Worcester is one of the Cities in Massachusetts where green house gas emissions aren’t too big of a problem, there are bigger cities like New-York and Boston that have higher emissions and trash. But still it is important to not let these emissions get too out of hand. Cities like Los-Angeles, New-York and Boston suffer from these emissions a little more often, their air quality is a little higher than Worcesters. Worcester air quality is around 5-50 which is in the green zone, while LA’s air quality is around 50-100 which is in the yellow zone. Industrial Areas, traffic and trash in certain areas will make the AQI(Air Quality Index) higher than some areas, that is why it is always good to pick up trash and use less things that impact the AQI and Pollution in those areas.
Worcester has multiple plans/programs & Initiatives for people to volunteer and help with, like cleaning & preserving areas like ponds, streets, parks, and forested areas, and planting/regrowing forests, trees & vegetation to increase the amount of gaseous particles like Carbon Dioxide (CO2) they can take overall which will help in decreasing air pollution, and lower the rates of global warming. One of the plans is- The Green Worcester Plan, this is a plan to have all things in Worcester to use 100% safe, renewable and affordable energy by 2045. “We have spent $80 million on energy efficiency work in 90+ municipal buildings since 2009, saving $14 million and Reducing Harmful Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 43%!” Worcester has Six key emission sectors, that being transportation(gas powered vehicles), electricity, waste management, residential & commercial buildings, industry, and agricultural & natural lands.
While it does make things slightly more inconvenient like stopping or slowing the use of very convenient things like cars that use gasoline and house appliances that take up a lot of electricity like microwaves and entertainment devices, it would later make you healthier and develop good habits, like cleaning more often and periodically and could even save you more money overtime while you aren’t paying for things as costly like gasoline and electricity bills.
Transportation
The Green Worcester Plan- A road map for making Worcester the greenest mid-sized city in the country by John W. Odell, The Chief Sustainability Officer. One Initiative for transportation is that they are electrifying vehicles, which at the time(2021) contributed 16% of carbon emissions. They have installed 18 electric vehicle charging stations in public garages downtown. Their goal is to replace municipal vehicles with electric vehicles, to achieve a goal of an all-renewable fleet by 2030.
Another Initiative for transportation is they’re working with other departments, including the Department of Transportation & Mobility to expand safe streets for pedestrians and cyclists. They are developing “long range transportation plans and short term priority projects that will make Worcester a more walk-able, sustainable and accessible place to live!”
Electricity
Growing Worcester Electricity plays a big part in avoiding Carbon Dioxide (CO2). In 2020 John W. Odell launched a group electricity purchasing program, this offered its residents and business price stability and helped gain greater control of the environmental electricity supply. “In the first year of the Program, 69 million pounds of carbon dioxide were avoided because of additional green electricity added to their supply.” This program also helped participants save hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is better than the national grid service rates. According to Direct Energy-MASSACHUSETTS POWER INFORMATION DISCLOSURE LABEL, 671.83 pounds (lbs) of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere per Megawatt (MWh).
They are also increasing Renewable Energy Production. They have 20+ projects for Worcester Public Schools, and they have the City’s former landfill and other locations totaling just over 13 Megawatts DC of Solar Capacity. They plan on having all residents of Worcester to use 100% safe and renewable energy for buildings, businesses and vehicles by 2045.
Waste Management
To get to the future Worcester wants they hired a Zero Waste Coordinator(ZWC) through the Department of Sustainability and Resilience. “ZWC will work in accordance with the Green Worcester Plan to evolve how we handle waste as a city.” They also plan to have the ZWC to make a Master Plan that will result in a list of priorities and programming so that the Worcester Community gets closer to their Zero Waste future. Zero Waste is the goal to have single use items and materials like plastics become more reusable and waste being minimal.
Land Preservation
Most water ways in Worcester are filled with garbage, and are currently being constantly cleaned and rid of that trash. Like Black Stone river, open to the Worcester Residents, there is almost always some garbage at the river bed. Like the Black Stone River other areas, lakes, ponds, and some areas in the forest sometimes also have trash in them. The community wishes to keep the Waterways clean and healthy so that they can continue to be accessible to all residents. “The Lakes and Ponds Program’s mission since 2016 is to monitor and manage our waterways for environmental threats, to protect their recreational value and preserve ecological services.”
Residential and Commercial Buildings
According to Green Worcester, 65% of green house gas emissions come from the buildings. Using both gas and electricity they use tons of energy. Like the Electricity section of this article, they plan on making all buildings renewable energy efficient so that they rely on it for electricity and heat, this means that they need to make building energy systems that use electricity rather than fossil fuels, making buildings in Worcester Net Zero.
