Remembrance of Climate Futures

DATE: Sunday, December 4, 2 to 4 pm

LOCATION: the lobby and Discourse Lab at Arlington’s new energy efficient High School, 869 Mass Avenue, Arlington.

by Lily Fox-Jurkowitz and Daisy Takang.

MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Council) Senior Environmental Planner, Van Du, came to speak with the Climate Futures Intern group about all things climate change. She explained the importance of climate resilience and the closely related ideas of mitigating and adapting to climate change. As a community, we can improve our climate resilience, or our ability to manage climate issues, by collaboratively taking adaptation and mitigation actions. Some meaningful climate-related actions that Van highlighted were implementing floating wetlands in bodies of water (Arlington already has some but the more the better!), working to make our landscaping more sustainable, and educating communities on climate change. Floating wetlands are a natural solution to filtering polluted water, which is an example of biomimicry. It is truly incredible that we can use the power of nature to help protect it. In terms of making our landscapes more sustainable, we can plant native species, manage stormwater runoff, and do so much more! The possibilities are endless. Climate change education is also essential. It allows all community members to be a part of the solution, and this is a key focus of our work in this project. When discussing climate change education as a group, we came to the conclusion that educating Arlington residents on climate change concepts could be one of the most powerful ways to take action. While many people in Arlington are well-versed on handling a Nor’easter, dealing with tornadoes may be much more frightening. Educating individuals on how to manage these new natural disasters caused by climate change will allow our entire community to feel safe and protected.

Van further explained that while climate resilience will be at the forefront of our work when creating Climate Futures markers, we must consider the idea of Environmental Justice. Environmental Justice conceptualizes the inequities that different individuals and communities face from the impacts of climate change. Instead of simply moving forward with our first ideas, Van noted that a process of considering equity concerns is essential to protecting those who most need support. We will continue to reflect and analyze each of our ideas in the program as it pertains to who is benefited by certain actions. As we continue to meet new guest speakers and interview local climate groups, we will keep in mind the concept of Environmental Justice, and we will elevate voices from communities vulnerable to climate change. Van Du gave us amazing insight into how we can create a resilient community in an equitable, intersectional way.

Remembrance of Climate Futures/Arlington is organized by the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture, the Arlington Public Schools Green Teams, and the Arlington Department of Planning and Community Development with grant support from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

The guest speaker that met with us this past Tuesday was Charles Coe, an accomplished teacher and author of several books of poetry, who came to provide us with tips on how to communicate effectively and to write more efficiently. After some introductions around the group, he brought up the topic of climate change by starting off with two prompts for us to answer. Mr. Coe asked us to write for 3 minutes with the prompt, “What is one aspect of climate change that particularly concerns you?” He got a different answer from each of us:  rising sea levels and flooding; poor air quality that makes it tough to “find a breath of fresh air”; more violent and dangerous storms; people not being able to accept that climate change is happening and it WILL affect them; and the urgent sense that “time is running out.”

Mr. Coe then concluded his presentation in a rather unexpected manner, though relevant and a unique finishing touch for our discussion– with a particularly apt poem about change, and the reluctance we have to accept it. The message of the poem was very fitting for the topics we all discussed in the meeting, and it reminded us that we need to step out of our comfort zone to experience a change.

Here, the final poem in his book, Memento Mori, titled “Every New Thing”

Every new thing is an act of treason,
a betrayal of the comfortable, the familiar.
An animal that has known only the cage
will cringe in a corner if the door opens suddenly
squealing on ancient, rusted hinges.
If I have but one wish for you, for me,
for us all, it’s to remember that our own cages
are locked only by the fear of change
that we have the power to shove the doors open
and take one step, then another,
into a new world.

by Clara Schneider, Rachel Barglow, Tamaki Sugihara

On July 19, 2021, we met with 15 diverse Arlington organizations in a meet and greet via Zoom. This meet and greet allowed us to interact and learn from members of these organizations about their various goals and achievements. Organizations in attendance included groups focused on eliminating waste, groups with a focus on organized activism, organizations with an emphasis on environmental equity, groups that protect open spaces, and many more.

Food Links and Zero Waste Arlington both share a theme of waste reduction. Food Links is a nonprofit organization that tackles the environmental consequences of wasting food; food waste generates seven percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Food Links redistributes food to low-income individuals and vulnerable populations. On the other hand, Zero Waste Arlington, colloquially known as the ZWA, is a volunteer committee appointed to advise the town by advocating for Massachusetts’ goal of municipal solid waste reduction; recycling is their major focus, but they have other campaigns to reduce plastic, promote repair and reuse, and raise awareness.

Thoughts from the Arlington Human Rights Commission and the Arlington Tree Committee presented the relationship between equity and climate change. Representatives from both groups expressed concerns about the connection between tree canopy density and hot zones in Arlington. Trees reduce urban heat island effect and keep areas cooler by providing shade. Hot zones often appear in lower-income communities where fewer trees are planted, illustrating the exacerbated effects climate change often has on marginalized groups.

Coming from a different perspective, a number of groups have focused on the preservation of local open spaces and nature sanctuaries. Attendees with this focus included the Friends of Spy Pond, Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways, Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Arlington Open Space Committee. The groups listed work on tasks such as improving water quality, protecting wildlife, and restoring parks. Many other groups from the surrounding area interested in collaborating with us and concerned about the climate crisis also attended, such as East Arlington Livable Streets, Green Cambridge, and the Unitarian Universalist Church Climate Working Group.

Even in such a short meeting with a tightly packed agenda, we had the opportunity for interesting discussions in breakout rooms and in the chat. Several attendees gave us ideas for trail markers for our project, and others provided insight on effective ways to design them. We cannot even begin to imagine the amazing content we would think up together if we had more time!

While many organizations had overlapping memberships and a history of collaboration, some had never even heard of each other. This meet and greet event helped strengthen existing ties and assisted in the formation of new ones. We were impressed to hear about so many different organizations, and the gathering reiterated that there is a place in the environmental movement for everyone. Arlington has groups that do everything from sit-ins to street cleaning, all working together to make Arlington, and our future, as sustainable as possible.