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A shift in power: student network pushes lofty goal

Print | Comments () Posted by Beth Daley April 9, 2009 03:36 PM

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You sometimes need lofty – call them even pie in the sky - goals to get action. And the new group Massachusetts Power Shift is certainly reaching high.

The group, a statewide student environmental network created to combat global warming, succeeded this week in convincing the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a resolution urging federal action to end carbon dioxide emissions from power plants within a decade. That’s right – repower America with 100 percent clean electricity by 2020.

It’s not going to happen. But knowing you can’t get to a goal isn’t necessarily a reason for not doing it. The group wants people talking about slashing greenhouse gases, renewable power consistently enough to trickle up to lawmakers to take a tough stand with carbon regulation. They are now working on a campaign to persuade the Massachusetts congressional delegation to go for the 100 percent goal.

This is “unprecedented ambitious federal solutions to global warming,’’ said Craig Altemose, co-coordinator of Massachusetts Power Shift and a Harvard graduate student. The group had allies in state senator Marc R. Pacheco (D-Taunton) and Representative Frank Smizik (D-Brookline) who helped craft the legislation.

The group is now holding a series of town-hall events on April 18 about climate and energy with the national climate group Focus the Nation. For more information go to www.masspowershift.org.