Event Description

BASEA Forum: MA Clean Energy Momentum: - 'Ranking State Progress'
May 11 | 7:00pm
First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church Street, Harvard Square

Join BASEA at their monthly meeting, Thursday, May 11th, to find out why Massachusetts isn't number one, to learn how it compares to other states, and to hear insights and recommendations from the authors of the analysis.

California is doing the best job transitioning its power sector away from fossil fuels to clean energy alternatives, followed by Vermont and Massachusetts, but a number of unexpected states also are leading the way, according to a just-released report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The UCS Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking uniquely examines each state's clean energy past, present and future and uses 12 easy-to-understand metrics to assess states. The metrics examine technical progress by assessing key trends in state deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification of vehicles. They also gauge progress in areas more directly visible in people's daily lives-job creation and pollution reduction-and state policies aimed at carrying clean energy momentum into the future.

Federal action to promote clean energy, unfortunately, is uncertain at best, just when we need to move as quickly as possible. So state leadership is now more important than ever.

Speakers:
Paula Garcia, an energy analyst in the UCS Climate and Energy Program, evaluates energy resource and climate change mitigation options in the electricity sector and works to advance public understanding of renewable and conventional energy technologies, policies, and markets. She holds a master's degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University and an industrial engineering degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, where she is originally from.

John Rogers is a senior energy analyst at UCS with expertise in clean energy technologies and policies. John joined UCS in 2006 after working for 15 years on private and public clean energy initiatives, including as co-founder of a leading developer of clean energy solutions for rural markets and as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras. He has appeared numerous times on radio, on television, and in publications ranging from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor to Fortune, Popular Mechanics, and Good Housekeeping. He holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree from Princeton University.