This forum was held on December 3rd in Arlington; thank you to attendees, organizers and panelists. We will post the media link here as soon as it becomes available.
Aimed at Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge residents, the forum is presented by 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future in association with nine cosponsoring organizations. Several advocates with expertise will clearly and accessibly explain carbon pricing, with ample time for questions or comments from the audience. Putting a price on carbon is increasingly in the news as a key way to curb emissions that would be fair to the state’s citizenry and economy alike, with support from many businesses as well as environmental groups for bills currently before the state legislature.
Forum cosponsors are Massachusetts Sierra Club, Arlington and Belmont chapters of League of Women Voters, Green Cambridge, Sustainable Arlington, Sustainable Belmont, Green Sanctuary Committee at First Parish UU of Arlington, and Arlington and Belmont Mothers Out Front.
After opening remarks by Launa Zimmaro on why and how the League of Women Voters is taking action on carbon pricing, Quinton Zondervan will show a brief animated film about carbon pricing that he made with the Climate Action Business Association. Then, economist and Arlington resident Marc Breslow will cover all the bases on carbon pricing, how it works and why it is increasingly widely-accepted. Cathy Buckley, Massachusetts Sierra Club Chair, will wrap up with thoughts on why putting a price on carbon is “the most sensible, sane thing we can do to protect our quality of life and our habitat here on Earth.” Together they will field questions and comments for the second half of the program, which will be followed with a half-hour of conversation and refreshments to end the evening.
Marc Breslow is Co-Director of ClimateXChange and formerly held posts in the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. He had a leading role in developing and writing the state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan, and in 2014 co-authored a major state report on carbon pricing.
Cathy Buckley, in addition to her leading position with Sierra Club, is a speaker for Climate Reality, a Lead Ambassador for the Environmental Defense Fund, and a committee member with 350 Mass. She worked for the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization on transportation and climate change.
Quinton Zondervan has been a member of Cambridge’s Climate Protection Action Committee since 2008. A software engineer and entrepreneur, he cofounded and serves as President and Board Chair of the Climate Action Business Association, as well as President of Green Cambridge and member of the Cambridge node of 350 Mass.
Launa Zimmaro holds several positions within the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, serving on the Board, as the Energy and Resource Conservation Specialist on the League’s Legislative Action Committee, and on the Campaign Finance Reform Committee. She is also a member of the state Sierra Club Executive Committee.