Sierra Club & 350 Mass: Can Massachusetts lead in climate policy?

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Craig Altemose from 350 MA and Jacob Stern from the Sierra club.Jacob Stern has served as a statewide organizer for the Massachusetts’s Sierra Club and liaison to the Mass Power Forward coalition since 2017. He manages several of the clean energy campaigns and the Chapter’s political endorsement process. Craig Altemose co-founded 350 Mass for a Better Future in 2011 and has served as its Executive Director since that time. Before starting BFP, he co-founded and led Students for a Just and Stable Future, a statewide student network that engaged students at over fifteen Massachusetts universities on climate policy.What a pleasure to talk to these leaders in the environmental movement.  The environment has been one of my core issues since college — I was a zero-waster back in the 90s before it was cool, before it had a name.  I’m glad it’s finally getting the attention it deserves, although of course not in political circles.  At the state level, small incremental changes are being proposed, but none of the sweeping changes that are necessary.  So I was very excited to hear that these powerful environmental groups are working with a coalition that centers communities of color and labor unions as equal partners in crafting the policy details of a robust, visionary GND for Massachusetts, which they hope will be completed about a year from now.These organizations also have a healthy attitude toward leadership in the House — they understand that one of their main roles is to build the movement outside the building.  They do have 501.c.4 arms that endorse candidates, and they also work to pressure elected officials by calling out the ones who need to be called out, and working with those who are pushing environmental legislation.  You’ll hear them talk about policy, coalitions, and how we get from where we are to a Massachusetts committed to a habitable planet.Without further ado, here is my conversation with Sierra Club and 350 MA.