Local activists build off Warrant Article 21’s momentum

Warrant Article 21 was only the first step towards something larger. Organizations like Mothers Out Front (MOF) remain vigilant and small-scale pushes in other areas continue to chip away at Brookline’s carbon emissions.

According to Kathleen Scanlon, Town Meeting Member and coordinator of Brookline’ MOF chapter, the warrant article was the easiest part, because it was essentially cost-neutral. But moving forward, she doesn’t expect to see as many easy solutions.

“It’s not costing the town any money, but the next steps will surely cost the town some more money,” Scanlon said. “WA21 is very practical once you get to understand the exemptions and the process. It actually is the low-hanging fruit for our buildings here in Brookline. The next challenge would be getting the existing housing to be converted.”

Diane Sokal, a member of Brookline’s team of MOF and proponent of WA21, said that Brookline needs to reduce energy demand, electrify everything and clean up the grid to meet the goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Sometimes, people think, ‘oh my God, I don’t know what to do. It’s such a big problem, there’s no impact I can make,’” Sokal said. “I think putting it into the context of these three steps, there are a lot of things that people can do. What we’re doing as advocates is setting up this program to help everybody see that you don’t have to be doing a house renovation to work on your carbon footprint: you can do small things.”

According to Sokal, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the extent of the problem, but even one small thing, like composting, opting up to 100 percent renewable energy or borrowing a portable induction cooktop, can have an impact and produce a snowball effect.

MOF hosts a Green House Fest that showcases green features that homeowners can add to their homes such as heat pumps or induction stoves. They also bring in homeowners to answer questions.

Scanlon also said that going forward, the climate movement will have to be a combination of town legislation and residents taking it upon themselves.

“The town may feel like the residents could be doing more, and the residents may feel like the town could be doing more,” Scanlon said. “But I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to attack it from both levels, pressuring our leaders and doing as much as we can in how much we’re consuming and what we’re composting and what we’re able to recycle and really start looking at our actions as it becomes more dire.”

According to Sokal, a communications group was created on June 5 at a sustainability and climate action summit. The group, along with the warrant article push, are key to the movement’s progress.

“On day one, there was a lot of pushback, and a lot of doubts from residents,” Sokal said. “And then we did a lot of listening to people and researching. So for all these next steps, we just have to figure out how we can best communicate with people so that we can all work together. I think it’ll be a snowball, where the hardest step is the first one. I think future warrant articles will already have a coalition and strong support and research behind them because we’ve started with Warrant Article 21.”