GWSA Passes in Massachusetts!

This week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act and historic “Green Jobs” legislation. Together, these bills will cut global warming pollution while creating an inclusive, clean energy economy in our state. Our legislators were emboldened by a coalition of citizens, organizations (including Environment Massachusetts, Clean Water Action, the Mass Green Jobs Coalition, and the Massachusetts Climate Coalition), and by our state’s youth in unprecedented numbers.

As an organizer who has spent hours on making this happen, I want to point to the unique efforts of Massachusetts Power Shift (MAPS – www.masspowershift.org), my statewide network of campus and community activists. In April, MAPS gathered a conference of hundreds of students and adults from around the state in Boston. Empowered from a weekend of high profile speakers including Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Ed Markey, they showed at the State House to lobby almost every single state legislator or their staff for climate solutions. Without these efforts, this week’s legislative session might have ended differently.

There is still much to do, but this is a fantastic beginning. Real people working together really can change the world. Let’s thank our State Legislature, the non-profit community, and my co-coordinators of MAPS for their audacious vision and actions!'

Woot!