508 is a show about Worcester. This week, we discuss the climate strike, Worcester’s plastic bag ban, election analysis, and dogs in strollers at stART.
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Worcester in 60 seconds: There were lots of crime stories this week, including an attempted kidnapping and a child-porn bust. After a hand-count of the results of the municipal preliminary election, Ralph Tiscione and Evan Corrigan remain tied for 12th in the city council race. Rather than have a runoff to break this tie, both men will be on the ballot in November. Running for Mayor will be incumbent Joe Petty, also Colorio, Coleman, and Sarkodieh. There is lots of action on climate change in the city this week, with various events connected to the global climate strike. The City Council has endorsed the declaration of a climate emergency. The state’s Catholic bishops issued a statement on the climate crisis saying among other things: “Action is needed at all levels of government to encourage replacement of fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy while ensuring that the most vulnerable in society are protected from harm during this transition.” And the Worcester City Council definitely wants to ban plastic shopping bags at retailers, tho not at other places. The retailers could give you a reusable, recyclable paper, or ASTM D6400 compostable bag.
From the Worcester City Council bag ban:
The purpose of this ordinance is to reduce the use of disposable checkout bags by retail establishments in the City of Worcester, curb litter on the streets, protect the marine environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste and to promote the use of reusable bags by retail establishments located in the City.
[…]
No retail establishment shall provide any checkout bag to any customer unless the bag is a reusable bag, a recyclable paper bag, or a compostable plastic bag, as those terms are defined herein.
From the Worcester City Council climate declaration:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Worcester commits to educating our residents about the climate emergency and working to catalyze a just transition and climate emergency mobilization effort at the local, state, and national levels to provide maximum protection for our residents as well as all the people and species of the world;
[…]
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Worcester calls on the State of Massachusetts, the United States of America, and peoples worldwide to initiate a just transition and climate emergency mobilization effort to reverse global warming by restoring near pre-industrial global average temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations, that immediately halts the development of all new fossil fuel infrastructure, rapidly phases out all fossil fuels and the technologies which rely upon them, ends greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible, initiates an effort to safely draw down carbon from the atmosphere, transitions to regenerative agriculture, ends the sixth mass extinction, and creates and guarantees high-quality, good-paying jobs with comprehensive benefits for those who will be impacted by this transition.
Mike’s graph. Summary: “Not a lot of people voted.”
