MASSACHUSETTS SIERRA CLUB
10 Milk Street, Ste 632, Boston, MA 02108-4621 • Tel:(617)423-5775 • Fax:(617)890-0338 •

The Massachusetts Sierran

Fall 2011 • Volume 17 • Number 1

• Director’s Letter
• MA Activists Recognized
• Anita King Retires
• Advocating on Beacon Hill
• Threats to our Forests
• Sierra Club Takes Action
• Meet Launa Zimmaro
• 2011 Political Endorsements
• Green Communities Act
• Chapter & Group Elections
• Endangered Species in MA
• Middlesex Fells

Fall 2010 • Volume 16 • Number 2

• Director’s Letter: 20 Years Ago Today
• Chapter Chair’s Remarks: Agenda for the next 40 Years
• 2010 Political Endorsements
• Grassroots Efforts: Superfund Cleanup at the Massachusetts Military Reservation
• Africa, Climate Change, and Sierra Club
• Chapter History, Part II
• Sierra Club Elections Candidate Statements
• Election Ballots
• Beyond Coal Campaign
• Biomass Victory
• Sign up for the E-Sierran

March 2010 • Volume 16 • Number 1

• 40 Years of Protecting Our Commonwealth - Director’s Letter
• The Thoreau Group’s History
• Club’s Activist Structure
• The Chapter’s First Two Decades
• Sego Endorses Political Action
• Murphy Brings Faith and Ecology Together
• Appeal To Our Members
• Dow on Efforts to Keep Fish in the Sea
• Greater Boston Group Elections, Candidate Statements, and Ballots
• Oldham Describes New Organizing Initiatives
• The Chapter’s Biomass Position
• Sign up for the E-Sierran

Fall 2009 • Volume 15 • Number 1

• Director’s Letter: Biomass questions
• Campbell Visits to State Forests
• Nantucket Recycles!
• Dow on Efforts to Manage Ocean Resources
• Recycle Your Paper
• License Plates for the Environment
• Chapter and Group Elections
• Endorsements for City Elections
• Invaders!
• Human Population Stresses Resources
• Green Certification Delayed
• Goodbye to Alex Oster
• Meetings, Events, Outings

Winter 08-09 • Volume 14 • Number 4

• Director's Letter -Transportation reforms.
• Our Legislative Agenda
• Energy Enlightenment - Murphy calls for equity.
• The Sierran's Future - our move from paper.
• We Mourn Barbara Fegan
• Political Corruptions? - Follow the money.
• End of the Wild- Meyer's important book.
• Our Chapter's Accomplishments - 2008 and ahead.
• A Power Plant in Billerica? - Not so fast, say opponents.
• Belmont Uplands - Mass updates us on the continuing fight.
• Chapter Election Calendar for 2009
• Perchlorate Cleanup - the trial method.
• Fishing on Cape Cod - Dizard reviews Budryk's guide.

Fall 08 • Volume 14 • Number 3

• Director's Letter -Summarizes of our successes.
• Emergency - Recognize and stop the ALB.
• Where does your electricity come from?
• Vote! -Check out our endorsements.
• No More Waste
• Burning debris threatens air quality
• Help save our environment
• Plastic bags are everywhere - Yikes!
• Beth Daley wins Sierra Club award
• Going green - Massachusetts public forests set high goals.
• Sierra Club elections - Candidates statements and ballots.
• Wildlands and Woodlands - Forests give us clean water, clean air, and more!

Summer 08 • Volume 14 • Number 2

• Director's Letter - Advocating for our public lands.
• Hemlocks - Orwig on the habitat we're losing.
• Beaches - Getting there by public transportation.
• Arnold Arborteum Battles HWA
• Fight Global Poverty
• Peace Work - Murphy describes the Cape and Island Group's efforts.
• Reducing our Wastes - Pledger and Sego call for Zero Waste.
• Local Safaris - Take the bus to the beach.
• Want to Walk a Beach - Be careful where you go!
• Two Activists Pass On - Louise Lewis and John Deacon will be missed.
• Listening in the Summer - Campbell reviews "The Songs of Insects".

Spring 08 • Volume 14 • Number 1

• Director's Letter -The Environmental Bond.
• Cape Wind - Review of the impact report.
• Power Shift - Join up for clean energy!
• Preserving Public Lands - Contact your legislators to protect parks.
• Belmont Uplands Hosts Interesting Wildlife
• Green Colleges - Harvard and Tufts are honored by the Club.
• Attacking Problems in the Gulf of Mexico -
• Elections for Greater Boston Group
• David Heimann urges us to get involved
• Energy, Peace, Justice - The Cape Cod and Islands Group leads the way.
• Taking up the Fight - Walsh reviews McKibben's Handbook.
• Green Investing - MacKay offers guidance.
• Don't Move Firewood

Winter 07/08 • Volume 13 • Number 4

• Director's Letter - Victory in Fall River.
• AltWheels - Advocating for public transit.
• Decorating Sustainably -Avoid those nasty invasives!
• We've Been Busy -keeping us involved.
• Water Policy Again - Letters to the Editor.
• Water Crisis -Billions lack sanitation and drinking water.
• UMass Buys Local -Students dine well on local products.
• Suburban Wood - Donahue describes "wildlands and woodlands" in Weston.
• Hope for Ocean Life? - reviews of "The Unnatural History of the Sea".
• Save Energy Now - Tips for space heating.
• Wind Considered - Report from the Energy Conference.

Fall 07 • Volume 13 • Number 3

• Director's Letter -State says no to citizens.
• ATVs, ORVs, OHMs - Bad news for children and land.
• Students in our midst - The Sierra Student Coalition shows the way.
• Connecting the next generation - Getting inspired by teens and inspiring others.
• Quabbin watershed - New plan, changing forestry.
• Protecting public lands - Saunders encourages further action.
• Cape Wind - Dowds explores the book and its message to all of us.
• Green energy - Cohen-Rosenthal describes some opportunities.
• Chair's Column -David Heimann on the chapter's activities.
• Belmont Uplands - You can still help!
• Water, water -- everywhere? - Schwalbaum explains water issues in Massachusetts.
• Gardening for justice - A community garden means more than food.
• Taking action - MacLeod helps us reduce our carbon footprints.

Summer 07 • Volume 13 • Number 2

• Director's Letter - State Setting Energy Policy.
• Forest Management - comments on state plans.
• Permitting too much? -changes to state protections.
• Cape Wind receives permit
• Taxing carbon - endorsing the concept and a bill.
• Protecting our parks -Support the chapter's legislative agenda.
• A victory in Essex County -Peters tells how the Essex group protected turtle habitat.
• Lobbying 101 - Moore guides us through the process.
• Protecting urban rivers - working locally.
• Overpumping ground water - Frye reviews "Water Follies".
• Forests not sprawl - Ferrare describes the Keystone Program for forest preservation.

Spring 07 • Volume 13 • Number 1

• Director's Letter - A new governor brings a big change.
• Past and Future - The chapter's accomplishments and plans.
• Birds Need our Help - Some birds don't thrive in forests.
• Energy as a Human Rights Issue - The Cape Group tackles both.
• Old Growth Hemlocks - The threat to this important species.
• Fighting Climate Change - The Un Climate Conference.
• Congratulations ICO!
• Cool Cities
• Surviving Winter and other Challenges - Natural History books by Heinrich.
• MA Environmental Policy Act - Dawson on using this law.
• Rethinking Zoning - Why we are car dependent.
• Green Maps - Visualize our Communities.

Winter 06/07 • Volume 12 • Number 4

• Director's Letter -Supporting sustainable harvesting of trees.
• Cape Wind - A dissenting letter and the chapter's response.
• Can We Be Friends? - Dizard shows why environmentalists and hunters need each other.
• Changing Our Weather - Ekel reviews "The Weather Makers".
• LIving Long and Well - A wilderness advocate turns 100.
• Family Planning in the World - How you can help.
• Belmont Uplands - What you can do.
• Plus- An article calling all South Shore members to get involved in community environmental issues and Chapter and Group elections.

Fall 06 • Volume 12 • Number 3

• Director's Letter -Two gifts to developers: faster permitting, spotted turtles delisted.
• Eating Well at Work and School - Institutions are buying locally-grown food.
• Climate Change and Weather - Are recent severe storms a result of climate change?
• Old Growth Forests - Carlisle begins a series of articles on our special forests.
• Saving Energy Easily - Change your light bulbs! Utility companies want to help you save money and energy.
• Watch What you Eat - Marien reviews "Hooked" about fishing for "Chilean Sea Bass".
• Can Wetlands be Banked Successfully? - Chapman on the Taunton experimental "wetlands bank".
• Departing Staff - Jeremy Marin and Yi Ching Fedkenheuer.

Summer 06 • Volume 12 • Number 2

• Director's Letter - Rewarded for Bad Behavior? State revisits ORV/ATV Policies on Public Lands.
• Quabbin Water - Alexandra Dawson poses the question - Should the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority sell water from the Quabbin Reservoir?
• Cool Cities Initiative - A look at how Massachusetts is saving energy city by city, by Michael Blouin.
• Hull Reduces CO2 - Judeth Van Hamm shares how Hull selectmen endorsed the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and how Hull is leading the fight to reduce CO2 emissions.
• How Much Perchlorate is Too Much? - An in-depth discussion of water standards and the effects of perchlorate on the human body, by David Dow.
• Greylock Glen - The state selects the town of Adams as Provisional Developer for Greylock Glen, reported by Elisa Campbell.
• Book Review - Gil Woolley reviews Michael McCloskey's In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club.
• Protecting our Parks - Philip Saunders gives an update of the Parks Protection Package and explains how to get involved.
• Kerry Leaves Clean Cars in the Dust - Jeremy Marin reports on Senator Kerry's refusal to sign onto a bi-partisan joint letter urging the EPA to grant a waiver that would allow stricter emission standards.
• Hybrids vs. Ethanol - A report on Massachusetts' current fleet of vehicles and its lack of hybrid cars, by Jeremy Marin.
• Plus - Taking action on global warming, Earth Day reports, an update on the advance of the Forest Reserves process, fall membership meeting featuring Dr. Kirk R. Smith who will speak about petroleum in developing countries, call for nominations, call for volunteers for the Political Committee and Energy Committee.

Spring 06 • Volume 12 • Number 1

• Director's Letter - Barely holding ground - ups and downs for our parks
• Wetlands Loss at Blue Hills - Sue Bass reports on the state's authorization for wetlands destruction at Blue Hills Reservation to accommodate emergency drinking water reserve tanks for Quincy residents.
• Inner City Outings - Connecting Boston-area youth with the outdoors. William K. Hart reports.
• Book Review - Elisa Campbell reviews Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science.
• Conference of the Parties, Montreal - Blossom Hoag reports on the Sierra Club presence at the COP 11/MOP 1 conference in December addressing global warming and the Climate Change treaty.
• Wastewater Treatment on Cape Cod - A closer look by David Dow at current treatment and how to take responsibility at a local level.
• Sierra Club Outer Harbor Island LNG Voyage - Description and registration for our Sunday May 21 educational cruise, sponsored by the Chapter's Greater Boston Group.
• Sierra-Endorsed Candidates Make Big Gains! - Phillip Sego shares the outcome of municipal and town elections in Boston, Newburyport, Cambridge, Somerville and Watertown.
• Update on the Parks Protection Package - With our public lands under siege, Philip Saunders, Jr. outlines the PPP's three bills, locates what committees they are in as of March 2006, explains how you can take action.
• Population Program Co-Sponsors Speaker on Young Women's Experiences - Elisa Campbell tells us about Ann M. Moore'sSmith College lecture last November entitled, "Sexual Rights of Young Women: Coercion in Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa."
• Plus - A call for hikers and photographers, Spectacle Island as newest addition to Boston Harbor Islands National Recreational Area, tips on spring cleaning, and a call to save the Belmont Uplands

Winter 2005/6 • Volume 11 • Number 4

• Director's Letter - Liquefied Natural Gold: The Rush for LNG in New England
• Safe? Or Not? - David Dow asks questions about the PAVE PAWS Radar facility and if it might be adversely affecting human health.
• Ware River Needs Us - Elisa Campbell is recruiting volunteers to serve on the Ware River Watershed Advisory Committee.
• Cambridge Takes On Global Warming - Rosalie Anders sheds light on the city's efforts to fight for cleaner air and water, healthier forests and wetlands, more walkable communities, more comfortable living spaces and a stronger economy.
• Two Views from the Summit - Phil Dowds and Blossom Hoag describe their experiences and highlights from the Sierra Summit last September in San Francisco.
• A Long Strange Story - The Silver Line saga as told by John Kyper, chair of the Transportation Committee, and the recent removal of Phase III from the Federal Transit Administration's list of projects vying for federal funding.
• Generating Your Own Energy - Linda Raven recommends energy independence by installing a renewable energy system in your own home.
• Follow the Leaders - In November, government officials from all around the world will be convening in Montreal, Canada for the COP 11, the eleventh meeting of the Committee of the Parties which developed the Kyoto Protocols.
• Plus - A report on heartening Forest Reserves meetings, Chapter and Group Elections, and an article on conscientious holiday shopping.

Fall 2005 • Volume 11 • Number 3

• Director's Letter - Wind turbines on Wachusett? A dangerous precedent would be set.
• Wachusett's Old Growth - Joe Choiniere identifies new sites of old growth on Wachusett Mountain.
• News Brief - Transportation bill authorizes funds for North South Rail Link.
• Buying Green Power - David Beavers reports on who's buying, and how you can too.
• Saving Farms - How supporting local healthy agriculture will cut sprawl and pollution.
• Update the Bottle Bill - Phillip Sego clarifies the battle lines between those wanting to update the Bottle Bill to include single-serve containers that were not available when the Bottle Bill legislation was passed 22 years ago, and bottlers, beverage distributors and grocers behind the "Litter Tax" who want the Bottle Bill abolished entirely.
• Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro - Illegal use of ATVs threaten wildlife, trails, and the serenity of the state forest.
• Book Review - John Kyper reviews Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism & New Routes to Equity.
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - An outline of the "cap and trade' program by Blossom Hoag and Marc Breslow.
• Plus - Forest Reserves meetings for public input, a report on a Cape Cod tide pools outing, the Population Committee's April lecture with Robert Engelman, and more on how to help the Chapter.

Summer 2005 • Volume 11 • Number 2

• Director's Letter - New Bedford Airport Expansion Cancelled!
• Cape Cod Wind Farm - The Massachusetts Chapter's position
• Help Protect Natural Spaces - Leslie Doyle, Legislative Action Committee Chair, outlines the Parks Protection Package and how you can help.
• Belmont Uplands - Development is far from a done deal - it's not too late to protect them. Deborah Holt reports.
• Fighting Development - Environmental attorney Alexandra Dawson gives us tips and tools for fighting unwanted development in our communities.
• Environmental Justice - Reverend Robert Murphy explains the history of environmental justice as a human rights movement inspired and supported by organized religion.
• Climate Change - Elizabeth May calls for action and promoting the Montreal COP meeting this fall as a means for pushing the Bush administration.
• Liquid Natural Gas - Two proposed terminals in Fall River and offshore near Gloucester spur Gil Woolley and Blossom Hoag to explain why LNG is not a good neighbor.
• Breathing Easier - Cement company withdraws plans to build a plant on the banks of the Hudson River.
• Middlesex Fells Threatened by Development - Elisa Campbell reports on the newest proposal for a huge housing and office development that will cause excessive traffic and incalculable environmental impact.
• Forest Reserves - The EOEA is proposing to create a system of Forest Reserves in the state in which no commercial timbering would be done. Elisa Campbell, chair of the chapter's Public Lands and Open Spaces Committee, tells us more.
• Plus - Hiking near home, and a spotlight on John Holdren, Director of the Woods Hole Research Center.

Spring 2005 • Volume 11 • Number 1

• Director's Letter - Senate sells out the Arctic National Refuge.
• Whither our Parks - Parks Commissioner Kathy Abbott is fired in controversial move by Governor Mitt Romney.
• Is Spectacle Island a Park? - John Lewis exposes another broken Big Dig mitigation promise.
• Poison in Your Deck? - Gil Woolley helps you protect your children and pets from arsenic poisoning this summer.
• Forest Guardians - Elisa Campbell is looking for forest guardians to help protect our irreplaceable state forests and parks system.
• Northern Right Whales - Cindy Delpapa asks...is extinction imminent? These whales suffer losses from fishing gear entanglement, habitat losses and ship strikes.
• Green Power Options - Ethan Hoag explains how choosing green power sends a strong message to the market and to political leaders: that we care about the sources of our electricity.
• Book Review - Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond. Reviewed by Diana Muir.
• Silver Line - Jeremy Marin exposes the truth about the MBTA's Silver Line: Taxpayers pay the price.
• Plus - Vernal pools, how to volunteer for the chapter and groups, and efforts to keep options open for the Rail Link.

Winter 2004/5 • Volume 10 • Number 4

• A Breath of Fresh Air- Review of 2004 chapter outings
• Saving the Parkways (Again)- Handing over the parkways to the highway department seems to be an idea that just won't die.
• Any Way You Spin It, the Silver Line is a Bust - The MBTA's proposed Silver Line bus tunnel is expensive, inconvenient - and won't give riders what they need.
• Grounded Plan Attempts Take-Off - Why is the city of New Bedford reviving a questionable expansion plan that will destroy acres of wetlands?
• Energy and Environmental Justice - Cape Cod group leads effort to keep needy families warm this winter.
• Hot Enough for Us? - Ross Gelbspan says we are all to blame for heating up the planet. Book review by Gil Woolley.
• Weaver's Cove is No Place for an LNG Terminal!!
• Plus - Massachusetts Chapter and Group Elections

Fall 2004 • Volume 10 • Number 3

• The Return of the Ring - Craig Kelley on why the MBTA's proposed bus transit system is a bad idea.
• It's Time to Change Our Transportation Priorities - Former Governor Mike Dukakis on why we should expand the state's rail system instead of building two Boston mega-projects that will cost billions and benefit few.
• You Can't Have Smart Growth Without Land Protection - Slashing funding for open space is no way to control urban sprawl, protect our resources, and promote sustainable development.
• Proposed Regulations Threaten Wetlands - Rumors are going around about the DEP proposed changes to the regulations for administering the state Wetlands Protection Act.
• Bring Renewable Energy to the Commonwealth! - A public/private agency helps towns develop wind energy.
• Sierra Club 2004 Election Endorsements
• Protecting Public Health on Cape Cod - Local Sierra Club volunteers have gained a reputation as faithful watchdogs for community health and environmental justice.
• Wars and Stratagems - How the Bush administration and anti-environmentalists have waged war on the environment. Book review by Diana Muir.

Spring 2004 • Volume 10 • Number 1

• News Briefs - Cape Cod toasts the coast in 2004; the Pioneer Valley group rides again; North/South Rail Link garners legislator support.
• Environmental Injustice and Our City Parks - Cities and towns that are most in need of open space are losing their parks. Gil Woolley tells us why.
• In My Opinion - State Senator Pam Resor calls for a renewed commitment to preserving our open space.
• Local Residents Strive for Compromise - Dedicated citizens lessen the environmental impacts of Pittsfield’s airport expansion.
• Outside Interests Push to Hijack Sierra Club - As fewer and fewer members vote in national Sierra Club elections, the club has become vulnerable to a takeover by a radical minority.
• Hiking Close to Home - One of a series of occasional articles on less-known, short hikes in eastern Massachusetts.
• A Tragedy of the Commons - The decimation of our fisheries: book review by Diana Muir.
• Department of Defense Wages War - How the DoD excused itself from the Endangered Species Act.

Winter 2003/4 • Volume 9 • Number 4

• News Briefs - Joint Harvard-Sierra Club study on grassroots organization; our favorite Dirty Dozen 2003 award.
• Bird Meets Wind Turbine - Wind power is one of the most promising sources of clean, renewable energy today. But is it safe?
• Everything Old is New Again - Peter Roudebush explores recent developments in wind and water technology.
• Rare Forest in Alewife Reservation Threatened - At the heart of the Alewife Reservation, a rare silver maple forest may be sacrificed for a new housing development.
• Waiting on the Orange Line - John Kyper recounts a decade-long tale of MBTA neglect.
• The Politics of Caspian Oil - Book Review by Diana Muir.

Fall 2003 • Volume 9 • Number 3

• The World in a Grain of Sand - Alexandra Dohan explores our fragile coastline and tells us how one Cape Cod community plans to restore its beaches and dunes.
• Profit Before Parks - A private developer succeeds in a decade-long bid to clear-cut a large swath of Wachusett's majestic forests for new ski trails.
• Greylock Glen, Revisited - Two years after Swift called off a development project at Greylock Glen, the fate of one of Massachusetts' most beautiful areas remains up in the air.
• Still Going Strong - The Sierra Club keeps the pressure on Ford to give consumers what they want: cars that go farther on less gas.
• The Gutting of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act - The Bush administration takes a swipe at environmental safeguards in the name of military readiness.
• The Myth of the Peaceful, Noble Savage - Simpler societies live in harmony with nature, right? Wrong! Book review by Diana Muir.

Summer 2003 • Volume 9 • Number 2

• Putting the Lid on CO2 – Second in a continuing series on energy and the environment.
• The JP Cohousing Story – The nuts and bolts of developing an energy-efficient residence.
• Reinventing Government in Massachusetts – Despite some promising reforms, Governor Romney’s proposal to streamline government disappoints.
• A Short History of the MDC – Can you guess what well-known parks agency used to be in charge of Boston’s sewage system? Gil Woolley tells the story.
• Saving Women’s Lives – Thoraya Obaid on women and world population.
• Carl Pope Takes On the Skeptical Environmentalist – Sierra Club’s executive director scores a few points for the environmental movement.
• How to Get Rid of Noisy Airplanes – Book Review by Diana Muir.
• Plus - Bottle Bill Expansion, Preserving Our Roadways, Call for Chapter Nominations

Spring 2003 • Volume 9 • Number 1

• Transportation News – How much we hate Boston traffic, how little we use public transportation, and how Representative Patrick is making the case for hybrid cars.
• The Mortaring of Massachusetts – A 25-acre parcel of land in the city of Waltham raises questions about sustainable development, open space, and affordable housing.
• Energy: a Primer – First in a series of articles about the source, use, and conservation of energy.
• A Reprieve for Glendale Park – Can Glendale Park be saved? Gil Woolley tells the story of residents’ fight to preserve Everett’s only significant open space.
• Strange Bedfellows – Global warming meets anti-terrorism. Diana Muir reviews Bill Maher’s proposal to fight terrorism by reducing gas consumption.
• Plus – Cape Cod Group News, Cape Cod Group Election