News/Events

All the climate news on Cape Ann that is fit to print! Stories: Climate Conversations: Building Resiliency within our Coastal Community Event on Jan. 19;… Read More »Our Newsletter- Published on 12-31-2021

The CACC newsletter is out with stories on the All Member Meeting, native landscaping, the Green Future Act and more. To read it, click here:… Read More »CACC Newsletter: November 30, 2021

Cape Ann Climate Coalition Open Meeting: “Networking for a Sustainable Cape Ann” December 8, 7-9 p.m. A lot has changed over the past year, but… Read More »All Member Meeting: December 8th

(Please note, since we published the newsletter the All Member Meeting date has changed, it is postponed until December 8 at 7- 8:30 pm.) The… Read More »CACC Newsletter: October 30, 2021

The mural on the old Paint Factory overlooking Gloucester Harbor tells a story we’ve all been hearing for years, but in a bracing new way.… Read More »EDITORIAL: Working together for resilience-The Daily News, Newburyport- Oct. 15, 2021

To the editor: Thank you for the excellent article on the tide-rise mural on the Ocean Alliance Paint Factory building on the headland of the… Read More »Letter: The science behind the art- Gloucester Daily Times- Oct. 15, 2020

Be part of Cape Ann Climate Coalition’s exciting work, tell us what is most important to you and how you would like to participate. Click… Read More »We want to hear from you! Take part in this survey:

By Taylor Ann Bradford Staff Writer

A bit of color has been added to the Tarr & Wonson Paint Manufactory’s facade as locals look to raise awareness of the risks of climate change.

The Cape Ann Climate Coalition (CACC) has partnered with Ocean Alliance to attach a mural representing how climate change could raise the local sea levels well above the foundation of Gloucester’s iconic paint factory.

Since it was founded in 2019, the coalition’s goal is to engage Cape Ann residents in exploring effective collaboration and coordination efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

To the editor:

A stark message from the 2021 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

“Increasingly severe heatwaves, fires, floods, and droughts are coming our way with dire impacts for many countries. On top of this are some irreversible changes, often called tipping points, such as where high temperatures and droughts mean parts of the Amazon rainforest can’t persist. These tipping points may then link, like toppling dominoes.”

By now, most people have gotten the message that the climate has changed our country in many ways. They have heard about the daily tides flooding the streets of Miami, Oregon is sizzling, California is fighting wildfires, the Colorado River is running dry, and devastating hurricane after devastating hurricane striking coastal cities and towns causing a huge amount of damage from strong winds, flooding and storm surge. In Gloucester, it’s easy for us to be complacent, thinking we will not be severely affected and others will solve the problems. The reality is that climate change will eventually impact nearly all sectors of our lives.

There is real urgency for Gloucester to act boldly and quickly on multiple sustainability actions. We must protect our beaches, coastal wetlands, harbor infrastructure, homes, industries, open spaces and citizens from climate-related health and safety risks such as: flooding, excessive storms, heat and drought. Fortifying Gloucester’s coastal roadways, wastewater management, drinking water quality and infrastructure will be essential. To meet state and federal Net Zero goals, we will need to increase local renewable energy production and storage and electrify our buildings and transportation systems. Net Zero goals require gradual greenhouse gas reductions of 50% by 2030, 75% by 2040, and 100% by 2050. 

To the editor:

Some of you may have read about Maine’s passage of the first-in-the-nation producer responsibility legislation for paper and packaging.  You may have even seen the editorial in this newspaper (”Shifting some recycling costs where they belong,” July 21) supporting producer responsibility for Massachusetts.

So what are we talking about? What is producer responsibility?

Start by thinking about all the products we purchase and the containers and packaging that they come in (especially now with so many products direct shipped to our front doors). What happens to all that material and the product itself when we are done with them? We place them in the trash or in our recycling, if recyclable. We then put them out on the curb for pick up or bring to our community’s transfer station. The cost for the collection and management of our unwanted stuff falls on our municipalities, who have no control over that product or what people purchase. Our waste management systems were not designed to handle the ever-changing array of products and packaging in the marketplace. Producer responsibility legislation shifts the cost from the current backwards model to where it belongs: on the manufacturers/ producers! What a concept!  

What can you do? Send an email, letter or call your state senator and representative(s) and ask them to support producer responsibility for paper and packaging set forth in House Bill 878/ Senate Bill S610 and Senate Bill 517.   These bills would create a producer responsibility system for paper, traditional packaging and containers of all types, such as food and beverage containers, shampoo bottles, flowerpots and more. When producers must pay the cost of managing these items at the end of their life, producers are incentivized to design these items so that they contain less material, use material that is easier to reuse/recycle/compost, and is less harmful to our environment.