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An Act Relative to Pollution Health Effects Mitigation (H.2046)
Some of you may remember our School House Rock friend "Bill"-- that sad little scrap of paper stuck in committee on Capital Hill in hopes of becoming law. I bet there are some of you 'kids' out there who are humming the tune already, but if not, click here for a refresher. Well, there's a similar little scrap of paper on Beacon Hill that I'd like share with you as it begins its journey to becoming law.
Amidst all of the recent midnight oil burned working on the fiscal 2010 budget, I've also been working on some exciting legislation. A new bill, "An Act Relative to Pollution Health Effects Mitigation" was heard by the Joint Committee on Public Health last week. I kicked off testimony and was followed by panels of distinguished speakers from across the Commonwealth. I'll tell you why this bill is important.
Needless to say, I don't think there's a person in our community, in every community, whose life has not been touched by cancer. And many of those cancers are preventable as long as we take care to reduce our exposure. This bill isn't the last word on that but it is one way that those who emit 188 of the most toxic pollutants and known carcinogens can alleviate the burden they are placing on our bodies, our communities and our healthcare system. We don’t need to be able to pronounce things like Hexachlorocyclophentadiene and 4-Dimethylaminoazobenzene to know they’ll make us sick. This novel bill sends a message that it’s not just trees and global warming at stake when emissions go up those stacks. It’s us.
There's a collection of far more eloquent and personal commentary from local people and those around the state to be found in the links to articles from the Marblehead and Swampscott Reporters and The Lynn Item.
Bill's absolutely right that, "It's a long, long journey". I'll keep you posted as Bill finds his way through the corridors of the State House and will reach out for your help along the way.
**On another topic, with 49 days (and counting) until the Mass Turnpike Authority Board votes to raise tolls on the North Shore and Metrowest, the heat just got turned up! I always knew that putting this burden predominantly on the North Shore and Metrowest to be unfair, but now there's a legal challenge to its constitutionality. I was quoted in the Boston Herald today on this topic and will keep you posted as the mercury rises.
Yours,
Lori
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