Story: Judith Black, Photography: Rosemary Wessel, BEAT, and Ben Hillman
Rosemary Wessel and Jane Winn are the archers that very competently aim their arrows of justice at pipeline companies and polluters trying to invade their beautiful Berkshires.
A legislator with the hindsight to see where we have been and have a vision for where we need to go is rare. One of Representative Sally Kerans’ gifts is the way she integrates what she has learned: MPA from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University; from serving previous terms in the legislature; her life experiences; and her clear visions for the future. The issues she champions are far and wide, but all reflect that integration.
“My grandfather was the first Democrat ever elected to represent Danvers in our State legislature. My parents, from starting the Chess Club at the YMCA, to being president of the Little League, to the Democratic Town Committee, were always involved in the betterment of the town. I guess being civic minded runs in my DNA.”
On Saturday, November 12, 2021, advocates for clean energy from many towns joined Peabody residents in the "Peabody Peaker Push" to protest against the proposed peaker plant and to walk through neighborhoods near the plant location to inform people about the project.
Breathe Clean North Shore demonstrated early on the evening of Monday, September 13, 2021 against the Peabody peaker plant during a political gathering attended by Governor Charlie Baker at the Brothers Restaurant on Main Street in downtown Peabody. Carrying signs and distributing flyers, demonstrators staked out both the front and rear entrances, and managed to get the Governor to accept a flyer as he rushed past them.
I believe that it is in the public interest to halt project 2015A, a 60MW gas turbine generator. A comprehensive review of the public health, environmental, and climate impacts of a fossil fuel plant should be undertaken. Alternative methods for addressing capacity requirements must be considered and fairly evaluated. Mass Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) could develop a distributed battery storage system. MMWEC could invite a new, all sources proposal to find a comprehensive solution. In addition, Federal, state, and foundation sources may be tapped to provide support for demonstration and pilot programs to engage the community together with power plants to create a truly comprehensive energy system.
This is a guest post by Adrienne Allen, MD, MPH based on her statement at the MMWEC public forum at the Peabody Senior Center in April, 2021. The title quotes what patients who have health conditions caused or exacerbated by pollution report to their doctor.
I write out of deep concern and a sense of urgency about the impacts of MMWEC’s
proposed 55MW peak capacity generator in Peabody (Project 2015A) on the people and communities I represent. I am requesting that you employ your authority to ensure that
both a comprehensive health impact assessment and an environmental impact report precede the granting of any permit by the DPU, and to insist that the provisions of the Climate Law, Acts of 2021, Ch. 8 S. 15 are adhered to by the DPU as they evaluate the proposal.
We can reconcile the urgent demand of citizens to have carbon-free energy and the obligation of our municipal light plants to provide affordable, reliable power when the two sides, citizens and light plants, join together.
In his Earth Day “Fireside Chat” with the Globe’s Sabrina Shankman, Governor Baker emphasized his awareness of the climate emergency. When Baker signed the Climate Roadmap Bill last year, the Commonwealth committed to a phaseout of fossil fuels in electricity generation. How can Baker support a new fossil plant?