|
|
 |
Massachusetts
State Environmental League President Seeks Corporate Involvement in Massachusetts Smart Growth Advocacy
''We think smart growth is an economic argument,'' said new Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) President George A. Bachrach as he seeks strong corporate involvement in smart growth advocacy and greenhouse gas reduction, telling Boston Globe interviewer Binyamin Applebaum that ELM and the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative need to form ''counterintuitive'' coalitions with the business community, often found antagonistic, because ''(p)art of being heard depends on who is carrying the message,'' and because now ''the science is clear'' on global warming.
Having taken the helm held for the past 14 years by former Governor Michael Dukakis' environmental undersecretary Jim Gomes, the new president credited his leadership, in an October letter, with significant policy accomplishments, ''from toxic reductions to smart growth to the overall protection of our land, water and air,'' and in the Globe interview restated ELM's readiness to ''marry the business community to a plan for action'' to ensure sustainability.
''We are pro-development and pro-jobs. The question is: Where are they going? We need to rethink where we develop and where we leave space open,'' said the former three-term state Democratic senator, now a Boston University journalism professor and consulting firm principal. ''I believe we should create greater incentives for growth in some places. If you develop close to town centers, you're going to have an economic ripple effect.''
In response to the interviewer's concern that ''green'' building costs can cost more, while the state needs to spur affordable housing, the ELM president said: ''I think it's a terrible mistake when we create new, less efficient affordable housing. People need to understand that 40 to 45 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings and construction. That's a major issue in terms of controlling climate change.''
Eager to work across the spectrum for ''tangible results'' as an ''antidote to the cynicism and frustration,'' he would like to see windmills on all roofs and incentives for the use of hybrid cars, saying, ''We need to push people dramatically.''
Admitting that he doesn't drive a hybrid yet, though he should, he stressed, ''I don't think any of us do enough. We all need to do more.'' -- Boston Globe 1/20/2008
Click here or here to view the source article or
here or here to view the source publication.
|
|
E-mail
to a Friend
View
Printer-friendly page 
