparks and forestland.Bottom: Fracking producesbillions of gallons of toxicwastewater, every year, puttingour drinking water at risk.
No Bees, No FoodMillions of bees are dying off, with alarming consequences for our environment andour food supply. This past fiscal year, Environment Massachusetts mobilized grassrootssupport for protecting these vital pollinators. With your support, we called on theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) to declare a nationwide moratorium onneonicotinoids—a class of bee-killing pesticides.Fighting to give bees a chanceWe rely on bees to pollinate everything from almondsand strawberries to the alfalfa used to feed dairy cows.Yet, beekeepers report losing on average 30 percent of allhoneybee colonies in recent years.Scientists point to several causes behind the problem,including a class of bee-killing insecticides known asneonicotinoids, or neonics. Your support helped us call onthe EPA to ban this dangerous class of pesticides.4 million urged President Obama to savethe beesIn March 2015, Environment Massachusetts, along witha coalition of beekeepers, farmers and others, deliveredmore than 4 million petitions calling on the Obamaadministration to issue strong protections for pollinators.In May, the White House issued a new plan to stem thedeaths of pollinators, but it fell short of banning neonics.Now, we’re calling on federal officials to ban the use ofneonics on farms and in garden stores.Top: Members and supportersfrom all walks of life took actionwith “photo petitions” to protectbees.Bottom: Beekeepers report losingon average 30 percent of allhoneybee colonies each year.Photo credits: (left page, top to bottom) WCN 24/7 via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0; Pete Stern via FracTracker.org; Sarah Craig/Faces of Fracking via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; (right page, top to bottom) Dagmara K/Shutterstock; staff;staff; Michael Gabler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0Environment Massachusetts 10
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The challenges we face in protecting our environment are formidable and daunting. But this past year also gave me a lot of hope for the future. At Environment Massachusetts, 2015 was all about people power. And together, we have a lot to be proud of. We took the biggest step for clean water in a decade: Since 2006, a pair of polluter-driven
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In June, Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center released “Wasting Our Waterways,” a report that revealed 5,555 pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into Massachusetts waterways in 2012 alone, highlighting the risk the loopholes in the Clean Water Act pose to waterways across the country.
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