Green Hudson July Newsletter

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Hudson Fest on June 8, 2024

This was the third year of our five-year plan to make Hudson Fest waste free. We staffed four collection stations throughout the event, diverting a truckload of compostables and recyclables from the trash.

Thanks to our many volunteers, including students from the Hudson High School UNESCO team and members of Sustainable Stow, who managed the waste stations.

We talked with many Hudson residents and visitors to our booth to let them know about the projects that we are working on—which we update every month in our newsletter.

And the Green Hudson Raffle Bag

Winner Was...

Diane O.

If you're wondering what was in the Raffle Bag:

1. Reusable cloth bag— thanks to Small Farm

2. Local raw honey—thanks to Hudson Hives

3. Reusable cloth towels— thanks to Islay's Terrace

4. Vice Herbal Tea—thanks to Crosenest Collective

5. Who gives a Crap? bamboo toilet paper

6. Reusable metal straw

7. Parchment paper sandwich bags

8. Plastic free biodegradable dental floss (no PFAS)

Committee Reports

For the summer months, our committees are on standby. Should anything of importance arise, Green Hudson will send out email alerts. Green Hudson meetings and committees will resume on September 22nd.

Climate and Energy Committee

Contact Brian White at [email protected]

Outreach and Education Committee

Contact Jeanette Millard at [email protected]

Plastics Reduction Committee

Contact Elisa Pearmain at [email protected]

Legislative Update

On June 19 a climate bill (S.2838) emerged from Senate Ways and Means and was passed by a vote of 38 to 2 along with 24 amendments out of 123 that were submitted.

Many of the climate advocacy organizations were pleased with much of what is in the Senate bill. It includes language on clean energy siting and permitting reform that mirrors the administration’s views on reforms, with some reservations on cumulative impact analysis and local control over solar siting. It also includes language for developing a cumulative impact analysis that adds up all of the environmental and public health damage from the siting of energy facilities in a community (e.g. air pollution, loss of land) so that the historical burden on the community can be taken into account in siting and permitting decisions.

The Senate bill also includes many other provisions aimed at accelerating decarbonization of buildings and transportation (electrifying commuter rail, more EV charging stations) and at recycling (expanded bottle bill), cutting electricity costs for lower income residents, improving drought management and other issues (See here for a full summary).

In addition the Senate passed a plastics bill (S.2833) that focuses on reducing the use of single use plastic, especially shopping bags.

As of this writing the House plans to release its climate bill sometime after July 8 which advocates hope will also include language on siting and permitting, grid technology enhancement and EV charging infrastructure. Once amended and passed by the House, it would go to a conference committee where the Senate and House bills would be reconciled. There is not a lot of time for all this to happen.

Please stay tuned for a Green Hudson email for an opportunity to take action and advocate for a final bill with our legislators!

Managing Peak Demand During Summer Heat

We're past our first big heat wave for the summer, but more is on the way. For those who are interested in ways to shave peak demand—which will hopefully avoid the need to turn on back-up energy from our most polluting power plants in overly-impacted communities—check out these resources:

- Green Energy Consumers' Alliance Shave the Peak notifications.

- Metropolitan Area Planning Council peak demand notification program (more specifically for Boston metro area but still generally applies elsewhere).

From a local resident who uses Shave the Peak notifications, we heard: "On the hottest days in the third week of June, 2024, Green Energy Consumer Alliance sent a text asking us to limit our use of energy between the hours of 4–8 p.m. So we planned to use our major appliances (washer/dryer, hot water heater, EV charging, AC) after 8 p.m."

Let's Think About Our Stuff

From our friends at Recycle Smart.

https://www.recyclesmart.org/

When it comes to personal action, it can seem that the only thing we control is what we do with our stuff once we’re done with it. But there’s actually more we can do; we just have to take the time to consider what we care about.

If you care about what is sent to landfills, prolong the life of your things by prioritizing repair, purchasing secondhand, and donating or gifting good stuff you’ve outgrown. You can also make purchases with waste reduction in mind. Buying durable, repairable things and refusing single-use or low-quality items are smart choices that will reduce waste in the long run or prevent it in the first place.

If you care about the greenhouse gas emissions from transporting goods, try to purchase products manufactured in the U.S., buy from local retailers instead of online, or buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials.

If you care about workers and working conditions, look into fair trade companies and resist the temptations of fast fashion.

Discovered on Cape Cod over the Fourth of July Holiday!

WATER IN A CAN!

Open Water's water is as fresh and pure as it gets, but the women-owned business focuses on something that really matters: keeping plastic out of our oceans. Their aluminum cans with screw-on caps are infinitely recyclable, refillable and 100% carbon neutral (per the can's description).

FDA's stance has been that bottled water can last indefinitely if you store it properly: stored in an unopened, properly sealed container. Save our oceans and environment. Buy cans!

Learn more at Open Water's website.

Also, spotted at a Hudson grocery store were Polar Still Spring Water and Nature's Promise Spring Water—both in pop-top cans.

2023-24 Climate Cafes

Beginning last Fall, we started hosting Climate Cafes: monthly presentations by local and regional professionals and organizers on a wide variety of environmentally-oriented topics. We’re taking the Summer off, but the monthly Cafes will start again in September on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the Avidia Bank Community Room.

Thanks to HUD-TV for loaning the equipment and editing the recordings. All of the monthly cafes' videos (and presenters' slides) are available on our website.

The videos include information on establishing a native plant garden and the latest information about rebates and incentives for buying an EV or electrifying your home. There were several presentations about recycling, composting, and reducing plastic waste. And, the final presentation before our Summer break was on green burials.

In the above photo, Jeanette Millard, co-president of Green Hudson, takes time at the end of each Climate Cafe to record people's suggestions for the Hudson Climate Action Plan, which is in development for inclusion in the Town's Master Plan in the future. Input is still being collected.

There’s a lot to learn in each of these videos, which include the Q&A from the audience.

If you have suggestions for topics for next year’s Cafes, please send them to [email protected].

Also seen

at Hudson Fest

In the spirit of being environmentally friendly, this couple joined the festivities at Hudson Fest aboard their electric bicycles.

Twelve States Now Have Paint Recycling Programs—There’s a Push to Add Massachusetts to that Group

A bill filed on Beacon Hill would allow for a similar program to be implemented in Massachusetts.

A small surcharge on each can of paint sold would fund the program.

Waneta Trabert, who runs Newton’s recycling program, is working to get a statewide recycling program launched. If the program becomes law, Trabert will work with an industry-supported non-profit, www.paintcare.org, to bring their program to Massachusetts.

The Assabet River

The Assabet River flows through the town of Hudson providing a powerful reminder of why we want to protect the beauty the earth provides. Scientists are alarmed as we witness climate change happening. We need to do more to put a stop to the threat.

Join Green Hudson now to learn more.

You are invited

This newsletter is a work in progress. Send your comments and suggestions for articles, notable resources, relevant books, etc. to [email protected].

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For more information on Green Hudson...visit our website at www.greenhudson.org.