stepitupworcester2007's blog

Greetings Activists!

I am so glad that there are so many people interested in making Step It Up! Worcester a reality. We all know it takes a lot of hard work to reach our goals, and we couldn't be successful without a lot of dedicated people behind us.

No one knows better than you that our country is dangerously addicted to oil. This addiction is felt across the globe, but we can see its effects right here. The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that 64,000 deaths are caused each year in the US by air pollution, through lung and heart disease. The harmful gases spewed into the air are also responsible for asthma in children and the elderly, particularly in industrial cities, like Worcester. Not to mention the effects of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), sulfur oxides (which create acid rain), and nitrogen oxides (which are responsible for smog) on plant and animal life.

As you may know, one of the main objectives of Step It Up! Worcester is to get 300 households signed up for GreenUp, the National Grid's green program. GreenUp matches each households electric use and puts it towards wind, solar, and low impact hydro power. This is a big step towards weening the country off of oil, and moving forward with cleaner, better technology. In addition, if we get 300 households to sign up for GreenUp, we can afford to pay the salary of the Energy and Environmental manager to overlook the efforts of the Worcester Climate Action Plan AND support more renewable energy projects around Worcester. So not only are we getting cleaner air NOW, we're working towards making Worcester clean for everyone.

The best way for you to support Step It Up Worcester's effort is to sign your household up for GreenUp! GreenUp is an option available to all households in Massachusetts, and you can choose to put 50% to 100% of your electricity towards clean, renewable sources. There is a calculator available on the website to see how much each option would add to your bill: http://massenergy.com/Green.Pricing.html Part of your bill will be tax-deductible and through the month of March, everyone who signs up online will receive coupons for Equal Exchange coffee, tea, or cocoa. Visit http://massenergy.com/Green.GS.html to learn more and to sign up!

For more reasons to join, visit: http://massenergy.com/Green.Matters.html

In addition to signing yourself up, why not get your friends, colleagues, and family signed up? If everyone on the list signs up 3 people, that covers more than half of our goal of 300! I'd love to hear from everyone that they'll commit to signing 3 households to GreenUp.
Send your commitments to Rachel, at rachel.l.hamilton@gmail.com.

Thanks everyone, and remember, we can't do it without you!
Rachel Hamilton
Canvassing Coordinator

PS - Feel free to get back to me with questions. :)

The Step It Up 2007 Rally Against Climate change is looking to be a huge community event. On April 14th in Elm Park (and hundreds of places across the nation) we will be gathering in solidarity with a message to congress and to ourselves; it's time to STEP IT UP. We plan on making Worcester a shining example of what a city can do to reduce its carbon footprint and its contribution to global climate change.

GET INVOLVED! If you'd like to find out more, share your organizing skills and ideas, and help prepare for this momentous occasion, please
contact stepitupworcester2007@gmail.com

We will be having our third planning meeting on Sunday at 3 pm at WPI in the Campus Center. All are welcome to attend (please).

If you can't make the meeting but would still like to help, please email stepitupworcester2007@gmail.com

thanks!

Latest "Step It Up Worcester" news

STEP IT UP!

What: Rally Against Global Climate Change
Bands, Speakers, Info, Food and Fun

When: April 14th

Where: Elm Park, Worcester
(and hundreds of other cities)

Why: To mobilize the masses and let our voices be heard, with the goal of making Worcester an example of how a city can reduce greenhouse emissions on a local level.

It's time for a mobilization effort the likes of which has not been seen since WWII. Changing light bulbs and buying hybrids just isn't enough. But things are looking up. The subject of climate change is becoming a hot topic (no pun intended). It's time to facilitate the growing momentum and to put real pressure on our elected representatives.

We will be gathering in Elm Park on April 14th to let our voices be heard. Individually we are weak, but the combined power of the environmentally-aware is a force to be reckoned with, certainly one that cannot go unheard.

Please join us.

There will be bands, speakers, info sessions and local organizations explaining how they are involved in the greening of Worcester. It will be a chance for us to jump start and solidify our local movement, with the goal of making Worcester an example to other cities in MA of how we can reduce greenhouse emissions on a local level.

Hence, Bill McKibben's call to organize a nationwide day of thousands of rallies on April 14th. Every group will be saying the same thing: STEP IT UP, EVERYONE! In Congress, we need to enact immediate cuts in carbon emissions, and pledge an 80% reduction by 2050. No half measures, no easy compromises-the time has come to take the real actions that can stabilize our climate. In Worcester, we want to be more than half way to oil independence by 2020.

The best science tells us we have ten years to fundamentally transform our economy and lead the world in the same direction or else, in the words of NASA's Jim Hansen, we will face a "totally different planet," one infinitely sadder and less flourishing.

Polling shows most Americans know there's a problem. But the forces of inertia and business-as-usual are still in control, and only our voices, united and loud, joyful and determined, can change that reality.

“The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place, we are entering a period of consequences.”
-Winston Churchill

STEP IT UP, WORCESTER!
STEP IT UP, EVERYONE!
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE