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THE CONTEXT
KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INNOVATIONS 2002 - 2004
REMAINING CHALLENGES
THE CONTEXT
Boston’s environment is shaped, both literally and figuratively, by the relationship between land and water. Boston sits at the confluence of the Charles, Neponset and Mystic Rivers. The combined watersheds of these three rivers include 57 cities and towns and drain an area of more than 400 square miles. These rivers come together in Boston at Boston Harbor, with waters and waterfronts that are experiencing a renaissance following a clean-up effort that has taken more than a decade and cost $3.8 billion to date. The more than thirty islands that dot the harbor have been joined into the Boston Harbor Islands National Park; and in 2005, Spectacle Island is scheduled open to the public with a marina, visitor center, beaches and miles of walking trails.
The islands are only a small part of the city’s extensive network of more than 7,000 acres of publicly- and privately-owned open spaces. This open space system includes more than 215 city-managed parks and playgrounds, 2,200 acres managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, 175 community gardens, and more than 30 urban wilds. Greater Boston’s environmental inventory also includes less visible resources and assets, such as the air we breathe and the energy that is used to power homes and businesses. Greater Boston’s natural resources and environmental are, however, at risk from a variety of forces, ranging from budget cuts to sprawling land development patterns to the local consequences of global climate change.
KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS
Greater Boston’s residents are "living larger," putting greater pressure on environmental resources. Massachusetts’ population is stable, having grown slightly between 2000 and 2002 and actually declining between 2003 and 2004. The City of Boston’s population grew slightly, by about 3% between 1990 and 2000. While the number of residents has remained flat, however, the number of households is rising — as the same number of people live in more households of fewer people: in 1970 the average household in Massachusetts had 3.12 people, but by 2000 this had dropped to 2.51 people per household. The region’s currently unsustainable use of resources such as land, energy and water is increasingly being driven by this growing number of smaller households and by other consumption trends such as driving more and living in larger homes. The number of automobiles registered in the City of Boston grew 36% between 1990 and 2000, while the city’s population grew only 3% during that period. Homes in Massachusetts are also getting bigger: between 1970 and 2002 the average lot size for new homes grew by 47% and the average size of the living area of new houses grew by 44%, according to Massachusetts Audubon’s Losing Ground report. And Massachusetts’ residents are consuming more but recycling less: recycling rates actually dropped from 48% in 2000 to 46% in 2001. (see indicator 5.1)
Boston is becoming a major center for environmentally-friendly "green buildings." In 2004, Mayor Menino’s Green Building Task Force recommended that all City facilities be certified as "green" and that large projects reviewed under Boston zoning be required to meet green standards within three years. Even before the Task Force issued its recommendations, construction of green buildings has been increasing and Boston has become home to several state-of-the-art "green buildings."
Low-density, automobile-dependent growth known as "sprawl" continues to drive many environmental conditions in Greater Boston. According to Massachusetts Audubon’s Losing Ground report, the amount of land in the state lost to sprawl development increased from 33 acres per day between 1971 and 1985 to 40 acres per day between 1985 and 1999. The total land loss due to sprawl is nearly twice the amount of land being "visibly developed," due to impacts such as road building to support the new development. The actual tally was about 78 acres per day from 1985 to 1999. Preliminary data from 2000-2002 indicates that the rate of land impacted by development has dropped to a still-unacceptable 63 acres total per day. Diffuse development forces people to drive greater distances each day, contributing to the steady increase in vehicle-miles traveled in Massachusetts (see Transportation), resulting in growing emissions of both greenhouse gases and air pollution from cars and other motor vehicles. It also generates water pollution, often in the form of polluted storm-water runoff, as well as increasing demand for new supplies of drinking water.
Collaborative regional and statewide efforts are laying the groundwork for sustainable development and smart growth. The work of the broadly-based Commonwealth Housing Task Force led to the 2004 passage of a smart growth housing law, called Chapter 40R, designed to encourage housing and mixed-use development near transit stops, in town centers and on brownfield sites. New coalitions have been formed, cutting across traditional sector lines, to involve disparate stakeholders with a common interest in promoting smart growth and sustainable development. The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance brings together environmental, housing and planning organizations to make the idea of "smart growth" a reality in Massachusetts. Action for Regional Equity is a coalition of 20 community-based and statewide organizations committed to equitable development and addressing continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and equitable development. And the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has launched MetroFuture, a large-scale participatory initiative to update the agency's 1990 regional plan and develop both a vision for the metropolitan Boston region’s future and a strategy to reach it. (see indicator 5.3.1)
A broader and more diverse group of individuals and organizations are redefining environmental issues in greater Boston and forging new models of collaboration. Universities, including Tufts University and Boston University, are collaborating with communities on environmental issues and environmentally-related health issues and providing communities with technology and mapping tools to help identify and manage environmental hazards. The scope of environmental activism has also been broadened by organizations like Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), a Roxbury-based environmental justice organization, and The Food Project, which is helping inner-city youth connect environmental issues and issues of hunger by using three lots in Boston to grow over 15,000 pounds of food for sale and for donation to homeless shelters and food programs.
Energy use as well as ”greenhouse” gas emissions in Massachusetts are increasing, undermining state environmental goals. Although Massachusetts has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2010, emissions in 2001 were actually 7% above 1990 levels. The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence supports the conclusion that human-generated emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing global warming and climate change. Researchers at the Arnold Arboretum have documented that rising springtime temperatures caused spring-flowering trees and shrubs to blossom eight days earlier in the 1980-2002 period than they did in 1900-1920. Regional temperatures are projected to increase by six to ten degrees Fahrenheit over the next century, an increase that would make Boston’s climate resemble that of Charlotte, North Carolina or Atlanta, Georgia and generate sea level rises that could cause $20-$94 billion in damage to Greater Boston over the next century. US emissions of greenhouse gases grew 13% between 1990 and 2002, driven by rising energy consumption that is expected to continue growing at the rate of 1.8 % per year through 2025. (see indicator 5.2.2)
Water quality in Boston Harbor and the Charles River is improving. However, contaminated runoff from roads and developed areas continues to pollute many Massachusetts rivers and lakes. Water quality in Boston Harbor has improved dramatically over the past decade due to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's Boston Harbor Project and water and sewer projects being implemented by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Many species that had not been seen in the harbor for years, such as harbor porpoises and seals, are on the rebound. The number of days that Boston Harbor beaches are closed due to water quality issues has continued to decline: In 2003, most of the Boston Harbor beaches met swimming standards over 90% of the time. The entire Charles River now meets boating standards 85% of the time, and the lower Charles River (between Massachusetts Avenue and the Longfellow Bridge) meets swimming standards more than 90% of the time. However, progress has stalled on the goal of having the Charles River be safe for fishing and swimming at all times by 2005. And in many areas, there is not enough information about water quality to assess compliance with state water quality standards. Statewide, only 74% of lakes and 22% of river-miles are even being tested. (see indicator 5.5)
New England’s ocean and coastal resources are increasingly threatened by pollution, development pressures and over-fishing. The three miles of ocean off the coast of Massachusetts has become such a busy place—with competing proposals for gas pipelines and electric transmission cables, energy production facilities, fish farms, transportation corridors and recreational activities—that the state’s Secretary of Environmental Affairs convened an Ocean Management Task Force in 2003-2004 to comprehensively address the growing development pressures. In a region with a centuries-old fishing industry, key fish stocks are disappearing. Only 5% of Atlantic salmon remain. Once New England’s most important fish species, Georges Bank cod stocks are continuing to decline despite tight restrictions on fishing; current levels are less than 15% of those considered healthy and sustainable. More than a decade of litigation and increasingly restrictive fishing regulations have failed to prevent over-fishing; landings of two species of cod far exceeded the federal “targets” in every year from 1996 through 2002.
Massachusetts is taking responsibility for its contribution to climate change. Massachusetts, along with other New England states, has begun to implement the 2001 agreement by the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions. In 2004, the Commonwealth issued a Climate Protection Plan committing state agencies to take specific steps to reduce Massachusetts greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010 and 10% below 1990 levels by 2020. Massachusetts communities are adopting their own climate plans and working to make renewable energy a reality. In 2003, the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust launched its Community Wind Collaborative and has worked with more than 40 communities interested in developing or purchasing the output of small-scale, community-owned wind projects. Planning is underway to evaluate the potential for generating wind power on some of Boston’s harbor islands.
A long list of public health problems, including childhood lead poisoning, asthma and obesity, are proving to be both environmental and public health issues. Smart growth strategies are being used to create activity-friendly communities suitable for walking and bicycling to help efforts to counter the growing epidemic of obesity among children and adults. Air quality is a factor when addressing the growing number of Boston residents with asthma. And Boston will achieve success in both environmental and public health by achieving its goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2008. (see Public Health)
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INNOVATION 2002-2004
Boston hosted the "greenest" Democratic National Convention ever held. The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC), a coalition of more than 50 environmental, civic and business organizations, ensured that the July 2004 Democratic National Convention at the Fleet Center served as a model for a sustainable conference. More than 88% of the construction materials used for the convention were recycled. Renewable energy certificates were purchased to offset all of the electricity used during the convention; carbon credits were acquired to offset all of the greenhouse effects associated with travel to and from the convention; a fuel cell was installed to help power the media pavilion; hybrid buses and taxis were provided as transportation options; and volunteer guides were enlisted to encourage delegates to walk from their hotels to the Fleet Center.
The Central Artery was demolished and the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway began to take shape. While the road was being completed, designs are final or nearly final for most of the parks and construction contracts have been put out for bids. Most importantly, city and state officials agreed to the creation of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to nurture and oversee the 27 acres of parkland created by the depression of the Central Artery. As of early 2005, a board of directors and executive director for the Conservancy had been put in place.
Childhood lead poisoning rates have fallen sharply throughout Boston. Between 2002 and 2003, the percentage of Boston children found to have elevated blood lead levels declined 20%. The citywide rate of childhood lead poisoning has dropped to 3.2%, and city health officials and public health advocates are working hard to achieve the goal of having no children with elevated blood lead levels by 2008 – two years ahead of the national deadline.
With community pressure and advocacy by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Conservation Law Foundation, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority agreed in 2004 to a comprehensive solution to water quality problems at Boston’s swimming beaches. The beaches of South Boston and North Dorchester Bay were closed once every five days during the 2003 summer swimming season. The new plan will control both storm water pollution and combined sewer overflows and, when completed in 2010 or 2011, ensure that beach closures will occur only once or twice every few years.
The MBTA cleaned up its fleet of buses. During 2003 and 2004, the MBTA converted its entire bus fleet to either Compressed Natural Gas buses or diesel buses equipped with special pollution reducing technology and running on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, resulting in a 95% reduction in health-endangering particulate pollution.
Boston is home to innovative approaches to "greening" the transportation sector. In 2004 PlanetTran became the first livery service to rely exclusively on hybrid electric vehicles to transport people to the airport. And Zipcar, founded in Boston, offers a car sharing service that has proved a popular alternative to car ownership for thousands of members in Greater Boston; over 30% of Zipcar members have either sold a car or decided against a purchase.
Massachusetts’ air is much cleaner, with the "filthy five" power plants required to substantially reduce air pollution. Due to concerted work by both environmental advocates and state regulators, as of December 2004 every one of the "filthy five" polluting power plants in Massachusetts had a plan in place to meet stringent air pollution control standards. And the air will get even cleaner, because in 2004 Massachusetts adopted the strictest regulations in the nation for mercury emissions from power plants, requiring an 85% reduction in emissions by 2008 and a 95% reduction by 2012. (see indicator 5.4)
The Community Preservation Act has begun to transform Massachusetts’ communities. Although Boston has not yet adopted the Community Preservation Act, as of 2004, 60 other cities and towns had imposed property tax surcharges to generate over $100 million in funding for open space, recreation, historic preservation and affordable housing projects, including the purchase of more than 4,000 acres of open space.
Visit the Hub of Innovation’s Environment Section.
REMAINING CHALLENGES
Exposure to toxic substances at home, in school and in the environment, are harming the health of Boston and Massachusetts residents, especially children. A 2004 study found that 90% of Boston’s public schools have at least one environmental problem that can trigger asthma attacks or allergies — a problematic situation given that 11% of students in Boston public schools suffer from asthma. Asthma hospitalization rates increased in Boston between 2000 and 2002, according to the Boston Public Health Commission. Asthma is considered an environmental justice issue because asthma hospitalization rates for black and Latino children are nearly four times the rate for white children. Statewide advisories warn pregnant women, as well as women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and children under 12 not to eat fish caught in any of Massachusetts’ 107 rivers and lakes because of the risk of mercury contamination. And, while rates of childhood lead poisoning have declined sharply, just over 3% of Boston children who were tested had unhealthy levels of lead in their blood in 2003 and the proportion rose to more than 4% in the neighborhoods of Mattapan, Dorchester and South Dorchester. (see indicator 5.7.1)
Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods shoulder a disproportionate share of environmental and environmental health burdens, suffering from higher rates of lead poisoning, asthma, and greater exposure to hazardous chemicals. Parks and open spaces are more scarce in low-income neighborhoods and often poorly maintained. Transportation options are more likely to involve lengthy trips on dirty buses than clean, rapid transit. Numerous groups, including Action for Regional Equity and Alternatives for Community and Environment, are working to address these important issues of environmental justice and equity in greater Boston. Many neighborhood and civic groups, with participation by people from all races and backgrounds who may not even consider themselves environmentalists, are working on various environmental health and environmental justice issues in Boston’s neighborhoods. (see indicator 5.7)
Development pressure, including over-fishing, threatens Boston and New England’s marine heritage. In the past two years, both the Pew Oceans Commission and the US Commission on Ocean Policy highlighted the urgent and pervasive environmental problems facing global and US oceans and called for new national legislation to protect, maintain and restore the oceans. A similar effort at the state level by the Massachusetts’ Ocean Management Task Force recognized the need for comprehensive regulation of the Commonwealth’s three-mile swath of the Atlantic Ocean. But little or no action has been taken to implement any of the state or federal policy recommendations related to pollution, and so development pressure and over-fishing continue to threaten the health of the ocean and the maritime economy of Boston and other coastal communities.
Air pollution from industrial sources and power plants is declining, but further improvements are hindered by pollution from motor vehicles. The number of summer days when there are unhealthy levels of smog (or ground-level ozone), in Massachusetts declined to 8 in the summer of 2004, in part due to cooler weather conditions, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. But because the air does not comply with health-based standards, the American Lung Association continued to give Suffolk County (which includes the City of Boston) an "F" for ozone air quality in 2004. And projections are that air quality will get worse. The Surface Transportation Policy Project found that, while Boston has healthier air then many large cities, air pollution here is getting worse faster than in all but five of the 66 urban areas studied. (see indicator 5.7.2)
Regional goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and transportation are proving difficult to meet. Achieving the greenhouse gas reductions goals set out by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, as well as in Massachusetts’ Climate Protection Plan, will be difficult. In 2004, the New England Climate Coalition estimated that the New England states were only on track to meet one-third of their 2010 goals. The transportation sector is proving to be a major challenge, with emissions growing both due to increased driving and rising sales of large, inefficient vehicles. Massachusetts currently projects that carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector will rise 33% between 1990 and 2020. Another challenge involves increasing the use of renewable energy to meet Massachusetts’ Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of having 4% of the state’s electricity generated from renewable sources by 2009. (see indicator 5.2.3)
Dependence on fossil fuels is contributing to Boston’s rising cost of living. Natural gas prices having increased 45% over the past five years, and electric prices were up 102% over the same period.
Parks and open spaces, old and new, need to be well maintained and welcoming to a diverse range of users. Boston is rightly proud of its network of parks and open spaces, which account for roughly one-sixth of the city’s land area. But relatively few resources are devoted to maintaining these parks. A survey by the Trust for Public Land found that the city and state combined spent only $58/city resident on parks in fiscal year 2001, well below the national average of $80/resident. While many open space advocates are excited about the new parks and open spaces above the depressed Central Artery and around the city, they are also concerned that new parks will further erode already inadequate spending on maintenance and programming. The merger of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) into the new Department of Conservation and Recreation has heightened this concern: the portion of the DCR budget allocated to urban parks has been cut 31% each year since 2001, yet an additional 44 acres of new open space requiring an additional $1.3 million in new spending are scheduled to open in fiscal year 2006.
Promoting smart growth is a challenge in a state with strong home rule and weak land use planning at the state and regional level. Chapter 40R and other tools for smart growth and transit-oriented development have yet to be implemented in most Greater Boston communities. And as Boston and its neighboring cities seek to capitalize on the trend toward urban in-fill and transit-oriented development to create more housing and jobs, many residents fear that construction of market-rate housing and high-end retail will result in gentrification and the displacement of existing residents and locally-owned businesses. The City of Boston’s challenge will be to develop and implement a model for smart and equitable growth that promotes walkable, transit-oriented development in its neighborhoods without driving out the existing residents and businesses that are the heart and soul of its neighborhoods.
Water resources are threatened by pollution and over-use. Massachusetts receives 44 inches of rainfall per year, yet drought conditions and water use restrictions are increasingly common as the demand for water exceeds the capacity of groundwater and surface water supplies. In 2004, the state issued a new Water Policy acknowledging that unsustainable growth is contributing to problems with both the quantity and quality of water available to Massachusetts residents. Communities are, however, balking at the Department of Environmental Protection’s recent decision to sharply reduce, from 80 gallons per day to 65 gallons per day, the allowable amount of water that can be withdrawn from the state’s 16 "stressed" rivers. Communities, businesses and residents will be challenged to reduce water consumption and change stormwater and wastewater management practices to "keep water local" and recharge aquifers and rivers. At the same time, water pollution remains an issue, and much remains to be done to ensure that all waterways are tested for, and meet, clean water standards.
The consumer-oriented lifestyle of "living larger" poses a formidable challenge to an emerging ethic of environmental citizenship based on "living smaller." With two-thirds of the national economy based on consumption of consumer goods, market forces tend to push individuals and businesses toward consumption and away from efficiency. Persuading businesses and residents to consume less and "live smaller" is difficult, even though such an approach can not only reduce environmental consequences but may create a more satisfying lifestyle and higher quality of life. One challenge for current and future Bostonians will be to see themselves as environmental citizens or "stewards" with a responsibility for environmental leadership. Boston residents will need to create more and better options for driving less, using less energy and wate, and generating less solid waste.
Boston’s non-governmental environmental organizations need to diversify their membership and include more people of color and young people in environmental leadership. The environmental sector faces challenges as it works to increase the participation and leadership of youth, people of color, and people from diverse neighborhoods and backgrounds. Environmental organizations are working to re-think key issues, such as smart growth and climate change, and work on them in ways that engage a diverse range of Boston-area residents, create a compelling, positive vision of the future, and make people aware of their environmental stewardship responsibilities and options. Many youth are already attracted to issues of the environment, but there are not enough jobs in the sector and little room for advancement up a career ladder for those who become involved as high school or college students. In order to expand the number and types of jobs in environmental nonprofits, the sector needs reliable financial support to continue and expand its work.
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