Wanna talk about neighborhood issues? Help plan a Greenovate Meet-Up!

Neighborhood Meet-Ups are
popping up all over the City!

Focus of February 27 Meeting:
This Spring, Planet Southie will participate in an opportunity to bring together neighbors to discuss a question about "sustainability" in our community.  For example, "How should Boston address parking demands?" or "How best can we balance budgetary constraints with the need to maintain street trees in the City?" What's the question? That's up to you!

Background
Based on feedback from the Climate Action Plan Community Leadership meeting in December, and the new Mayor's Transition Team’s Environment Public Hearing in January, the City of Boston is launching the Greenovate Ambassador program to help facilitate communication between Bostonians and the City around sustainability.

Ambassadors (including Planet Southie) will work between the City and the community to help solicit ideas, facilitate discussion, and understand objectively what the collective community wants to see in Boston. They will be the glue between the community and City Hall.

Our role
Brian, Patrick and Stefanie had a productive call with the City regarding the Greenovate process.

2/3/14 Vigil Against Keystone XL Pipeline (Broadway T Stop)

Photo from 2/3 #NoKXL vigil

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to send the message to President Obama that Keystone XL fails his climate test and he must reject it. On the evening of Monday, February 3rd, we’ll come together around the country to make our voices heard.

The No KXL protest vigils are organized by 350MA, CREDO, Rainforest Action Network, and the Sierra Club, and supported by 350.org, The Other 98%, Center for Biological Diversity, Oil Change International, Bold Nebraska, Energy Action Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Hip Hop Caucus, Overpass Light Brigade, Environmental Action, League of Conservation Voters, Waterkeeper Alliance, Friends of the Earth, Forest Ethics, Forecast the Facts, and others.

Please bring candles and appropriate signs (links available after you sign up).

Look for us on the traffic island at the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and West Broadway.

Renew Boston Energy Action: Save $ and win stuff!

Planet Southie is celebrating the power of Energy Action by co-sponsoring Renew Boston's Energy Action drawing! 

Choose any of the Energy Actions below and you will gain a chance to win a prize. Drawing prizes are:  1. Nest thermostat, 2. Solio solar charger, 3. Satechi LED desk lamp, 4. Eton emergency radio/charger, 5. Belkin Conserve Valet charger, a $50 gift certificate from Boston Building Resources, and 6. Chinese Lantern LED light strings.

Enter and win this! Keep your home cozy with this Nest T200577 Learning Thermostat that remembers the temperatures you like and switches to an energy-efficient setting when you're away. Wi-Fi connectivity lets you make adjustments from your mobile phone, tablet or laptop. 

Climate Change Focus at July 25 Planet Southie Meeting

Please join us on Thursday, July 25 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm at the Distillery Building. 

Why 350ppm? Find out here!

The meeting will open with a brief presentation by 350MA about the current state of climate change and its impact on human health.

For the remainder of the meeting, we will break out into small groups based on interest (ex: climate, bike, transit, walking, etc.).

As always, all are welcome at Planet Southie!




Meeting Details:

What: Montly Planet Southie Meeting: Focus on Climate Change
When: Thursday, July 25, 2013 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Where: The Distillery Building, 516 E 2nd Street, South Boston

I want a livable planet for my kid: One Southie mom's thoughts on climate change

Hey there residents of Planet Southie, it's Stefanie.

Some of you know me from Planet Southie meetings (I usually facilitate). This is a very different kind of blog post. 

Olivia and me

We usually blog about boring (but important) stuff, like meetings. Ultimately, the topic of climate change is a personal one, so this is a very personal post. It's also very long (sorry) and kinda intense (yikes). While climate change evokes images of far away polar bears and icecaps, the reality of it literally hits home when we start to think practically about what it means for our community and our families (more extreme weather, power outages, disease, stress, scarcity, etc.). Because my background is in public health and human rights, I tend to focus on how climate impacts people (not that I don’t love polar bears too).

As many of you know, Aaron and I became parents last year. You may have met our beautiful daughter Olivia (especially if you ride the #9 bus!). Since Olivia's arrival, we have felt an even greater urgency to confront climate head on. About three years ago, we started Planet Southie with hopes to connect with our neighbors to cultivate homegrown solutions (and it's worked!), but we have shied away from the term “climate change” out of silly worries over controversy. Time to stop worrying what people think and just go for it.

On Sunday, July 7: Sniff out gas leaks and walking hazards

On Sunday, July 7  from 4:00 - 6:00 pm, South Boston residents are invited to help reduce our utility bills, make our neighborhood safer, and fight climate change by participating in a walking hazard/gas leak-detection effort. 

Why are we mapping walking hazards?

Faded crosswalks, sidewalks with out curb ramps, perilous intersections and poor lighting are among the hazards that seniors, kids, people in wheel chairs and baby stollers, and other pedestrians face daily in South Boston. When reported, these are easily and affordably fixed and the payoff is big. A walkable community benefits small local businesses, has less crime, fewer cars, healthier people and, of course, fewer injuries.

Join us for the July 7 waking hazards/gas leaks mapping event to help document and report these hazards to make it easier for the City of Boston to know where they need to make repairs. We will use resources provided by WalkBoston to map and report walk hazards.

Why are we mapping gas leaks?

Many gas pipelines are old or leak-prone and we, the consumers, pay the cost. As reported by Clean Water Action, natural gas companies collected nearly $40 million in 2010 from customers statewide for gas that never made it to our homes. In Boston alone, recent scans detected over 3000 gas leaks. These leaks also release methane into the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

10/10/10: Here we come!

Well. Here we are! After two months of planning, our 10/10/10 Broadway Clean Up starts in less than 12 hours!  Go here to see who is coming and learn more. Photos will be posted below and on our Facebook page right after the event.

Special thanks to the South Boston Youth Ambassadors, The West Broadway Neighborhood Association and to our Clean Up Team Leaders: Sr. Susan, Mike C., Susan L., Mike M., Nicole, and Jake!

10/10/10 Broadway Clean Up Volunteers Get to Work!

Don't miss Planet Southie's 10/10/10 Broadway Clean Up

At 10:10 am on 10/10/10, members of Planet Southie, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, the South Boston Youth Ambassadors and others will meet at Broadway T station and then walk down Broadway to L Street, picking up litter and recycling along the way.

• We will carry copies of the Mayor's Climate Change Pledge for people to sign as well as surveys about public transportation.
  
• Youth Ambassadors will be visiting shops along the way, asking shopkeepers to sign a pledge promising to keep the sidewalks outside of their stores clean.
  
• All are welcome! Sign up at the Event Website

10/10/10 is a global day of action on climate change. Events will be happening simultaneously all over the world. More information is at www.350.org.

How to Get Involved Planning the Event: We would love some help! Please email planetsouthie@gmail.com or call 617-962-1735.

This week's update: Plug In Southie!

Check out this week's Friday update for opportunities to plug into a greener South Boston:

• 10/10/10 global warming event planning meeting
• Boston Local Food Festival
• South Boston Street Festival
• More!

Next Planet Southie Meeting is Monday, September 27 from 6:30-7:30 pm. Location: Tech Networks of Boston, 1 Wadleigh Place in South Boston, right behind the Andrew Square T stop.

Please email us to subscribe to our weekly eNewsletter: Plug In Southie. 

Plug In Southie! Our Friday Update

Check out Planet Southie's Friday Update: a neighborhood guide to plugging into a greener South Boston. The update highlights opportunities to get involved in South Boston-based environmental initiatives.

Please email us to subscribe to our weekly eNewsletter: Plug In Southie. 

First Planet Southie meeting a smash!

Wow! We are pleased as punch that 22 wonderful people showed up at our first Planet Southie meeting on Monday, August 23. Please see the Meeting Notes to learn who is involved how to plug into South Boston environmental projects including:

• Anti-litter campaigns
• Community gardens
• Farmers market
• Global warming event on 10-10-10
• Public transportation
• Recycling
• Environmental justice
• Saving the trees in Andrew Square
• Solar power event

There is also interest in asthma initiatives.

We decided to meet the 4th Monday of every month from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Location to be determined (the library is booked).
 
Next meeting is September 27, 2010. See you there!

Stay tuned by following Planet Southie on Twitter and Facebook

Our first post: the inspiration for Planet Southie

Welcome to Planet Southie!

We are in the midst of reading a book about global warming/climate change by Bill McKibben entitled Eaarth (yes, there are two a's). Soon after we started reading the book, we realized that we need to find other people in Southie who share our worries and hopes for our community. We can do this by connecting as neighbors and don't necessarily need to get into debates or politics about the sources of climate change. Here is a snippet about the book.

Our old familiar globe is suddenly melting, drying, acidifying, flooding, and burning in ways that no human has ever seen. We've created, in very short order, a new planet, still recognizable but fundamentally different. We may as well call it Eaarth...Our hope depends, McKibben argues, on scaling back—on building the kind of societies and economies that can hunker down, concentrate on essentials, and create the type of community (in the neighborhood, but also on the Internet) that will allow us to weather trouble on an unprecedented scale. Change—fundamental change—is our best hope on a planet suddenly and violently out of balance.

After setting up some online communication tools (website, blog, Facebook, Twitter and an email account), our first step is to meet our neighbors and put our heads together. Some ideas:

• Reach out to others in our community
• Have a meeting at the South Boston branch of the Boston Public Library (and visit the Blackthorn afterwards!). We will promote this meeting as soon as a date is set  up
• Promote the South Boston Farmer's Market (Mondays at 460 West Broadway)
• Research and promote Cooling Centers (places set up by the City of Boston for people with out air conditioning to go in a heat wave, since this is the hottest summer ever)
• Post pictures of Southie gardens to celebrate those who devote energy to growing things
• Plan an event for 10-10-10
• More (please share your ideas)

We hope to hear from you!

Stefanie and Aaron
West 2nd Street
South Boston, MA