More than 150 people attended the first ever 350 New England Convergence in Boston on November 17 and 18. The Convergence was designed to gather individuals and groups to “address the region’s reliance on fossil fuels and methods we can utilize to expose and end their use”, according to 350.org’s literature.
Tar sands, fracking and pipelines
Ten panelists spoke on a range of topics, from tar sands to fracking, divestment to dividend carbon pricing (a.k.a. the “carbon tax”), and pipelines to political accountability.
Among the panelists was Mary Anne Babinski, a retired nurse and one of the leaders of Westfield Concerned Citizens, a group that’s fighting the construction of a natural gas plant in Westfield, Massachusetts. In October, the 69-year-old Babinski walked 100 miles from Westfield to the Boston Common to draw attention to the proposed plant, which would spew noxious pollutants into the air in an area that already has high rates of childhood asthma.
The afternoon of the first day of the conference was reserved for workshops and brainstorming. The workshops matched the panelist topics and provided opportunities for connection and planning actions.
Ben Trolio, a University of New Hampshire senior majoring in environmental studies, was one of many students who attended one of two divestment workshops. Divestment involves getting institutions of higher learning to remove their investment funds from fossil fuel companies.
When I asked Ben what’s the most important thing he’d take away from the Convergence, he said, “This is the first time I’ve seen the faces of the New England climate movement and I just feel moved by the people this weekend.”
Panelist Issac Silberman-Gorn, of Citizen Action of New York, who’d presented on the topic of fighting hydraulic fracking in his home state, summarized the spirit of the weekend well: “I think it’s really about connecting our respective fights. Actions that happen throughout the New England area could help stop the extraction [of fossil fuels] from happening.”
The group agreed on this unanimously: Given that the fossil fuel companies have the billions of dollars, we must have the people power if we’re going to move beyond fossil fuels and fight climate change.
Early Sunday afternoon, before the Convergence ended, a number of attendees participated in a solidarity action supporting the simultaneously occurring protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline, in Washington, DC.
Save the date: On Saturday, January 19th, there will be regional mass actions, including one in Portland, ME, against fossil fuels. GreeningRozzie will keep you posted.
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