Report Shows Sustainability Efforts in Medford, Region
Student cyclists traveled throughout the region last summer, including in Medford in early July, and produced a report about sustainability efforts.
A new report, The State of the Movement: New England’s Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels, was released April 23 by Better Future Project, the organization that runs New England Climate Summer, a program that sent student cyclists around New England last summer, including in Medford, to promote sustainability.
The report documents the riders’ findings, including those from Medford. Medford’s efforts to move beyond fossil fuels are summarized in a section of town profiles, and its energy reduction efforts are highlighted throughout the report, according to information released by Better Future Project.
As a reminder that sustainability is not an annual event, the report catalogues sustainability efforts throughout the region. The report details dozens of local projects that are not simply about recycling or solar panels; rather, people investing time and energy to transform their community one garden, one street, or one building at a time. It demonstrates that the movement beyond fossil fuels is diverse and thriving.
The report is the result of Better Future Project’s Climate Summer program. In the 2011 program, 31 cycling college students toured New England spreading a simple message: New England needs to move beyond fossil fuels. The riders collaborated with local organizations and individuals in the towns they visited. They lent hands to their projects, co-organized events, and connected them to other efforts in the area. These Climate Riders will return to towns throughout New England for the program’s fourth year this June, July, and August.
The report focuses on the following categories: sustainable economies, sustainable food systems, waste and materials management, transportation, green spaces, building efficiency, renewable energy, environmental justice, and community resilience. In addition, it includes town profiles that provide information of what specific towns are doing to rely less on fossil fuels.
Better Future Project, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a new, grassroots organization dedicated to moving America and the world beyond energy sources that harm human health, human dignity, and human life. With a focus on leadership development, network-building, and engagement platforms, Better Future Project’s main programs include Climate Summer and Ride for the Future, which will launch in New Orleans in May.
– Information from Better Future Project