Some of our past advocacy campaigns are showcased here. If you're passionate about an environmental issue in the city of Cambridge, please let us know so we can help!
Climate Congress
2009/2010 Climate Emergency Congress
In 2009-2010 Cambridge held a Climate Congress of some 100 citizen-delegates from different neighborhoods, communities, businesses and interested parties. The Cambridge Climate Emergency Congress was convened to strengthen the community response to climate change in the City of Cambridge.
Report of Climate Emergency Action Committee to the Cambridge City Council, 2011
Final Proposals of the 2009/2010 Climate Emergency Congress
2016 Climate Congress
Coming Soon!
We are planning another Climate Congress. Stay tuned for more information or email us at info@greencambridge.org
In 2009-2010 Cambridge held a Climate Congress of some 100 citizen-delegates from different neighborhoods, communities, businesses and interested parties. The Cambridge Climate Emergency Congress was convened to strengthen the community response to climate change in the City of Cambridge.
Report of Climate Emergency Action Committee to the Cambridge City Council, 2011
Final Proposals of the 2009/2010 Climate Emergency Congress
2016 Climate Congress
Coming Soon!
We are planning another Climate Congress. Stay tuned for more information or email us at info@greencambridge.org
Banning Plastic Bags
2014-2016
Green Cambridge has supported a ban on plastic bags since its inception, and worked directly with the city council to ensure that banning plastic bags would not result in increased consumption of paper bags. Although paper bags can be recycled, and theoretically can be manufactured in a sustainable manner, the increased weight and volume of paper bags causes additional greenhouse gas emissions during transport and manufacture of the bags that make them a worse alternative.
The “bring your own bag ordinance” therefore bans the thin plastic bags currently used and imposes a mandatory fee on any bags distributed at the point of sale, as a direct result of our advocacy. The fees are kept by the merchant and serve as a simple deterrent to shoppers requesting paper or thicker plastic bags.
The correct alternative to distributing free plastic bags is the widespread use of reusable shopping bags, which are now cheaply available. Green Cambridge is actively working to promote adoption of reusable shopping bags, including free shopping bag repair by board member Susan Ringler.
On May 30, 2015, Cambridge City Council adopted the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, with the ban on distributing plastic bags and the mandatory collection of fees for paper bags taking effect on March 31st, 2016.
For more history on this effort, see Green Cambridge President Quinton Zondervan’s 2015 letter to the editor in the Cambridge Chronicle.
Green Cambridge has supported a ban on plastic bags since its inception, and worked directly with the city council to ensure that banning plastic bags would not result in increased consumption of paper bags. Although paper bags can be recycled, and theoretically can be manufactured in a sustainable manner, the increased weight and volume of paper bags causes additional greenhouse gas emissions during transport and manufacture of the bags that make them a worse alternative.
The “bring your own bag ordinance” therefore bans the thin plastic bags currently used and imposes a mandatory fee on any bags distributed at the point of sale, as a direct result of our advocacy. The fees are kept by the merchant and serve as a simple deterrent to shoppers requesting paper or thicker plastic bags.
The correct alternative to distributing free plastic bags is the widespread use of reusable shopping bags, which are now cheaply available. Green Cambridge is actively working to promote adoption of reusable shopping bags, including free shopping bag repair by board member Susan Ringler.
On May 30, 2015, Cambridge City Council adopted the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, with the ban on distributing plastic bags and the mandatory collection of fees for paper bags taking effect on March 31st, 2016.
For more history on this effort, see Green Cambridge President Quinton Zondervan’s 2015 letter to the editor in the Cambridge Chronicle.
Advocating for Net Zero Buildings
Starting with our annual meeting in 2013, Green Cambridge advocated for net-zero fossil fuel energy buildings by introducing a zoning petition. While the petition was not adopted, it led directly to the creation of the highly successful Getting to Net Zero Task Force. In July 2015 , The Getting to Net Zero Task Force final recommendations were unanimously adopted by the Cambridge City Council! Former Cambridge Mayor and Net Zero Advocate Henrietta Davis and Green Cambridge President Quinton Zondervan have successfully helped spread the net zero concept to nearby communities including Lexington and Concord.
Resident Parking Permit Fees
We are in favor of charging more for resident parking permits to provide funding for the city's vehicle miles travelled (VMT) reduction efforts. In 2010 we successfully advocated for a modest increase from $8 per year to $25 per year. For more information, visit our Resident Parking Permit Fees Page
Protecting the Silver Maple Forest
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Through our longstanding partnership with the Friends of Alewife Reservation, Green Cambridge has been a vocal advocate for the preservation of the Silver Maple Forest, a small floodplain forest adjacent to the reservation. With our partners and many allies we organized rallies, vigils, protests, and advocated with the cities of
Cambridge, Belmont and Arlington, as well the state of Massachusetts, and the developer himself, all to no avail. Sadly, the fall of 2014 marked the end of a difficult battle to save the Silver Maple Forest from being destroyed. Despite ongoing legal challenges to the planned development, the City of Cambridge and the Town of Belmont issued sufficient permits for the developer to clear-cut the forest and begin preparations for construction of a housing development. Even so, activist in Belmont, where the forest was primarily located (a small portion of the property is in Cambridge) continue to oppose the development in court, and Green Cambridge will continue to support their efforts to restore the forest to its natural state. |
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Other Activist Events
In September 2014, Green Cambridge President Quinton Zondervan and chapter member Susan Ringler represented our organization at the People’s Climate March in New York City. Over 400,000 people turned out for the historic call-to-action, demanding worldwide action on climate change.
Closer to home, we represented Green Cambridge at a February 2015 rally in support of the Cape Wind off-shore wind project organized by Better Future Project and 350 Mass. Hundreds of people came to support Cape Wind, including musicians, students, and local environmental groups.
Closer to home, we represented Green Cambridge at a February 2015 rally in support of the Cape Wind off-shore wind project organized by Better Future Project and 350 Mass. Hundreds of people came to support Cape Wind, including musicians, students, and local environmental groups.
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