Green Hudson February Newsletter

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Don't want your retirement savings invested in fossil fuels?

You don’t have to have "sustainability" in your job title to make a difference for the planet where you work. People at every level and in every industry are discovering the power they have.

Many big companies, like Google, Amazon, and Netflix, have signed a climate pledge or have sustainability policies in place (although some companies have withdrawn these pledges under the new U.S. administration).

But you hear very little from them about how their employees are investing in fossil fuels through their retirement plans.

Although companies are quiet about how their employees' retirement plans are investing in fossil fuels, you, as an employee, can discover those details: first learn which investment funds your retirement plan is invested in, then use the search box at Fossil Free Funds to get complete ratings for those funds plus a wealth of other information like ratings on gender equality, civilian firearms, prison industrial complex, military weapons, tobacco and other social concerns.

Perhaps it's time to talk with other co-workers about where your retirement funds are invested. If you find fossil fuels are in the mix, maybe your HR department needs to hear about employees' concerns about the future of the earth and the harm that fossil fuels are doing to our health our climate and life on Earth.

Committee Reports

Climate & Energy Committee
For 2025, the Climate and Energy Team will be meeting via google meet, on the second Thursday of the month. This month’s meeting will be February 13 @ 7:00 pm. We will brainstorm new ideas and strategies for our Hudson focused Heat Pump Program.
For more information, contact: [email protected]

Education & Outreach Committee
Green Hudson continues our Climate Cafe series with a glimpse towards spring as we think about a plan for our gardens. Our February speaker will be Brooke Warrington, an environmental enthusiast who is passionate about ecology and native plants. See our Climate Cafe announcement below.

The January 28th Climate Cafe presented a 55-minute movie focusing on the health effects of plastic and the work of scientists and doctors to understand where plastic is accumulating in our bodies. There are important discussions about the many repercussions of microplastics and the many chemical compounds in them and their impact on our health, and reproduction systems.

If you missed the Climate Cafe movie, you can view "We Are All Plastic People" at your leisure here. (You'll need to provide your own popcorn!)

Other topics coming up: in March we're excited to be hosting our State Representative Kate Hogan, who will bring information about possible PFAs legislation that is very relevant to Hudson and Stow; and in April, we'll present Green Hudson's Plastic Reduction Initiative that will appear in the Town Warrant for our May 5th Town Meeting. This will be the perfect time to get a complete understanding of the importance of this proposed by-law and its health benefits plus get answers to any questions you may have. Meanwhile, you can read all about the Non-recyclable Plastic Reduction proposal on our website.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

Plastics Reduction Committee

Great News! The Board of Health has decided to sponsor our Plastic Reduction Initiative! The Board of Health did a great job of bringing attention to our initiative by offering two listening sessions for any restaurants and stores that carry a food permit to come and ask questions. About 19 businesses took her up on that. There was a good mix of stores and restaurants, large and small. The main concern was in paying for the alternative foodware.

The BOH also sent our survey (in three languages!) to all of the businesses. This will help us to know who needs our help.

Pricing for plastic alternatives will be a continued area of work for Green Hudson.

Check out our website to read the full language of the petition. Look for our upcoming Climate Cafe in April focusing on the Plastic Reduction Initiative.

Please let us know if you have questions or if you would like to help get the word out about

the upcoming vote on May 5th by contacting: [email protected]

Legislative Action

Legislators filed about 7,000 bills in mid-January marking the beginning of the 2025/26 legislative session. About 300 bills address climate change.

Many advocacy groups such as Elders Climate Action Mass (ECAMass), Mass Power Forward (MPF), Environmental League of Mass (ELM), 350MA, Mothers Out Front, and Third Act are finalizing their priority legislation relevant to climate change mitigation, adaptation and environmental justice.

In the meantime, Beacon Hill is gearing up to do the work of legislating by setting down rules and setting up committees. Committee assignments and leadership should be decided by March, before the annual budget proposal is dropped by the administration in April. A lot of legislative energy will go into working on the budget since it (in theory) must be passed by July 1.

While much of the focus at the moment is on setting legislative agendas, the administration continues to move forward on electricity rate reform, a clean heat standard, the Mass Save three-year plan, funding the transition to clean energy and other important matters related to recently passed legislation.

2025 promises to be a year for lots of action on climate change. Stay tuned for regular updates and opportunities to think about engaging more actively in advocacy this year. If there is a particular bill you think Green Hudson should advocate for, please let us know. Contact Tina Grosowsky, [email protected].

Seaweed is the most

generous material on Earth

What if the solution to the ocean plastic problem is in the ocean? Julia Marsh of Sway Seaweed Packaging believes it is. Find out why in this short film from www.imagine5.com.

Are You Saving 10% on Your Hudson Light and Power Bill?

Hudson Light & Power offers a 10% discount on the Rate portion of your bill if your bill is paid on or before the 12th of the month. One way to achieve this is to have your bill paid with an auto-draft payment before discount day! By the way, this is the only discount Hudson Light offers.

Green Hudson's Next Meeting

will be at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 16th,

at the Avidia Bank’s Community Room, 17 Pope St.

(rear parking lot, side of building near the drive thru)

or via zoom.

Agenda and zoom invites are sent out

one week before meetings.

Recycling Volunteers Needed!

Have fun! Meet your neighbors and

make new friends while helping the planet.

Recycling volunteers needed Saturdays.

For more information:

contact [email protected]

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

Do you have suggestions for articles, resources of note, inspirations, relevant books to recommend, etc.? Send to [email protected] with the subject line "Green Hudson".

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