Over 40 activists working to stop the proposed Kinder Morgan/TGP pipeline attended a retreat in January and formed a tri-state coalition. These activists included people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, many who had been working on opposing the pipeline for the past year. Representatives from two dozen (24) organizations formed the StopNED Coalition to work together in the region to stop the proposed Kinder Morgan/TGP pipeline and also focus on alternative solutions such as more renewable energy and more energy efficiency programs.
The StopNED Coalition will address the broader environmental and economic impacts of the pipeline. According to Rosemary Wessel from www.nofrackedgasinmass.org, “Increasing the region’s dependence on natural gas will hold businesses and homeowners hostage to this volatile commodity’s price swings, as well as price increases arising from possible export. We all will benefit far more from clean energy solutions that fight climate change, offer stable prices and create thousands of local, permanent jobs.”
The focus for the StopNED Coalition in the next few months will include coordinating work on several campaigns. The possible campaigns include: Alternative Solutions, Landowners and KM Open Houses, Upholding Article 97 and other work regarding conservation lands, Global Warming (e.g., in MA getting state to mandate and comply with goals set in MA Global Warming Solutions Act), and Tariff Issues.
NQ Pipeline Action will join with other groups to work on these campaigns and will update people as proposed actions develop. Materials regarding these campaigns will also be posted under Resources and Research. Meanwhile several public events are happening in the region during the coming month (See Events).
Outreach to other Communities and Organizations in other parts of Massachusetts — For an example of this, see posting at UUMassAction website — http://www.uumassaction.org/uuma/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Stop-NED-Document-for-Distribution-1.pdf. This group reaches out to 140 churches affiliated with the Universalist-Unitarian (UU) churches in MA.