In collaboration with several environmental agencies, the Environmental League of Massachusetts released its first annual report Thursday on the commonwealth’s environmental efforts, deeming Massachusetts’ efforts as a C, according to the report.
“In light of findings here, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) earns a collective grade of C for their first year of work,” the report stated.
The report examined several factors to determine the overall grade, including efficiency of resources, budget spending, energy and climate change, among others. The highest grade, a B+, went to the commonwealth’s electric vehicles and tree planting programs. However, the repeal of site-specific water quality criteria for lakes and ponds received a failing grade of an F, according to the report.
The report stated that many of the commonwealth’s environmental shortcomings are due to a lack of funding from the Baker administration. The agencies proposed a plan to allot for 1 percent of the commonwealth’s budget to fund environmental agencies.
“For our environmental agencies to successfully carry out their broad missions, adequate funding is essential,” the report stated. “Governor Baker committed to this amount, over four years, as a candidate. However, we are moving in the wrong direction. Neither of the administration’s two budgets to date have come close to this amount.”
Elizabeth Saunders is the Massachusetts director for Clean Water Action, one of the report’s contributors, and she said she hopes the report will bring change from the Baker administration.
“There are areas where the Baker administration has started to move things forward, but there are a lot of areas where they haven’t or are very far from it,” Saunders said. “Our hope is that this report provides ample feedback to Gov. Baker and his team of our priorities and helps stir additional leadership.”
The most striking portion of the report, Saunders said, was the failing grade given to the repeal of the water criteria for lakes and ponds.
“They are repealing assisting environmental protective regulations for water quality, and that’s not good,” Saunders said. “We’re looking for forward movement here, not backsliding.”
Nancy Goodman, vice president for policy of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, said the report aims to inspire improved environmental efforts during the EEA’s second year.
“There are a number of things that were happening that raised concern,” Goodman said. “We’re doing everything to make progress and to get the administration a better grade next time, so we are very interested in holding leaders accountable to work hard towards accomplishing this goal.”
Several Boston residents agreed with the findings of the report and cited personal experiences as proof that the C grade was not surprising.
Laurin Johnson, 27, of South Boston, said she was not shocked to see a lower score for Massachusetts.
“I’m not surprised that Massachusetts got a C,” she said. “I haven’t spent a lot of time in rural Massachusetts, but I know that in the city, there is a lot of energy efficiency problems. We have some things like solar compost garbage cans, but other than that, Boston doesn’t stand out as a particularly green city.”
Stephanie Belz, 26, of Back Bay, agreed that Boston itself is an accurate representation of proper environmental action.
“Boston does a good job of staying green with its emphasis on public transportation, because I know most of the working people here use it instead of cars for their commutes,” she said. “There are certainly lots of issues for staying green and being environmentally conscious, so I would say that a C is a fair grade, and hopefully the Baker administration sees that.”
Elijah Dozier, 57, of Back Bay, said he was angered by the lack of funding allocated to environmental action.
“The Baker administration needs to wake up and realize that 1 percent of their funding for environmental action is a completely feasible goal,” he said, “and the fact that they can’t even accomplish that makes it no surprise that they received such a bad grade.”
