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Recent
News |
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Massachusetts rallies
to stop coal and start building the secure green future.
Read the reports and see photos and video!
Drawing from the recent
report she co-authored for Greater Boston Physicians for
Social Responsibility, Jill Stein breaks down how eating
unprocessed foods, especially plant-based foods, can lower
your risk for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other chronic
diseases, at the same time it lowers your environmental footprint.
Our continued national
dependence on fossil fuels is creating a dangerous vulnerability
to both long-term fuel scarcity and catastrophic climate
change. The current economic crisis requires substantial
national policy shifts and enormous new government injections
of capital into the economy. This provides an opportunity
for a project whose scope would otherwise be inconceivable:
a large-scale, fast-track transition from fossil fuels to
renewable energy.
Thanks to a wonderful
grassroots effort, and some fortuitous timing, the Secure
Green Future ballot question won in every single district
it appeared, and by a total landslide margin! At least 153,252
voters said YES to a Secure Green Future on November 4th,
netting the ballot question an astounding 81.4% of the vote!!!
A new report co-authored
by MCHC's Jill Stein suggests that a deteriorating environment
and poor nutrition are behind the rise of many chronic diseases
of modern life. The good news: we can restore health by protecting
- and cleaning up - the environment. Towards that end, moving
to more sustainable, localized food systems and clean renewable
energy would go a long way to improve health, the environment
and the economy.
Should tax payers
bestow a billion dollars on the biotech industry? State Senator
Pat Jehlen has her doubts.
Lead is a neurological
toxin that can inflict permanent neurological damage to children.
Over the past two decades, a series of regulations have managed
to reduce the instances of children being poisoned by lead
paint. But lead continues to be used in many products made
for children and even infants.
Losses to the local
economy would have to be considered before approving big
box projects.
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Be
a MCHC Member |
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Out of a profound
sense of both crisis and opportunity, we are asking you to
become a member of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy
Communities (MCHC). In doing so, you will help advance sustainable,
just solutions to the unprecedented economic and environmental
crises we face. And you will help establish MCHC as a permanent,
vital presence in the debate over our future. |
| Opinion
and Analysis |
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This commencement
speech by environmentalist Paul Hawken was delivered at the
University of Portland on May 3, 2009.
"Collectively humanity is evincing a deep innate wisdom in coming together to
heal the wounds and insults of the past."
Author and economist
Hazel Henderson lays out the local-based initiatives that
are emerging in the wake of an unraveling Wall Street economy.
Relocalization efforts are gaining steam in Massachusetts
and beyond, and just in the nick of time. The financial meltdown
generated by Wall Street and the "too big to fail" culture
of global money-center banks and financiers is generating
local initiatives and demands to decentralize and democratize
finance.
MCHC Board member
Shirley Kressel's December 3, 2008 testimony.
Through relocalization,
communities can prosper while fighting global warming.
What does California
have to teach us about how to fund infrastructure needs through
special assessment districts?
Governor's tilt toward
real estate industry unnerves a former supporter.
Context of the Supreme
Judicial Court ruling that said the DEP erred in waiving
a permit requirement for a Cambridge development.
When the choice is
preventing tobacco deaths or pleasing tobacco lobbyists,
where do our legislators stand?
New law seizes both
land and tax revenues to benefit real estate developers.
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The state
law that is supposed to promote affordable housing
isn't getting the job done. What are we doing wrong?
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Insight
and Information |
Well
worth reading . . .
Thought-provoking
essays, useful insights, and just plain interesting
links....
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Keep Surplus Lands in Our Hands!
Boston area residents shared community-based
solutions for sustainable, just development at MCHC workshop.
(Photo: Adam Sacks)
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Quote
of the Week |
"I know that some
of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. The
1973 gasoline lines are gone, and our homes are warm again.
But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973
or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. It is worse because
more waste has occurred, and more time has passed by without
our planning for the future. And it will get worse every
day until we act."
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Upcoming
Events |
Please send us
your events for posting.
· June 22nd
- “Why is everyone talking about a Single Payer Health
Plan?” - Somerville, MA
· June 30
- CORI Reform Press Conference & Lobby Day - Boston,
MA
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MCHC is a member of
the Alliance
for a Healthy Tomorrow, a citizen initiative in
Massachusetts to establish new government policies to prevent
harm to our health from toxic hazards.
Sounds of Dissent
Join host John Grebe
for a two-hour weekly radio program offering news and political
reviews that often challenge the conventional wisdom and
the packaged fare of the mainstream media. Tune in Saturdays
11:00-1:00 on WZBC, FM 90.2 Boston. You can listen live at http://www.wzbc.org.
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Key
Issues |
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