Here's a recap of Wednesday's meeting at Life Alive!
Upcoming events:
25 February, Tuesday: Transportation Call to Action at the Statehouse, T4MA (Transportation for MA) coalition sponsoring. LWVMA transportation specialist Tanya Roy will be testifying. Advocate for green transportation legislation. For more information and to RSVP, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN7SRBR1ZqECIfp0CKdgd7Nc_WconPM_Alnl8YVv3M0xA8Fg/viewform
26 February, Wednesday 6:30pm Salem City Hall Annex - SERC meeting https://www.facebook.com/SalemSustainabilityEnergyandResiliencyCommittee/ agenda items include:
Presentation on enRoads, an interactive climate change simulation model that projects the impact of various projects on carbon emissions
Discuss proposal of adding a sustainability coordinator for Salem Public Schools
29 February, Saturday 5-7pm- Winfisky Gallery, Salem State, Awaken: Conjuring Our Tomorrow, community reception
A group exhibition curated by Allison Maria Rodriguez featuring Latina artists exploring climate justice issues in their practice
Exhibit runs through March 19, 2020. https://www.salemstate.edu/calendar/awaken-conjuring-our-tomorrow-feb-05-2020
3 March, Tuesday - Presidential primary. Early voting will be Monday, Feb. 24 through Friday, Feb. 28.
Check out Vote411.org This is LWV's online voting guide, where you can get candidate information, check voter registration status, find polling locations, learn who state and local elected officials are, and register to vote.
14 March, Saturday, Salem Community Life Center, Book Swap, sponsored by SalemRecycles. https://www.facebook.com/events/631065334310833/
Drop off your old books or just come and browse and go home with new books!
Volunteers needed Friday evening and Saturday, call Micaela Guglielmi at 978-619-5672
Topics discussed:
Salem's draft Hazard Mitigation Plan was presented this week by the Conversation Commission. This is a FEMA five-year plan that is required by the city for people to get National Flood Insurance, and addresses how Salem can reduce its vulnerability to natural hazards like hurricanes, floods, and winter storms. https://www.salem.com/sites/salemma/files/uploads/salem_ma_draft_plan_2020_update_02-14-20.pdf
Salem was recently awarded a $250,000 Transportation Grant which will be used for a new on demand ride share shuttle service. Vendor selection is occurring now; service should begin this Spring. We are looking forward to hearing more about this project.
Re-imagining Salem event, sponsored by SAFE https://www.facebook.com/groups/SalemSAFE/
For those who didn't attend, this was the 2nd of a 3 part series, on climate issues impacting our region and how we want to go about finding and implementing solutions. We liked the interactive format, and shared updates from our small groups, which included education (working on a survey to gauge peoples interest and educational needs); increase renewable energy sources (in discussion mode); waste reduction (currently prioritizing proposals from group). We are finding the series thought provoking and think the regional approach, with participants from Salem, Beverly, Marblehead, etc., is much needed and helps extend our networks and collaboration.
Some of our working group members attended Climate Action Day at the Statehouse in January. Loads of people were there to support and advocate for climate solution legislation. LWVMA hosted a workshop on league-supported legislation; our local representatives were visited.
MA Senate recently passed a package of 3 climate bills (see separate post for the key points). While some pieces are a bit vague (e.g., carbon pricing mechanisms), we are generally pleased with this result. However, now this goes to the House for consideration. We strategized on how to best use our time and energy on advocacy–twitter vs. email vs. phone calls vs. postcards vs. in-person visits. Agreed a multi-pronged approach is best and probably the most entertaining to do as well! More specific info and plans TBD over the coming weeks.
SATV - Recycling Project
Ideas include collaborating with Salem Recycles and developing multiple short modules to address various themes:
Do's and Do Not's of recycling (addressing all those "wish" recycle-ers out there who "wish" that straw could be recycled)
we can video Michaela's neighborhood recycling bin checks; show common household products and how to prep for recyclingBenefits of keeping recyclables out of the trash stream
Where does recycling go after it gets picked up?
Legislation (city, state, federal) to mandate better packaging for manufacturers; better labeling of containers; elimination of non-recyclable packaging; mandating of composting
What else can consumers do to "reduce" and "reuse"? (composting!, purchase decisions; Buy Nothing group)
Myths versus Facts (e.g. - Myth: I can recycle anything with a stamped triangle and a number. Fact: City Curbside pickup has restrictions on what types of plastics it can be processed and sold)
Resources include
Content already developed by SalemRecycles (videos, educational materials);
EPA recycling framework booklet - EPA National Framework for Advancing the U.S. Recycling System
Recycling Labels Don't Reflect Reality for Local Governments
We will communicate and collaborate via email to further develop and refine our content. Looking for additional work group members to help out with this project.
If you are interested in participating in this SATV Recycling Project, please send an email to lwvsalem@gmail.com. I'll make an email group for us to share our ideas and research. We scheduled a meeting for Monday, 9 March at 6:30pm, Life Alive. We hope to compete a lot of pre-work so that we can finalize filming plans at the 9 March meeting. Hope you'll join us to work on this project!
Submitted by: Shelly Stuler