As the federal government retreats further every day from our nation's environmental laws, actions at the state and local level are increasingly important to protect the health and safety of our families. Below is a summary of legislation the Sierra Club is working on in Massachusetts. To get involved in our legislative program, please contact Legislative Committee Chair Leslie Doyle at legislate@sierraclubmass.org.

Tired of seeing the Bush administration dismantle environmental laws? We can work together to protect the health and safety of our families!

We need volunteers who are passionate about key environmental challenges in Massachusetts to “adopt” a bill so we can work together and help it pass successfully. You don’t need to be an expert, just someone who cares about issues such as keeping our air and water clean; safeguarding our families from toxic chemicals; preserving open space; reducing waste; protecting wildlife; and more.

This year’s legislative priorities include:

• Reducing waste and increasing state revenues through an Updated Bottle Bill, which would add water, juice, sports drinks, and other beverages that weren’t included in the original bottle bill
• Banning diesel wherever possible
• Protecting the state's ancient forests by creating Old Growth Forest Reserves
• Producing 20 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2020
• Reducing air and water pollution from personal watercrafts and other two-stroke engines
• Protecting our state parkways system
• Preventing the ongoing taking of our public parks for other uses
• Stopping the re-licensing of the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant and promoting energy efficiency and appropriately sited renewable energy resources
• Enacting building codes that require the state to build energy efficient buildings
• Cleaning up our air and preventing sprawl by providing better public transportation choices for all citizens of the commonwealth

To stay informed about these issues, please join our monthly e-mail alert list SCAN.

To learn how you can get involved, please call James McCaffrey at 617-423-5775 or e-mail Leslie Doyle at legislate@sierraclubmass.org

Disclaimer: Bill status is based on the best information available to us at time of publication. The status and/or language of bills can change quickly and the Sierra Club reserves the right to change its position on a bill based on the most recent data, which may not be posted on this web site. In many cases, no position on a bill indicates that it is a recent file or the Sierra Club has not yet completed a formal analysis and voted to take a position on the proposed legislation. Please check back for updates, or sign up for SCAN for the latest news and alerts.