It was heartening to see so many people gathered, filling the sanctuary of the First Churches last Tuesday, Sept. 25, for the official launch of the Columbia Gas Resistance Campaign. Particularly compelling were the voices of many local elected officials, in addition to those of scientists, activists, and our high school and college students, whose future is more significantly at stake.
Northampton’s city council president, Ryan O’Donnell, was terrific. “I would like to see a unanimous vote against the building of fossil-fuel infrastructure south of Northampton, especially if it will be done in the city’s name,” he said. “I think we need a new direction as a city, as a commonwealth, as a country.” In other words, fossil fuels are not a sustainable solution for our energy needs.
We all know this deep down by now. Climate change is no longer a hypothetical concept; it is something we are all experiencing. Our city council will have the opportunity to vote on Northampton’s fossil fuel future this Thursday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend and speak. Longmeadow’s senator Eric Lesser called for a halt to new Columbia gas permitting after gas blasts in our state destroyed scores of homes and displaced owners and renters, again disproportionately affecting the economically disadvantaged.
What we do need is an immediate plan for fixing the hundreds of gas leaks already known and identified across our Commonwealth. Leaking methane (“natural gas”) is an even more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. And, this is simply a waste. Conservation is the low-hanging fruit. One of the final questions of the evening came from a young high school student: “We still have a brief window to preserve a livable world,” Susan Theberge had said earlier. The student asked, what can I do?
The answer is to work together for renewable energy and conservation, not more fossil fuels, and to implement these alternative resources in ways that are economically available to all.
Renna W. Pye, MD
Northampton