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Massachusetts Bill Aims To Mandate 100% Renewable Energy By 2035
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The new measure would require the state to make the full transition to renewable energy, eliminating fossil fuels from the heating and transport sector.
Published on January 28, 2017

While Massachusetts is in the midst of concocting their recreational cannabis system, lawmakers have been also been pushing to make the state more “green” in other ways. 

A trio of Democratic lawmakers in Massachusetts recently proposed a bill that would require the state to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. The measure, Bill SD.1932, would also work to eliminate fossil fuel dependency from the heating and transport sectors.    

The aggressive goal expands upon the previously passed Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act, a more modest mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. Not only will the latest measure aim to limit global warming, it will also create a wide range of jobs in solar, offshore wind, energy efficiency, and more.  

Massachusetts has already mandated 1,600 MW of offshore wind, and the new measure will attempt to expand the health and environmental benefits. The progressive bill was introduced by Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington), Rep. Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge), and Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton).  

 

"It encourages job creation, protects and sustains our natural resources, reduces our carbon footprint and would benefit the health and well-being of our citizens in immeasurable ways,” said Rep. Garballey. “More importantly, it signals to the country our commitment to long-term solutions in meeting the very real challenges of climate change, and lights the way for similar efforts across the nation.”

 

Although Bill SD.1932 would have likely been celebrated under the Obama administration, the proposed measure directly opposes the policy of President Donald Trump. The business mogul-turned-politician and his Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson have alleged conflicting interest in the oil industry. In fact, one of Trump’s first actions as president was to place a “gag order” on the National Parks Service, while also moving to silence scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture. 

But the new climate change denying administration hasn’t stopped municipalities from taking these matters into their own hands. Outside of Massachusetts, the city of San Diego also pledged to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Needless to say, environmentally progressive measures like the one introduced in Massachusetts proves that the fight to curb global warming and eliminate fossil fuel dependency will continue despite the efforts of the Trump administration.         

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Tyler Koslow
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Tyler Koslow is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer with an intensive focus on technology, music, pop culture, and of course, cannabis and its impending legalization.
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