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YES on 2: Update the Bottle Bill campaign needs you to spread the word

You recently pledged your support of Question 2: Update the Bottle Bill. I’m writing you today because the Bottle Bill Update campaign is in trouble and needs your support. The beverage industry’s multi-million dollar campaign of negative TV ads–containing false and misleading information–is already swaying voter opinion away from the YES on 2 Bottle Bill Update. We went from strong support in August (62% in favor of Question 2) to majority opposition (60% against Question 2) in late September–just days ago. This dramatic switch is not because thousands of Massachusetts voters woke up one fine autumn day and decided that they didn’t like the bottle bill after all. No, it is a direct result of lies propagated by the American Beverage Association’s TV campaign to discredit the deposit system.
The YES on 2 campaign needs your help to reverse this trend and restore voter confidence in our highly successful Bottle Bill. If you have doubts about the need to update our Bottle Bill, consider this:

  1. Only 23% of non-deposit, non-carbonated containers are recycled in MA. Soda & beer with a nickel deposit: 80% recycling rate.
  2. 2 out of every 5 containers sold these days are non-carbonated. That’s 1.8 BILLION bottles and cans without a deposit. About 1.4 billion of them are currently being wasted: littered, landfilled, burned.
  3. Only 47% of MA cities & towns have access to curbside recycling. Not to mention, we consume SO much away from home, on the go, away from recycling bins. The simple nickel creates a financial incentive to save bottles & cans for recycling: no matter where you live or where you drink your drinks.

That is the truth. The beverage industry is lying because they do not want their gigantic profits cut into–not one little bit. They want to let taxpayers pay for recycling, and they do not give a hoot about litter, or environmental damage from raw materials extraction, or greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, or green jobs–or corporate responsibility for cleaning up their own mess.
But we do. So please, please take 15 minutes now to: 

  1. Read the Boston Globe article about the false info in the TV ads, and how it’s swaying people away from Question 2.
  2. Contact at least THREE of your friends who need to learn about this. Do it however you want: email, Facebook, phone call, Twitter, in person, by carrier pigeon…just DO it!
  3. Fill out the “Truth Squad” form that lets the campaign know that you are on board.

I just did it: I wrote emails to three people I hadn’t contacted yet. More are in the works. Your help is critically needed: if each of you contacts just 3 friends, and if each of those friends contacts a few friends, our message will spread exponentially–it’s simple math! We cannot beat the beverage industry with money; we cannot beat them with TV ads; we can only beat them with grassroots, person-to-person organizing.


 

Not-in-Anyone’s-Back-Yard Sales to Stop the Pipeline!

Kinder Morgan pipeline opponents all over the state will host yard sales on Saturday, October 18 (rain date: Sunday, October 19) to raise funds and spread awareness about the fight against the pipeline! Sales are already being planned in Dalton, Cummington, Northfield, Ashburnham, Townsend and Groton. Want to hold a sale in your town? Email Emily Norton at willardbrookfriend@yahoo.com.

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Making the Switch to Green Electricity

One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your impact on the environment is to switch to green energy. The good news: it’s easier (and less expensive) than you think! Get all the details starting on the Mass Audubon website.

BEAT gets our electricity from New England Green Start. Please join us in getting your electricity off of fossil fuels. (Even better if you have photovoltaics).

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MA GREEN BOND SALE SEES STRONG INVESTOR DEMAND

from Mass Land Trust Coalition

On September 22nd, State Treasurer Steven Grossman announced that the Commonwealth’s latest sale of Green Bonds generated tremendous interest from both retail and institutional investors, with orders exceeding $1 billion coming in for $350 million worth of bonds. This is the second time the state has sold bonds with proceeds dedicated to fund environmentally beneficial projects across the state.


MA LAND CONSERVATION CONFERENCE PROPOSALS – DUE OCT 30

Mass Land Trust Coalition is seeking proposals for workshops for the 2015 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference. The conference theme is “Gaining Ground: Conserving Our Common Wealth”. We welcome your workshop proposals addressing the conference theme or other land conservation topics. The 2015 workshop tracks will be:

  • Conserving Our Common Wealth & Emerging Issues
  • Land Management & Stewardship
  • Land Protection Tools & Techniques
  • Legal, Tax & Compliance Matters
  • Organizational Management & Fundraising
  • Urban Conservation & Greening

The Conference Program Committee will consider all submissions received by October 30, 2014. If you have questions about the submission process or problems submitting your proposal online, please contact Kathy McGrath at kmcgrath@massland.org 

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