Green Justice
Investment in green jobs and energy efficiency programs has emerged as a strategy for reviving the economy while protecting the environment. With federal stimulus funds now being distributed to state and local governments for these programs, it is crucial that low-income people have a voice in how this money is allocated in their communities. N2N-MA is working with other members of the Massachusetts Green Justice Coalition to ensure that new efforts to green the state economy benefit low-income people and communities of color.
Our vision is to build the power necessary to create new economic policies that promote green economic justice, including community-controlled green jobs and worker-owned cooperatives.
N2N-MA members are organizing at the local level, and have begun an internal planning process to shape the long-term vision, goals and strategy of N2N-MA’s work for green justice.
Check out our Working Family Agenda Legislative Rankings to see how your legislator voted on this and other issues.
The Mount Tom Power Plant, poses a tremendous health hazard to the residents of Holyoke. Federal estimates claim that the plant is the second largest polluter in the state of Massachusetts.2 Mount Tom burns almost 1,200 tons of coal every day and stores as much as 150,000 tons of coal on site. Such large-scale burning of coal emits harmful pollutants including particulate matter, ozone, and sulfur dioxide, intoHolyoke’s air, leading to health impacts such as heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks, reduced lung development and function, and premature death.
N2N-MA Holyoke has lead the local legislative strategy to pressure the City Council to shut down the Mount Tom Power Plant and consider a better alternative. N2N-MA members lead the coalition in collecting petition signatures to educate local residents and show the breadth of support for the campaign.
In 2011, we are working tin implement a pilot program in Lynn that will provide access to green jobs and weatherization services for low-income people in the community. We are also continuing to build our analysis of the intersection between economic and enivronmental justice.
For more information or to get involved please contact Ivette Luna at (617) 723-6866 or ivette@n2nma.org
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