BEAT is seeking a new Program Associate to our No Fracked Gas in Mass program. The position is part-time, 20 hours a week, with flexible hours and the potential to expand to full-time. A strong interest in climate and energy issues is favorable.

This is an exciting time to join the team, as we push regulatory agencies to comply with new climate law and start an air quality monitoring project, along with our usual work to stop fossil fuel use and promote clean energy, storage and efficiency.

» Full job posting

BEAT is seeking a permanent Team member to lead our organization’s ongoing stewardship efforts to restore, protect, and improve the condition of our forests, wetlands, and waterways for the betterment of wildlife and the natural environment.

Applicants must care deeply about wildlife, habitat protection, and stopping pollution, and have a strong commitment to learning more about these topics and sharing that knowledge with others.

» Full job posting

A new two-year legislative session has started in Massachusetts. Thousands of bills have been filed. These calls to action are to ask legislators to back some of the most climate and environmental justice friendly ones. No Fracked Gas in Mass is also looking into several bills proposing reforms to the Mass Save energy efficiency program to make it more accountable and responsive to ALL customers. Stay tuned for news on that!

This legislation would allocate $300 million for zero-carbon renovations in existing buildings like affordable housing, public schools, and environmental justice communities. By prioritizing the most vulnerable populations among us, this legislation will take critical steps to equitably reduce emissions, improve climate resiliency, lower energy costs, and improve the overall health for communities most in need. We are looking for as many co-sponsors as possible to increase the likelihood of the bill’s passage. We’ve set up a simple form for you to send an email to your legislators. Enter your return address and then press the Start Writing button to easily customize and send the letter to your particular state senator and representative.

» Use this form to send a message to your legislators!

The 2023-2024 legislative session has begun, and we need YOU to contact your representatives on Beacon Hill to urge them to sign on to the Mass Power Forward agenda. Thousands have bills have been filed, so please take action today to urge support for environmental justice, retrofitting buildings, and accountability for dirty energy.

» Use this form to send a message to your legislators!

Couldn't make it to this Fix the Grid webinar?

The recording, and slides used from Monday’s webinar.

Remember that webinars like this are just one of the many things the Fix the Grid campaign and Take Back the Grid do! Please fill out this quick form for Fix the Grid if you haven't yet to let them know how you'd like to get involved (even if it's just joining the newsletter list) and how they can support you in your grid advocacy. If you have ideas or requests for future webinars or materials, that form is the place to put them!

Prices of electricity are skyrocketing this winter because our region depends too much on fracked gas for our power. The current system is unsustainable, harmful, polluting, and unnecessary. We know that cleaner alternatives exist.

The people who run our regional electric system, called ISO-New England, are keeping us hooked on fossil fuels and costing residents money. And the worst part is, we ratepayers who fund this whole system have no seat at the table! They make their decisions behind closed doors, without any accountability.

We're fed up with this system, and we want real transparency and clean energy now. We're calling on our new Governor Maura Healey to demand reform from ISO-New England.

» Please RSVP here and Fix the Grid be in touch with more details as it gets closer.

Increasingly, climate activists, clean energy advocates, and legislators across the region are taking aim at ISO-New England, claiming the grid operator is dragging its feet on clean energy.

That was the motivation behind the 2019 launch of a “Fix the Grid” campaign by several activist groups demanding more and faster clean energy. The campaign is aimed at ousting ISO-New England’s leadership and requiring the grid operator to have representatives from each New England state on its board while increasing public participation in grid decisions.

“ISO is putting its thumb on the scale to choose fossil fuel fired resources in the name of reliability,” said Amy Boyd, vice president of climate and clean energy policy for Acadia Center, a clean-energy advocacy group. “The people’s interest in having climate goals met shouldn’t have to run at cross purposes to their interest in keeping the lights on. We can do both of these things at once.”

Unlike grid operators in other parts of the country, ISO-New England deliberates and makes most of its important decisions about energy markets behind closed doors, at meetings of a members-only stakeholder group that are out of view of public scrutiny. Members of the public, while technically allowed to attend, must be invited by a member of the group and approved by its law firm, according to Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization.

As members of the Consumer Liaison Group’s coordinating committee, the newly elected activists can request information from ISO-New England and ask that it be presented at its quarterly meetings.

» Read the full story

And don't forget, you can keep sending your support all year by setting up a monthly donation as well.

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No Fracked Gas in Mass is a program of Berkshire Environmental Action Team.