John Hennessy III,
P.E.
MASSPIRG EDUCATION FUND
TRANSPORTATION FOR MASSACHUSETTS
The benefits of reduced driving are sometimes difficult to see, but hugely important. Many dramatic gains remain unrecognized because they are indirect, gradual, or result from avoided collisions and health problems that people don’t expect will happen to them in the first place. In our daily lives, it is difficult to assess the value of reduced costs that would have been borne by others or consequences that didn’t occur.
ENVIRONMENT MASSACHUSETTS
To ensure that the Commonwealth stays on track to meet its target under the Global Warming Solutions Act of cutting emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, Massachusetts should adopt a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030…Achieving that goal will require Massachusetts to fully implement previous commitments to reduce global warming pollution. It will also require us to take full advantage of a new wave of game-changing opportunities – from cutting-edge technologies to emerging societal trends – that can help Massachusetts build on its position of national leadership in the fight against global warming.
ENVIRONMENT MASSACHUSETTS
This document profiles Massachusetts-based companies and projects that are embracing each of the ten innovative, game-changing trends identified in Cool Solutions. The businesses profiled here are just a handful of the thousands of Massachusetts companies making a difference in the fight against global warming while creating jobs and boosting the state’s economy.
In 2010, the City of Boston’s Department of Transportation wanted to introduce planners, designers, engineers, and the wider public to an innovative new policy approach to urban street design known as Complete Streets.
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With the help of EPA’s $200,000 Brownfields Area-wide planning grant, this video shows Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas explain the catalytic impact of EPA funding to jumpstart improvements and community outcomes for citizens in underserved communities, such as Lawrence, MA. By planning for, and envisioning, new walking paths to replace a blighted old railway that cuts through the City, residents will someday be able to link to adjacent recreational trails. This video shows the “before” of a key community project that will change the future face of Lawrence and make a real difference to its citizens.
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In January 2015, Rich Davey was named the Chief Executive Officer of the Boston 2024 Partnership, the organization seeking to bring the Olympics and Paralympic Summer Games to Boston…Prior to working at Boston 2024, Rich served for over a decade in chief executive and senior management roles in several transportation organizations in Massachusetts.
“The Olympics are all about, in Boston, thinking about and planning for our future—not the future being tomorrow’s rush hour, but 9 1/2 years from now, and 10 years from now, and 20 years from now. That’s what infrastructure is about: it’s about investing for the long term, taking the long view.”
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SMART GROWTH AMERICA
In the Boston metropolitan area, walkable urbanism adds value.On average, all of the product types studied, including office, retail, hotel, rental apartments, and for-sale housing, have higher values per square foot in walkable urban places than in low-density drivable locations.These price premiums of 20 to 134 percent per square foot are strong indicators of pent-up demand for walkable urbanism.
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (PNAS)
Most recent analyses of the environmental impact of natural gas have focused on production, with very sparse information on emissions from distribution and end use. This study quantifies the full seasonal cycle of methane emissions and the fractional contribution of natural gas for the urbanized region centered on Boston. Emissions from natural gas are found to be two to three times larger than predicted by existing inventory methodologies and industry reports. Our findings suggest that natural-gas–consuming regions may be larger sources of methane to the atmosphere than is currently estimated and represent areas of significant resource loss.
With the separation of Boston’s antiquated Combined Sewage system, the city has paved the way for direct recreation and experience of its greatest asset, Boston harbor. This video proposes a series of elevated and sunken land forms to register the tidal current through the stratified ecologies of the intertidal zone. Within the center of a sloped approach, bowl-like landforms trap the retreating water to create artificial tide pools.
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Steel is inherent to the Boston waterfront landscape. Transportation infrastructure such as bridges are essential to ease circulation throughout the harbor. These bridges are all made of steel. Where did this steel actually come from? From Mine to Bridge explores the supply chain of steel, from ore mining, to stock piling, manufacturing, and construction.
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