AMHERST — Describing climate change as posing an immediate and long-term threat to the region and the world, the six Democratic candidates seeking to replace state Rep. Ellen Story offered their plans for action Monday.
At a forum focused on climate change policy, which drew nearly 100 people to the Unitarian Meetinghouse, the candidates in the Sept. 8 primary offered a range of ideas, from Bonnie MacCracken endorsing the creation of a green bank to support environmentally friendly projects to Sarah la Cour calling for investing in infrastructure that promotes renewable energy.
Solomon Goldstein-Rose, a recent Brown University graduate, said climate change hits close to home.
“My generation and my generation’s children are going to be impacted by climate change more than any other issue in our lifetimes,” said Goldstein-Rose, a former member of the Amherst School Committee.
“Climate change is the most important threat facing humanity,” said Vira Douangmany Cage, a member of the Amherst School Committee and organizer for the ACLU of Western Massachusetts.
Former Massachusetts Broadband Institute director Eric Nakajima said he hopes to focus on green infrastructure and green finance and compel the state to have a better response to climate change.
“We know we have a foundation of support for climate change, but we need to do significantly more,” Nakajima said.
Lawrence O’Brien, a Belchertown High School social studies teacher and former member of the Amherst School Committee, said reducing the influence of energy lobbyists on Beacon Hill is essential to combating climate change.
“We have to invest that money in programs and policies that make sure the working class are not hurt as we make change to a greener economy,” O’Brien said.
“Climate change is one of the most important topics to me. I have focused on it most of my career,” said la Cour, executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District, who has also overseen natural resource protection projects that mitigate climate change.
La Cour said the state needs to plan ahead for resiliency and adaptation, noting that the current drought can be blamed on climate change.
“Climate change is the most critical issue facing the world today and the greatest threat to American security,” said MacCracken a professional property title examiner and member of the Democratic State Committee.
MacCracken said the world is approaching the point at which climate change will not be reversed. She said she will fight to ensure that the state will have 100 percent renewable, sustainable resources.
As for steps to deal with climate change, la Cour said she would work with utility companies to move toward greener energy options.
“Our grid infrastructure is of great concern to me. We have to work with them,” la Cour said.
MacCracken said a green bank will provide financing and accelerate the growth of green industry. “I see this as a way to promote more good projects throughout the whole state, and by taking politics out of the equation,” MacCracken said.
Douangmany Cage said she would commit to legislation divesting the state’s pension funds from fossil fuel industries, while Nakajima said he would support more co-generation plants and off- and on-shore wind.
Goldstein-Rose said he would build coalitions and recruit more young people to serve in the Legislature. “We need more people in the Statehouse who are willing to push these bolder ideas,” Goldstein-Rose said.
Not directly addressing the climate change questions, O’Brien said reversing the 1998 to 2002 tax cuts is important to his agenda.
“My campaign has been based largely on my deep concern about growing wealth and income equality, and failure by the commonwealth to invest in public goods,” O’Brien said,
Candidates all expressed support for carbon pricing, which would charge those emitting carbon dioxide for their emissions.
One area where the candidates disagreed was whether the gasoline tax should be increased.
Nakajima, MacCracken and la Cour said they would support an increase.
“I would actually favor increasing it by at least a dime,” said Nakajima, adding that any revenue should go toward transit projects.
“We do need these funds to improve that infrastructure before we have very serious accidents as have happened in other part of the country,” la Cour said.
“We need to replace the gas tax with paying for how much mileage we drive,” MacCracken said.
O’Brien, Douangmany Cage and Goldstein-Rose all said the gas tax has a negative impact on low-income people.
“We’re living in hard economic times. For me to reject a gas tax it would be because we’ve found alternatives fairer to all families,” Douangmany Cage said.
The candidates all expressed support for eliminating the net metering cap, which limits how much renewable energy can be put into the grid, pledging to not take financial contributions from energy companies and ensuring no new natural gas pipelines are built.
The forum was hosted by the Green Sanctuary Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, and co-sponsored by several local groups.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
