Spotlight

“Heat Pumps Outperform Boilers and Furnaces — Even in the Cold”

A September 13th report by Alison F. Takemura (published in Canary Media) presents evidence of the superior performance of heat pumps in cold weather. A recent study by the nonprofit Regulatory Assistance Project debunks the message gas utilities are promoting that it is a good idea—even if you install heat pumps—to keep your gas connection as a backup for the coldest of days and nights.

September 16, 2023 No Comments

“Mandatory Disclosure Would Reveal Corporate Carbon Damages: Accurate Reporting is Critical for Markets and Climate Policies”

By Martyn Roetter

The first step in solving a problem is to identify what it is and then ascertain its scope and the underlying causes. One of the (but not the only) impacts of business activities on climate is the consequence of their greenhouse gas emissions. Until now, public firms have not been obliged to disclose these emissions, or at least not in an independently verifiable manner. Disclosure would allow us to compare them within and across market sectors, as we do with traditional financial measures of performance such as EBITDA (earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization).

September 6, 2023 No Comments

Will New Leadership Make a Real Difference at National Grid New England?

National Grid is a major gas and electric utility in Massachusetts. One might expect such a large and important business to want to align its business plans with the directions the Commonwealth has outlined as future energy policy, but that’s not been the case. Over the past few years the actions, plans and announced intentions of National Grid have been in flagrant violation of the Commonwealth’s policies and laws aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

August 11, 2023 No Comments

“Gas and Propane Combustion from Stoves Emits Benzene and Increases Indoor Air Pollution”

A new research study by Yannai S. Kashtan, Metta Nicholson, Colin Finnegan, Zutao Ouyang, Eric D. Lebel, Drew R. Michanowicz, Seth B.C. Shonkoff and Robert B. Jackson (published by American Chemical Society, June 15, 2023) is, according to Boston Green Action co-founder Martyn Roetter, uniquely alarming. The study extends our understanding of the extent of harms that stoves can cause to human health, especially in lower income households with smaller home sizes and less effective ventilation.

The originality of this work goes beyond the well documented impact of the greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide and methane) of gas stoves on climate warming and of nitrogen oxides on respiratory diseases, notably childhood asthma. Significant new results are presented on these stoves’ emissions of benzene, a toxic chemical and Group 1 known human carcinogen. The authors demonstrate that concentrations of this carcinogen—for which no safe level has been established—exceed various indoor exposure benchmarks set by international and US and state agencies.

June 19, 2023 No Comments

“The Devil they Knew: Chemical Documents Analysis of Industry Influence on PFAS Science”

Taking a page directly from the big tobacco playbook, the chemical industry has deliberately suppressed “public awareness of the toxicity of PFAS and, in turn, delayed regulations governing their use.” According to a new study published in the June 2, 2023 issue of Annals of Public Health, ”Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are now ubiquitous in the population and environment. Consumer awareness can advance calls for safer products by demanding publicly available studies of harm.”

June 8, 2023 No Comments

“Third-party electric suppliers are overcharging Mass. consumers; How we can change that.”

Writing for Masslive.com, Green Energy Consumers Alliance’s Larry Chretien and Mikaela Hondros-McCarthy present a compelling report on the consequences of the predatory practices of “so-called third-party competitive electric suppliers.”

The May 21st, 2023 opinion piece is presented here in full:

June 4, 2023 No Comments