Steps Towards a Greener Future
Overwhelming local support for a nonbinding ballot
initiative indicates that a push for a greener future may have legs.
The “Secure Green Future” initiative appeared on ballots in
11 Massachusetts Districts, and proposes legislation that would phase out tax incentives
for projects that use a lot of energy (like the Big Dig, for example), reward
small businesses that practice energy conservation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
in Massachusetts by 80%, by the year 2020. Out of the 192,992 votes cast for
the initiative, 81.4 percent were “yes” votes, and 18.6 percent were “no”
votes.
“I think it’s really exciting to see how strongly the public
wants to move forward on the economy and, at the same time, to really preclude
the climate and the fuel catastrophes that are waiting in the wings,” says Jill
Stein, a board member on the Committee
for a Secure Green Future. “This was not a big budget item. Our total
expenses came in the range of $1000. There was really a diffused network of
people here, working on the strength of their convictions, and their interest
at the community level at solving the economy.”
A nonbinding ballot initiative is just that; legislators
aren’t beholden to its results. These unofficial ballot questions are often
used by organizations to galvanize voters and use election results as leverage
when lobbying for particular legislation, which is part of the Committee for a
Secure Green Future’s game plan; they hope to prompt lawmakers to focus on a
greener local economy, with emphasis on
increased local food and fuel production.
“We can have a continued dialogue with our elected
officials, because now we can really drive home that there is public support,”
Stein says. “We characterize this as a triple win; a green economic stimulus package; an
insurance policy against the shockwaves to the economy and the environment; and
it’s also a prevention policy - prevention against chaos.”
The committee plans to reach out to more Massachusetts residents who weren’t able to
vote on the initiative, by soliciting a statewide petition.
