The Green Agenda

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this e-mail finds you well. As February draws to an end, I am writing to update you on my work toward our shared vision for a livable Boston with safe, affordable, and sustainable neighborhoods.

In working toward this vision, I recently unveiled an aggressive “Green Agenda” for the Boston City Council to pursue as a way to push Boston to be the greenest city in the world. Please click here to view a video announcement of the Green Agenda.

While the Green Agenda aims to make Boston a more sustainable, healthier and beautiful city, greening Boston also presents the opportunity to proactively invest in Boston’s economic future. The Green Agenda outlines four bold steps to help secure a leading position in the developing clean and green economy which has the potential to carry Boston out of the difficult times we are facing.

The centerpiece of my Green Agenda is the call for an Environmental Science Academy within the Boston Public Schools. Let me be clear: right now, my first priority is to fight to ensure that every dollar possible remains in the school budget and that the city directs your tax dollars to the classroom taking every step possible to avoid losing teachers and any subject areas – my proposal for an Environmental Science Academy will not impact this year’s school budget and it will take more than a few years to develop. But we can’t let today’s necessities keep us from thinking about tomorrow – we need a big vision for our children’s future and we need new ideas to get us out of this recession. That is why I introduced this proposal as the centerpiece of the Green Agenda. Boston needs an innovative public school open to all students that has a rigorous math, science, and trades curriculum that will both prepare students to compete in the expanding green economy and create more responsible citizens who are environmentally literate and practice sustainability in their daily lives and in their communities.

There are three other featured pieces to the Green Agenda. First, I filed an order to conduct two small summits in Boston’s neighborhoods focused on promoting local and individual strategies to combat global climate change. The goal of these summits will be to promote steps that individual Bostonians can take to reduce their impact on the environment. I will let you know when and where these summits are scheduled and I hope to see you there.

Second, I am calling for the creation of a Green Streets or carbon neutral neighborhood pilot program, where the City will provide resources and support for local businesses willing to group together and pledge to reduce their “net” carbon footprint to zero. Through a public hearing, we will look at ways that a Green Streets program might help participants, perhaps through providing clean energy products, energy audits and promotional incentives at low cost. The goal of this program is to offer support and incentives toward greening Boston’s local business districts in much the same way the Main Streets Program has revitalized and developed several neighborhood business districts.

The final aspect of my Green Agenda is continued work on a shared bike program and more sustainable transportation for Boston. I continue to meet with community biking leaders to discuss how best to implement a shared bike program. Of note, I attended a community forum last week where the former Mayor of Bogota discussed many innovative ways for cities to create more pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure. In conjunction with the administration and community leaders, I plan to hold a hearing this spring to discuss the status and next steps for a shared bike program in Boston.

On a personal note, Meg and I are joining a group of neighbors who will take part in a “Low Carbon Diet” workshop run by West Roxbury Saves Energy. Through this workshop, Meg and I will learn how to calculate our household carbon footprint, and work on ways to reduce it. It should be a great way to team up with our neighbors to reduce our impact on the environment while also learning some new ways to save money. The first meeting will be Monday, March 2, 2009 at 7:30pm at West on Centre. Anyone interested in participating is welcome to attend.

As Chair of the Environment & Health Committee and a fellow Bostonian, I will continue to push to make Boston the greenest city in the world. We should strive to reach this goal both out of a shared responsibility to protect our environment and to secure Boston’s place in the emerging “clean and green economy.” I hope you will join me in this effort and I hope you will take an active role in promoting the Green Agenda.

As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly

Boston City Councillor At-Large

You can visit www.ConnollyforBoston.com to learn more about the “Green Agenda” as well as other issues we’ve been working on.