Belmont Citizens Forum

Invasive Plants Harm Belmont’s Environment

Plants, Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

Invasive Plants Harm Belmont's Environment

By Roger Colton Belmont is under invasion. By air, land, and water, the town is experiencing the influx of non-native plants which outcompete our native species, threatening our wildlife and our waterways. The sooner that town residents begin to respond, the sooner the invasion can be thwarted. One of the most noticeable and harmful invasive plants in Belmont is Japanese knotweed, which is growing along waterways including the Wellington Brook. Japanese knotweed threatens to displace the existing trees, shrubs, and other native plants that line the waterway. Unlike those other species, knotweed does not effectively prevent erosion or filter pollutants [READ MORE]

McLean Barn Gets Scrubbing, Stabilization

Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

McLean Barn Gets Scrubbing, Stabilization

By Radha Iyengar The historic McLean Barn has been vacant and deteriorating for many years—but thanks to Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds approved last May, the barn is finally being cleaned and stabilized. The barn may also get a new electrical line to support exterior lighting and cameras to deter vandals. Located at 248 Mill Street, the McLean Barn was built around 1915. It was used by the McLean Farm until it was transferred to the town in 2005 as part of the memorandum of agreement with McLean Hospital. The McLean Barn is a New England-style banked barn that sits [READ MORE]

Does Living in Belmont Promote Our Health?

Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2019, Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

Does Living in Belmont Promote Our Health?

By Tammy Calise Where we live shapes our behaviors and influences our physical and mental health. While everyone deserves to live in a neighborhood that supports healthy lifestyles, it is especially important for youth and older adults—and compared to the state overall, Belmont has a higher percentage of the population under 18 years (21 percent vs. 24 percent) and over 65 years (15 percent vs. 24 percent). The University of Virginia’s Center for Design and Health and Hart Howerton, an interdisciplinary design firm, endorse nine principles that ensure the design of our neighborhoods promote health: smart locations, integrated nature, mixed [READ MORE]

Community Path Progress in Belmont and Beyond

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

Community Path Progress in Belmont and Beyond

By John Dieckmann Recently, there has been great progress in developing the Community Path in Belmont and the segments of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in Waltham, Weston, and Wayland. Belmont The Community Path Project Committee selected Nitsch Engineering at their July 15 meeting to be the design contractor for the design of Phases 1A and 1B of the Community Path. Phase 1A is the Community Path extending from Clark Street to Brighton Street. Phase 1B is the pedestrian tunnel under the Fitchburg commuter rail tracks at Alexander Avenue and the short path connecting the tunnel to Concord Avenue. [READ MORE]

How to Fix Belmont’s Traffic

Newsletter Comments Off

Sep 162019

By Jessie Bennett Traffic in greater Boston has gone from an annoyance to a crisis. The recent Congestion in the Commonwealth study produced by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), outlines how increasing congestion is affecting travel times and access to jobs. Two key trouble areas are Fresh Pond Parkway and the Route 2 approach to Alewife. High congestion in these areas causes the cut-through traffic noted in Belmont’s Town Wide Traffic Study, presented by BSC Group in April. If cars are gridlocked in one area, drivers will look for other ways around it, either by using GPS apps or [READ MORE]

July/August 2019 Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter & PDF

Environment, July-Aug 2019, Newsletter Comments Off

Jul 162019

View or download the July/August 2019 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below. Articles in this issue: From Here to There: Belmont’s Roadmap to Decarbonization By Roger Colton The Belmont Energy Committee’s 2018 “Roadmap for Strategic Decarbonization” will allow periodic measurement of progress toward the objective of reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Read more. Buying Local: Electricity from Belmont Light By Marty Bitner In Belmont, there are clear benefits to buying local when it comes to energy usage, and that means powering our lives with electricity whenever possible. Read more. Belmont Energy [READ MORE]

From Here to There: Belmont’s Roadmap to Decarbonization

Air Quality, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

From Here to There: Belmont’s Roadmap to Decarbonization

By Roger Colton The adage is timeless: think globally, act locally. On climate change issues, Belmont has taken that advice to heart. In 2009, a Belmont Special Town Meeting approved the goal of 80 percent emissions reduction by the year 2050. The following year, the Belmont Energy Committee was organized and appointed to pursue that goal. In 2016, the committee examined the change in CO2 emissions between Belmont’s first greenhouse-gas inventory of 2007, and the most currently available data, 2014. They estimated that total emissions from electricity, transportation, and heating fuels declined by 5 percent in those seven years. Energy [READ MORE]

Buying Local: Electricity from Belmont Light

Air Quality, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

By Marty Bitner In Belmont, there are clear benefits to buying local when it comes to energy usage, and that means powering our lives with electricity whenever possible. In contrast to the investor-owned corporate utilities serving many of our neighboring communities, where financial benefits primarily flow to shareholders who live far away, Belmont Light is a municipal electric utility, operated in the public interest. In Belmont, we are both the customers and the shareholders, and doing what is best for ratepayers is always the objective. Our electric rates are determined not only by the amount of money needed to purchase [READ MORE]

Belmont Energy Reference List

Air Quality, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

REFERENCE LIST for July/August 2019 Belmont Energy Committee articles _______________________ Belmont Composts! belmontcomposts.org jwusauk@aol.com Belmont Drives Electric belmontdriveselectric.org belmontdriveselectric@gmail.com Belmont Energy Committee belmontclimateaction.org contact via web form Belmont Energy Roadmap belmontclimateaction.org/initiatives contact via web form Belmont Light belmontlight.com customerservice@belmontlight.com Belmont Light Green Choice belmontlight.com/energy-solutions/residential-programs/ HeatSmart heatsmartbelmont.org heatsmartbelmont@gmail.com

Belmont Light’s Role in Energy Efficiency

Air Quality, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

By Roger Colton Belmont’s commitment to a long-term goal of strategic electrification will not scale back Belmont Light’s energy-efficiency programs. In Belmont, strategic electrification involves increasing electricity use primarily by electrifying transportation and home heating/cooling. Belmont Light says there’s no conflict between this effort to increase electricity use and its offer of energy-efficiency programs. According to Ben Thivierge, energy specialist for Belmont Light, the phrase “energy efficiency” has “changed its meaning. Energy efficiency used to mean simply not using electricity.” Today, he said, “there’s a larger scope. ‘Energy efficiency’ today is associated with decarbonization. It is through energy efficiency that [READ MORE]

HeatSmart Belmont: Electrifying Home Heating and Cooling

Air Quality, Construction and Housing, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

HeatSmart Belmont: Electrifying Home Heating and Cooling

By James Booth Heating buildings by burning fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas accounts for almost half of Belmont’s climate-warming CO2 emissions. A key strategy in Belmont’s Climate Action Roadmap is switching to carbon-free electricity as a pathway to zero emissions. So how can one efficiently heat a building using electricity? The answer is heat pumps. Heat pumps work by moving heat from one place to another, much like a refrigerator or air conditioner that can also operate in reverse, able to heat in winter and cool in summer. Traditional electrical baseboard heaters or other “resistance” systems convert [READ MORE]

New Belmont School Leads Way with Zero Net Energy

Construction and Housing, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 162019

New Belmont School Leads Way with Zero Net Energy

By Jacob Knowles The latest climate science indicates that we must reverse the historic trend of emissions escalation and begin actively extracting CO2 from the atmosphere. Energy consumption by buildings represents 28 percent of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which means that zero net energy (ZNE) buildings are a core component of achieving a livable climate. On the bright side, there has been exponential growth in ZNE buildings, with a 700 percent increase between 2012 and 2019 in completed and emerging ZNE buildings in the US and Canada, as documented by the New Buildings Institute. This growth is happening [READ MORE]

Roadmap Review: What’s In, What’s Out, and Why

Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 152019

Roadmap Review: What’s In, What’s Out, and Why

By James Booth Belmont’s Climate Action Roadmap focuses on promoting electrification of vehicles and heat-pump heating, coupled with carbon-free electricity. For an individual Belmont resident, is it enough to convert to clean electricity to help fight climate change? No. Here’s why: First, in addition to shifting our energy use to clean electricity, it will remain as important as ever to take every opportunity to use less energy through conservation and efficiency, as discussed elsewhere in this newsletter. This includes walking, biking, carpooling, and taking public transit when possible to move ourselves around. Weatherizing our houses to stay comfortable with less [READ MORE]

Electric Vehicles: One Owner’s Perspective

Air Quality, Environment, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 152019

Electric Vehicles: One Owner’s Perspective

By Marty Bitner New cars today offer an array of features and options. The most important option, however, is how your car is fueled, and lately options for electric vehicles (EV) are getting better. Today, enough fully electric and plug-in hybrid models are available to meet the needs of most people. You owe it to yourself to consider making the switch from a gas-powered car to an EV. My family did over a year ago; we’ll never go back. EVs are fun to drive. When you step on the accelerator, the car responds instantly: it just goes. This [READ MORE]

Michael Smith Honored by Belmont Historical Society

Historic Preservation, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 152019

Michael Smith Honored by Belmont Historical Society

By Evanthia Malliris The Belmont Historical Society presented the 2019 David R. Johnson Preservation Award to Michael A. Smith, AIA, at its annual meeting this spring. Smith was nominated for his work on the rehabilitation and restoration of the Belmont Police Station Building as well as more than two decades on the Belmont Historic District Commission. “Mike brings a deep architecture knowledge, commitment to historic preservation, and a collaborative spirit to the Belmont Historic District Commission that has contributed significantly to many of the commission’s successes, including the adoption of two new historic districts, completion of a town-wide historic resource [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor, July-Aug 2019

Environment, July-Aug 2019, Water Quality Comments Off

Jul 152019

More on disposing in the kitchen sink As a resident of Newton for 20-plus years and an activist in Waltham as well (Waltham Land Trust), I salute Belmont on your newsletter. It stands out, in my experience, as the best suburban NGO volunteer-run information medium. I’ve used its articles in my teaching at Brandeis. So, bravo and well done. I have a question for Mary Bradley, the compost fanatic (I am one, too, and refer to the May/June 2019 article, “Composting in Belmont: Breaking it Down,” typical of BCF articles in its detail and usefulness), and it’s this: has she [READ MORE]

Belmont Porchfest Returns on Saturday, Sept. 7

Arts & Culture, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 152019

Belmont Porchfest Returns on Saturday, Sept. 7

Get ready to make some noise in your neighborhood! By Mary Bradley On Saturday, September 7, 2019, Belmont Porchfest, the community-wide music and arts festival, is returning for its second year. (Rain date Sunday, September 8.) Live music, interactive arts, and other events will begin at 10:30 AM and run until 6:30 PM at locations all over town, including additional flourishes at the grand finale specifically for vegans and cyclists. For Belmontians who might enjoy a moment of fame, seek out cameras positioned on street corners to capture your thoughts about the day for Makin’ Noise, a documentary film in [READ MORE]

Community Meets at the Market

Arts & Culture, July-Aug 2019 Comments Off

Jul 152019

By Evanthia Malliris Summertime means it’s time to gather at the Belmont Farmers’ Market. For 14 years, the market has been a welcoming spot that offers fresh, local food along with music, storytelling, and activities for kids. Visitors can see neighbors, try new offerings from guest vendors, and meet representatives from the town and local organizations at the Community Table. This year’s new vendors include: Beverly Bees C & M Farm Common Acre Farm Just Hummus Lilac Hedge Farm Mariposa Bakery, Tick Tock Chocolates When Life Gives You Lemons The Market matches SNAP benefits up to $20 per shopper each [READ MORE]

Belmont Roots, July/August 2019

Environment, July-Aug 2019, Newsletter, Volunteer Comments Off

Jul 152019

Environmental News, Notes, and Events By Meg Muckenhoupt Reducing emissions can begin in your own backyard—but how? Well, if you’re tired of mowing your lawn, you have a good excuse to stop. Although grasses, like all plants, remove carbon from the air when they grow their leaves and roots, the greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer and pesticide production, mowing, and leaf blowing make grass a poor proposition for our climate. You still have to do something with that land, but there are many other good choices that will look good and keep more carbon in the ground and out of [READ MORE]

May/June 2019 Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter & PDF

BCF Events, Construction and Housing, Environment, Lone Tree Hill, May/June 2019, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, Recycling, Traffic, Volunteer, Water Quality Comments Off

May 062019

View or download the May/June 2019 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below. Articles in this issue: New Plans for McLean Land Density is key issue as town considers proposals for two McLean campus parcels By Sue Bass Twenty years ago, Belmont voted to allow development on McLean Hospital land on Belmont Hill. Now McLean is coming back to the town with new proposals for two parcels of land that are still undeveloped. Read more. Composting in Belmont: Breaking it Down By Mary Bradley Composting is no longer just a backyard hobby for the ardent gardener. [READ MORE]

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